The Only 7 Bodyweight Exercises You Need to Start Building Strength
Bodyweight strength training, sometimes called Calisthenics is a fantastic way to begin strength training. It’s useful for beginners who want to strength train without immediately joining a gym and even advanced lifters looking for ways to add variety to their workout routines.
Don't have access to the gym? Not comfortable diving into the weights just yet? Here are 7 workouts you can do at home or at a park nearby with no special equipment. What is also great about most of these exercises is that they have variations that make them easier or harder, thus making our strength training progression easier.
Given that we are all disproportionately stronger in the lower body than in the upper body, upper body work is where we will begin our calisthenics work.
Exercise #1: The Pushup
If you master pushups, you will have mastered the most fundamental lower body push workout. Pushups work our shoulders, chest, triceps, and core, hitting more than half the muscles in our upper body. What makes pushups also ideal is the ability to progress and regress as needed based on your strength level. Once you have reached the progression of doing incline and handstand pushups you can add dips into the equation in order to incorporate additional lower chest and triceps work. As the progression shows we start and end with wall pushups, just with our body rotated 180 degrees! Once you become more advanced you can add single arm training with a one arm pushup as well.
Progression: Wall & Bench Pushups to Handstand and Single Arm Pushups
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Exercise #2: Pull Ups and Chin Ups
Can’t do either of them? An assisted chin/pull up machine will do the trick, just decrease the weight as you get stronger. Again though, we are assuming no access to standard gym equipment meaning some bands and a pull up bar are all we have. To make it easier we can use multiple bands or perform variations of the exercises either having the band come down to the bottom of our foot or our knees. As the bands gets thinner, we get closer to doing full pull ups and building phenomenal back, bicep, and trap strength. Pushup Variations hit the Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. Chin Ups and Pull Ups Hit the Back, Biceps, and Traps. You might not realize this, but both are also solid core workouts. Combine the two and you hit just about every muscle in your upper body.
Progression: Multiple Bands around the Feet –> One Band around the Foot –> Band around Knee –> Lighter Band –> Full Pull ups –> Weighted Pull ups
Exercise #3: Inverted Row
Once again, this exercise is going to require us to use creativity. In an ideal world we would train inverted rows using a barbell mounted on a squat rack, gradually lowering the bar to make the exercise more difficult just like we do below. The lower the bar the harder the exercise gets.
However, to perform this exercise without equipment using just our bodyweight we would need a set of parallel bars, a table, or a sturdy stick between two sturdy chairs. To progress on Inverted Rows, start by performing them with the feet planted firmly on the ground and then when comfortable advancing to a position where the feet are straight, and eventually elevated. This back exercise hits mostly the same muscles as pull-ups hit. The main difference is that it targets more of the upper back, giving us more variety in our back workouts.
Progression: Feet on the Floor -> Ankles on the Floor -> Feet Elevated Row
Exercise #4: Bodyweight Squats
Legs are an area where bodyweight movements meet there biggest obstacle. Even the most enthusiastic Calisthenics athletes will tell you that it's pretty tough to beat a Barbell Squat or Deadlift when it comes to building very strong legs. So to build strength with our legs the workout of choice will be the bodyweight squat consisting of single leg variations. To get started, do chair or box squats. For those of us who do not have correct squat form this exercise teaches us to squat properly and safely by focusing on getting our butt back more so than bending the knees. The major issue we face with progressing from regular to single leg squats is there being no middle ground. So if you do choose to build muscle this route, it's important you introduce weight into your body weight squats before making a full transition to single leg squats. This could mean carrying heavy objects ranging from just a couple pounds to something heavier such as a 40+ pound water jug. Otherwise going from both legs to single leg squats would be like going from 50 pound dumbbells to 100's without stopping at 60, 75, or 90 in between. Suddenly the weight on each leg has basically doubled and a balance component has been introduced. So as a result our body compensates. Sure there are variations but most of them will likely come at the expense of poor form and a smaller of range of motion.
To begin building lower body strength, progress by doing bodyweight squats, adding weight and then moving on to more advanced single leg squats like in the progression below.
Progression: Box Squats –> Bodyweight Squats –> Bodyweight Squats with Weight –> Single Leg Box and/or Band Squats –> Single Leg Squats –> Full Pistol Squats
Exercise #5: Fire Hydrants
Ok I get it, this workout and the ones that follow are coming off as a bit of a surprise. I mean come on, nobody lights up the internet by doing fire hydrants or other corrective exercises! However, especially if you are just beginning, it is crucial you do not ignore these mobility and small muscle exercises. That is where the foundation for our bigger more complex exercises is built. Not doing your corrective exercises means limiting your muscle growth potential and a higher risk of injury. And corrective exercises targeting small muscles like the hips are easier to overload without adding a ton of weight. So why do we choose this exercise out of all the possibilities we can choose? The reason for it is that it combines hip mobility with hip strength by utilizing a much larger range of motion. The sedentary lifestyle that most of us are living, leads to very weak and immobile hips.
This exercise is meant to keep the hips open and engaged, undoing a lot of the damage done by hours of sitting. Should you want to make it harder, add more height to the hydrants as well as pulses. To add weight you can put on ankle weights, or hold a small weight behind your knee.
Exercise #6: Swimmers
Just like Fire hydrants target hip mobility and strength, swimmers do just that for our shoulders. Using a large range of motion, and targeting several small often under activated muscles in our upper back, swimmers are important for complementing the lat, bicep, and trap heavy training we get from pull ups, chin ups, and rows. The shoulder is a ball and socket joint so moving it through that larger range of motion helps it to stay mobile. This is also especially important if we live a sedentary lifestyle. As our day goes by gravity naturally causes our shoulder to round, internally rotating. This exercise mobilizes and strengthens those back shoulder muscles, helping your posture remain in its correct upright position.
Exercise #7: Plank Variations
Ultimately, no set of workouts can really be complete without working our core. Small muscles such as forearms, calves, and rotator cuff muscles fatigue faster but also recover much faster. This comes as a surprise to many people, but the abs are actually also are very small muscles. This means that they benefit from consistent short and intense training. And your core is way more than just those six pack muscles we aspire to show off. Our core has more muscles intertwined and connected to that famous 6-pack muscle group. So why are planks the exercise of choice? Planks are a great way to work your abs because they force your abs to do what they are meant to do most which is keep you stable. Yes your abs are responsible for moving your mid-section but their primary roles are stability and deceleration. Leg raises and crunches on the other hand work hip flexion. Hip flexion is something that we already do a lot of by sitting.
I will be the first to admit that I have sort of a love/hate relationship with this exercise. While Planks are one of the best if not the best core exercises, they start to have a diminishing rate of return as they become easier. So if you can hold a plank for 3+ minutes it means you need to find a more difficult variation of a plank that still challenges you. This could mean taking an arm or leg off the ground, using an unstable surface, or performing another variation of the exercise that is more intense such as in the progression below. Unlike the other exercises that we have discussed planks are timed not performed for a certain amount of repetitions.
Progression: Static & Side Plank –>Plank with Unstable Surface –> Dynamic Planks such as Mountain Climbers and Twisting Pistons
(Do each one for at least 1 minute before going to the next progression)
To summarize, you don’t need fancy gym equipment to start building up your functional strength. The main advantages you get from a gym are weights that help you progress with smaller steps and a larger variety of muscle building workouts. We will touch base on some of the best workouts you can do with weights in the next article. Meanwhile, some bands, a pull up bar, and a floor are all you need to get started with strength training.
Leo Gabriel, Revivalize Inc.
Go Back Don't have access to the gym? Not comfortable diving into the weights just yet? Here are 7 workouts you can do at home or at a park nearby with no special equipment. What is also great about most of these exercises is that they have variations that make them easier or harder, thus making our strength training progression easier.
Given that we are all disproportionately stronger in the lower body than in the upper body, upper body work is where we will begin our calisthenics work.
Exercise #1: The Pushup
If you master pushups, you will have mastered the most fundamental lower body push workout. Pushups work our shoulders, chest, triceps, and core, hitting more than half the muscles in our upper body. What makes pushups also ideal is the ability to progress and regress as needed based on your strength level. Once you have reached the progression of doing incline and handstand pushups you can add dips into the equation in order to incorporate additional lower chest and triceps work. As the progression shows we start and end with wall pushups, just with our body rotated 180 degrees! Once you become more advanced you can add single arm training with a one arm pushup as well.
Progression: Wall & Bench Pushups to Handstand and Single Arm Pushups
Exercise #2: Pull Ups and Chin UpsCan’t do either of them? An assisted chin/pull up machine will do the trick, just decrease the weight as you get stronger. Again though, we are assuming no access to standard gym equipment meaning some bands and a pull up bar are all we have. To make it easier we can use multiple bands or perform variations of the exercises either having the band come down to the bottom of our foot or our knees. As the bands gets thinner, we get closer to doing full pull ups and building phenomenal back, bicep, and trap strength. Pushup Variations hit the Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps. Chin Ups and Pull Ups Hit the Back, Biceps, and Traps. You might not realize this, but both are also solid core workouts. Combine the two and you hit just about every muscle in your upper body.
Exercise #3: Inverted Row
Once again, this exercise is going to require us to use creativity. In an ideal world we would train inverted rows using a barbell mounted on a squat rack, gradually lowering the bar to make the exercise more difficult just like we do below. The lower the bar the harder the exercise gets.
However, to perform this exercise without equipment using just our bodyweight we would need a set of parallel bars, a table, or a sturdy stick between two sturdy chairs. To progress on Inverted Rows, start by performing them with the feet planted firmly on the ground and then when comfortable advancing to a position where the feet are straight, and eventually elevated. This back exercise hits mostly the same muscles as pull-ups hit. The main difference is that it targets more of the upper back, giving us more variety in our back workouts.
Progression: Feet on the Floor -> Ankles on the Floor -> Feet Elevated Row
Exercise #4: Bodyweight Squats
Legs are an area where bodyweight movements meet there biggest obstacle. Even the most enthusiastic Calisthenics athletes will tell you that it's pretty tough to beat a Barbell Squat or Deadlift when it comes to building very strong legs. So to build strength with our legs the workout of choice will be the bodyweight squat consisting of single leg variations. To get started, do chair or box squats. For those of us who do not have correct squat form this exercise teaches us to squat properly and safely by focusing on getting our butt back more so than bending the knees. The major issue we face with progressing from regular to single leg squats is there being no middle ground. So if you do choose to build muscle this route, it's important you introduce weight into your body weight squats before making a full transition to single leg squats. This could mean carrying heavy objects ranging from just a couple pounds to something heavier such as a 40+ pound water jug. Otherwise going from both legs to single leg squats would be like going from 50 pound dumbbells to 100's without stopping at 60, 75, or 90 in between. Suddenly the weight on each leg has basically doubled and a balance component has been introduced. So as a result our body compensates. Sure there are variations but most of them will likely come at the expense of poor form and a smaller of range of motion.
To begin building lower body strength, progress by doing bodyweight squats, adding weight and then moving on to more advanced single leg squats like in the progression below.
Progression: Box Squats –> Bodyweight Squats –> Bodyweight Squats with Weight –> Single Leg Box and/or Band Squats –> Single Leg Squats –> Full Pistol Squats
Exercise #5: Fire Hydrants
Ok I get it, this workout and the ones that follow are coming off as a bit of a surprise. I mean come on, nobody lights up the internet by doing fire hydrants or other corrective exercises! However, especially if you are just beginning, it is crucial you do not ignore these mobility and small muscle exercises. That is where the foundation for our bigger more complex exercises is built. Not doing your corrective exercises means limiting your muscle growth potential and a higher risk of injury. And corrective exercises targeting small muscles like the hips are easier to overload without adding a ton of weight. So why do we choose this exercise out of all the possibilities we can choose? The reason for it is that it combines hip mobility with hip strength by utilizing a much larger range of motion. The sedentary lifestyle that most of us are living, leads to very weak and immobile hips.
This exercise is meant to keep the hips open and engaged, undoing a lot of the damage done by hours of sitting. Should you want to make it harder, add more height to the hydrants as well as pulses. To add weight you can put on ankle weights, or hold a small weight behind your knee.
Exercise #6: Swimmers
Just like Fire hydrants target hip mobility and strength, swimmers do just that for our shoulders. Using a large range of motion, and targeting several small often under activated muscles in our upper back, swimmers are important for complementing the lat, bicep, and trap heavy training we get from pull ups, chin ups, and rows. The shoulder is a ball and socket joint so moving it through that larger range of motion helps it to stay mobile. This is also especially important if we live a sedentary lifestyle. As our day goes by gravity naturally causes our shoulder to round, internally rotating. This exercise mobilizes and strengthens those back shoulder muscles, helping your posture remain in its correct upright position.
Exercise #7: Plank Variations
Ultimately, no set of workouts can really be complete without working our core. Small muscles such as forearms, calves, and rotator cuff muscles fatigue faster but also recover much faster. This comes as a surprise to many people, but the abs are actually also are very small muscles. This means that they benefit from consistent short and intense training. And your core is way more than just those six pack muscles we aspire to show off. Our core has more muscles intertwined and connected to that famous 6-pack muscle group. So why are planks the exercise of choice? Planks are a great way to work your abs because they force your abs to do what they are meant to do most which is keep you stable. Yes your abs are responsible for moving your mid-section but their primary roles are stability and deceleration. Leg raises and crunches on the other hand work hip flexion. Hip flexion is something that we already do a lot of by sitting.
I will be the first to admit that I have sort of a love/hate relationship with this exercise. While Planks are one of the best if not the best core exercises, they start to have a diminishing rate of return as they become easier. So if you can hold a plank for 3+ minutes it means you need to find a more difficult variation of a plank that still challenges you. This could mean taking an arm or leg off the ground, using an unstable surface, or performing another variation of the exercise that is more intense such as in the progression below. Unlike the other exercises that we have discussed planks are timed not performed for a certain amount of repetitions.
Progression: Static & Side Plank –>Plank with Unstable Surface –> Dynamic Planks such as Mountain Climbers and Twisting Pistons
(Do each one for at least 1 minute before going to the next progression)
To summarize, you don’t need fancy gym equipment to start building up your functional strength. The main advantages you get from a gym are weights that help you progress with smaller steps and a larger variety of muscle building workouts. We will touch base on some of the best workouts you can do with weights in the next article. Meanwhile, some bands, a pull up bar, and a floor are all you need to get started with strength training.
Leo Gabriel, Revivalize Inc.