You probably know how important daily exercise is for your physical and mental well-being, and you may even have a routine you try to stick to during the week. But are you incorporating strength training into your workouts, or strictly cardio?

If you fall into the latter category, its time to start strength training, because cardio will only take you so far. You need strength training to maintain muscle mass and mobility . This is especially important as you age, as both men and women lose about 10% of their muscle mass per decade starting as early as in their 30s. This doesnt mean you have to learn how to bench press, or even pick up a set of weights. Instead, you can simply use your body weight.

The variety of exercises you can do just using your body weight are endless, said Katie Schneider, trainer at Title Boxing Club in Chicagos Lincoln Park neighborhood. Most movements require more than one muscle group, which is an effective way to increase calorie burn while improving overall strength.

Body-weight exercises are used by everyone from beginners to professional athletes, added Erin Kloosterman, head of sports science at Sports Performance Labs in Middletown Township, New Jersey.

These exercises make you focus more on the movement pattern rather than moving a load placed on you, she said. This also helps create neuromuscular connections in the body. The brain tells the body to move, and it does so by recruiting muscle fibers to perform the movement. The more frequently you do these exercises, the more memory those muscle fibers get, helping to perfect your form and prevent injury when and if you decide to start strength training with weights.

Read on for eight body-weight exercises recommended by Schneider and Kloosterman for all fitness levels. Each one will help you build lean muscle mass while improving muscular endurance, balance and flexibility.

With no weights needed, youll build a foundation with a lower risk of injury and minimal stress on the joints, Schneider said.

Wall Sits