8 Ways to Upgrade Your Home Workouts Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Training 8 Ways to Upgrade Your Home Workouts Get More From Bodyweight Training by Brandon Holder April 22, 2020August 30, 2022 Tags Training Bodyweight training is a lost art. Decades ago, it was a staple of a lifter's training. You couldn't have a complete program without push-ups, pull-ups, dips, gymnastic-based movements, and isometrics. But as time passed, we stopped viewing bodyweight training the same way. It lost its appeal... maybe because most lifters think it's too simple, easy, or predictable. And that's a shame. Controlling your bodyweight through space is another piece of the puzzle in helping you live your healthiest life possible. Besides, if you can't lift and move your own body, how strong are you really? Here's how to add new challenges and variety to your bodyweight training: Let's say you usually do a normal set of ten push-ups. Now do those same ten reps, but lower yourself down for five seconds, hold the bottom for five seconds, then return back up for five seconds. That's just ONE pec-popping rep! Sure, many lifters already DO lengthen the lowering phase and isometric holds of their bodyweight movements, but few extend the time they spend in the concentric or lifting phase. This helps increase time under tension and forces you to focus on executing the full range of the movement. You also get a killer mind-muscle connection, which might not have been accomplished by just going through the motions. Examples Push-Up Do 3x5: 5 seconds down, 5 second pause, and 5 seconds up Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squat Do 3x5 each leg: 5 seconds down, 5 second pause, and 5 seconds up This will increase the challenge of basic bodyweight movements. You can do this in multiple ways including weighted vests, heavy backpacks, chains, bands, manual resistance, etc. Once you can crank out several pull-ups with good form, don't stop progressing them. Keep track of your weighted five-rep max the same way you keep track of your bench max. Examples Weighted Chin-Up or Weighted Dip Test with a quarter of your bodyweight, so if you weigh 200 pounds, add 50 pounds of weight onto your body. You can do a whole workout going from one exercise to the next while wearing a heavy backpack. Load it up with as much weight as you like and get to work. This is a "flow" series of exercises which we'll get to in just a bit. This type of challenge creates a sense of urgency and helps you focus. No stipulations, just accumulate the prescribed number of reps as quickly (and correctly) as possible. Then record how long it took and try to beat it next time. Examples Barbell Push-Up: 100 reps as fast as possible. Record your time and work to beat it next week. Bodyweight Dip: 100 reps as fast as possible. Record your time and beat it next week. Do as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) within a specific amount of time. Instead of aiming for a number of reps, you're aiming to complete as many rounds (of a series of exercises) before your time is up. Example Do as many rounds as possible within 10 minutes: A1. Bodyweight Squat: 10 reps A2. Burpee: 10 reps A3. Mountain Climber: 20 reps each leg This is just an example. Don't like burpees? Don't do them. Replace any or all of these exercises with what you want. Instead of aiming for a total number or reps, or doing a series of exercises within a time cap, you'd do one exercise continuously for a prescribed amount of time, then move on to the next. Example A1. Hindu Push-Up: 30 seconds A2. Step-Through Lunge: 30 seconds A3. Lying Glute Bridge: 30 seconds A4. Speed Skater: 30 seconds Repeat 2-3 more times, resting 60 seconds between sets. It's a completely forgotten aspect of training. Animal Exercise Examples Backward Bear Crawl Lateral Bear Crawl Spiderman Crawl Crab Walk Monkey Jump Bodyweight flows are a type of circuit training where you do movements in a back-to-back fashion – "flowing" from one to the next. They're excellent as warm-ups or cooldowns. Examples Bodyweight Flow One A1. Push-Up: 10 reps A2. Scap Push-Up: 10 reps A3. Mountain Climber: 10 reps each side A4. Push-Up Plank Hand to Elbow: 10 Reps A5. Hand Walkout: 10 Reps Bodyweight Flow Two A1. Squat Plus Reverse Lunge: 10 reps A2. Single Leg RDL: 8 reps each leg A3. Groiner: 8 reps each leg A4. Roll Over to V-Stretch: 10 reps These are giant continuous sets of movements where the reps will often ascend/descend throughout the series. You can accomplish a lot in a little bit of time. You do the first exercise for the prescribed number of reps, then immediately move on to the next exercise for the prescribed number of reps. Ideally, there's no rest between exercises or rounds. Example For this one, the reps are set up in a pyramid-style: they ascend and then descend. A1. Plank Shoulder Tap: 3,5,5,3 A2. Lying V-Up: 5,8,8,5 A3. Russian Twist: 10,15,15,10 So you'd do three plank shoulder taps, five V-ups, then ten Russian twists before moving on to to the next round. Neglecting aspects of training as simple as moving your own body will only hinder your progress. No one says you have to become a bodyweight guru, but adding a few of these variations will help you become a more physically competent, mobile, and healthy person. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Training Painful Advice Every Lifter Needs to Hear Listen up. The training and diet advice in this article will be tough to hear. It might even make you mad. But it will definitely make you better. 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