You Are Your Own Gym Review – To Buy or Not to Buy

In just under 200 pages in a book that specifies it is the bible of bodyweight exercises, Mark Lauren invites you to expand your knowledge and experience of how beneficial bodyweight exercises can be.

The beauty of it all? You can do these exercises anywhere. 2021 is teaching us how to be creative about exercise, and we are here to learn.

Mark Lauren shows you effective ways to enhance your metabolism, burn fat, and build your core for better balance and stability.

With over 125 simple exercises, this book will work everything from your neck to your ankles. 

Plus, there are four workout levels to choose from, Basic, 1st Class, Master Class, and Chief Class.

Whether you are a beginner or a trained fitness professional, Mark Lauren has something to offer you in this great read that might just change how you exercise.

Pros:

• Great chapter on using household items to workout
• Nothing is required – workout anywhere
• Timely and efficient
• Lots of exercise variety

Cons:

• No explanation on why exercises are beneficial
• Not much flexibility in set programs

Wait! Isn’t there an App for that?

https://youtu.be/TvFnUjTzga0

In this You Are Your Own Gym review, we are happy to tell you there is also an app that Mark Lauren created to go along with his highly sought after book.

It’s called Body Weight Training: Your Gym App, and it is perfect for a beginner or a bodyweight exercise master.

Forget about that gym membership! Mark will guide you through exercises that are quick and easy to follow, and you can do them anywhere.

With over 200 exercises to choose from, boredom with your exercise is a thing of the past.

Ready for more? The app also offers you a variety of 10-week fitness programs that you can follow.

It will get you a healthier body in no time, and the exercises are for everyone. Beginner? No problem.

The video and voice prompts instruct you on exactly what you need to do.

From strength training to high-intensity interval training (HIIT), pick the exercise program that suits your needs and get going.

But wait! There’s more.

The app is integrated with HealthKit, allowing you to save workouts that can also be tracked in Apple’s Health app. Mark has made it easy to track your fitness and reach your goals.

Pros:

• Combines cardiovascular fitness as well as strength training
• Easy to use and follow
• Great instruction and videos
• Various options to customize routines
• Fast and noticeable results

Cons:

• Erases input if you restart the program
• Question & Answer feature would be helpful

But do I Buy the Book or Get the App?

Other You Are Your Own Gym reviews suggest that the app is superior to the book because the app can track your progress.

Once you start one of the programs, it shows you where to begin based on your last workout. It records the number of reps you do.

It’s awesome to see your progress in real-time.

Maybe you could only do five push-ups when you started the program, but just a few weeks in, you can now do 30. You can view all of that history with the app to give yourself a much-deserved pat on the back.

Seeing our progress is what motivates us to keep going. By the way, the app is only $2.99, so there’s that.

At that price, why not get the book and the app! Mark did write a book that is the bible of bodyweight exercises. We should trust him.

Tell Me About You Are Your Own Gym Exercises

Before you think bodyweight training consists only of push-ups and pull-ups, let us assure you it is way more than that.

Those moves are a part of the exercises, but there are tons of different moves that encapsulate bodyweight training.

For instance, have you ever made a lunge with one foot on a chair behind you? Or have you ever done a push-up with your legs up on a chair to increase your arm and leg power?

It isn’t easy, but Mark walks you through it to ensure you have the best form to get the most from your workout.

You will learn how to do it all with no equipment, from lunges to planks and wall handstands to chair dips.

All of these moves work to increase your functional fitness while capitalizing on toning your body through cardio and strength training.

That’s right. 

Despite what you may have read about health and fitness, you can get your heart rate pumping with these exercises, and Mark shows you how.

Will I Lose Weight?

If you follow the nutritional guidelines in Mark Lauren’s book, nutrition accounts for about 80% of weight loss, with the remaining 20% attributed to exercise.

We know it’s not fair, but it is what it is. The good news is Mark breaks down exactly how you should refuel your body with his bodyweight training.

The combination shows as one review noted that after following the guidelines of the book for three months, he was down in body fat by 3%. Yay! Results!

Need more evidence? A study done in the Polish Journal of Sport and Tourism found that body fat increased by 2% on average in a group of women who performed bodyweight training 4-5 times a week for 10 weeks.

Keeping in mind that they did not alter their diets simultaneously, and exercise makes you hungrier as you burn more calories, the results are not surprising.

However, the research also showed that the women had a 10% increase in their upper body strength and a 33% increase in aerobic capacity.

In conclusion, they stated that bodyweight training is excellent for increasing physical fitness, but there would be no body composition change without the proper diet.

Summary? Eat right and do bodyweight workouts, as Mark suggests.