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Exercises

Bodyweight full body exercises: legs, push, pull and core

Published October 19, 2026

The best bodyweight full body exercises are the squat and its harder single-leg versions (cossack, skater and pistol squats) for your legs, the Nordic curl and superman for the back of your body, push-ups and pike push-ups for your chest, shoulders and triceps, pull-ups and chin-ups for your back, and the side plank, hanging knee raise and bear crawl for your core. Pick one from each group and you have trained everything. Without a pull-up bar, your back gets very little work, so a doorway bar is the one thing worth buying.

  1. Bodyweight Squat Quads
  2. Push-Up Chest
  3. Pull-Up Lats
  4. Cossack Squat Quads, Adductors
  5. Pike Push-Up Shoulders
  6. Nordic Hamstring Curl Hamstrings
  7. Superman Lower Back
  8. Bear Crawl Abs, Shoulders

Legs: from two feet to one

Your legs are strong enough to handle body weight for a lot of reps, so a full body workout needs leg exercises that stay hard. Start with the air squat, then move your weight onto one leg: the cossack squat shifts it side to side, the skater squat stands it on one foot, and the pistol to a box is the hardest version.

Legs, two-leg squat

Bodyweight Squat

Quads

The air squat is the base every other leg exercise on this page builds on. On its own it only stays hard for a while, so use it to own the depth and position, then slow it down or move to the single-leg versions once 25 clean reps leave you with plenty in the tank.

How to do it

  1. Stand with feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned out a little, arms reaching forward for balance.
  2. Sit your hips down and back between your heels, letting your knees travel forward over your feet.
  3. Go as low as you can while your heels stay flat and your chest stays up, ideally thighs below parallel.
  4. Stand up by pushing the floor away, squeezing your glutes at the top.

Cues

  • Heels heavy
  • Knees out over the toes
  • Full depth before more reps

Common mistakes

  • Cutting depth as the set gets hard: the last rep should be as deep as the first.
  • Rushing: take three seconds down and pause at the bottom when 25 reps get easy.

Swap for: Cossack Squat, Skater Squat, Wall Sit

Build a session with Bodyweight Squat

Legs and inner thighs, side-to-side squat

Cossack Squat

Quads, Adductors

Shifting your whole weight onto one bent leg while the other stays straight loads the working leg far more than an air squat, and it stretches the inner thigh of the straight leg at the same time. It is the first step from two legs to one.

How to do it

  1. Take a wide stance, about twice shoulder width, toes turned out slightly.
  2. Sink toward your right side, bending the right knee and keeping the left leg long, until your hips are as low as you can control.
  3. Let the left toes point up if that lets you go deeper; keep the right heel down.
  4. Press back up through the right foot to the middle, then go to the left. One rep is both sides.

Cues

  • Bent-leg heel stays down
  • Chest up, hands forward
  • Hips low as you switch sides

Common mistakes

  • Folding forward at the waist to reach depth: hold your arms out in front as a counterweight and stay upright.
  • Going deeper than you can stand up from: start with a short range and work lower each week.

Swap for: Bodyweight Squat, Skater Squat, Balance Board Lateral Squat

Build a session with Cossack Squat

Legs, single-leg squat

Skater Squat

Quads, Glutes

Standing on one leg with the other knee bent behind you, you squat your full body weight on one side, so this stays hard long after air squats are easy. Reaching your arms forward counterbalances you.

How to do it

  1. Stand on your right foot and bend your left knee so the left foot lifts behind you.
  2. Reach both arms ahead of you.
  3. Bend the right knee and lean your chest forward, lowering until your left knee comes close to the floor behind you.
  4. Drive through the right foot to stand tall. Do all reps, then switch legs.

Cues

  • Arms forward as a counterweight
  • Back knee lightly toward the floor
  • Whole foot pressing on the way up

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the back knee onto the floor: put a folded towel there and touch it lightly.
  • Letting the standing knee cave in: push it out over your middle toes.

Swap for: Pistol Squat, Cossack Squat, Bodyweight Squat

Build a session with Skater Squat

Legs, hardest single-leg squat

Pistol Squat

Quads, Glutes

A pistol puts your full body weight on one leg through the whole range, which is about as much load as a body-weight leg exercise gets. Squatting down to a box or chair, lets you train it long before you can sit all the way down and back up.

How to do it

  1. Stand in front of a box or chair, on your right leg, with your left leg held straight out in front.
  2. Reach your arms forward and sit back and down on the right leg until you lightly touch the box.
  3. Without resting on it, drive through the right foot to stand up.
  4. Finish all reps on that leg, then switch. Lower the box over the weeks.

Cues

  • Touch the box, don't sit on it
  • Free leg straight out front
  • Arms reaching forward

Common mistakes

  • Falling onto the box at the bottom: pick a higher box until you can control the descent all the way.
  • Rounding over to stay balanced: keep your chest up and let your arms do the balancing.

Swap for: Skater Squat, Cossack Squat, Bulgarian Split Squat

Build a session with Pistol Squat

Back of the body: hamstrings, glutes and lower back

Squats and push-ups train the front of you. The Nordic curl is the only body-weight exercise that loads your hamstrings heavily, and the superman trains your spinal muscles and glutes. One of each per week keeps the front and back balanced.

Hamstrings, eccentric-heavy curl

Nordic Hamstring Curl

Hamstrings

There is no other way to load your hamstrings this hard without equipment. You kneel with your ankles held down, by a partner or under a sofa, and slowly lower your body forward against your hamstrings.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on a pad with a partner holding your ankles down, or hook your heels under a heavy sofa.
  2. Keep a straight line from knees to head, hips pushed forward.
  3. Lean forward as slowly as you can, letting your hamstrings brake the fall, until you can't hold it any more.
  4. Catch yourself with your hands, push off lightly, and curl back up to kneeling.

Cues

  • Hips stay forward
  • Fight the fall the whole way
  • Push off only as much as you need

Common mistakes

  • Bending at the hips to make it easier: a fold at the waist takes the hamstrings out of it.
  • Dropping the moment it gets hard: try to control the lowering for at least three seconds.

Swap for: Bodyweight Lying Leg Curl, Glute Ham Raise, Stability Ball Leg Curl

Build a session with Nordic Hamstring Curl

Lower back and glutes

Superman

Lower Back

Lying face down and raising your arms, upper chest and legs trains the muscles along your spine and your glutes, which squats and push-ups barely reach. It's the closest thing to a back exercise when you have no bar to pull from.

How to do it

  1. Lie face down with arms stretched out past your head and legs long.
  2. Squeeze your glutes and raise your arms, upper chest and both legs at once.
  3. Hold the top for two seconds, looking at the floor.
  4. Lower everything slowly and repeat.

Cues

  • Glutes tight first
  • Look at the floor, not forward
  • Hold the top

Common mistakes

  • Cranking your head up: keep your neck long and in line with your back.
  • Swinging up and down fast: hold the top for two seconds every rep.

Swap for: Back Extension, Plank IYTW, Exercise Ball Back Extension

Build a session with Superman

Push: chest, shoulders and triceps

The push-up covers chest and triceps, the close-grip version leans on the triceps, and the pike push-up turns the same motion into an overhead press for your shoulders. The plank to push-up adds a trunk challenge for days you want a harder finisher.

Chest, shoulders and triceps

Push-Up

Chest

The push-up is the main upper-body press with no equipment, and it trains your core as a plank at the same time. Once you can do 15 good reps, change the angle or hand width rather than just adding more reps.

How to do it

  1. Put your hands on the floor slightly wider than your shoulders and walk your feet back into a straight-body plank.
  2. Lower your chest toward the floor with elbows angled back about 45 degrees.
  3. Touch your chest to the floor, or a fist's height from it.
  4. Press back up until your arms are straight, moving your body as one piece.

Cues

  • One straight line, head to heels
  • Chest leads, hips follow
  • Elbows angled back

Common mistakes

  • Hips sagging or piking: squeeze glutes and stomach before the first rep.
  • Half reps near the top: lower all the way every rep, even if it means fewer reps.

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

Build a session with Push-Up

Triceps and chest

Close-Grip Push-Up

Triceps, Chest

Moving your hands in under your shoulders and keeping your elbows by your sides shifts more of the work to your triceps. It gives your arms direct work without any extra gear and is a step harder than a normal push-up.

How to do it

  1. Set your hands directly under your shoulders and get into a straight plank.
  2. Lower yourself with your elbows brushing your ribs.
  3. Go down until your chest is just above your hands.
  4. Press up to straight arms, keeping elbows tucked.

Cues

  • Elbows brush the ribs
  • Hands under shoulders
  • Straight body throughout

Common mistakes

  • Elbows flaring out as you tire: end the set when they won't stay tucked.
  • Hands touching in a diamond so your wrists hurt: shoulder-width is close enough.

Swap for: Push-Up, Bench Dip, Floor Triceps Dip

Build a session with Close-Grip Push-Up

Shoulders, overhead push

Pike Push-Up

Shoulders

With your hips high and your body in an upside-down V, a push-up becomes an overhead press. It is the shoulder exercise of body-weight training and the first stage on the way to a handstand push-up.

How to do it

  1. Start in a push-up position, then walk your feet toward your hands and lift your hips until your body makes an upside-down V.
  2. Arms stay straight; let your head hang in line with them.
  3. Bend your elbows and lower the top of your head toward the floor, a little in front of your hands.
  4. Press back up to straight arms, keeping your hips high.

Cues

  • Hips high
  • Head goes forward of the hands
  • Press the floor away

Common mistakes

  • Letting your hips drop so it turns into a regular push-up: walk your feet closer.
  • Elbows flaring straight out: angle them back slightly.

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

Build a session with Pike Push-Up

Shoulders, triceps and core

Plank to Push-Up

Abs, Shoulders

Moving from forearms to hands and back, one arm at a time, makes your triceps and shoulders press while your trunk fights to keep your hips from twisting. It is a hard full-body move and a good last exercise before core work.

How to do it

  1. Start in a forearm plank, elbows under shoulders, feet hip-width apart.
  2. Place your right hand where your right elbow was and press up, then do the same with your left, until you are in a high plank.
  3. Lower back down to your right forearm, then your left.
  4. Lead with the other arm on the next rep.

Cues

  • Hips stay level
  • Feet wide for balance
  • Switch the lead arm each rep

Common mistakes

  • Rocking your hips side to side: widen your feet and slow down.
  • Hips rising high to make the switch easier: keep a straight line from shoulders to heels.

Swap for: Push-Up, Plank Shoulder Tap, Bear Crawl

Build a session with Plank to Push-Up

Pull: back and biceps

Pulling is the weak spot of body-weight training: on the floor there is nothing to pull against. A bar in a doorway fixes it. Do pull-ups and chin-ups in every session that has a bar, and match your push sets with pull sets.

Back, overhand vertical pull

Pull-Up

Lats

Body-weight training has no other honest back exercise. With a bar in a doorway or at a park, the pull-up trains your lats, upper back and biceps harder than any floor move can, and it's the one piece of gear worth buying.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with your palms facing away and hands a little wider than your shoulders.
  2. Pull your shoulders down and back, then pull your chest toward the bar.
  3. Go until your chin clears the bar.
  4. Lower all the way to straight arms before the next rep.

Cues

  • Shoulders down first
  • Chest to the bar
  • Dead-straight arms at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Kicking your legs to get over the bar: keep your legs still and stop when the reps won't come.
  • Stopping short at the bottom: a full hang starts every rep.

Swap for: Chin-Up, Band-Assisted Pull-Up, Neutral-Grip Pull-Up

Build a session with Pull-Up

Back and biceps, underhand pull

Chin-Up

Lats

Turning your palms to face you lets your biceps help, so most people get a few more reps than on pull-ups. Use it as the second pull of the week, or as the first one if you can't do a pull-up yet.

How to do it

  1. Grip the bar with palms facing you, hands about shoulder-width apart.
  2. Start from a straight-arm hang, then pull your elbows down toward your ribs.
  3. Pull until your chin is over the bar.
  4. Lower slowly to a full hang.

Cues

  • Elbows to the ribs
  • Chin over, not just to the bar
  • Slow way down

Common mistakes

  • Craning your neck to get your chin over: pull your chest higher instead.
  • Dropping fast from the top: take two to three seconds to lower.

Swap for: Pull-Up, Close-Grip Chin-Up, Bodyweight Bicep Curl

Build a session with Chin-Up

Core and crawling

Every exercise above already makes your trunk brace. These three finish the job: the side plank trains your obliques, the hanging knee raise works your lower abs and grip, and the bear crawl ties shoulders, core and legs together to end a session.

Core, obliques

Side Plank

Abs

Holding your body sideways on one forearm trains the sides of your trunk, which most of the other moves here leave alone. It takes a few minutes and makes single-leg work like skater squats feel steadier.

How to do it

  1. Lie down on your right hip, legs straight and stacked, right forearm on the floor under your shoulder.
  2. Lift your hips until your body is straight from head to feet.
  3. Hold, breathing steadily, with your top hand on your hip or reaching up.
  4. Lower with control, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Elbow under shoulder
  • Hips pushed forward and up
  • Breathe while holding

Common mistakes

  • Hips sinking toward the floor: end the set when they drop.
  • Rolling the top shoulder forward: stack it over the bottom one.

Swap for: Copenhagen Plank, Dead Bug, Plank Shoulder Tap

Build a session with Side Plank

Core, lower abs and grip

Hanging Knee Raise

Abs

If you have a bar for pull-ups, hanging and lifting your knees trains your abs and grip in one move. Curling your pelvis up at the top is what turns it from a hip-flexor exercise into an ab exercise.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with straight arms and your legs together.
  2. Lift your knees toward your chest, then curl your hips up so your tailbone tucks under.
  3. Pause for a second at the top.
  4. Lower your legs slowly without swinging.

Cues

  • Tuck the tailbone
  • No swinging
  • Pause at the top

Common mistakes

  • Swinging to get the knees up: stop at the bottom between reps until you're still.
  • Lifting the knees only to hip height: curl them higher until your hips tilt.

Swap for: Hanging Leg Raise, Lying Knee Raise, Reverse Crunch

Build a session with Hanging Knee Raise

Whole body, crawling

Bear Crawl

Abs, Shoulders

Crawling on your hands and feet with your knees just off the floor makes your shoulders, core and legs work at once. It raises your heart rate fast, so it suits the end of a session.

How to do it

  1. Get on your hands and knees, then lift your knees an inch off the floor.
  2. Step your right hand and left foot forward a short distance at the same time.
  3. Repeat with the left hand and right foot, keeping your back flat and hips low.
  4. Crawl forward for the set distance or count of steps, then crawl back.

Cues

  • Knees an inch off the floor
  • Opposite hand and foot
  • Back flat enough to hold a cup

Common mistakes

  • Hips rising high into a downward-dog shape: keep them level with your shoulders.
  • Taking big steps: small, quick steps keep your trunk steady.

Swap for: Plank to Push-Up, Plank Shoulder Tap, Spider Plank

Build a session with Bear Crawl

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. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

20 minutes, three times a week, no bar

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets36 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentBodyweight

You have a floor, a wall and about 20 minutes, and nothing to hang from.

Six exercises in one session cover legs, push, the back of the body and core without needing anything. With no bar, the superman stands in for pulling and is done every session. Two sets each keeps the session short, and taking each set to 1 rep in reserve, close to failure, is what makes body-weight sets count, because the load can't go up. Twelve working sets, three times a week, gives each muscle six hard sets a week.

No-Bar Full Body
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Cossack SquatPer side. Go deeper each week. 2 × 8–15 1 1 min
Push-Up 2 × 8–25 1 1 min
Bodyweight Squat3 s down, 1 s pause. 2 × 15–30 1 45 s
Pike Push-UpHips high. 2 × 6–15 1 1 min
SupermanHold 2 s at the top. 2 × 10–15 1 45 s
Side PlankSeconds per side. 2 × 20–45 1 45 s
How to run it
Do the session three times a week with a day between, for example Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Rest 45 to 60 seconds between sets to stay inside 20 minutes.
How to progress
Add reps until you reach the top of the range at 1 rep in reserve. Then make the exercise harder: slow squats with a three-second descent, feet elevated on push-ups, hips higher on pike push-ups, and cossack squats deeper.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Doorway bar, upper and lower days

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts4× a week
  • Working sets48 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar

You own a pull-up bar, want to train four days a week, splitting upper and lower body so each session is shorter and harder.

With a bar the upper day can pair every push with a pull: pull-ups with pike push-ups and chin-ups with close-grip push-ups, so your back gets as many sets as your chest and shoulders. The lower day moves to single-leg squats and the Nordic curl, which stay hard without weights. Three sets on the main pull and squat, two on the rest, at 1 rep in reserve; pull-ups go to 2 in reserve because a missed rep there costs form, not just a rep.

Upper
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
A1 Pull-UpFull hang every rep. 3 × 4–10 2 90 s
A2 Pike Push-Up 3 × 6–15 1 90 s
B1 Chin-Up 2 × 5–12 1 90 s
B2 Close-Grip Push-Up 2 × 8–20 1 90 s
Hanging Knee RaiseTuck the tailbone. 2 × 8–15 1 1 min

Open Upper in the session builder

Lower
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Skater SquatPer leg. Arms forward. 3 × 6–15 1 90 s
Nordic Hamstring CurlLower as slowly as you can. 3 × 3–8 1 2 min
Cossack SquatPer side. 2 × 8–12 1 1 min
Superman 2 × 10–15 1 45 s
Side PlankSeconds per side. 2 × 30–60 1 45 s

Open Lower in the session builder

How to run it
Train Upper, Lower, rest, Upper, Lower, rest, rest. Superset each push and pull pair: do one set, rest 60 seconds, do the other.
How to progress
When pull-ups reach 10 at 2 in reserve, slow the lowering to four seconds. When skater squats reach 15, hold the back foot higher off the floor or add a pause at the bottom. Nordic curls progress by lowering more slowly through a bigger range.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Past the basics: single-leg and harder pushes

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets48 a week
  • Per workout~40 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar

You can already do 25 push-ups, 8 pull-ups and 15 skater squats a side, and your workouts have turned into long sets of easy reps.

Every exercise here is the hard end of its group: pistols to a box, Nordic curls, plank to push-ups and full pull-ups. Harder versions let you keep reps in the 5 to 15 range, where you can tell how close you are to failure and stop at 1 rep in reserve. Three sessions a week of one routine is 16 working sets, enough for experienced trainees without equipment to keep progressing.

Hard Full Body
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Pistol Squat1 warm-up set firstPer leg. Lower the box over time. 3 × 5–10 1 2 min
Pull-Up 3 × 5–12 1 2 min
Plank to Push-UpPer lead arm. 2 × 6–12 1 90 s
Nordic Hamstring Curl 2 × 3–8 1 2 min
Pike Push-Up 2 × 8–15 1 90 s
Hanging Knee Raise 2 × 10–15 1 1 min
Bear CrawlSteps each way. 2 × 10–20 2 1 min
How to run it
Do the session three times a week. Warm up with a set of air squats and push-ups at an easy pace first.
How to progress
Lower the pistol box one step whenever you hit 10 reps a side. Add a third set to the pull-up once you reach 10 reps at 1 in reserve. Finish with bear crawls for distance, adding a lap each week.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

Can you get fit with only bodyweight?

Yes. Push-ups, squats, pull-ups and their harder versions can build strength, muscle and conditioning, as long as you keep moving to harder variations so sets stay close to failure. The weak spot is pulling: you need a bar for your back to keep up.

What are some good full body exercises I can do at home?

Squats, cossack squats, push-ups, pike push-ups, supermans, side planks and bear crawls need nothing but the floor. Add pull-ups and chin-ups if you can fit a bar in a doorway.

Can you build muscle with bodyweight exercises?

Yes, if each set ends close to failure, within about 1 to 3 reps. That gets harder as you get stronger, so plan on moving from two-leg to single-leg squats and from push-ups to harder angles rather than doing ever more reps.

How do you train your back without equipment?

With almost nothing to pull from, the superman is the main option on the floor. It trains the lower back and glutes but not the lats. For the upper back and lats, a pull-up bar is the practical answer.

How many days a week should you do a bodyweight full body workout?

Three days of a full body session, or four if you split upper and lower body. Leave a day between sessions that train the same muscles.

How many sets and reps for bodyweight exercises?

Two or three sets per exercise, in a range of about 5 to 20 reps, stopping 1 to 2 reps short of failure. If you can do more than 20 or 25, switch to a harder variation.