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Exercises

Bodyweight exercises for strength, and the progression that keeps each one hard

Published October 29, 2026

The best bodyweight exercises for strength are push-ups, decline push-ups, archer push-ups and dips for pushing, pike push-ups for your shoulders, inverted rows, chin-ups and pull-ups for pulling, bodyweight squats, skater squats and pistol squats for your legs, Nordic hamstring curls for the back of your thighs, and hanging leg raises and L-sits for your trunk. Bodyweight builds strength only while sets stay in the 3 to 12 rep range, so once you pass about 12 reps, move to the next harder version instead of doing more.

  1. Push-Up Chest
  2. Pull-Up Lats
  3. Chest Dip Chest, Triceps
  4. Pistol Squat Quads, Glutes
  5. Inverted Row Upper Back, Lats
  6. Nordic Hamstring Curl Hamstrings
  7. Pike Push-Up Shoulders
  8. Hanging Leg Raise Abs

Pushing: push-up to archer push-up and dips

Each step puts more of your bodyweight on your arms. Move to the next one when you can do 3 sets of 12 clean reps of the current one.

Chest and triceps, press

Push-Up

Chest

The base of every bodyweight pushing progression. If you cannot do 5 from the floor, start with your hands on a counter and lower the surface each week.

How to do it

  1. Set your hands slightly wider than your shoulders with your body straight from head to heels.
  2. Lower until your chest nearly touches the floor, elbows at about 45 degrees.
  3. Press back up to straight arms.

Cues

  • One straight line
  • Elbows angled back

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out: tuck them toward your ribs.

Swap for: Kneeling Push-Up, Incline Push-Up, Push-Up Plus

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Chest and shoulders, press

Decline Push-Up

Chest

With your feet on a chair, more of your weight shifts onto your arms. It is the next step once regular push-ups go past 15 reps.

How to do it

  1. Put your feet on a chair or bench and your hands on the floor under your shoulders.
  2. Brace so your body is straight from heels to head, no sag at the hips.
  3. Lower until your forehead is just above the floor, elbows about 45 degrees from your sides.
  4. Press back to locked arms, keeping your hips from rising first.

Cues

  • Higher feet, harder rep
  • Forehead toward the floor
  • Press the floor away

Common mistakes

  • Piking your hips to make the press easier: if the straight line goes, use a lower chair.
  • Letting your shoulders ride up to your ears at the bottom: keep them pulled down and back.

Swap for: Push-Up, Archer Push-Up, Weighted Push-Up

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Chest and triceps, one-sided press

Archer Push-Up

Chest

Shifting your weight toward one hand while the other arm stays straight loads one side far more than the other. It is the bridge between regular and one-arm push-ups.

How to do it

  1. Set your hands about twice shoulder width apart in a plank, fingers turned slightly out.
  2. Lower toward your right hand, bending the right elbow while the left arm stays straight.
  3. Bring your chest close to your right hand, then press back to the middle.
  4. Repeat to the left and keep alternating, or finish one side first.

Cues

  • Bent arm does the work
  • Straight arm only balances
  • Hips stay square

Common mistakes

  • Bending both arms equally, which makes it a wide push-up: keep the helping arm straight.
  • Twisting your hips toward the floor: hold the plank level as you shift.

Swap for: Decline Push-Up, One-Arm Push-Up, Chest Dip

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Chest and triceps, dip

Chest Dip

Chest, Triceps

Dips put almost all of your bodyweight on your arms, more than any push-up variation. Once you can do 10, add weight with a backpack or belt.

How to do it

  1. Grip parallel bars and step or jump up until your arms are straight and you are holding yourself above the bars.
  2. Lean your chest slightly forward with your legs under you or a little behind.
  3. Bend your elbows to sink down until your upper arms are about level with the bars.
  4. Press back up to straight arms and lock out.

Cues

  • Shoulders down, chest proud
  • Slight forward lean
  • Lock out every rep

Common mistakes

  • Sinking so deep your shoulders ache: stop when your upper arms reach the level of the bars.
  • Swinging your legs to get up: keep them still and end the set when you need momentum.

Swap for: Decline Push-Up, Bench Dip, Close-Grip Push-Up

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Shoulders and triceps, overhead press

Pike Push-Up

Shoulders

With your hips high, you press more vertically, so your shoulders do most of the work. Raise your feet on a box to move toward a handstand push-up.

How to do it

  1. Start in a push-up position with your hands a bit wider than your shoulders and fingers spread.
  2. Walk your feet toward your hands and raise your hips until your body forms an upside-down V, with your weight leaning over your hands.
  3. Bend your elbows and lower the top of your head toward a point a few inches in front of your hands, so your head and hands form a triangle.
  4. Bend your elbows out to the sides and stop when your head lightly touches the floor or just above it.
  5. Press the floor away and straighten your arms, pushing your hips back up to the V.

Cues

  • Hips stay high
  • Head forward of hands
  • Push the floor away

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips drop as you lower: that turns it back into a regular push-up; keep the hips stacked over your shoulders as much as you can.
  • Lowering your head straight between your hands: aim slightly forward so your forearms stay close to vertical.
  • Cutting the range short: lower until your head is near the floor, using a yoga block or book as a target if you need one.

Swap for: Handstand Hold, Decline Push-Up, Push-Up

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Pulling: rows to pull-ups

Without weights, pulling is the hardest pattern to train and the one that builds the most upper-body strength. Start with rows at whatever angle gives you 6 to 12 reps.

Upper back and lats, row

Inverted Row

Upper Back, Lats

Pulling your chest to a bar at hip height is the first pulling exercise for anyone who cannot do a pull-up. The lower and more horizontal your body, the harder it gets.

How to do it

  1. Set a bar at about hip height, lie under it, and grip it with your hands a little wider than your shoulders.
  2. Straighten your body from heels to head, or bend your knees with feet flat for an easier version.
  3. Pull your chest up to the bar, leading with your elbows, and keep your hips in line.
  4. Lower until your arms are straight, then pull again.

Cues

  • Body stays a straight plank
  • Chest touches the bar
  • Bend your knees to make it easier

Common mistakes

  • Letting your hips sag so only your chest rises: squeeze your glutes and move as one piece.
  • Pulling the bar to your neck: aim for the bottom of your chest.

Swap for: Chin-Up, Band-Assisted Pull-Up, TRX Row

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Lats and biceps, vertical pull

Chin-Up

Lats

Palms facing you lets your biceps help, so most people get their first chin-up before their first pull-up. Use it to build reps on the bar.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with your palms toward you and hands shoulder-width.
  2. Pull your elbows down and back until your chin is over the bar.
  3. Lower to a full hang with straight arms.
  4. Keep your legs quiet and your body still between reps.

Cues

  • Palms toward you
  • Chin over the bar
  • Dead hang at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Kipping or kicking to finish: stop the set when you cannot pull cleanly.
  • Half reps at the top: straighten your arms fully every time.

Swap for: Close-Grip Chin-Up, Assisted Pull-Up

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Lats and upper back, vertical pull

Pull-Up

Lats

The pull-up is the main bodyweight test of upper-body pulling strength. Once you can do 8 to 10, add weight or work toward archer pull-ups.

How to do it

  1. Grab the bar overhand, hands a little wider than your shoulders, and hang from fully straight arms.
  2. Pull your shoulders down away from your ears before your elbows start to bend.
  3. Drive the elbows toward your ribs until your chin passes over the bar.
  4. Lower slowly to a dead hang and pull again.

Cues

  • Shoulders down, then pull
  • Legs still and together
  • Two seconds on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the legs to cheat reps: cross your ankles and brace the abs.
  • Half reps from a bent-arm start: finish each rep at a full hang.

Swap for: Chin-Up, Band-Assisted Pull-Up, Inverted Row

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Legs: squats to pistols, and the Nordic curl

Two-leg squats stop building strength quickly, so the work moves to one leg. The Nordic curl is one of the few bodyweight exercises that loads your hamstrings heavily.

Quads and glutes, squat

Bodyweight Squat

Quads

Learn full-depth squats here, then move on. Past about 20 reps, a bodyweight squat trains endurance more than strength.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned out slightly, arms out in front for balance.
  2. Push your hips back and bend your knees, keeping your heels flat and your chest up.
  3. Lower until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor, deeper if your heels stay down.
  4. Drive through your whole foot to stand tall, then go straight into the next rep.

Cues

  • Heels glued to the floor
  • Knees over toes
  • Thighs to parallel or lower

Common mistakes

  • Knees caving in on the way up: push them out over your little toes.
  • Quarter squats to hit a rep count: a full-depth set of 12 beats a shallow set of 30.

Swap for: Reverse Lunge, Wall Sit, Jump Squat

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Quads and glutes, single-leg squat

Skater Squat

Quads, Glutes

Standing on one leg with the other knee bent behind you, you squat with your full bodyweight on one leg. Most people find it easier to learn than the pistol.

How to do it

  1. Stand on one foot and bend the other knee so that foot is behind you, arms straight out in front as a counterweight.
  2. Push your hips back and lean your chest forward as you bend the standing knee.
  3. Lower until the back knee is just above the floor.
  4. Drive through your standing foot to stand tall; sets are per leg.

Cues

  • Arms forward as the counterweight
  • Chest leans, back stays flat
  • Back knee to a folded towel

Common mistakes

  • Only going down a few inches: put a folded towel or cushion where your knee should land and touch it every rep.
  • Letting the standing knee collapse inward: track it over your toes, and slow the lowering if it wobbles.

Swap for: Pistol Squat, Reverse Lunge, Cossack Squat

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Quads and glutes, single-leg squat

Pistol Squat

Quads, Glutes

The pistol is the hardest bodyweight squat. Squatting to a box first lets you build strength at a depth you control, and you lower the box as you get stronger.

How to do it

  1. Stand on one leg in front of a chair or box, the other leg straight out in front and arms reaching forward.
  2. Push your hips back and bend the standing knee, lowering slowly toward the seat.
  3. Touch the chair lightly, without sitting your weight down, and keep the front leg off the floor.
  4. Drive through the standing heel to stand all the way up; sets are per leg.

Cues

  • Touch the chair, don't sit
  • Reach forward to stay balanced
  • Lower the chair as you get stronger

Common mistakes

  • Dropping onto the seat and bouncing back up: control the lowering and barely touch, or raise the seat.
  • Heel popping up at the bottom: shift your weight to mid-foot and use a higher box until it stays down.

Swap for: Skater Squat, Reverse Lunge, Sissy Squat

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Hamstrings, eccentric curl

Nordic Hamstring Curl

Hamstrings

Lowering your body forward from your knees loads your hamstrings heavily without any weights. Even 3 to 5 slow reps are very hard at first.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on a cushion with your ankles pinned under a couch, or held by a partner, and your body upright from knees to head.
  2. Squeeze your glutes and lower your torso forward as slowly as you can, bending only at the knees.
  3. When your hamstrings can't hold you, catch yourself with your hands on the floor.
  4. Push off the floor lightly and pull with your hamstrings to come back up to kneeling.

Cues

  • Hips stay open, no folding
  • Lower as slowly as possible
  • Hands catch, then help up

Common mistakes

  • Bending at the hips to make the lowering easier: keep a straight line from knees to shoulders.
  • Flopping to the floor after a few inches: fight it the whole way down; the slow lowering is the rep.

Swap for: Single-Leg RDL, Band Good Morning, Superman

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Trunk on the bar and the floor

Lifting your legs while you hang or hold yourself up trains your abs against your full leg weight, which is far more load than a crunch.

Abs and hip flexors, hanging raise

Hanging Leg Raise

Abs

Raising straight legs from a hang trains your abs against your full leg weight and your grip against your bodyweight. Bend your knees to start.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar, legs long and pressed together.
  2. Lift your legs, keeping your knees straight, until your feet reach at least hip height.
  3. Tilt your pelvis up at the top, then lower under control.

Cues

  • Legs locked
  • Pelvis tilts
  • No kip

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees as you tire: switch to knee raises for the rest of the set.
  • Using a swing to get the legs up.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Lying Knee Raise

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Abs and triceps, support hold

L-Sit Hold

Abs

Holding your legs straight out while your arms hold you up trains your abs, hip flexors and triceps together. It is the base hold for gymnastics-style strength.

How to do it

  1. Set a hand on each parallette, low dip bar or sturdy chair, arms straight.
  2. Push down hard through your hands so your shoulders drop and your body lifts.
  3. Raise your straight legs in front of you so your body makes an L, and hold.
  4. Lower your feet and rest when your legs start to drop.

Cues

  • Push the floor away
  • Knees locked, toes pointed
  • Tuck one knee to start

Common mistakes

  • Shrugging your shoulders: press down until your neck looks long.
  • Holding past the point your legs fall: short, clean holds build it faster.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Dragon Flag, Jackknife

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Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

Starting out, no pull-up yet

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets48 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentBarbells

You want to build strength with bodyweight only, you cannot do a pull-up yet, and you have a sturdy table or low bar for rows.

One full-body routine three times a week practices each pattern often, which is how bodyweight skills improve fastest. It is 16 sets, about 40 minutes.

Full body
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Push-Up 3 × 5–12 2 90 s
Inverted Row 3 × 5–12 2 90 s
Bodyweight Squat3 s lowering. 3 × 12–20 2 1 min
Skater SquatPer leg. 3 × 5–10 2 90 s
Pike Push-Up 2 × 5–10 2 90 s
L-Sit HoldSeconds per hold. Knees tucked. 2 × 10–20 2 1 min
How to run it
Train three non-consecutive days a week. For each exercise, choose the version that lets you do the bottom of the rep range with 2 reps left.
How to progress
Add reps each session until every set reaches the top of the range, then move to the harder version: push-ups to decline push-ups, inverted rows with your body lower, skater squats with less counterbalance.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

A pull-up bar at home, three days

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets39 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar

You can do a few pull-ups or chin-ups, you have a doorway or wall-mounted bar, and you want steady strength gains without weights.

Two alternating days put a vertical pull, a push, a single-leg squat and a trunk exercise in every session. Each day has 13 sets, about 40 minutes, and the pull-ups get trained in every session because they improve with frequent practice.

Day A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Pull-Up 4 × 3–8 1 2:30 min
Decline Push-Up 3 × 6–12 1 90 s
Skater SquatPer leg. 3 × 6–10 2 90 s
Hanging Leg RaiseKnees bent until straight legs reach 6. 3 × 6–12 2 75 s

Open Day A in the session builder

Day B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Chin-Up 4 × 4–10 1 2:30 min
Pike Push-UpFeet on a box when 10 is easy. 3 × 5–10 1 90 s
Pistol SquatPer leg, to a box or chair. 3 × 4–8 2 2 min
Nordic Hamstring CurlAnkles under a couch. 3 × 3–6 2 2 min

Open Day B in the session builder

How to run it
Train three days a week, alternating A and B. Do the pulling exercise first while your grip is fresh.
How to progress
On pull-ups and chin-ups, add one rep to one set each session until all sets reach 8, then add a backpack with a few books. For the other exercises, move to the next harder version once you reach the top of the range.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Advanced: bar and dip station, low reps

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets26 a week
  • Per workout~45 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar, Dip Bar

You can do 10 pull-ups and 20 push-ups, you train at a park or have a bar and parallel bars, and you want heavier, lower-rep strength work.

Harder variations at 3 to 8 reps train strength rather than endurance. Two sessions a week with 13 hard sets each leave enough recovery for near-limit sets on the hardest variations.

Day 1
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Pull-UpAdd weight once 6 reps are easy. 4 × 3–6 1 3 min
Chest Dip 4 × 5–8 1 2:30 min
Pistol SquatPer leg. 3 × 3–6 2 2:30 min
L-Sit HoldSeconds per hold. Legs straight. 2 × 10–25 2 90 s

Open Day 1 in the session builder

Day 2
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Chin-Up 4 × 4–8 1 3 min
Archer Push-UpPer side. 3 × 4–8 1 2 min
Nordic Hamstring Curl 3 × 3–6 2 2:30 min
Hanging Leg RaiseStraight legs. 3 × 6–10 1 90 s

Open Day 2 in the session builder

How to run it
Space the two sessions two or three days apart. Rest a full 2 to 3 minutes between sets of pull-ups, dips and pistols so every set gets your best effort.
How to progress
Add weight to pull-ups and dips with a backpack or belt once every set reaches 8 reps. On pistols, lower the box; on archer push-ups, slow the lowering, then move toward one-arm push-ups.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

Can you build strength with bodyweight exercises alone?

Yes, if you keep moving to harder variations. Pull-ups, dips, pistol squats and archer push-ups load your muscles heavily. The limit is the legs, which eventually need very hard single-leg work or added weight.

What is a bodyweight strength workout?

A session built on hard bodyweight exercises, a push, a pull, a single-leg squat and a trunk exercise, done for 3 to 5 sets of 3 to 12 reps with full rest. It differs from a circuit, which uses easy variations and short rest for conditioning.

How many reps should I do for bodyweight strength?

3 to 12 reps per set. If you can do more than 12 good reps, the variation is too easy for building strength. Move to the harder version or add a pause.

How long does it take to do a pull-up?

Starting from zero, expect a few months of rows and assisted pull-ups two to three times a week. Log your best assisted set each week: when the assistance you need keeps shrinking, the first full rep is close.

How often should I train bodyweight strength?

Two to four times a week. Pull-ups and push-ups respond well to frequent practice, so training them 3 times a week at moderate effort works better than once a week to failure.