The 42 Best Bodyweight Exercises: The Ultimate Guide for Working Out Anywhere!

The 42 Best Bodyweight Exercises: The Ultimate Guide for Working Out Anywhere!

  February 01, 2021    Pratik Bandagale

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Here are the 42 best bodyweight exercises you can do to build muscle and burn fat, no gym required! 

These are the exact exercises we start our coaching clients on, and many perform them from their house or apartment.

In a hurry? Sign-up for our free weekly newsletter and we’ll send you PDFs of our “Work Out at Home” guides!

We’ve organized the exercises in today’s guide by major muscle groups (click to jump to those movements):

• The 11 Best Lower-Body Exercises
• The 8 Best Upper-Body – Push Exercises
• The 7 Best Upper-Body – Pull Exercises
• The 11 Best Core Exercises
• 5 Full-Body Exercises (Dynamic Movements)
• How to Build a Bodyweight Workout

Plus, we’ll pull it all together at the end so you can create a complete bodyweight workout routine!

Note: If you’re here because your gym is shut down due to the outbreak of Covid-19, check out our guide “How to Stay In Shape (While Staying Inside).”

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 (if you can’t do regular bodyweight squats):

#2) BODYWEIGHT SQUAT:

If you want even more instruction, here’s how to do a proper bodyweight squat:

#3) ASSISTED PISTOL SQUAT:

#4) PISTOL SQUAT:

#5) SUPPORTED LUNGES:

#6) REGULAR LUNGES:

#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 do a proper push-up, 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 resistance band, you can start performing assisted dips. A great exercise while you build up strength for normal dips.

#7) DIP:

Here’s how to do a proper bodyweight dip if you’d like a step-by-step guide.

#8) HANDSTAND (WALL WALK):

The wall walk is a great exercise as you progress into a full handstand. If you’re a complete newbie to turning upside down, check out our guide “Get Your First Handstand” for a full tutorial.

Just make sure you take it slow with your handstand and don’t be an “Overeager Beaver,” a label we define in our guide “15 Mistakes That Newbies Make When Trying to Get Healthy.”

Download it and the rest of our guides for free when you sign-up for our weekly newsletter!

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• The 15 mistakes you don’t want to make.
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The 7 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 inverted bodyweight 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 The 5 Best Pull-up Alternatives for more ideas on how to perform rows, including how to build your own station:

#3) BAR HANG:

#4A) ASSISTED PULL-UPS (WITH BAND):

A resistance band is a great tool to help build strength for proper pull-ups. It’s part of our arsenal for getting your first pull-up.

#4B) ASSISTED PULL-UPS (WITH BOX):

#5) NEGATIVE PULL-UPS:

Once you start to feel confident enough 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 get your first pull-up.

#6) PULL-UP:

We have a full guide on proper pull-up form so you can hone in your technique.

#7) 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:

Don’t have enough strength yet to hoist yourself up? No problem.

Download our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know, for an exact plan of attack to start growing strong today:

Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!

• Everything you need to know about getting strong.
• Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
• How to find the right gym and train properly in one.

The 11 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 getting your first handstand.

Once you get comfortable holding the position, try…

#9) HOLLOW BODY ROCKING:

#10) KNEES TO ELBOWS:

#11) TOES TO BAR:

Catch our guide “How to Strengthen Your Core” 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 build a bodyweight workout!

We will pick a bodyweight exercise from each section:

• Lower Body
• Upper Body – Push
• Upper Body – Pull
• Core
• Dynamic (Full Body)

We’ll aim for 3 to 4 sets under each category for 8-12 reps.

Plus, we’ll bookend the workout with a dynamic warm-up (DON’T SKIP) and a post-workout stretch.

Your warm-up can look like this:

Your post-workout stretch can look like this:

Example Bodyweight Workout:

1. Dynamic Warm-Up
2. Jumping Jacks: 10 reps
3. Bodyweight Squats: 10 reps
4. Push-ups: 10 reps
5. Pull-ups: 10 reps
6. Reverse Crunch: 10 reps
7. Repeat 2-6 two more times, for 3 complete circuits.
8. Post-workout stretch.

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 “How to Build Your Own Workout Routine.“ It’ll walk you through creating a program of bodyweight exercises – or using weights if you want to train in a gym.

Don’t want to bother creating your own bodyweight workout? No problem, I have two options for you:

• Beginner Bodyweight Workout
• Advanced Bodyweight Workout

Start at the Beginner workout 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 1-on-1 coaching program:

2) If you want an exact blueprint for working out at home, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).

Try your free trial right here:

3) 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.

Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!

• Everything you need to know about getting strong.
• Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
• How to find the right gym and train properly in one.

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

PS: I highlighted “42” bodyweight exercises in honor of the late, great Douglas Adams.

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Photo source: Deadshot, Laughing Budda, 102, 103, 104, hanging, 167/366, Yeaaaah…. Surprise ladies!!, acrobat

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January 2021 reads

  February 01, 2021    Pratik Bandagale

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Hi friends! Happy Monday. I hope your morning is off to a good start. I’m going to catch a short walk/run outside (<— I want to get back into running once a week, especially when the weather is lovely) and doing the total body workout from Fit Team. If you want to join us, enrollment closes TONIGHT at midnight! Sign up here or check out this page for details + FAQs. Enrollment won’t open again until later this summer or fall.

One of my big goals for the year is to read 3 books per month (1 fun/fiction, 1 personal development, and 1 related to health or wellness in some capacity) and I thought I’d share a little recap each month here on the blog. If you like this type of post, please let me know! I managed to check all three boxes for January, so here’s a recap of what I read and whether I’d recommend adding them to your collection.

January 2021 Reads

1.) The Dutch House

I read this entire book in two sittings, which is RARE for me these days. (I’ve been picking at The Huntress for at least two months now but will prob finish it next month.) I found myself so intrigued in this story and especially loved the author’s vivid character descriptions and the dialogue between the characters.

Here’s a short synopsis from Amazon:

At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves.

The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakeable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures.

Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.

Danny and Maeve had such a unique bond as brother and sister. While nothing crazy intense happened, I was so drawn to the characters that it was suspenseful to feel the story and events unfold. I think that the book dragged a tiny bit towards the end. For that reason, I’d give it an 8/10.

2.) Atomic Habits

I listened to this one via Audible, and as someone who has a hard time finding audiobooks that capture my attention for very long, this was a gold star. I’d probably recommend this over reading the physical book, except there are a few documents that he references (you can access them via his website if you’re listening to the audio version).

This book is based on the compound effects of habits and how small habits and choices build the person we eventually become. I thrive on routine and have a fixed set of daily habits, so I wasn’t quite sure how much I’d get out of this book.

Spoiler: it was a LOT.

It was fascinating to learn why and how certain habits lead to success and others lead to defeat. It was also helpful to leave how to hack your habits to encourage the good habits and discourage the habits that cause us harm.

Some of the things I learned from this book:

The key steps to making a good habit stick

How to break bad habits

Why you should focus on small habits first and build from there (<— don’t be “fair-weather” in anything you decide to do. Do it wholeheartedly)

A couple of quotes I kept in my phone:

“Good habits have long-term rewards while bad habits have instant rewards. What is immediately rewarded is repeated.” This is why you have to make an active choice to perform good habits, because there’s a delay in the reward. You have to stick with it even when you don’t feel motivated and it feels boring.

“Small habits don’t add up; they compound.”

Would I recommend it? YES. Download it, buy the physical version, or listen to the audiobook. 10/10 would recommend.

3.) The Primal Gourmet Cookbook

I met Ronny at a NOW Foods event a couple of years ago and have been following him on IG ever since. (Funny story: we were in the same group to make a recipe for our Iron Chef-style challenge and I was making the sauce and struggling with the ginger, since we didn’t have a grater. I asked if anyone was good at chopping ginger – I could do it but my mincing skills aren’t fabulous – and he literally turned it into ginger paste in 30 seconds. I was like, “Ok, wow. So turns out you’re a real chef.”) I love how quick and AMAZING all of his recipes look on IG, so I was excited to get his cookbook. All recipes are gluten-free and dairy-free.

We’ve made a handful of them for dinner and have loved them all. We had the shrimp Cobb salads for dinner last night.

More recipes in the cookbook:

– Mediterranean Tuna Salad

– Emergency Roast Chicken

– Turkish Poached Egg Cups

– Eggplant Agrodolce

– Sweet Potatoes Stuffed with Spiced Beef, Tahini, and Parsley Salad

so.much.good.stuff.

I’m trying to eat more protein and fiber (I’ll share more in tomorrow’s post) so I thought it would be nice to change up our recipe rotation. (I don’t like to make plain-ish meat and veggies and want real recipes that feel special.) Everything we’ve tried has been bursting with flavor and cooked perfectly. If you’re looking to change up your recipe rotation and try some new and healthy recipes, you should absolutely check it out. It’s also Whole 30 approved if that’s your thang. 10/10

So, tell me, friends: what are you reading right now? When do you usually get in reading time?

What should I add to my list for this year?

xo

Gina

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