22 Jan 15 Bodyweight Exercises to Burn Calories and Lose Weight
If you like what you see, commit to our 8-week Bodyweight Workout Plan (downloadable PDF). For three days a week, you’ll follow the scheduled exercises and, due to variety, periodization, and the use of our repetition tracker sheet, you’ll see considerable results. As a reminder, you can grab our beginner bodyweight tracking sheet, which includes a brand-new variation perfect for people who need to prioritize low-impact movements to start.
Why RFK Keeps Posting Calisthenics Videos to Show Off His Strength
This page provides a list of the 70 best bodyweight exercises and a free Bodyweight Workout Plan (PDF included). So if you are trying to lose weight, then you need to fix your nutrition first and foremost. Yes, pike push-ups target shoulders, while tricep dips and handstand push-ups (if advanced) work the arms. Pull-ups, inverted rows, and Superman exercises effectively target the back muscles. If you lack access to a bar, use a sturdy table or bench for inverted rows.
Crouching Tiger Push Ups

You need a court shoe with minimal padding for quick pivots, or a minimalist or barefoot shoe. For best results, follow the plan to a “T.” All you have to do is show up and get started. Make sure you warm-up before each workout and print out the Bodyweight Workout Plan PDF calendar so that you can record your reps and cross off finished workouts.
# ELEVATED PUSH-UP:
Muscle tissue is metabolically active, meaning it requires more calories to maintain at rest compared to fat tissue. While the increase in Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) from muscle gain is modest, this effect helps prevent the drop in RMR that often accompanies weight loss. Just don’t go easy on your workouts because you’re not using any gear. Bodyweight training can build strength if you apply progressive overload.
Copy/Paste Routines (Beginner / Glute Emphasis / Advanced)
However, you must be able to do a solid handstand to do this exercise. Bodyweight training is incredibly effective for building muscle, strength, and overall functionality. That’s not to say that lifting weights is subpar or ineffective. It’s just that getting to the gym is sometimes impractical, leading to inconsistencies. If you’re like most people, progression in the gym usually means picking up a heavier dumbbell. A calisthenics workout challenges you to get more creative than that.
# SUPPORTED LUNGES

This movement builds strength in the legs, hips and core, improves coordination and balance, and can be mad muscles app review modified or progressed for any ability level. Alternating arms and legs tests balance, stability and core activation, which will help you hold the position without tipping over. Try not to arch your back and squeeze your glutes as you maintain the plank position while extending one arm and leg away from the ground at a time. You need to implement the principle of “progressive overload” to build muscle. Gradually increase the weight on your muscles over time through increased resistance, reps, sets, frequency, or difficulty. If you use unilateral variations (such as the Bulgarian split squat or pistol squat), the demands on the glutes and hip stability are even higher.
- Keep your hands on the ground and push off with the balls of your feet so you alternately lift each knee to your chest (similar to running in place) for up to 2 minutes.
- Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” soundtracks the footage, which is slickly edited to include graphics as Kennedy pulls his lower body up.
- There’s a lot of upside to training with nothing but your own body.
- Of course, there is a point where someone might do too much and struggle to recover between workouts, so it’s important to gauge your recovery and how you feel outside the gym.
- Then leap sideways, land softly on your right foot and move your straight left leg behind you to maintain balance while you squat down and touch your toes with your left hand.
- Then, lunge forward with your right leg, twist your upper body over your right hip while getting your left knee close to the floor at a 90° angle.
Upper-Body Bodyweight Workout
And yet, many lifters struggle to pump out 10 reps, and some can’t do them at all. Regardless, being able to do 10 pull-ups is a fitness benchmark that every exerciser should be able to reach. There isn’t a bodybuilder alive who doesn’t want a muscular upper body. These exercises will sculpt your pecs, lats, deltoids, and arms. However, calisthenics is the training method I always come back to.
In any quality workout plan, variety and periodization are the make-it-or-break-it components. Without variety, you can expect boredom, injury, or weight loss plateau. Furthermore, without periodization (aka progressive overload), progress will slow. Download and instantly access the 8-week bodyweight exercise program including the following. We recommend pairing the Bodyweight Workout Plan with our Couple’s Yoga Poses or our total-body HIIT, at-home Couple’s Workout Routine. These are excellent for building strength, balance, and range of motion, and they are fun to do with a buddy.
Are bodyweight exercises really as effective as lifting weights?

Push your hips up first, then arch your back, and press your hands into the ground to lift into bridge pose (aka wheel pose). Once you are comfortable holding a bridge pose, start adding push-ups. Bend your elbows and slowly lower your chest toward the ground as you inhale.
Bodyweight squats are an excellent exercise for fat loss because they utilize your leg muscles, which require a high caloric expenditure to contract and perform work. Per WebMD, the sweet spot for www.talkandroid.com/511952-mad-muscles-reviews-by-android-users/ calisthenics workouts is two to four days a week. It’s good (some would even say crucial) to have a heathy dose of rest as part of your workout routine.
TIPS FOR MAXIMIZING MUSCLE GROWTH WITHOUT WEIGHTS
The barbell and dumbbell bench press are proper and effective exercises for targeting the chest, shoulders, and triceps during push workouts. Both movements have a good overloading potential and help develop strength for other upper-body lifts. Bodyweight exercises (BWE) use your own mass as resistance. These movements, such as squats, push-ups, and planks, are highly accessible because they require no specialized equipment and can be performed almost anywhere. Bodyweight training is an effective tool for increasing physical activity, making it a definitive way to support weight loss.
Broad Jump
Return to the center to complete one rep. Continue alternating sides going forward. Return to chair pose and switch sides to complete one rep. Focus on keeping your spine long during this exercise. Also, crescent pose is like a wide lunge with your back https://goodmenproject.com/health/mad-muscles-app-review-honest-look-at-features-and-subscription/ leg as straight as possible.