Bodyweight Exercises: Benefits and Tips for Beginners

• Exercising with your own body weight is simple and requires minimal equipment. 
• The main advantages include the flexibility to work out anywhere, though a common drawback is the limited load for resistance. 
• Bodyweight exercises can effectively maintain and even partially build muscle.

Do you remember your first experience with weight training? I’d bet your memories turn to gym classes, but I’m sure bodyweight exercises played a major role, too. Simple – albeit not always popular – exercises that can be completed virtually anywhere often mark the start of most athletes' journeys. When performed correctly, they can lead to surprisingly impressive results.

Advantages and disadvantages of bodyweight exercises

The pros of bodyweight exercises

Bodyweight exercises have some common characteristics:

• Multi‑joint engagement: These exercises typically involve multiple major muscle groups, making them complex and similar to free‑weight training.
• Activation of deep muscles: Stability is key in bodyweight exercises, which naturally engages the muscles within the deep stabilisation system.

These features make bodyweight exercises an attractive alternative to traditional gym workouts for many.

1. Exercise anywhere: All you need for bodyweight exercises is a firm surface, a mat, and possibly some light equipment. This flexibility means you can work out at home, in your living room, or even while on holiday without a gym in sight.
2. Countless variations: Bodyweight exercises offer countless variations to prevent monotony. Adjusting the incline or form of an exercise can shift muscle engagement, providing fresh stimuli and keeping your muscles challenged.
3. You don't necessarily have to go to the gym. Let's face it, not everyone feels comfortable going to the gym.

The cons of bodyweight exercises

While working out at home has numerous benefits, many athletes still prefer the gym. Here’s why:

1. Difficulty in achieving sufficient load: One main challenge of home workouts is often the inability to create enough resistance, which is essential for building muscle mass. For instance, if you can complete 40‑50 squats per set with ease, you likely won’t gain muscle this way. Attempting to add weight at home (such as wearing a loaded backpack or holding heavy bottles) can increase injury risk rather than improve results. That said, low‑load exercise can still be very effective for maintaining muscle mass.
2. Challenges with training certain muscle groups: Some muscles, like the abdominals and legs, are easy to target with home workouts. However, others, like the back muscles, can be more challenging. A well‑thought‑out training plan is essential to ensure balanced development without leaving any muscle group behind.
3. Potential distractions at home: At the gym,you’re unlikely to stop your workout early after just a few exercises. You might push through even on tough days. At home, however, the "barrier" to stopping is much lower, making it easy to get distracted or abandon the workout altogether.

Basic bodyweight exercises

When creating a workout using bodyweight exercises, start with foundational movements and adjust the difficulty level to suit your abilities. Initially, focus on exercises that engage the entire body, gradually incorporating all muscle groups.

1. Push‑Ups

A staple of bodyweight exercises, classic push‑ups target the muscles in your arms, shoulders and especially the pectoral (chest) muscles. Easier variations include knee push‑ups or push‑ups with hands on an elevated surface. For a greater challenge, try elevating your feet.

2. Squats

Squats are a great exercise to do at home and are an essential exercise for developing leg strength. Basic bodyweight squats are relatively simple; you can increase the difficulty by holding a dumbbell in each hand.

3. Bulgarian Squats

With your back leg on an elevated surface (such as a bench) and your front leg braced, bend the front knee and slowly lower yourself down in a motion resembling a lunge, then push back up to the starting position. Switch legs after completing one set.

4. Pull‑Ups

One of the best ways to exercise your back muscles at home is with pull‑ups. This exercise can be challenging, whether performed overhand or underhand. If you find classic pull‑ups too difficult, try using a resistance band or ask a partner to hold your legs.

5. Plank

The plank is a popular exercise for strengthening more than just your abdominal muscles. Focus on maintaining proper technique and keeping your core engaged throughout the exercise.

6. Handstand with Wall Support

To try a handstand with leg support, place your hands about 50cm away from a wall, then swing your legs up and rest your feet against the wall. Start by holding for a few seconds and gradually increase your time as you progress. This isometric exercise effectively targets the deltoid muscles, and advanced athletes can incorporate handstand push‑ups for added challenge.

Can you combine bodyweight and interval training?

With bodyweight training, you can structure your workout into intervals – short, high‑intensity training segments, typically under 30 minutes. These intervals usually alternate between more intense efforts and periods of lower‑intensity exercise or rest.

The advantage of these interval workouts is that they allow you to burn a relatively high amount of calories in a short amount of time. This can be particularly beneficial if you're aiming to lose weight, boost cardiovascular health, or simply make the most of a limited schedule. However, be mindful of the increased risk of injury. Stick to exercises you’re already comfortable with; when pushing for maximum intensity within a set time frame, your focus on technique may waver, so it's best to rely on movements that are “second nature.”

Although bodyweight exercises might seem low‑impact, your body still needs time to recover. Repeating the same exercises every day, especially for the same muscle groups, could lead to overtraining. Allow adequate rest and vary your exercises for optimal results.

Bodyweight exercises that fit into interval training

1. Burpees

Start from a standing position with your feet shoulder‑width apart. Drop into a squat, place your hands on the floor, kick your legs back into a push‑up position, lower your body to the floor, then push back up, jump, and return to the starting position.

2. Lunges

Stand upright with your arms at your sides. Step forward (or backward) with one leg, keeping your back straight and knees pointing forward. Lower into the lunge as deep as your form allows, lightly touching the ground with your back knee if possible. Variations include adding a jump and alternating legs or holding weights in your hands.

3. Mountain Climbers

Begin in a plank position with extended arms. Pull one knee toward your chest, then return it to the starting position and switch to the other leg. Alternate legs quickly, keeping your core stable throughout. This movement mimics "running in place" while in a plank.

4. Russian Twist

Sit on the floor with your knees bent and back straight. Rotate your torso and arms to one side, then switch to the other, alternating sides. For added difficulty, hold a weight in your hands while you do the exercise.

5. Side Skaters

Stand with your weight on one leg, knee bent, and the other leg slightly lifted. Step sideways onto the lifted leg, transferring your weight onto it while the other leg hovers in a bent position. This movement mimics a skating motion.

What might the workout look like?

Strength training

Begin with a warm‑up and joint mobilisation exercises. After warming up, proceed to the main workout, performing 3‑4 sets of each exercise with 10‑20 reps per set. Keep breaks between sets short, around 30 seconds, with a maximum of 60 seconds.

High‑intensity interval training (HIIT)

You can tailor your HIIT to match your fitness level. Beginners may benefit from a longer rest period (e.g., 15 seconds of exercise, 45 seconds of rest), while advanced users can try a more challenging ratio with longer exercise time (e.g., 30 seconds of exercise, 15 seconds of rest).

You can also experiment with interval variations that replace rest with a lower‑intensity exercise. For instance, try 20 seconds of lunges with squats, followed by 15 seconds of squats alone – or vice versa.

Example of a HIIT workout

1. Alternating lunges with jump – 30 sec., then 30 sec. rest
2. Plank with shoulder taps – 30 sec., then 30 sec. rest
3. Mountain climbers – 30 sec., then 30 sec. rest
4. Squats – 30 sec., then 30 sec. rest
5. Push‑ups – 30 sec., then 30 sec. rest

After completing the entire series, take a 1‑minute break. Aim to complete a total of 3‑4 sets. 

Bottom line

Bodyweight training is simple and can be done almost anywhere. The focus is typically on multi‑joint, compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups, which also help improve stability and strengthen deep‑seated muscles.

A common limitation of bodyweight training is the relatively low load, which can make muscle‑building less effective compared to gym workouts. However, bodyweight exercises are excellent for enhancing fitness, losing weight, and maintaining muscle mass.