The Ultimate Bodyweight Workout You Can Do at Home
Nov 18, 2021
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You don’t need a gym to get a full body workout. You don’t even need weights. All you need is your own bodyweight, and everyone has that.Humans have been working out with nothing for millennia. Just think of cavemen. They didn’t have equipment, and yet they could carry people of their own weight for long distances without stopping.
In this post, we’ll give you 5 exercises to work out your entire body. And the best part? You can do them from almost anywhere. Do them in your house, a hotel room, or even in a tight prison space. There’s a reason why those released from jail after a successful criminal defense are often in very good shape.
1. The Push-Up
The push-up is perhaps the number one old-school strength exercise. It works out your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core.
Basic Push-Ups
To do a push-up, start in the plank position. Keep your feet together and make sure your neck, back and legs form a straight line. From there, inhale as you lower your body to the ground by bending your elbows. Once your chest grazes the floor, lift yourself back up as you exhale. Then repeat. Try to keep your entire body straight throughout.
Wide and Narrow Push-Ups
Once you’ve mastered the basic push-up, you can move on to more advanced variations. For example, try narrowing and widening your hand placement. This will change which muscles you engage. The wider the push-up, the more you’ll work your chest. The narrower, the more you’ll work your triceps.
Hindu Push-Ups
For the hindu push-up variation, spread your legs apart and draw them a little closer to your hands to arch your back. Then instead of lowering yourself straight down, slowly dive down head first, lay your waist flat on the floor, and swoop back up with your head so you are holding up your torso with your arms. Then reverse the movement until you are back in the original position.
One-Arm Push-Ups
Finally, if you’re ready for a real challenge, you can try one-handed push-ups. For these, you’ll need to widen your leg stance again and put one arm behind your back. Lower down gently until your chest hits the floor and see if you can lift yourself back up. You’ll probably only manage to complete one or two if any. Then switch arms.
2. The Pull-Up
Many shy away from pull-ups because they require lifting your full bodyweight. But this hardly means they are unachievable. Pull-ups are a great way to work out your back, biceps, and forearms. You’ll just need to find a sturdy tree branch, some monkey bars at a playground, or a pull-up bar to rest in your doorframe.
Basic Pull-Ups
To do a pull-up, grip the bar over your head with your hands about shoulder-width apart and your palms facing away from you. Then pull yourself up off the ground with your arms until your chin reaches over the bar. Once it has, gently lower yourself back down. Keep your legs bent at the knee so you can repeat the exercise uninterrupted. Don’t touch the ground until you are done.
Assisted Pull-Ups
If you find you can’t manage a pull-up, don’t worry. You can try modified pull-ups with the help of a chair. Place the chair beneath the pull-up bar and position your feet on the chair. Lift yourself as high as you can and then push on the chair when you can’t pull any further. When you feel like you’re ready for more resistance, try placing only one leg on the chair.
Wide-Grip Pull-Ups
Like with push-ups, you can widen and narrow your hand grip to change what muscles you work. Wider grip pull-ups, for example, will work more of your upper back to give it that nice V-shape.
Chin-Ups
If you flip your hands so that your palms face you, you’re in a chin-up position. Chin-ups are a bit easier to do than pull-ups and work your biceps more.
3. The Squat
You know what they say—don’t skip leg day. Sure, a lot of men care more about exercising their upper body than their lower body. But if you neglect leg workouts, your body will become ill-proportioned. Plus, a lot of upper-body movements start from your legs anyway. So it’s important to have strong legs for a good foundation.
Prisoner Squats
Prisoner squats are the most basic type of squat. Place both hands behind your head and bend your knees to lower yourself while keeping your back straight. Then lift up again to an upright position and repeat. Pretty soon, your thighs will burn, but keep at it until you’ve done a few.
Squat Jumps
As the name suggests, squat jumps include jumping. Once you’re at the bottom of a regular squat, push up hard with your legs to jump high into the air. Try to touch your ceiling if you’re inside. Then when you come back down, immediately go back into another squat. Squat jumps make for an intense rapid-fire workout that’s not only good for your legs but for cardio, too.
Pistol Squats
If you’re up for a challenge, try one-legged pistol squats, so called because they make your body look like a pistol. Hold both arms straight out in front of you and lift one leg off the ground. Extend the lifted leg forward as you lower to the ground on your other leg. Then lift up without letting the lifted leg touch the ground. This is a very advanced exercise that will help you develop some serious balance.
4. The Dip
If you ever find yourself hanging on somewhere for dear life, dips are an important exercise to master. They strengthen your triceps, chest, shoulders, and back.
Chair Dips
Pull up a chair and place the palms of your hands on the front edge of the seat. Extend your legs straight out and place your feet together on the ground. Then lower yourself in front of the chair by bending your elbows. When you can’t go any lower, lift yourself back up and repeat.
Feet-Elevated Chair Dips
If you want to take your dips to the next level, lift your legs up onto another chair or the edge of your bed. This will place more strain on your arms. Eventually, you can make them even harder by lifting one leg into the air.
5. The Burpee
The burpee is the ultimate full-body exercise. You may have seen it used in football practices or military drills. It mixes cardio and strength training by engaging your arms, chest, back, legs, core, and more in rapid successive movements.
Basic Burpees
To do a basic burpee, start in a squatted position with your hands on the ground. Then kick your legs back to put yourself in a push-up position. Quickly return to the squat and then jump straight up into the air in an explosive motion and reach up high with your arms. Then fall back into a squat and repeat. Do these in quick succession and you’ll be sweating in no time.
Burpees with Push-Up
To make burpees even harder, include a quick push-up when you are in the push-up position. This will add an extra workout for your arms and chest.
Burpees with Pull-Up
Or do burpees near a pull-up bar and grab it every time you jump up and do a quick pull-up. This will intensify your workout like nothing else. You can even combine the pull-up and the push-up variations for perhaps the fastest way to workout your whole body in one exercise.
Creating a Workout Plan
Combine these 5 basic exercises to get into the best shape of your life. Start by designing a workout plan. You should plan to workout at least every other day.
For each exercise or its variation, try doing 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions. Take a break between sets and rotate exercises to give each muscle group an occasional rest.
Whatever you do, take breaks and always remember to breathe and drink lots of water. You’ll be in great shape before you know it.
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