We all know that working out is good for us. It’s great for our muscles, heart, bones, and we can’t forget the way we look.
There are so many different ways to work out, too. There’s lifting weights, running, cycling, rowing, and even swimming.
One way many people often forget is just doing bodyweight exercises. This would be most similar to lifting weights, but only using your body.
Trust me, you can get a tremendous workout doing only bodyweight exercises. They can help you build muscle, lose body fat, and get more fit.
You can break a mighty sweat doing them if you push yourself!
If you’re just beginning your fitness journey, bodyweight exercises are a great place to start. It’s a very functional way to build strength and overall fitness.
You can always progress into lifting heavier weights once you get really strong, too. Not that you have to, but it is a great way to keep progressing in strength and muscle growth.
In This Article:
• Warm Up Before Bodyweight Exercises
• 12 Awesome Bodyweight Exercises
• Full Bodyweight Workouts for All Fitness Levels
• Getting the Most out of These Bodyweight Exercises
Warm Up Before Bodyweight Exercises
It’s always good to do a proper warm-up before doing bodyweight exercises. Really, it’s important to warm up before doing any type of exercise.
Studies show that a proper warm-up may help reduce the likelihood of injuries in athletes (1). It’s also been shown to improve performance (2).
So if you want to perform better and potentially stay injury-free, make sure you’re warming up!
There are a couple of schools of thought on how to do this best.
• Static Stretching
• Dynamic Movements
Dynamic warm-ups involve warming up through motion. These are things like butt kicks, shuffling, and high knees.
Dynamic movements help to actually warm up your muscles. This is great for preparing your body for exercise.
Static stretching is holding a stretched position for a period of time. These are things like quad pulls or bending over and touching your toes, and holding it there.
Static stretching used to be the standard, but that doesn’t really warm you up. It has its benefits, but also some drawbacks.
Studies show that if static stretching is done with dynamic stretching, it may help prevent injuries to some degree. It may also temporarily reduce strength and power production (3).
The longer you hold your stretches, the more pronounced the reduction in strength and power. So what’s my advice?
Always do a dynamic warm-up before doing bodyweight exercises, or any exercise for that matter. Then throw some static stretching in for about 10 seconds each just to loosen up afterwards.
This way, you’re not reducing strength and power much. You may still see the injury reduction benefits that way, too.
12 Awesome Bodyweight Exercises
If you want great bodyweight workouts, you need some awesome bodyweight exercises!
There are so many to choose from that it would be impossible to say which are the best. You have so many different muscles, and so many ways to train each one.
I’ve been training for 16 years, though, and I’ve found some pretty great ones! Here are 10 of my favorite bodyweight exercises:
Push-Ups
Push-ups are a classic exercise that shouldn’t be ignored. When it comes to bodyweight exercises for your chest, not much can compete!
Step-By-Step Directions:
1. Start in a high plank position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Your feet can be together or apart.
2. Engage your core so that your hips don’t sink and stay in line with your shoulders and feet.
3. Lower your body until your chest nearly touches the floor. Keep your elbows at a 45-degree angle from your body.
4. Use your chest and triceps to push back up to the starting position.
5. Squeeze your chest for a second at the top, and repeat for reps.
Lunges
Think of lunges like walking with big steps and sinking down to the ground. It’s a great exercise to target your quads and hamstrings.
Step-By-Step Directions:
1. Stand with your feet at hip width apart.
2. Take a big step forward, making sure your feet are still hip-width apart.
3. Lower yourself, allowing both of your knees to bend until your front knee is at a 90-degree angle. Your back knee should be almost on the ground, and your torso should stay upright.
4. Drive up through your front heel to stand up, and bring your back foot next to your front.
5. Repeat for an equal number of reps on both legs.
Pull-Ups
This is a great exercise for your back and your arms. All you need for this one is a pull-up bar higher than you can reach when standing.
Step-By-Step Directions:
1. Jump up and grab the bar with an overhand grip at shoulder-width or wider. Let yourself hang for a second.
2. Pull your shoulders down and back. Then pull yourself up by focusing on pulling your elbows down. Keep going until your chin is above the bar.
3. Squeeze your elbows to your sides for a second at the top, then slowly return to the starting position.
4. Repeat for reps.
Plank
This is a very well-known exercise by many, and it’s great for your core. It doesn’t involve movement, but trust me, you’ll feel the burn!
Step-By-Step Directions:
1. Start in a push-up position with your body in a straight line from head to heels.
2. Drop down to rest on your forearms with your elbows directly beneath your shoulders.
3. Maintain the position, keeping your core and glutes tight and avoiding any sagging or arching.
4. Hold for any desirable amount of time, or as long as you can hold.
Inverted Row
This does require a little equipment, but it’s one of my favorite bodyweight exercises. You’ll either need a bar from a Smith machine, TRX straps, or a sturdy table.
These directions will be as if you have a Smith machine available.
Step-By-Step Directions:
1. Set the bar on the Smith machine to whatever height you’d like. The lower the bar is, the more difficult it is.
2. Lie down with your shoulders directly under the bar. Grab it with an overhand grip at shoulder-width.
3. Engage your glutes to lift your hips off the floor and balance on your heels. Your body should be in a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders.
4. Pull your shoulders down and back to set them. Then pull your chest to the bar by focusing on pulling your elbows back. If this is too difficult, you can walk your feet backwards and/or raise the bar higher.
5. Squeeze your back muscles for a second at the top, then slowly return back to the starting position.
6. Repeat for reps.
Chest Dips
This is one of my favorite bodyweight exercises for the chest and triceps. You can do this with a captain’s chair dip station, with parallel bars, or on a bench.
For these instructions, we’ll use a captain’s chair dip station.
Step-By-Step Directions:
1. Grab the set of parallel bars on the captain’s chair, and hop up to support your weight with your hands. Your arms should be straight, feet off the ground, and knees bent.
2. At the same time, allow your elbows to bend as you lean forward and lower yourself down. Keep going until you hit a comfortable end range of motion, or until your upper arms are parallel with the ground.
3. Use your chest and triceps to push yourself back up to the starting position.
4. Squeeze your chest at the top, and repeat for reps.
Glute Bridge
This is one of those bodyweight exercises that you can add weight to as you progress. It primarily targets your glutes, but your hamstrings and core are involved too.
All you need for this one is your body and the floor. You may want an exercise mat as well.
Step-By-Step Directions:
1. Lay a mat on the floor, and lie down in a sit-up position. Your knees should be bent with your feet flat on the floor.
2. Brace your core, then drive through your heels and use your glutes to lift your hips up off the ground. At the top, your hips should be in line with your shoulders and knees.
3. Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings at the top for a second, then return to the starting position.
4. Repeat for reps.
Vertical Crunches
Vertical crunches are similar to regular crunches in that they both train your core. The difference is that with vertical crunches, your feet are straight up in the air.
This makes it a little more difficult, but you can bend your knees to make it easier. All you need is a mat on the floor and your body.
Step-By-Step Directions:
1. Lay a mat on the floor and lie down on top of it.
2. Lift your legs up into the air so that your feet point toward the ceiling.
3. Use your abs to crunch up as you reach for your toes.
4. Pause at the top for a second, then return back to the starting position.
5. Repeat for reps.
Burpees
This is one of those bodyweight exercises that no one particularly loves. That’s only because they’ll make you feel gassed pretty quickly.
It’s actually a pretty great addition to all bodyweight workouts. They use muscles around your entire body, and it can help you burn a lot of calories!
All you need for this one is your body.
Step-By-Step Directions:
1. Start in a standing position.
2. Bend your knees and hips to lower yourself to the floor, and place your hands on the ground.
3. Step your feet back to get into a push-up position, and do a push-up. Do this by bending your elbows to lower your body to the floor. Be sure your core is engaged so that your hips don’t sink.
4. Use your chest and triceps to push your body back up into a push-up position.
5. Step your feet back up next to your hands, and then jump as high as you can.
6. Land softly, and repeat for reps.
Box Jumps
Plyometrics make for great bodyweight exercises. They’re powerful and can help you with athleticism.
Not only that, but they can also help you build strength and burn a lot of calories. Box jumps are one of my favorites, but you need to make sure you’re fit enough to do these.
If you’re very overweight, it might be better to start with squats. These powerful jumps can be a lot on your knees if you are of a very high body weight.
Find a box that you can definitely jump onto. If you pick one too tall, you may end up falling or hitting your shin on it.
Step-By-Step Directions:
1. Stand about a foot away from the box.
2. Bend your knees and hips to squat down, and drop your arms back behind you.
3. When you reach the bottom of the squat, swing your arms up and jump as high as you can. Make sure you’re moving forward enough to land on the box with both feet.
4. Land softly on the box and step down safely.
5. Reset and repeat for reps.
Bear Crawls
This is one of the best bodyweight exercises to build cardio in muscles all over your body. It’s not too difficult, but once you get going, you’ll see how tired you get!
All you need is your body for this one.
Step-By-Step Directions:
1. Get down on your hands and knees with your back flat. Then, pick your knees slightly off the ground by shifting your weight onto your toes.
2. Step forward with your left hand. At the same time, drive your right knee to your chest to step forward with your right foot.
3. Repeat with the opposite side back and forth. Do this for a specified distance or time.
Hanging Oblique Raise
Not all bodyweight exercises are super easy. This is one that takes a little bit of strength, but it works your core very well!
All you need for this one is a pull-up bar and your body.
Step-By-Step Directions:
1. Jump up to grab the pull-up bar at shoulder width.
2. Begin by bringing your knees up towards your chest. As you do this, swivel your hips to the left, almost like trying to bring your right hip to your chest.
3. Hold this position at the top for a second and squeeze your right oblique.
4. Slowly return to the starting position in a controlled manner. Be careful not to let your body swing.
5. Repeat for an equal number of reps on both sides.
Full Bodyweight Workouts For All Fitness Levels
Time to throw all of these bodyweight exercises into a sample workout. I’ll go through 3 bodyweight workouts for you.
• Beginner Bodyweight Workout
• Intermediate Bodyweight Workout
• Advanced Bodyweight Workout
That way, no matter where you’re at in your journey, you have bodyweight workouts to choose from here! As the difficulty goes up, you may notice some variations to make the exercise harder.
I didn’t explicitly go over these variations, but there are ways to make all of these bodyweight exercises harder. These will have some of them.
Beginner Bodyweight Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Lunges | 3 | 10 (Each Leg) |
| Push-ups | 3 | 10 |
| Inverted Row | 3 | 10 |
| Plank | 3 | 30–60 Seconds |
| Burpees | 3 | 10 |
| Bear Crawls | 3 | 10–20 Yards |
Intermediate Bodyweight Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Push-ups with Feet Elevated | 3 | 15 |
| Lunges | 3 | 15 (Each Leg) |
| Pull-Ups | 3 | To Failure |
| Vertical Crunches | 2 | 15 |
| Chest Dips | 3 | 15 |
| Inverted Row (3-sec pause at top) | 3 | 15 |
| Glute Bridge (3-sec pause at top) | 3 | 15 |
| Plank | 2 | 30–60 Seconds |
Advanced Bodyweight Workout
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Box Jumps | 2 | 10 |
| Close-Grip Push-ups with Feet Elevated | 3 | To Failure |
| Reverse Glider Lunges | 3 | 15 (Each Leg) |
| Pull-Ups | 3 | To Failure |
| Hanging Oblique Raise | 3 | 15 (Each Side) |
| Inverted Row with Feet Elevated | 3 | 15 |
| Chest Dips | 2 | To Failure |
| Single-Leg Glute Bridge with Foot Elevated | 3 | 15 |
| Plank with Feet Elevated | 2 | To Failure |
Getting the Most Out of These Bodyweight Exercises
These bodyweight exercises are no joke. As you progress, there are several ways to make them harder, too.
There are also ways to add weight to pretty much every single one to make it harder. That’s the goal, too: to make it more difficult over time.
You see, as your body gets used to your workouts, you’ll eventually stop making progress. Your body adapts, and adapts exceptionally well.
If you keep doing the exact same workouts, your body will find them too easy to warrant adaptation. When our bodies adapt, that’s when we make progress.
So, ideally, we need to continue challenging our bodies in different ways. We can do this through:
Finding ways to make the bodyweight exercises harder: Elevating our feet, closer grip, rest pause, etc.
• Doing more reps
• Doing more sets
• Doing more difficult exercises
• Adding external resistance (moving on from bodyweight exercises by adding weight, bands, etc)
• Shortening rest periods
There are several ways to do this. But unfortunately, that’s not all we need to make progress. I wish doing all these bodyweight exercises would be enough, but that’s only one variable.
We also need to factor in recovery and nutrition.
We need to make sure we’re getting enough sleep. We have to get enough rest between workouts to fully recover.
We also have to eat a certain way. Our bodies can be incredibly resilient, but we have to fuel properly and get enough protein.
If you want to build muscle, you need more protein and calories. If you want to lose weight, you need more protein and fewer calories.
All of these things matter, but nutrition is the hardest for most people. That, and coming up with new workouts to progress.
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References:
(1) Ding L, et al. Effectiveness of Warm-Up Intervention Programs to Prevent Sports Injuries among Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(10):6336.
(2) Fradkin AJ, et al. Effects of warming-up on physical performance: a systematic review with meta-analysis. J Strength Cond Res. 2010;24(1):140-8.
(3) Chaabene H, et al. Acute Effects of Static Stretching on Muscle Strength and Power: An Attempt to Clarify Previous Caveats. Front Physiol. 2019;10:1468.
