When you see so many chiseled guys (and girls) hitting the weights day in, day out, It can often make you wonder is it really possible to get in shape without weights.
I mean, walk into any spit and sawdust gym and you’ll hear the familiar sound of clanking iron, with meatheads pushing out heavy presses till their eyeballs bleed.
Seems like getting fit without a gym will only get you so far right?
wrong.
I will admit that there are distinct advantages to lifting weights.
Ultimately getting fitter and stronger requires consistent progressive overload of the muscles. And the simplest way of doing this is by adding more weight to the bar over a period of time.
But depending on your goal and the amount of work your willing to put in. It can also be a damn sight easier to get in shape using nothing more than your bodyweight.
Want Proof?
Just look at an Olympic gymnast.
Many of these guys have arms the size of pythons and a core that’s shredded to the bone.
All without touching a single weight.
Herschel Walker is another great example.
A high school track star and professional football player. Herschel Walker built his physique using nothing but bodyweight workouts.
A daily dose of Pushups, pullups, Dips, Squats and Situps is all the guy needed to carve out a physique most men would shoot their mother for.
Even in his 40’s, this guy fought professional mixed martial arts and crushed most of the competition by just being consistent with the basics.
Similarly, Hannibal For King is another bodyweight beast.
YouTube sensation and downright bad-ass. Hannibal For King built his body using only natural bodyweight movements found in the Bar Brothers Training Program.
You can check out one of his video’s below.
Click Here To Visit The Official Bar Brothers Website
Get In Shape Without Weights – Setting yourself up for success
So what makes these guys different to any other average Joe who sees little to no results from bodyweight workouts
Consistency
You’ve gotta put in the time.
Knocking out a set of 25 pushups every day before breakfast is better than nothing but it’s only going to get you so far.
Herschel, for example, averages 750-1500 pushups, 1500 pull-ups, 1000 dips, 1000 squats, and 3000 situps every day.
Now I’m not saying that you need to take it to this extreme (unless you really want to) but the fact remains that you’ve got to put in the time.
Weights or not.
Always Striving for improvement
Can you do 5 pull-ups?
If you can that’s great, give yourself a huge high five. But if you’re constantly working within the same rep scheme with no added resistance then your physique is never going to change.
The guys and gals you see every day who look in great shape didn’t get there by taking it easy.
They are always seeking little ways to improve themselves every day.
Pushing for that one more rep, or running that mile 10 seconds quicker then they did the previous week.
It’s what separates the good from the great.
Your body will only change when you push it beyond the limits of what it can do.
Getting the most bang for your buck – Compound Exercises
This is where bodyweight exercises rise above the rest.
Because by focusing on multi-joint movements that work more than one muscle group(compound exercises). You’re going to see far greater success than focusing on just single body part exercises (isolation exercises)
Luckily for you, 6 moves below are all HIGHLY EFFECTIVE multi-joint compound movement.
And the only exercises you will ever need to get in shape without weights.
The Only 6 Bodyweight Exercises You Will Ever Need
Pullups/Chinups
Perfect exercise for the upper back, lats and also great for working your biceps.
They can be difficult for newbies to get to grips with as they require a great deal of pulling strength.
If you can’t do a pull just yet don’t worry. The inverted row (which I’ll get to further down the list) is an easier variation of the pull-up and will serve as a great stepping stone to achieving your first pullup in no time.
Negative pull-ups are also a great progression tool for helping build strength for pull-ups. It involves slowly lowering yourself from the top position of the movement, and can really help build the basic level of strength needed to achieve a full pull-up
Progression:
Using a wider grip, or placing one hand wider than the other to distribute more weight onto one arm. Making the pulling more difficult on one side
Parallel Bar Dips
Parallel Bar Dips are my ultimate upper body pushing exercise.
I love them with a passion.
They’re great for working the triceps and lower chest.
Although they can still prove difficult for new players to the bodyweight game, they’re effective none the less.
Bench dips are a great alternative if your unable to do a parallel bar dip. And require nothing more than a bench or chair to get started.
Progression:
I recommend uneven parallel bar dips.
Same as regular parallel bar dips. Just distribute your weight onto one side of the body to increase the difficulty.
Push-ups
The godfather of bodyweight exercises is the push-up.
The great thing about push-ups is there are literally hundreds of variations that can take you from a basic level of strength to an elite superhuman wrecking machine.
Here are just a few variations that will take you from novice to the master of gods.
Pushups on your knees: Just getting warmed up
Regular pushup: A little better
Decline pushup: Making progress
Assisted One Arm pushup: Getting stronger
One arm pushup: Now you’re just showing off
Planche pushup: Alright, now your REALLY showing off.
One arm planche pushup: This is getting ridiculous
Inverted Rows
Often associated as being the stepping stone to its partner in crime THE PULL-UP. The inverted row is still a major player in the bodyweight game.
Working your back, traps, biceps as well as some of your core stabilizer muscles. It’s the missing piece to a complete upper body workout.
You see, to work every part of your upper body effectively you need to include exercises from all angles.
This primarily includes:
- A vertical push: Dips
- A horizontal push: Pushups
- A vertical pull: Pullup/Chinup
- A horizontal pull: Inverted row
Adding all 4 of these essential movements will work every single part of your upper body while adding a great overall appearance from every angle.
Squats
Known to many as the king of lower body exercises the squat requires multiple muscles working together.
Simply spread your feet shoulder width apart and bend your knees slightly lower than parallel before pushing yourself back up.
Progression:
To make this exercise harder you can squat down further, often referred to as ass to grass style.
Another method you can use to increase the difficulty is jumping squats.
Or, if you’re really feeling up to it, you can work on pistol squat progressions. (see image)
Lunges
And last but not least we have the lunge.
Another great lower body exercise and a key component to the previous 5 exercises we’ve already discussed.
As well as working the quads. It’s awesome for working the hamstrings.
Progression:
Alternating Jump Lunges.
The same as the lunge only instead of bringing your foot back to the starting position. You are going to jump from the lunge position and switch feet. Landing with the opposite foot forward in the lunge position.
Click Here To Get Ripped Without Lifting A Single Weight
Putting It all together
Now, there’s a couple of ways you could build a routine using these movements depending on your fitness goals.
If it’s just fat loss you want then I recommend performing these exercises in a circuit style routine.
It’s going to be quicker and provide a higher percentage of calorie burn for every minute you workout.
BUT It’s going to be pretty intense.
Training For Fat Loss
Here’s a sample routine of a circuit. (feel free to adjust reps and rest periods depending on your current fitness level)
Do 5 sets of this full circuit moving directly from one exercise to the other with no rest. (Rest 2 minutes between sets)
- 5 Pull-ups
- 10 Dips (parallel or bench dips)
- 10 squats
- 15 pushups
- 10 inverted rows
- 10 lunges (each leg)
Now, I’ve set the exercises in this order for a reason.
Each exercise you do in the circuit is working different muscle groups to the previous exercise.
PULL, PUSH, SQUAT, PULL, PUSH, LUNGE
This is to allow adequate rest for the muscle worked previously, helping you to get maximum effectiveness from the circuit
So for instance, If you were to do pushups right after dips. Your pushup form may suffer, due to the fact that the muscles used are already exhausted from performing dips.
Working opposing muscle groups. For example, pull-ups followed by dips. You are allowing the pulling muscles to rest while the pushing muscles are working. And vice versa.
Make sense?
Training For Size
If size is your main goal then your routine may look like this: (adjust the variation of each exercise accordingly based on your fitness level)
Do 3 Sets of each exercise resting 45 seconds between sets. and 90 seconds between exercises.
- Pull-ups – 3 Sets of 10
- Alternating Uneven Dips 3 sets of 10
- Jump Squats – 3 sets of 12
- Inverted Row – 3 sets of 12
- Decline Pushups – 3 Sets of 12
- Alternating Jump lunges – 3 Sets Of 12
It’s important to note that once you can do 3 sets of 12 reps for any of these exercises. You must progress to a harder version of the exercise, keeping the reps between 8-12.
This is the key to adding mass to your body over time.
Anything over 12 reps and your workout starts to become more endurance based and will have less impact on the size of your muscles overall.
Conclusion
Obviously, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
There’s are literally thousands of ways to effectively get in shape without touching a single weight and more than I can cover in this article.
If you’re looking for the cream of the crop ultimate library of bodyweight workouts to achieve any physique you could possibly desire then Bar Brothers has an awesome bodyweight training program you should check out.
Anyway, would love to hear your thoughts, be sure to leave a comment below and let me know what you think.
