Want to start exercising, get in shape, and lose weight without leaving your house or spending a fortune on equipment? Bodyweight exercises are a fantastic solution. They require no equipment, can be done anywhere, and are effective for building strength, improving cardiovascular fitness, and managing fat mass. This guide will walk you through the best bodyweight exercises for weight loss, how to perform them, and how to create a workout plan that fits your needs.
What are Bodyweight Exercises?
Bodyweight exercises are exercises that use your own weight as resistance. This means you don't need dumbbells, barbells, or any other equipment. You can do these moves pretty much anywhere, any time. Bodyweight training is efficient, convenient, and can be scaled to suit all fitness levels.
The Benefits of Bodyweight Exercises
Bodyweight exercises offer a multitude of benefits:
- Convenience: You can do them anywhere, anytime, without equipment.
- Efficiency: Many bodyweight exercises work multiple muscles at once, providing a full-body workout.
- Scalability: Bodyweight exercises can be modified to increase or decrease the resistance, making them suitable for beginners to advanced athletes.
- Muscle Building: Bodyweight exercises have been shown to build muscle "independent of an external load."
- Improved Fitness: They improve muscular strength, endurance, balance, and aerobic fitness.
- Weight Loss: Combining bodyweight exercises with a balanced diet can help you burn fat and lose weight.
- Health Benefits: Regular exercise, including bodyweight training, reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, joint pain, and Alzheimer's disease. It can also lift your mood, reduce stress, and improve sleep.
Key Considerations for Weight Loss
While exercise builds strength and boosts metabolism, what you eat determines how your body uses energy. If you are trying to lose weight, then you need to fix your nutrition first and foremost.
- Protein: Aim for 0.8 grams per pound of body weight daily.
- Fiber: Supports digestion and appetite control.
- Meal Timing: Eat 1-2 hours before your workout and again within an hour afterward.
- Intermittent Fasting: May help some people reduce snacking (e.g., the 16:8 method).
Beginner-Friendly Bodyweight Exercises
These exercises provide a full-body workout, targeting multiple muscle groups at once. Complete 2 sets of 10 to 15 reps of each exercise, with 30 seconds to 1 minute of rest between each move. This circuit should take about 15 to 20 minutes.
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Bridge:
- Directions: Lie on your back with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and your arms extended by your sides. Pushing through your feet and bracing your core, raise your bottom off the ground until your hips are fully extended, squeezing your glutes at the top. Slowly return to the starting position and repeat.
- Why it's effective: Activates your core and posterior chain (backside of your body). This is a great exercise to use as a warmup.
Chair Squat:
- Directions: Stand in front of the chair with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed slightly out. Hinge at your hips and bend your knees, then lower back and down until your bottom touches the chair. Allow your arms to extend out in front of you. Push up through your heels and return to the starting position.
- Why it's effective: Bodyweight squats could improve the strength and function of your muscles, tendons, and bones, which can help reduce your risk of injury and make everyday movements easier. Starting with a chair underneath will help you master proper form.
Knee Push-Up:
- Directions: Get into a high plank position from your knees. Maintaining a straight line from your head to your knees, bend your elbows to lower yourself down to the ground. Keep your elbows at a 45-degree angle. Push back up to start.
- Why it's effective: A beginner-style pushup, this move will help you build upper-body strength before attempting a standard pushup.
Stationary Lunge:
- Directions: Split your stance with your right leg in front. Your right foot should be flat on the ground, and your left foot should be up on its toes. Bend your knees and lunge, stopping when your right thigh is parallel to the ground. Push up through your right foot to return to the starting position. Repeat for the desired number of reps, then switch legs.
- Why it's effective: Hits your quads, hamstrings, and glutes.
Plank to Downward Dog:
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- Directions: Get into a high plank position, with your hands stacked underneath your shoulders and your feet close together. Keeping your core engaged and your hands and feet stationary, pike your hips up and back into the Downward Dog pose. Your body should form a triangle with the ground. Keep your neck neutral. Your gaze should be directed toward your feet. Hold here for a second, then return to the plank. Repeat.
- Why it's effective: This move will test your upper body, especially your shoulders.
Straight-Leg Donkey Kick:
- Directions: Get on all fours, with your hands aligned beneath your shoulders and your knees beneath your hips. Keeping your back straight, push your right foot out to the imaginary wall behind you while keeping your leg straight. Your foot should remain flexed (toes pointing down to the floor) throughout. Take care to keep your hips square to the ground. Squeeze your buttocks at the top. Return to the starting position. Repeat for the desired number of reps. Repeat on the other leg.
- Why it's effective: Donkey kicks are a great beginner glute exercise. They isolate the three glute muscles and force them to contract.
Bird Dog:
- Directions: Get on all fours, ensuring your hands are directly underneath your shoulders and your knees are underneath your hips. Keeping your neck neutral, simultaneously extend your left arm and right leg, keeping your hips square to the ground. Pause here for 2 seconds. Return to the start position. Repeat with your right arm and left leg.
- Why it's effective: The Bird Dog pose is a full-body move that requires balance and stability. It’s easily scalable to your ability level.
Forearm Plank:
- Directions: Assume a plank position on your forearms. Your body should form a straight line from head to feet. Ensure your lower back and hips don’t sag. Hold the position for 30 seconds to 1 minute. This counts as one set. Perform 2 sets.
- Why it's effective: Planks are a full-body exercise that can improve overall strength, stability, and athletic performance while reducing your risk of injury.
Side-Lying Hip Abduction:
- Directions: Lie on your left side, supporting your head with the left hand and placing the right hand in front of your body. Keeping your legs straight, stack the right leg over the left leg, keeping your hips pointed forward. Lift your right leg up, maintaining your body’s position. Make sure your hips don’t open up. Return to the start position. Repeat for the desired number of reps, then perform on the other side.
- Why it's effective: You may not think about strengthening your hip muscles until they start to bother you, but reconsider, especially if you sit all day.
Bicycle Crunch:
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- Directions: Lie on your back and bring your legs to a tabletop position. Bend your elbows, and put your hands behind your head. Crunch up and bring your right elbow to your left knee, straightening your right leg. Release the crunch slightly. Bend your right leg and straighten your left leg, then bring your left elbow to your right knee. Repeat for the desired number of reps.
- Why it's effective: Bicycle crunches directly target the rectus abdominis, also known as the "six pack."
Intermediate Bodyweight Exercises
If you’ve mastered the beginner routine, you’re ready to take on these intermediate moves. Complete 2 sets of 10 to 15 reps of each exercise below, then move on to the next after 1 minute of rest. An alternative, more advanced approach is to complete timed rounds. For instance, complete 1 minute of each exercise and repeat the circuit twice. Compete against yourself to get just 1 or 2 more reps each time you complete the routine. However, don’t sacrifice good form for extra reps. It’s better to perform fewer reps and maintain proper form to help reduce injury risk.
Bridged March:
- How to: Assume a bridge position. Lift one foot off the ground while keeping your leg bent, then bring the foot down. Repeat this movement with the other leg. Complete the same number of reps on each side.
- Why it's effective: Any time you take an exercise to a single leg, you’ll automatically make it harder.
Squat:
- How to: Imagine you’re sitting down in a chair by hinging at the hips and pushing your bottom back.
- Why it's effective: Taking out the chair can help you master the form of a regular bodyweight squat and go even deeper.
Push-Up:
- How to: Assume a high plank position and complete the pushup, allowing your elbows to flare out at a 45-degree angle.
- Why it's effective: A standard pushup is the more challenging version of a knee pushup.
Forward and Backward Lunge:
- How to: Start with your feet together and step forward, lunging with your right leg. Push off the forward leg to come back through the starting position, and step back into a backward lunge. Push off the backward leg to return to the center. This counts as one rep. Perform this 10 to 15 times on your right leg, then repeat on your left leg.
- Why it's effective: By traveling instead of staying stationary in a lunge, you can better activate your lower body muscles and improve stability, mobility, and balance.
Pike Push-Ups:
- How to: Assume a pike position and bend at the elbows, allowing them to flare out to the sides, and direct the top of your head toward the ground.
- Why it's effective: Adding a pushup to your pike will target those shoulders even more.
Kneeling Squat:
- How to: Drop down into a squat position. You won’t stand at all during this move. Drop your knees down to the ground one at a time so you’re kneeling. Step your feet back to the ground one at a time, maintaining that squat position. Repeat as quickly as you can while maintaining good form.
- Why it's effective: Kneeling squats are great for time under tension, or keeping your legs and glutes under continuous work, which adds to the burn.
Superman:
- How to: Lie on your stomach, arms and legs extended. Keeping your neck neutral, recruit your core and the back of your body to simultaneously raise your arms and legs up and off the ground as high as they’ll go. Keep your knees straight and lift your thighs as well. Pause for 1 second at the top, and slowly lower back to the start position.
- Why it's effective: Work your lower back - and the whole backside of your body - with a superman.
Plank with Alternating Leg Lift:
- How to: Lift one leg up, hold it for 5 seconds, and return it to the ground. Repeat with the other leg.
- Why it's effective: Adding a leg lift to a regular plank makes you unstable, requiring your core to work in overdrive and your three limbs to support more weight.
Kneeling Side Plank with Hip Abduction:
- How to: Kneel on your left side, supporting your body with your elbow. Bend knees at 90 degrees with hips facing front, in line with knees. Press through your left knee and left arm to lift your hip off the ground. Lift the right (top) leg up, pause, and lower it back down. Perform for 10 to 15 reps, then repeat on the other side.
- Why it's effective: Holding your body up with your knee and your extended arm during a hip abduction makes this move an upper-body exercise, too. Plus, it recruits the core even more.
Dead Bug:
- How to: Start lying on your back, legs at tabletop, and arms extended in front of you. In a coordinated motion, drop the heel of your left leg toward the ground and drop your right arm above your head, taking care your lower back stays flat on the ground. Bring your leg back to tabletop and your arm in front of you, then repeat with the opposite arm and leg.
- Why it's effective: Activate those deep core muscles with a dead bug.
Advanced Bodyweight Exercises
When the intermediate routine becomes a breeze, try these advanced moves. Perform 2 sets of 10 to 15 reps for each exercise, resting for 30 seconds to 1 minute between exercises. Alternatively, perform 1 set of each exercise, rest for 1 to 2 minutes, and repeat.
Single Leg Bridge with Leg Extended:
- How to: Lift the foot and then extend the leg straight out. Keep your foot flexed throughout the movement. Complete the same number of reps on both legs.
- Why it's effective: Lifting the foot and then extending the leg straight out will make a single-leg bridge even more difficult.
Overhead Squat:
- How to: Complete a squat with your arms extended overhead throughout.
- Why it's effective: Extending your arms overhead can challenge your mobility and range of motion in your upper body, as well as give your lower body the benefits of a squat. It’ll also force you to engage and work your core.
One-Legged Push-Up:
- How to: Assume a pushup position and lift one leg off the ground, then complete the pushup.
- Why it's effective: Lifting one leg will put more weight on your other three limbs, increasing the challenge.
Jumping Lunges:
- How to: Add a jump to your lunge, really exploding up in each rep.
- Why it's effective: Jumping exercises, often known as plyometrics, require giving max effort for a short interval of time. Because of the power and strength they require, you’ll feel the burn quickly.
Elevated Pike Push-Ups:
- How to: Put your feet on an elevated surface, like a bench or a step, and complete an elevated pike pushup.
- Why it's effective: Elevating your feet in a pike pushup will make this version the hardest. The higher the surface, the more challenging it will be.
Kneeling Squat with Jump:
- How to: Instead of stepping your feet back up from kneeling, jump them.
- Why it's effective: You’ll need lots of power and strength for this move.
Advanced Bird Dog:
- How to: Get into a high plank position, then complete a Bird Dog, lifting one arm and the opposite leg simultaneously.
- Why it's effective: Maintaining a straight spine is key here.
One-Leg Forearm Plank Hold:
- How to: Assume a static plank position on your forearms. Raise one leg and hold for as many seconds as you can, then switch sides.
- Why it's effective: Lifting one leg and holding it there will elevate a forearm plank.
Side Plank with Hip Abduction:
- How to: Assume a side plank, then perform a leg lift. Repeat on both sides.
- Why it's effective: Plank off your foot instead of your knee for a full-body challenge in this hip abduction.
Hollow Hold to Jackknife:
- How to: Get into a hollow hold position: Lie on your back and extend your arms above your head. Engage your core, lift your legs and upper body off the floor, and hold them there. Add in a jackknife: Keeping your legs fully extended, raise your legs and bring your arms overhead toward your toes so that they touch. Slowly drop your legs and arms back down until you come back into the engaged hollow hold position.
- Why it's effective: This move requires you to contract your abs throughout.
Creating a Bodyweight Workout Plan
- Assess Your Fitness Level: Start with the beginner exercises and gradually progress to intermediate and advanced moves as you get stronger.
- Set Realistic Goals: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 75 minutes of high intensity exercise per week.
- Warm-Up: Begin each workout with a warm-up, such as the Squat to Hip Opener or a few minutes of jumping jacks.
- Choose Your Exercises: Select a variety of exercises that target different muscle groups.
- Structure Your Workout: Perform the main workout as a circuit with minimal rest between exercises. Rest for 1 minute after each round.
- Cool-Down: Finish your workout with some light stretching.
- Stay Consistent: Consistency matters more than perfection. Aim to exercise at least 3 times a week.
- Listen to Your Body: If you feel pain (not soreness), stop and reassess.
Sample Bodyweight Workout Routines
Beginner Full-Body Workout:
- Bridge: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
- Chair Squat: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
- Knee Push-Up: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
- Stationary Lunge: 2 sets of 10-15 reps per leg
- Plank to Downward Dog: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
- Forearm Plank: 2 sets, holding for 30-60 seconds
- Bicycle Crunch: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
Intermediate Full-Body Workout:
- Bridged March: 2 sets of 10-15 reps per leg
- Squat: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
- Push-Up: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
- Forward and Backward Lunge: 2 sets of 10-15 reps per leg
- Pike Push-Ups: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
- Superman: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
- Plank with Alternating Leg Lift: 2 sets of 10-15 reps per leg
Advanced Full-Body Workout:
- Single Leg Bridge with Leg Extended: 2 sets of 10-15 reps per leg
- Overhead Squat: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
- One-Legged Push-Up: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
- Jumping Lunges: 2 sets of 10-15 reps per leg
- Elevated Pike Push-Ups: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
- One-Leg Forearm Plank Hold: 2 sets, holding for as long as possible per leg
- Hollow Hold to Jackknife: 2 sets of 10-15 reps
The Importance of Progressive Overload
Progressive overload, or increasing resistance and weight load within the exercise, will be a key component if muscle growth is your goal. As your body adapts to the exercises, you'll need to increase the challenge to continue seeing results. This can be done by:
- Increasing the number of reps
- Increasing the number of sets
- Decreasing rest time between sets
- Trying more difficult variations of the exercises