by Jason Ferruggia
Bodyweight exercisesare awesome for building muscle and strength. Unlike a lot of barbell and dumbbell moves, bodyweight exercises are very natural and can usually be done pain free by most people… as long as you take the time to strengthen your connective tissue and work through the progressions properly.
If you have never done pistol squats before and attempt full reps today without preparing your knees for them over the course of several weeks you will end up hurting yourself. Then you will say that pistols suck and cause knee injuries. In order to work up to advanced bodyweight exercises you need to be patient and take the time necessary to master them. This will prevent injuries and also build tremendous muscular size and strength.
Most of my programs include 1-4 heavy barbell or dumbbell exercises along with a boatload of bodyweight exercises and some strongman stuff. I think that combination is the ultimate way to build bad ass size, strength and explosive power.
But if I had to pick between traditional weighted exercises, strongman and bodyweight I’d go with the latter every time. I enjoy it the most and I find it the most impressive.
Most people I know have almost no reaction to a guy bench pressing 500 pounds anymore. But if you show them a video of someone doing a dozen muscle ups or elevated handstand pushups they’re pretty impressed.
One huge mistake people make with bodyweight training is they never work up to more difficult levels of the exercises so they end up doing nothing but high reps.
High reps won’t build muscle and strength. Once you can do more than ten, and in some cases of lower body exercises- 20 reps, you need to progress to the next level otherwise you’re just doing cardio.
Below is a list of my top 20 bodyweight exercises for building muscle and strength.
Upper Body
1) Chin/ Pull Up
This exercise will build the lats better than anything else. An impressive number of full range, perfect reps is twenty. Unless you can do that you have some work to do. For all those beyond the beginner level I recommend 50-100 reps per week of some sort of chin up variation. The parallel grip chin/ pull up is easiest on the shoulders and elbows but I recommend a variety of grips for best results. Doing them on rings is safest as it allows for the most natural movement but is also significantly more difficult. Another great way to make chin ups more difficult and simultaneously more elbow friendly is to use Fat Gripz on the bar.
2) Rope Climb
This is another awesome lat exercise that will also build up your biceps and forearms as well as anything else out there. Your goal is to climb a twenty foot rope using 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. The latter variation is obviously the hardest and will take some time to work up to.
4) Inverted Face Pull Variations
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. Again, you can do these on a bar, rings, suspension straps or ropes.
5) Front Lever
This is an awesome bodyweight exercise for developing the lats, grip, forearms and core. To progress into doing the dynamic movement I recommend starting with isometric holds.
6) Muscle Up
This is one of the most impressive exercises there is. Very few people will ever master the muscle up but if you take the time and have the dedication just about anyone can do it. Doing five perfect reps is a good goal to shoot for.
7) Handstand Pushup
These will build up your shoulders like nothing else and will usually cause less pain 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. It’s 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 have mastered them with your feet against the wall and can hold them for sixty seconds without a problem you can work on free handstands. Just be sure to have spotters around or a mat to roll on to when you’re first starting out.
8] Pushup
In my opinion the pushup is the premiere upper body pressing exercise and 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. Listing all of my favorite pushup variations would be an article in itself but needless to say there are dozens of them. Some of the ones I use most often in training myself of clients are the steep incline suspended pushup (with your feet in the straps), regular suspended pushups on rings, divebomber pushups and one arm pushups. Planche pushups are probably the hardest variation but you’ll need to be prepared for 1-2 years worth of work to get there. A good goal for most people is ten one arm pushups. That’s strong and impressive.
9) Dip
These can be done on parallel bars but I prefer rings. If you do them straight up and down they will blast your triceps better than just about any other exercise. Fifty reps on parallel bars or twenty five on rings 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. Instead of simply pressing on the way up, try to squeeze/pull your way up when doing them for chest emphasis.
10) Hand Walking/ Crawling
Walking on your hands is an outstanding way to develop shoulder strength and stability. This can be done upside down in the handstand position or it can be done in pushup position with your feet in the Power Wheel. Done in this manner it will train your abs harder than anything you’ve ever done. Shoot for 100 yards with perfect form, meaning no sagging or A-framing hips. Aside from walking on your hands, any type of crawl is awesome for full body strength and athleticism. There are numerous types of crawls such as bear crawls, tiger crawls, crab walks, etc. I suggest incorporating them into your workouts at least once per week as a finisher.
Lower Body
11) Pistol Squat
I love barbell squats as much as anyone. If you need to build muscle and gain weight fast few exercises will give you more bang for your buck. But a great assistance exercise or substitute to the barbell squat is the pistol squat. Pistol squats develop every muscle in the lower body along with great balance, stabilization, coordination and athleticism. Like many of the bodyweight exercises listed here the pistol will take several weeks of preparation to do properly and pain free. Even if you have the strength to do them the first time out your connective tissue won’t be prepared for the stress, so please take the necessary steps to work up to them. An impressive number of pistol squats to shoot for is twenty reps.
No matter how hard they try some people (due to certain injuries or limitations) may never be able to master the pistol squat. The solution is to get a high box and stand up on it with one foot. The other leg should be straight down at your side pointing toward the floor. Now you simply squat all the way down, ass to heel, like you would in a pistol squat. The only difference is you don’t have to hold the non working leg out in front of you and you won’t have as much rounding of the lower back.
12) Hill Sprint
Sprints aren’t typically thought of as a strength or muscle building exercise but rather a conditioning or speed development tool. That’s a shame because they can definitely build size and strength in ample amounts. If all you did for lower body was hill sprint 3-4 times per week with enough volume and ate enough food your legs would get significantly bigger and stronger.
13) Single Leg Deadlift
Technically this isn’t really a deadlift but rather a version of a single leg squat. Although if you are strong enough you can hold dumbbells in each hand while you squat down, which would make it more of a deadlift than a squat. To do this exercise simply bend one knee behind you and squat straight down to the floor. It’s like a pistol squat only the leg is bent behind you instead of straight out in front of you. Touch the back knee to the ground and then stand back up. The range of motion is far less so this is often a good first progression into pistol squats.
14) Single Leg Hip Thrust
While pistol squats take care of most of your lower body needs you may want to include some hip extension work to make sure you have all your bases covered. This is especially important for girls who want an ass you can rest a drink on. A great bodyweight exercise that does that for you is the single leg hip thrust. Set up two benches, put your upper back on one and one foot on another with the non working leg bent and up near your chest. After you can knock out 15-20 reps with perfect form while keeping your hips stabilized and not hyperextending your lower back I’d throw some chains or band resistance over your waist.
15) Single Leg Back Raise
I love glute ham raises but they aren’t necessary. Whenever you squat deep enough, like you do in a pistol squat the hamstrings get worked. The glutes also get a pretty good workout from pistol squats. But this does leave the lower back lagging behind a bit in the stimulation department. So to cover that part of the body a single leg back raise would be a great option. Of course you could do these with two legs until sets of twenty become easy. After that I’d switch over to the one leg variation on either a parallel or 45 degree angled bench.
Core Exercises
16) Power Wheel Rollout
If I could only pick one abdominal exercise this would probably be the one. To be considered strong on the Power Wheel rollout try working up to the point where you can do them on your feet for ten reps. Be sure not to let the hips sag on this one and keep the glutes squeezed and abs braced tightly throughout.
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. Start with the bent knee version and progress slowly from there.
18) Hanging Leg Raise
This is an advanced abdominal exercise so work your way up to it slowly over the course of several months. I’d have the L-Sits down pretty good first. If you’re a beginner it may two years until you’re ready for this one. The ability to do 15-20 really picture perfect reps without jacking up your lower back is pretty impressive.
19) Straight Leg Curl Up
I know that sit ups and any form of spinal flexion are frowned upon in this day and age but if you want to add some mass, and thus the look of separation to your abs this exercise does the job quite well. I’ve seen people add an inch of muscle to their midsection by doing a few sets of these per week for a month. To do them properly you need to squeeze your glutes and drive your heels into the ground. Before you start the first rep take a deep breath and hold it while contracting your abs as hard as you can. Now slowly curl up, one vertebrae at a time, taking about 3-5 seconds on the way up and on the way down. Be warned that this is also an advanced ab exercise and that you need to be fairly strong to do it properly, otherwise it will just bother your lower back. The Janda Sit up performed in the same manner is another good one that I like as well.
20) Back Bridge
This will do more to improve the health of your spine than just about anything else you can do. Start very slowly and be careful on these. If you have preexisting injuries you may never be able to do this. Those with healthy spines should aim to work towards the point where they can bridge backward from a standing position to the floor and back up again.
There you have it, the top 20 bodyweight exercises for building muscle and strength. Of course, there are tons more and it was tough narrowing it down. This is far from a complete list and is only a fraction of the bodyweight exercises I use regularly.
As I mentioned, I usually like to mix these in with some barbell/dumbbell and strongman exercises but there’s no reason you couldn’t get by with just these alone.
The only thing missing from a complete bodyweight exercise regimen is a heavy pull. Bending down and picking something up is very important and is a basic human function. So if you want complete posterior chain and trap/yoke development the only must have exercise I’d add would be some type of deadlift or Olympic lifting variation. Even just throwing in some heavy farmers walks at the end would be a good idea.
If you’re 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 you’ll be happy with the results.
