How many times have you been told that in order to have an effective workout, you need to go to the gym and use all sorts of complicated machines or heavy weights?
Probably too many to count.
Truth be told, you can get a phenomenal workout using just your body weight, Mother Earth, and gravity, and we’re going to show you how to do it with three of the very best full body workouts without weights.
Let’s get started!
Benefits of a Full Body Workout Without Weights
Convenience
When you train with bodyweight exercises, you don’t have to spend time getting dressed, driving to the gym, warming up, talking to others, working out, waiting for a piece of equipment, showering, and then driving home.
You have everything you need with you at all times.
This means you can work out whenever and wherever you want, wearing whatever you want too!
While some may view training without weights as a hindrance, it can actually be very liberating and convenient!
Affordable
Let’s be real, gym memberships can be very expensive, and they’re only going to keep getting more expensive as the years go by.
Instead of paying 30, 40, or even 50 bucks a month to work out in someone else’s puddle of DNA, why not exercise in the comfort (and cleanliness) of your home, all while saving a solid chunk of change each month?!
Builds Muscle & Burns Fat
Another great benefit of bodyweight training is that it helps build muscle and burn fat at the same time.
In order to get the most out of training without weights, you need to figure out ways to push your muscles to failure without having to perform hundreds and hundreds of reps.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to perform bodyweight circuits and/or decrease the amount of rest you take between sets.
When you do this, you boost your metabolism while also challenging your muscles with exercises that promote strength and muscle development.
Joint & CNS-Friendly
Despite the #teamnodaysoff mentality, it’s not realistic or advisable to train with super heavy weights (1-3RM) day in and day out.
You’re central nervous system, joints, ligaments, and connective tissue can only handle so much. Going too heavy, too often with your workouts can lead to CNS fatigue, injuries, and burnout.
Since bodyweight training uses lighter loads respective to your one rep max, it allows for higher training volumes and frequency, which suppors better muscle growth and calorie burning!
Ideal for ALL Fitness Levels
Many individuals avoid going to the gym for fear that they don’t “look” the part, they are inexperienced with weight lifting, and/or they don’t know how to structure a workout. As a result, they miss out on all the benefits resistance-training has to offer.
Workouts without weights at home can be performed by anyone and everyone, regardless of their experience level. What we mean by that is that bodyweight workouts can be scaled up or down in difficulty and complexity depending on your own individual skill and strength levels.
For example, if push ups are too challenging, you can perform them on your knees or against a wall to make them easier, without fear of being made fun of.
Conversely, if regular push ups are too easy for you, there’s a seemingly endless number of advanced push up variations you can perform to challenge your muscles without having to resort to the bench press.
3 Full Body Workouts Without Weights
Beginner Full Body Workout Without Weights
For this beginner full body workout without weights, you’ll perform the exercises listed below in circuit-fashion. In other words, you’ll perform one move and then move onto the next move taking as little rest as possible.
Once you’ve completed all the moves in the list, rest for 1-2 minutes and then repeat for a total of 3 rounds.
- 20 Bodyweight squats
- 10 Push-ups
- 10 Alternating forward lunges (10 reps per leg)
- 10 Inverted rows
- 30 Jumping jacks
- Plank (as long as possible)
Intermediate Full Body Workout Without Weights
For the intermediate full-body workout without weights, you’ll again perform the exercises listed below in circuit-fashion.
Once you’ve completed all the moves in the list, rest for 1-2 minutes and then repeat for a total of 4-5 rounds.
- 10 Bulgarian Split Squats per leg (1.5-rep style)
- 15 Decline Push-Ups
- Chin-Ups (AMRAP)
- 15 Jackknife sit-ups
- 15 Alternating Reverse Lunges (each leg)
- 10 Pike Presses
- 10 Inverted Rows
- 30 Mountain Climbers
Advanced Full Body Workout Without Weights
For the truly elite bodyweight warriors amongst you, the advanced full body workout without weights is something to behold.
You’ll begin by performing three straight leg exercises to torch your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, and then end with two supersets of upper body bodyweight exercises, leaving you gasping for air.
One time through this gauntlet is enough to bring the most seasoned gym rats to their knees huffing and puffing, but for those of you looking to take your results to the next level, take a 2 minute break and try to complete a total of 5 rounds.
- 10 One-Legged Squats (each leg)
- 15 Reverse Lunges (each leg)
- 20 Bodyweight squats
- 10 Pull-Ups
- 10 Dips
- 10 Inverted bodyweight rows
- 10 Spider-Man push-ups
Takeaway
It’s often (wrongly) believed that to get a great workout and/or build muscle and strength that you need to go to the gym and lift a bunch of weights. The reality is that if you only need your body, gravity, and a no-quit attitude to have a killer workout. Bodyweight training can (and will) help you get the body you’ve always wanted.
All it takes is a little ingenuity and a willingness to break from convention. Once you free your mind, you’ll unleash a whole new way to train that’s incredibly enjoyable, not to mention FREE!
If you need some extra motivation, join the 1Up Transformation challenge for an 8-week full body transformation!
