This really taxes the biceps and you will see growth. A 2nd advantage to this is once you get to the 30 second level and beyond, you can do leg raises for the abs while you are hanging. No need for straps or anything.

Hit the biceps and the abs all together. I love this exercise.

Personally, and I’ve said it elsewhere on this site, chinups and pullups are 2 of the absolute best exercises you can use to build your body and I don’t care if you lift or not. Even if you can only do 1 rep right now, work at it and you will not be disappointed.

Pushups are effective. I remember having to do them everyday when I was in basic training in the army. Vary the width of your hands to target different muscles. It will be pretty obvious which ones you hit the most as you make the change.

I still say doing push ups on an exercise ball rocks! I vary my hand placement here as well. Start out with your feet wider apart until you learn to balance, then bring them in closer to hit the core muscles as well.

But I think one of the best overall exercise is the hindu push up or the dive bombers. These are terrific exercises and you can easily do them while you travel as absolutely nothing is needed. They work the upper body completely and your legs get a decent workout as well.

The difference between the two is in the return. You get into a push up position with arms about shoulder width apart. Now you move your feet in towards your arms and your butt goes up in the air. You are in an inverted V position.

To begin the movement you do a push up but continue taking your head through your arms and . . . . . let me show you a video to explain this.

The difference between this and the dive bomber is the return, as I mentioned. With the dive bomber, rather than simply pushing back to the starting position, you actually reverse the movement. This adds more of a finish push up.

Which is harder? To me it’s the dive bomber.

Which is better? Try both and see which you like. Both are excellent exercises. I like to combine them.

Bear crawls – Find yourself some space. Now get down on all fours and walk around like a bear. Sounds easy, right? Do this for three to five minutes and see what you get out of it. Works the entire body. Good for a warm-up, too.

Crab walk – You’re on all fours, but this time you’re facing upwards. Very awkward, and much more of a challenge to your coordination than the bear crawls. Builds strength and endurance.

Crocodile walk – You’re face down again. This time the object is to crawl along the floor with your torso as close to the floor as possible without touching. It’s hard to describe the leg/foot and arm/hand positioning. Just lay face down on the ground and figure out what works for you. Helps body control, and really develops strength.

With all of the crawling movements, just go until you feel fatigued. Track your progress by what distance you can cover or how many minutes you can handle, then keep trying to increase it.