6 Bodyweight Exercises for building muscle

James Zaib
3 min readMar 1, 2023
Photo by Connor Bowden on Unsplash

Engaging in regular physical exercise has numerous benefits for our overall health and well-being. Exercise not only helps us maintain a healthy weight and reduce our risk of chronic diseases, but it can also improve our mental health, boost our energy levels, and enhance our cognitive function. Whether it’s going for a run, lifting weights, or practicing yoga, incorporating regular physical activity into our daily routine can have a significant impact on our quality of life. In this fast-paced world, making time for exercise may seem like a challenge, but the benefits of working out are too great to ignore.

Body Weight Exercises

Body-weight exercises are a great way to build muscle, especially for those who prefer not to use weights or do not have access to a gym. Here are some of the best body-weight exercises for building muscle:

Push-Ups: This classic exercise works the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core muscles. Variations like incline and decline push-ups can increase the difficulty and target different muscle groups.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pkjOk0EiAk

Photo by Gordon Cowie on Unsplash

Pull-Ups/Chin-Ups: Pull-ups work the back, biceps, and forearms. Chin-ups also target the biceps more than pull-ups. If you can’t do a full pull-up or chin-up, start with assisted variations or use resistance bands.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRV5YKKaeVw

Photo by Anastase Maragos on Unsplash

Dips: Dips target the chest, triceps, and shoulders. You can perform them on parallel bars, a sturdy chair, or the edge of a bench.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX_nSOOJIsE

Photo by Gordon Cowie on Unsplash

Squats: Squats are a great lower body exercise that targets the quads, glutes, and hamstrings. To make them more challenging, try single-leg variations or jump squats.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuxpZlMC4XA

Photo by Meghan Holmes on Unsplash

Lunges: Lunges target the quads, glutes, and hamstrings, and also engage the core. Walking lunges and reverse lunges are great variations to try.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrwwXE_x-pQ

Photo by Michael DeMoya on Unsplash

Burpees: Burpees are a full-body exercise that works the chest, shoulders, triceps, quads, hamstrings, and core. They can be done as a standalone exercise or incorporated into a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) routine.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCqbpkoiyXE

Remember that to build muscle, you need to challenge your muscles by progressively increasing the difficulty of your exercises. You can do this by increasing the number of reps, sets, or the intensity of your workouts.

Workout Tracker

A workout tracker is a useful tool for individuals who are looking to monitor their progress and achieve their fitness goals. Here are some reasons why you might want to use a workout tracker:

We’ve created a Workout Planner & Tracker here: https://2067265444679.gumroad.com/l/4xWeekSplit-WorkoutPlannerTracker

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