The 44 Best Bodyweight Exercises: The Ultimate Guide for Working Out Anywhere!
Here are the 44 best bodyweight exercises you can do to build muscle and burn fat, no gym required!
These are the exact exercises we start our on, and many perform them from their house or apartment.
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We’ve organized the exercises in today’s guide by major muscle groups (click to jump to those movements):
Plus, we’ll pull it all together at the end so you can create a complete bodyweight workout routine!
Alright, let’s get to it.
The 11 Best Lower-Body Bodyweight Exercises
You don’t need the gym for “leg day.” Do the following wherever!
#1) ASSISTED BODYWEIGHT SQUAT:
(Perfect if you can’t do regular bodyweight squats).
#2) BODYWEIGHT SQUAT:
If you want even more instruction, here’s how to do a
#3) ASSISTED PISTOL SQUAT:****
#4) PISTOL SQUAT:
#5) SUPPORTED LUNGES:
#6) REGULAR LUNGES:
We have a guide on with proper form for you too.
#7) SINGLE-LEG DEADLIFT:
#8) HIP BRIDGE:
#9) CALF RAISE:
#10) STEP UP:
#11) BOX JUMP:
The 8 Best Push Bodyweight Exercises
Let’s walk you through the best bodyweight exercises to train your push muscles. We’ll more or less progress in difficulty as we go.
#1) KNEE PUSH-UP:
#2) ELEVATED PUSH-UP:
#3) PUSH-UP:
We have a whole article on how to , but we also cover it extensively in this 5-minute video:
#4) DECLINE PUSH-UP:
#5) SIDE-TO-SIDE PUSH-UP:
#6) ASSISTED DIP:
With a , you can start performing assisted dips. A great exercise while you build up strength for normal dips.
#7) DIP:
Here’s if you’d like a step-by-step guide.
#8) HANDSTAND (WALL WALK):
The wall walk is a great exercise as you . If you’re a complete newbie to turning upside down, check out our guide “” for a full tutorial.
The 8 Best Pull Bodyweight Exercises
Don’t neglect your pull muscles when creating your bodyweight workout. Here are the top 7 to include:
#1) INVERTED BODYWEIGHT ROW (HIGH):
An row can be a great “pull” exercise if you can’t do a pull-up yet, or if you don’t have a proper pull-up bar nearby. Because a good sturdy table can be used for inverted rows:
Alternatively, you could do doorframe rows if your table seems sketchy:
#2) INVERTED BODYWEIGHT ROW (LOW):
Once you get comfortable doing an inverted bodyweight row, try going lower to increase the difficulty.
You can check out for more ideas on how to perform rows, including how to build your own station:
#3) BAR HANG:
#4) ASSISTED PULL-UPS (WITH BAND):
A is a great tool to help build strength for proper pull-ups. It’s part of our arsenal for .
#5) ASSISTED PULL-UPS (WITH BOX):
#6) NEGATIVE PULL-UPS:
Once you feel confident enough that you can do assisted pull-ups and support MOST of your own weight, start looking into negative pull-ups.
Jump and hold yourself above the bar, and then slowly, under control, lower yourself to the ‘starting position’ of a pull-up.
Then repeat!
This is a great way to build up enough strength to eventually .
#7) PULL-UP:
We have a full guide on so you can hone in your technique.
#8) CHIN-UPS:
Much like a pull-up, but with your palms facing toward you.
Here’s a video going over proper pull-up and chin-up form:
The 12 Best Core Bodyweight Exercises
Our next stop on building a bodyweight workout finds us at the core. Here are the 10 best exercises to include:
#1) REVERSE CRUNCH:
#2) KNEE-PLANK:
#3) PLANK:
#4) SIDE PLANK:
#5) HIP BRIDGE HOLD:
#6) HANGING KNEE TUCK:
#7) JUMPING KNEE TUCK:
#8) HOLLOW BODY HOLD:
The hollow body is one of the best ways to engage the midsection and stabilize the body. We utilize the hollow body exercise as part of our strategy for .
Once you get comfortable holding the position, try…
#9) HOLLOW BODY ROCKING:
#10) KNEES TO ELBOWS:
#11) TOES TO BAR:
#12) GOOD MORNING:
Catch our guide “” for even more exercise ideas!
5 Dynamic Body weight Exercises (Full Body)
Next, we’ll cover some dynamic full-body exercises to get your heart rate roaring during your workout.
#1) WALKING JACKS:
#2) JUMPING JACKS:
#3) STAR JACKS:
#4) BURPEES:
#5) BURPEES WITH PULL-UP (WHAA…):
How to Build a Bodyweight Workout
Alright, it’s time to pull this whole guide together and !
We will pick a bodyweight exercise from each section:
We’ll aim for 3 to 4 sets under each category for 8-12 reps.
Plus, we’ll bookend the workout with a (DON’T SKIP) and a .
Your warm-up can look like this:
Your post-workout stretch can look like this:
Example Bodyweight Workout:
- : 10 reps
- : 10 reps
- : 10 reps
- : 10 reps
- : 10 reps
- Repeat 2-6 two more times, for 3 .
- .
Boom!
You now have a bodyweight workout you can do in your own home.
You can mix and match from each category or progress to more difficult moves as you get stronger.
Now, you don’t HAVE to do these exercises at home. You can even do them while exercising around the world, as I did!
If you want to learn all the fine details of building a workout, make sure you check out our extensive guide ““ It’ll walk you through creating a program of bodyweight exercises – or if you want to .
Don’t want to bother creating your own bodyweight workout? No problem, I have two options for you:
Start at the Beginnerworkout and move onto the Advanced when it becomes easy.
This should help you get started with a bodyweight training routine. But we hear frequently that people want MORE instruction, MORE guidance, and MORE workouts.
If that’s you, we have MULTIPLE options to take the next step. Pick the option below that best aligns with your goals and timeline:
1) If you want step-by-step guidance, a custom bodyweight training program that levels up as you get stronger, and a coach to keep you accountable, check out our killer :
2) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll help you start incorporating these bodyweight moves into your training.
Alright, your turn: I’d love to hear how your bodyweight training is going!
Did you make your own workout?
Try one of ours?
Include different moves we didn’t cover today?
Leave a comment below with your results or any questions you have on bodyweight training.
For the Rebellion!
-Steve
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