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Bodyweight exercises need to be part of your program if you want to get jacked. But not just pushups, sit ups and high rep calisthenics. Thats beginner stuff that wont build any real muscle. Were talking about really working hard on high tension, advanced bodyweight exercises that can only be done
for somewhere between five and ten reps, on average. The nice thing about these is that theyre very natural and can usually be done pain free by most people. They can be added to any program along with barbells, dumbbells and strongman implements. Thats the ultimate combination for building high performance mass. Or you can use nothing but bodyweight exercises. The choice is yours. Below is a list of my top 20 bodyweight exercises for size and strength.
1) Chin/ Pull Up
This exercise will build the lats and biceps very effectively. An impressive number of full range, perfect reps is twenty. Everyone should do at least fifty total reps per week of some sort of chin up variation. The parallel grip chin/ pull up is easiest on the shoulders and elbows and is the one I recommend most. Doing them on rings is safest as it allows for the most natural movement but is also significantly more difficult.
2) Rope Climb
Awesome for true functional, relative strength. Your goal is to climb a twenty foot ropeusing just your hands.
3) Inverted Row
Some type of inverted row variation, either on a bar, rings, ropes or suspension straps should be included for mid back thickness and strength. To increase the difficulty try holding each rep for a few seconds at the top, using Fat Gripz or towels, placing only one leg up on the bench instead of two, or with both feet suspended up in the air in a tucked front lever position. To target the upper back musculature (teres minor, rhomboids, rear delts) you want to have your elbows directly out to your side when rowing. That means when you row the bar or straps toward you they will be at neck or
face level. For more lats and mid-back, row with your elbows tucked to your sides.
4) Front Lever
This is one of the absolute BEST exercises for activating and building the lats. Maybe even better than chin ups. Its also one of the best abdominal exercises you can do and will put crunches and sit ups to shame. To progress into doing the dynamic movement I recommend starting with isometric holds. Four sets of 10 seconds twice per week will be good for most people.
5) Muscle Up
Very few people will ever master the muscle up but if you take the time and have the dedication its very impressive to be able to pull off. Doing five perfect reps is a good goal to shoot for.
6) Handstand Pushup
These will build big shoulderslike nothing else and will cause less far less pain and destruction than a barbell military press. An impressive number to shoot for is ten full range reps. To get started on these you need to first master the handstand.
Its been said by high level gymnastic coaches that the ability to handstands is one of the most important things you can develop to improve your overall athleticism. Once you are able to hold a handstand with your feet against the wall for 60 seconds you can start progressing into handstand pushups.
7) Pushup
I would choose some type of pushup over a barbell or dumbbell press any day of the week. They are that effective and beneficial and pose a lot less risk of injury than the other options. Some of the ones I use most often in training myself or clients are the steep incline suspended pushup (with your feet in the straps), regular suspended pushups on rings, or the Jungle Gym XT divebomber pushups and one arm pushups. Planche pushups are probably the hardest variation but youll need to be prepared for 1-2 years worth of work to get there, though you can do modified versions on rings much sooner. A good goal for most people is ten one arm pushups. Thats strong and impressive.
8) Ring Fly
The function of the pecs is to draw the arm across the midline of the body. Vince Gironda and Larry Scott introduced me to this exercise back in the early 90s and I was blown away by how well it worked. Its one of the most challenging, yet brutally effective moves you can do for building your chest. Lower yourself slowly, always being sure to brace your abs, squeeze your glutes and pause in the bottom position. Be prepared for some HARD work and expect to see some biceps growth from this exercise as well.
9) Ring Dip
If you do them straight up and down they will blast your triceps better than just about any other exercise. Twenty five reps done in this manner is a good goal to shoot for. For more chest emphasis you can lean forward by flexing at the hip and holding your legs out in front of you and
instead of simply pressing your way out of the bottom, try to squeeze/pull your way up.
After you can knock out 15-20 reps with perfect form while keeping your hips stabilized and not hyperextending your lower back Id throw some chains or band resistance over your waist.
17) L-Sit
This exercise is awesome for developing core strength and mastering it will do you a world of good and have great carryover to numerous exercises and physical activities. If you have lower back or hip pain this exercise can often cure it. Start with the bent knee version and progress slowly from there. Four sets of 10 second holds two or three days per week will be enough for most people.
Each of the exercises listed incorporates all of the core muscles but this is the only variation that really targets the obliques. The obliques are crucially important in maintaining a healthy lower back, locking out a heavy squat or deadlift and overall core strength and stability. If you have strong obliques chances are good that youll possess a decent level of functional strength. This exercise can me made as easy or as difficult as you need it to be depending on whether you bend your knees, straighten them, use a back extension bench to do it on or use a weighted vest.
This is far from a complete list and is only a fraction of the bodyweight exercises I use regularly. I like to mix these in with some barbell/dumbbell and strongman exercises but theres no reason you couldnt get by with just these alone. If youre not already doing so add a few of these exercises to your program today and work your way up to the highest level of each. I guarantee youll be happy with the results. PS. If youre looking for an awesome resource on bodyweight training and all the progressions you definitely need to check out Convict Conditioning by Paul Wade.
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16 comments Matthew Farner Sales Associate at Sunglass Hut who is that girl on there! Reply 18 Like Follow Post 4 September 2012 at 22:35 Leo Small Reply Follow Fullerton College
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Jason Kilgore Owner at Trident Strength & Conditioning jaime koeppe Reply Like 8 April at 22:39 View 1 more
Boanerges Fitness Family Awesome article brother! Good summary. Will reference to this for a skill checklist. Keep up the good work! At some point, everyone will realize that exercise is just as fun as it is important. Continue to be a blessing! Reply Like Follow Post 2 April at 07:15 Vikas's Fitness Hub Yes, doing body weight exercise is really effective. I do it twice a week with my weight training exercise. Reply Like Follow Post 5 March at 14:59 Blake Worrall-Thompson Founder, Head Blogger at Wellbeing By Blake Love this post brother! Reply 1 Like Follow Post 14 December 2012 at 02:02
Hamid Sheikh Source Modder at AssaultCube pish posh Reply Like Follow Post 19 January at 19:29 Tom Robbins Universal Technical Institute Some of the instruction is vague, with only the name and description to go by. Reply 2 Like Follow Post 18 September 2012 at 19:04 Zakk Wilgus Pretty easy to google anything you don't know and find fitness websites/youtube videos of the proper way to do them, don't be so lazy. Reply 4 Like 1 October 2012 at 21:06
Bela Sziklassy Perhaps, but google is also what lead most people here I would guess. Isn't the point of this post to explain things? May as well be just a list if the answer is "Google it if you don't know what it is"... Reply Like 4 March at 23:16 Follow Indian Merchants' Chamber
Good Stuff.. Going to add some of these to my Workout ;). Reply Like Follow Post 3 November 2012 at 15:01 Simple Workout Routines Great exercises, some I know well and others I have never tried, the rope climb is a good one, not done that in a long time. Reply Like Follow Post 23 October 2012 at 22:12 James Coberly Top commenter
Many of these are definitely not beginner or even intermediate exercises, but good stuff. Anyway, just like the others, I came for the info and got distracted by the woman. :) Reply Like Follow Post 1 October 2012 at 02:29 David Miller Works at BCoFD Just stumble on your site. I was supposed to be at the gym 30 mins ago! Awesome reads! On my way to incorporate what I've just read. Thanks! and "I'll be back!" Reply 2 Like Follow Post 20 March 2012 at 19:21
Jason Ciani Awesome read. Definatly adding some of these to my regime. Reply 2 Like Follow Post 8 March 2012 at 21:14
Andrew Mark Bosson Enforcer at New Zealand Government Great stuff, recently 'discovered' your stuff, very impressed. Gotta love ring flies and rope climbing! Keep it up. Reply Like Follow Post 20 March 2012 at 22:39 Ahmed Alkareemi Follow Works at Naval aviaion
very nice 110% likes. Reply Like Follow Post 16 February 2012 at 14:34 Hunter Strole I love this shiznit. Reply Like Follow Post 4 February 2012 at 18:36 Hunter Strole I lift more than all of you so get off the computer porn and come woop something. Reply Like Follow Post 4 February 2012 at 23:41
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1.
Mysty
These are fantastic thank you. I recently came down with a nasty cold and couldnt hit the gym for 3 weeks and I feel no motivation to go back, at least back to the weights. I want something new and that brings more strength than weights can! I feel stagnated with weights. Like I reached my potential & I need something more. Ive been doing body weight exercises in the park (outdoors) the past week and I look forward to trying out these exercises!! Thanks so much for sharing!
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Jason Ferruggia
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Danny
Great article Jason! I frequently read your pieces on Mens Health & Mens Fitness and I admire your knowledge and intellect. In addition to the push-up variations you mentioned, I would add progressions with strength bands/chains as well as the TRX. Muscle Ups/Pull Ups/Chin Ups are all amazing exercises. All of the lower body exercises you highlighted are fantastic, especially the posterior chain ones like Single Leg RDL/hip thrust. Although I hope readers of this article dont rely solely on these bodyweight exercises for achievement of pure physical strength. Im sure you and I would both agree that barbell squats, deadlifts, bench press and overhead press (first 2 especially) are 4 exercises that would have to be incorporated by anyone seeking strength and lean muscle. All in all, this is an amazing piece. I do more than half of these exercises.
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Jason Ferruggia
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Gary Deagle
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Mik
Glute raise without a partner? Use the lat pulldown machine. Kneel on the seat, put your ankles under the bar where your knees would go if you were doing a lat pulldown. Then Lower yourself slowly, fingers hit the floor and push yourself up just like the guy in the video. You will get strange looks, and strong hamstrings.
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Kelvin
hey Jason What does the dynamic movement of the front lever exercise actually look like? Is it like doing a row but with your body in a front lever position?
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Jason Ferruggia
@Kelvin- You start in the dead hand position of a chin up then lift your body up so that its parallel with the floor. VERY advanced exercise.
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Danny
Hey jason i have been doing bodyweight right from the beggining and have gained from 130 to 155 still kind of thin BUT i have made progress and with these bodyweight exercises it will only help me. So thanks man i am probably going to use the hip thrust to help my lower back along with the single leg raise for the lower back. I am attempting the one arm chin up and push up and have also been doing handstands not completely against the wall because i cant do it with full range of motion but yea those are the upper and i am also doing pistol squats for lower. The squat is like make sure feet waist level apart then go down sticking your hips back and going down until your hamstring touches calf then burst up with driving your hips while keep tension on the legs?
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7.
Brian
Jason, Have you written any programs based solely on bodyweight training. If you havent, is anything in the works? I prefer bodyweight training because it can be done anywhere and I dont have to drive to a gym to workout. I can simply walk to the park. Anyway, I sometimes struggle putting exercises together into a workout and knowing how many sets/reps to complete. Was just curious if you had published a program on the topic. Thanks.
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Jason Ferruggia
@Brian- No. I dont. But we get into it in more detail in the Renegade Inner Circle.
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Kevin
I second this! I love to do bodyweight workouts, its so much more flexible and can be done anywhere. I love the gym too. But nothing beats a badass bodyweight workout out in the sunshine.
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8.
Paul
Wow I think I will be trying some of these exercises. I really like body weight exercises. Who needs a gym.
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mark
there are some good exercises on here if I got to 20 I would be very happy too..
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9.
Brandon
I like the fact that I do at least one thing from this list each day I train. I have a question about pushups though. Im doing decline pushups on one of my upper body days. Once I hit the number of reps Im shooting for, whats the next step to increase difficulty? Should I make them weighted or put my feet higher? Thanks Jay.
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Jason Ferruggia
@Brandon- Either or
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bobby
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seth
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Eugene
AT some point I want to do only bodyweight exercises for a month or so, these are some impressive workouts, some of them I never knew before, awesome post Jason.
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Kemo Marriott
Its all about bodyweight man. I like to take these exercises and mix them up even more. So with Push ups for example, experiment with different hand positions to create new neurological pathways to parts of muscles that may not be used to being stimulated. Or try and involve the transverse plane by pushing rotating the torso to one side as i descend- this stimulates more proprioceptors and gets the muscles to react in ways that it may not be used to! Cheers for the Tips Jason. Kemo
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13.
Alex Backe
Hey man, Just wanted to thank you for the kickass post. Would it be best to rotate pushing muscles pulling muscles legs rest day when using these to insure the build back of the muscles? Or do you mix it up and use a lot every day? Ive always been confused on this. Ive always done split exercise days, but I see many people doing close to full-body workouts in the gym. What do you do/recommend? Thanks again for the great post. Huge huge help. Alex
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ami
A.B. I train with weights only these days. (Except 100 pushups now and then). I namely broke my shoulders doing excessively pullups and chinups. I split this month and 3 weeks in the next one so, that I train 3 days, rest 1 day and then 3 more days with 6 different workouts with rather light weights, except in doing Squats. Last time I did 15 reps with 140 kg (308 lbs). This is a must for anyone wanting to increase his strength. I though appreciate very much the persons training with bodyweight only, but do you really think, that it will give you all, that you want? Great power is only possible to receive with great weights. My record in parcial squats from 2010 is 250 kg. As a young man I did 410 kg ( 903 lbs ). Now I am 75 years and able to do over 20 up-hill sprints, because my feet are strong enough to do so. Go on moving people. Live long and be strong!
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chris jackson
I really like your list. There is enough here to keep anyone busy. I was surprised you left Burpees off your list though. Burpees are great for overall conditioning and can be done anywhere. Keep up the good work.
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15.
trip
Thats awesome, thanks, Ive been going to the gym 7 days a week for the last 2 months and I have come back exausted every day and I havent gotten anywhere. Im going to try this one
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16.
kevin redman
serious post love doing 2 and 10 but will give some of the others a go thanks
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Shawn
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joe
appears to be a very rational method of strength and Conditioning perhaps similar to Jack O Lane???????????????????? otherwise, very impressive personal training methods
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19.
Michael Finlayson
Hi Jason, My workout isnt to the intense levels that you guys go through, but damn it looks like fun, and something for me to work towards. Have fun, Mike
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20.
Michael
Great article. I found a lot of information I will try on my next lifting day.
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21.
Jim Lidner
That is a very comprehensive list I dont think you left any muscle goups untouched. I have to admit that that chick in pink is a good selling point for your routines. Seriously a great list of workouts.
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sam
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John mcgartland
Loved the excercises getting back into fitness after an illness so thanks for the descriptions and videos really hard core to start with but will persevere
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Jae @ Combat Sports Fitness
I am glad I discovered your blog. This is a really informative post. I will try to use some of the exercises you suggested. ps. Who is that gorgeous uber-babe in pink?
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25.
Rachel Boller
This is a great collection. Im a huge fan of body weight exercises because you can take them with you almost anywhere (provided they dont need a chin up bar). Definitely looking into picking up a power wheel. Not quite at the level yet of walking on my hands (Im just happy to be able to do a hand stand period!) and love the idea of combining abs and shoulders.
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JC
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Jaz
I love this article. Will use the workouts to help me get fit. Thanks for the great post.
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27.
Adrian
Any chance you will do a complete workout package based on Body Weight movements?
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Jason Ferruggia
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izzo
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fitness programs
Great post. I was checking cnstantly this blog and I m inspired! Very useful info specificlly the lat rt :) maintain such informtion muh. I use to b eeing this artiular infomation fo a long time. han yu and bst of luck.
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RJ
Very good. But, I agree with Chris. Burpees are so beneficial. Also have a huge cardio component to them.
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will
this is some good stuff .. just wish my gym had it . when do you do these., i mean what days do you do what?
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Dave
Great stuff ill definately be adding some of these things to my training sessions MPF
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Daran in Japan
Im a recently started 42 year old white male and no matter HOW MANY push ups i do, i dont look like the girl in the picture .. Should i eat more bananas? :P Great work as always Jason .. Execellent collection .. Be good as downloadable pdf with a few pictures too? for those of us alphabetically challenged :)
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Whore
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penis
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Jaswinder Singh
I have throughly enjoyed reading & watching the videos here. I am currently doing my workouts with Kettlebells. For variation, I am going to be trying out some of the workouts here. Love the posts.
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Matthias
Awesome exercises, really looking forward to try this out! Do you think these 20 exercises will cover the whole body, or do I have do add something? /Matthias
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Jaswinder Singh
Hi Jason, question for you please. I workout 20 mins (using kettlebells) everyday except weekends, its taking too long to shift the fat in my belly area. Are there any light execrise/ workouts to work the fat in the belly area? kettlebells are very good but at times I find it hard going. Jaz
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Bob
I sorta lost track reading after seeing that picture of dat A$$
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grant
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Marcus
No kidding!
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Stone
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Dan
That guy in the first picture seems to be really ripped. Rope climb is actually one of my favourites.
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42.
Wayne Atwell
Great list of exercises. I see a lot of my favorite exercises and few cool new exercises I plan to try out.
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Scott Umberger
The rope pulls are a hell of a lot cheaper than the machine especially if you own a private sports performance training facility. Obviously there are limitations with a single rope but its one hell of a workout. Great list. Always fun to throw into workouts for variety and a new challenge.
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44.
Isaac
Great list of exercises. I enjoy body weight works. I dread l sits however. My blog is specifically gear toward body weight workouts without equipment. It would be nice to work some of these exercises into my own routine
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isaac
Ill have to implement the back bridge into my workout routine and fitness blog (www.bodyfitnest.com). people too often forget to exercise the back and the back bridge is just another arsenal of many body weight exercises to do. should be fun making up some workout routines. Im sure youll see some of them at my website i listed earlier.
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45.
isaac
Ill have to implement the back bridge into my workout routine and fitness blog (www.bodyfitnest.com). people too often forget to exercise the back and the back bridge is just another arsenal of many body weight exercises to do. should be fun making up some workout routines. Im sure youll see some of them at my website i listed earlier.
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mark
Your website is the real deal. I prefer working at home over the gym. Its a great time saver to use your own body and your own dwelling. Body weight training portable and will be with you every time that you travel.
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isaac
i like the inverted shrug. its great for hitting the traps like explained.
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48.
Dirk
Womans name is Jaime Koeppe and she is Canadian. Awesome post by the way, instant bookmark
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49.
Maria Whitman
Great list. I already do a few of these but most of these are new to me which is great. I particularly love the bridge as it great for relieving tension in my back. The L-sit looks interesting as the core is one part of my body I really need to work on. Thanks for sharing
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50.
Ian Myburgh
All above mentioned exercises are brilliant! !!!!!!!!!. Doing them almost every day now and seeing great results! !!!!!!
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