Body Weight Exercises You’ll Love

Need some body weight exercises to be able to do?

Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

Today I have a list of body weight exercises I absolutely love and know you will too. None of these moves will be too overly complicated. Anyone can achieve them, and most need nothing more than a pull-up bar. If you don’t have a pull-up bar don’t fret, you can do most of the movements. I do suggest you check out the recommended gear page and get yourself a quality pull-up bar. It’s an invaluable tool in your bodyweight exercise repertoire.

Enough with the chit-chat, let’s get into bodyweight exercises I love.

Diamond Push Ups

The diamond push up is perfect for those trying to sculpt their triceps into diamonds. Alright, maybe not diamonds but at least steel. The diamond push up uses your triceps as the primary mover with your pectorals aiding in the movement. This is an excellent move for those trying to fill out their arms and also maintain if not improve their balance and muscle size. The close proximity of your palms together make a smaller base of support for your weight to be over and in turn challenges your core and balance more. It’s a perfect move for those trying to put on and maintain size and get a good balance challenge in as well.

Close Grip Chin Ups

The close grip chin up is a two for one in the deadliest sense of the phrase. A pulling movement that uses shifts the primary focus even further onto your biceps is bound to raise those bicep peaks. Not to mention the pectorals or used as well in a close grip position due to the supination of the palms. Bringing your hands closer together amplifies this effect and aids in the movement. This exercise is essential for those who really want to carve out their arms.

Bulgarian Split Squats

I just recently found my love for this movement. Instead of a traditional lunge where you step forward and lunge, you instead elevate your foot. When you have your foot elevated you squat down and squat back up. Due to the position of your foot on an elevated surface, it provides a lunge type effect and switches this move into a semi unilateral movement. Unlike a pistol squat though, you still have the balance support from the other foot, even if reduced due to being in a split stance. This bodyweight exercise is bound to put a burn in your legs, and some striations in your life. All while potentially improving your balance and coordination. Double whammy.

Full Depth Bodyweight Squats

Ah, yes the full depth bodyweight squat. Out of all of the bodyweight exercises, I love this one the most. The beauty lies in the simplicity of the movement. So many people lose the ability to squat, let alone to squat to full depth. Healthy joints seem to be a thing of the past and limited ranges of motion or in. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen somebody not be able to stand up from a seated position because they just didn’t have the requisite strength and range of motion in a squatting position to do it. The full depth squat might not be the end all and be all of bodyweight leg training, but it’s a start and a basis you should have under your belt well. Just like with any other form of exercising and bodybuilding, don’t forget to train your legs.

Gymnastic Ring Support Position

This little static hold is not one to take lightly. Even if you’re a master of the parallel bars and can do 20+ dips easy, you may be faced with a struggle at first with this move. Gymnastic rings don’t provide the stable base that bars do. More stabilizing muscles are used within the body to maintain a stable position on the rings.

Before delving right into dynamic movements on the rings though, the basic support position should be mastered.

This is basically the top position of a dip, there is both a variation with the rings vertical to your sides, and another form often referred to as rings turned out, which has your turning the rings to face outward. This position is extremely difficult for new users of rings and may be exactly what you need to focus on before moving forward to dips on the rings. Try to hold at least three sets for 30 seconds each before moving to dynamic movements on the rings.

Wide Grip Pull Ups

Oh yes, the wide grip pull-up. This one is bound to have some people who know why I suggested it. The wide grip pull-up is phenomenal for building that thick v taper everyone wants. This progression places more weight on the lats to pull up compared to other pull up or chin up variations. the bicep is taken out of this progression quite a bit so the focus can be on applying more weight on the lats. This, in turn, will yield better muscle gains for you.

Not to mention the massive benefits that the wide grip pull up does in your progressions. It is easily the biggest transitional skill for many more advance bar training progressions, like archer pull-ups, airwalks, and typewriter pull-ups. Don’t laugh at or neglect this variation, it’ll help you get you where you want to be. Try this one out instead of your traditional chin-ups or shoulder width pull-ups, you’ll feel a world of difference.

That’s a couple bodyweight exercises I know you’ll love.

Most of these again can be done at home with nothing more than your floor, but others require pull up bars and gymnastics rings. If you need recommendations for quality products I have plenty in the recommended gear page. A chin-up bar is invaluable in your bodyweight fitness journey and gymnastic rings can be used anywhere you can hang things safely. I would suggest you try out some of these moves in your workout routine and see which you like the most. Instead of wide grip push ups, try diamond push-ups for a change. I think your arms will love you for it. As always though, make sure to progress yourself safely so you don’t hurt yourself or cause injury. Nothing puts you back further than needlessly pushing yourself haphazardly. Go out there and get stronger. I also have some other exercise ideas in this article if you need them.

Remember,

Your health is in your control, no one else’s. Take the responsibility and thrive.

-Nick from unmeasuredfitness.com

P.S. I still link things, thank you for whoever makes it this far. Today we have training pal with basic calisthenics exercises and routines. I always love watching other peoples view on starting routines because it allows you to see what they prioritize in a program. It’s neat and very informative. Anyways, until next time. Stay strong.

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