ONLY 8 Bodyweight Exercises You Need for Rapid Muscle Growth

Let’s be honest; gym memberships can burn a hole in your wallet. Plus, many cannot make the time to hit the gym every day.

As a personal trainer with over 17 years of lifting experience, I have seen firsthand the power of bodyweight training in transforming physiques. Bodyweight exercises also make attaining peak physical conditioning convenient and accessible for all.

Contrary to what most people think, bodyweight exercises aren’t just for beginners. You can get shredded to the bone with these movements.

Don’t believe me? Just look at any calisthenics guru.

In this article, I share eight versatile exercises that you can do anywhere, at any time, to carve the physique of your dreams with nothing more than your own body weight.

Exercise 1: Pull-Ups

Pull-ups are among my favorite bodyweight exercises as they target most of the upper body muscles, including the upper back, biceps, and forearms, and can be done anywhere you can find a place to hang on.

Many of my personal training clients travel with a portable door-frame pull-up bar so they never miss a workout. Newbies can start with assisted pull-ups, whereas seasoned athletes can try their hands at muscle-ups.

How To Perform Pull-Ups:

1. Stand on an elevated platform and grab the pull-up bar with a shoulder-wide overhand grip.
2. Your body should be fully extended in the starting position.
3. Flex your elbows and pull them towards your back pocket to raise your chin above the bar.
4. Pause in the fully contracted position.
5. Slowly lower to the starting position.
6. Repeat for recommended reps.

Exercise 2: Dips

I recommend beginners master the bench dips before transitioning to the parallel bar variation. Depending on the variation you pick, you can bias the chest, triceps, and shoulders in this exercise.

For the sake of this example, we’ll stick to the parallel bar, chest-dominant variation.

How To Perform Dips:

1. Grab the parallel dip bars with a neutral grip.
2. Lock out your elbows to get into the starting position while keeping your torso upright.
3. Bend your elbows to lower your body as low toward the ground as possible.
4. Your upper arms should at least be parallel to the floor in the bottom position.
5. Explode back to the starting position.

Exercise 3: Handstand Push-Ups

Unless you are a calisthenics master, you should be performing wall-assisted handstand push-ups. These are an excellent body weight exercise to train the shoulders, triceps, and upper chest.

You are in for an absolute shocker if you’ve never tried this exercise before. This unassuming exercise has got many pro athletes on their knees.

Beginners can start with incline or pike push-ups.

How To Perform Handstand Push-Ups:

1. Stand facing a wall in a staggered position.
2. In one fluid motion, place your hands on the floor and kick up your legs to the wall.
3. Get into a stable upside-down position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
4. While keeping your core braced, slowly lower your head to the floor by flexing your elbows.
5. Reverse the motion to return to the starting position.

Exercise 4: Squats

Air squats are the bread-and-butter movement in most bodyweight exercise regimes, as they train the entire lower body. As you gain more experience, you can switch to the more challenging bodyweight variations like jump and pistol squats.

How To Perform Squats:

1. Stand erect with a shoulder-width stance.
2. Position your arms in front of your body so they are parallel to the floor.
3. Flex your ankles, knees, and hips to lower your body towards the floor.
4. Go as low as your mobility allows. Your thighs should at least be parallel to the floor in the bottom position.

Exercise 5: Lunges

Lunges are one of the most potent leg exercises. However, you must perform them with a full ROM to maximize your gains.

How To Perform Lunges:

1. Stand upright with a hip-width stance. Position your hands on your hips for stability.
2. Place one foot in front of the other.
3. Bend your knees to lower your body until the rear knee touches the floor.
4. Explode back to the starting position.
5. Repeat on the other side.

Exercise 6: Plank

Isometric exercises are incredibly effective for building muscle strength and size. These are especially great for people dealing with joint pain. Planks strengthen the midline, which can improve your performance in day-to-day activities and other workouts.

How To Perform Planks:

1. Get into a quadruple position with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.
2. Position your elbows on the floor so your forearms are parallel.
3. Extend your legs so your body is in a straight line from the shoulders to the heels.
4. Brace your core and hold this position for as long as possible. Aim for at least 30 seconds.

Exercise 7: Push-Ups

The great thing about push-ups is that there are enough variations to meet the needs of lifters of all experience levels. Plus, changing your hand placement, body position, and angle alignment can target different muscle groups. Let’s explore conventional bodyweight push-ups.

How To Perform Push-Ups:

1. Get into a high plank position with your legs extended behind you and your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Lower your chest to the floor by bending your elbows.
3. Reverse the motion as soon as your chest touches the floor.
4. Contract your chest as hard as possible in the fully shortened position.

Exercise 8: Burpees

Burpees are among the most brutal bodyweight exercises, and most people have a love-hate relationship with them. Work with a trained professional to modify this movement according to your unique needs and goals.

How To Perform Burpees:

1. Stand upright with a hip-width stance.
2. Bend over and position your hands on the floor in front of your feet.
3. Kick back your legs so they are fully extended behind your body.
4. Perform a push-up.
5. Frog jump your feet towards your hands and stand upright.
6. Jump as high as possible in the last phase of the movement and reach your arms overhead.
7. Repeat for recommended reps.

Sample Bodyweight Workout Routine

Since this is a bodyweight routine, it is suitable for athletes of all experience levels. I have put together a 15-minute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) routine that will help you build muscle in record time. (1)

Perform three rounds of the following circuit:

Exercise	Work	Rest
Pull-ups	30 seconds	15 seconds
Dips	30 seconds	15 seconds
Handstand Push-ups	30 seconds	15 seconds
Squats	30 seconds	15 seconds
Lunges (alternating legs)	30 seconds	15 seconds
Plank	30 seconds	15 seconds
Push-ups	30 seconds	15 seconds
Burpees	30 seconds	15 seconds

Remember, this is just a sample workout routine; use this as a blueprint. Make the necessary adjustments based on your current fitness levels and training objectives.

Recommended Sets and Reps

While HIIT training can be as effective as conventional training for building muscle, especially in untrained individuals, here are the loading recommendations for you if you want to take the latter route:

• Perform eight to 12 repetitions per set with 60 to 80 percent of your one-rep max (1RM) to maximize muscle gains. (2)
• If you’re aiming to incorporate the progressive overload technique explained below and build overall power, you should perform one to five reps per set with 80 to 100 percent of your 1RM.
• Performing over 15 reps per set with less than 60 percent of your 1 RM will boost muscular endurance.

Progression Tips For Hypertrophy-Focused Bodyweight Exercises

Progressive overload is the name of the game when it comes to making consistent muscle and strength gains. Here is how you can incorporate this principle into your bodyweight training routine:

Increase Reps and Poundage

Adding to your overall training volume should be your first step as you start getting stronger and your muscles adapt to your training programming. If you were performing 15 reps in 30 seconds, take it up to 20 reps. Then, do four rounds instead of three.

If you’re doing everything right, you’ll eventually hit a plateau with bodyweight training. You can add to the challenge by wearing a weighted vest, chains, or a backpack filled with books.

Advanced Variations

Once you have mastered the movement mechanics of the basic exercises, switch to more challenging variations to keep your muscles guessing. For instance, progress to decline push-ups after you can perform 20 bodyweight standard push-ups.

Adjust Leverage & Maximize Range of Motion

Tweaking your form while performing an exercise can make a big difference in difficulty and how it trains your muscles. For instance, using a narrow grip during pull-ups makes the exercise more challenging, as it increases your ROM.

Many people leave gains on the table by using a limited ROM. Working your joints, muscles, and tendons through their full ROM will ensure maximum target muscle stimulation and growth.

Conclusion

The eight bodyweight exercises listed in this article target all your muscles from different angles, ensuring overall development. Incorporate challenging variations of these movements into your routine as you gain more experience for consistent progress.

Remember, just like any other training regime, you must stay consistent and dedicated to get the best bang for your buck. Stick with this exercise program for at least eight to 12 weeks, and the results will follow.

If you have any questions about the eight exercises explained in this article or need help implementing them into your routine, post them in the comments below, and I’ll be happy to help!

References:

1. Blue, M. N. M., Smith-Ryan, A. E., Trexler, E. T., & Hirsch, K. R. (2018). The effects of high-intensity interval training on muscle size and quality in overweight and obese adults. Journal of science and medicine in sport, 21(2), 207–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2017.06.001
2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Van Every DW, Plotkin DL. Loading Recommendations for Muscle Strength, Hypertrophy, and Local Endurance: A Re-Examination of the Repetition Continuum. Sports (Basel). 2021 Feb 22;9(2):32. doi: 10.3390/sports9020032. PMID: 33671664; PMCID: PMC7927075.

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