Many of us assume we can’t build a stronger body or muscle using just our bodyweight, but this isn’t true. Sure, it may be quicker to use a pair of dumbbells or a barbell, as this will allow us to progressively overload the muscles. But, there are plenty of ways you can spice up the intensity of your bodyweight exercises.
“You can slow down the tempo in the eccentric part of the movement and incorporate pauses in certain positions to work the isometric portion of the muscular contraction,” says Eddie Baruta, Global Head of Gym Floor Personal Training at Ultimate Performance. “If you know how to manipulate these variables, and tweak other variables such as reps, sets, and rest times, then you can build strength and power.”
So, if you can't get on the squat rack or bench press, don't panic! Your gains aren't going in the bin. Below, Eddie shares five seriously underrated bodyweight exercises that can help you get strong and swole—FYI, it doesn't include your typical squat or plank either. Plus, he's included a workout at the end of this page, just incase you need a little inspiration.
Push-ups
The humble push-up will forever be one of the greatest exercise for building ultimate upper body strength. “It is one of the most effective bodyweight moves if you want to build bulletproof strength in your pecs and your triceps, as well as your deltoids,” says Eddie.
The problem is that many people don't perform push-ups with proper form—i.e., lowering their rib cage as close to the floor as possible without arching their lower back—which limits their effectiveness. “To help guestimate the correct range of motion, put a book underneath your torso and focus on your chest touching the book on every rep,” Eddie suggests.
You can also change the position of your hand and the angle of your chest, such as placing it at an incline or decline, to isolate different muscles so you get a full-rounded upper body workout.
Sissy squat
If you want to up your leg day game and build killer quads, you can’t beat the sissy squat. “It emphasises the stretched position, rather than the mid-range position of the traditional squat, and are really effective for building up your quadricep muscles, adding both strength and size,” says Eddie.
They can often be forgotten about though, because they are challenging and, similar to the push-up, easy to get wrong. “You need to hold onto something stable with one or both hands, lean your upper body back 10-20 degrees, rise on your toes, and then squat down while trying to keep a straight line between the top of your quadriceps and your stomach.
“This means you have to lean back whilst pushing your knees to the floor. At the bottom of the movement, you should feel a significant stretch right through your quads and your patella should brush the floor. When you come back up to standing ensure that a straight line is maintained, do not hunch forward to make the exercise easier.”
V-sit up
Looking to level up your sit-ups? The V-sit is your one-way ticket to leave your mid-section on fire. “It works a number of different muscles, including your abdominals, obliques, and hip flexors, so it’s a great exercise if you want to build up your core strength and your balance,” Eddie says.
It’s easy to get into a swinging motion with these and rely on momentum to execute the movement, but you want to avoid this as it will just take the focus away from your core. “You want to perform it in a smooth and controlled motion. Do not let your lower back arch, if you are unable to keep this flexed you are not engaging your core muscles.”
Pull-ups
Yes, we know, pull-ups are hard, but there aren’t many bodyweight exercises out there that can strengthen your upper body quite like they can. Plus, switching up your hand position from an overhand grip to either a neutral or underhand grip can activate different muscles.
Underhand (supinated) will blitz your biceps, as well as place more emphasis on your upper chest. A neutral grip (palms facing inwards) is more of a middle group between your back and biceps, but places less stress on the wrists and shoulders.
“As they hit so many muscle groups in both your mid and upper back I would definitely recommend preserving with a pull-up bar, even if you struggle to perform one or two reps perfectly at the start,” says Eddie.
Whether you're looking to improve your wide grip, neutral or supinated pull ups, this bar will help you on your journey to becoming a pull up pro! It has rubber handles to help you hang on (even when your body may not want to).
Bulgarian split squat
Tell us there’s another lower bodyweight exercise that’ll leave your legs shaking like a Bulgarian squat—there isn’t! “I rate these so highly that it’s rare a client of mine doesn’t have this exercise programmed into their training,” Eddie confesses.
This unilateral exercise won’t just build tremendous strength and muscle in your quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves (it also gives your core a run for its money too), but it’ll address any imbalances, which could be holding back other areas of your training.
“One of the lesser-known advantages of using Bulgarian split squats is its ability to raise your pain threshold. Consistently working through grueling sets of 10-12 reps on the split squat will make most other exercises pale in comparison.”
Bodyweight workout
Below, Eddie has shared a bodyweight workout focusing on a technique called 'German Body Composition', a full-body workout comprised of upper body and lower body exercises paired into supersets.
It includes lots of sets, to increase metabolic stress, and slowing down the eccentric portion of the exercise, to increase time under tension. Both of which are mechanisms for hypertrophy.
