I’ll be the first to confess that I have been amazed more than once at the body’s ability to maneuver effortlessly and the strength it takes to accomplish it.

My amazement has only fueled my own desire to be able to attain the same distinction of greatness.

So, I decided that I needed to create my own bodyweight exercise bucket list.

That’s right!

The only way to take a dream and make it a reality is to create a game plan.

Creating your bodyweight bucket list is not difficult.

Keep your list realistic.

Make a list of the bodyweight exercises you want to complete and include a date of when you want to master them.

To keep yourself from getting frustrated keep track of your progress.

Charting your growth is a great preventative from giving up.

To write down what exercises and when I want to accomplish my bodyweight goals is only half the challenge.

The other half is finding really good teachers or tutorials.

Below I have listed what I believe are to be the 9 Best Bodyweight exercises and the tutorials that explain these exercises in a very clear and concise way.

I have also provided a progression section.

In order to master anything great it almost always takes tackling smaller goals along the way.

List of the 9 Hardest Bodyweight Exercises

1. Planche Tutorial

Description:
The planche is a super cool but strenuous bodyweight exercise that few have mastered.

Basically, your body will be held up using just your hands and your lower body will be extended behind you.

All of your weight will be supported by your arms and shoulders so make sure to build up good shoulder strength.

Progression:
1. L Sit
2. L Sit with Tucked Legs
3. Rotate Legs Behind (Can Rock Back and Forth)
4. Extend One Leg out (Or With Straddle)

Technique Tips:
-Keep your arms straight and a hollow body in your torso.
-To get stronger you can do push-ups in a tucked planche.
-If you struggle to get your hips up practice the normal push-up with your body shifted forward. This will strengthen your deltoids.
–Hand placement can be forward, side, or backward. The important aspect is that your elbows are straight.

Another helpful video when practicing the planche:

2. Handstand Tutorial

Description:
The handstand is a bodyweight exercise that is extremely versatile allowing you to target and strengthen several different muscle areas.

Placing your hands flat on the ground your goal is to balance all of your bodyweight on your hands and wrists while keeping your legs straight in the air.

The ultimate challenge is to see how long you can balance before toppling over.

Progression:
1. Wrist Prep – Place hands on the ground in different positions and lean forward (stretching)
2. Understand the Hollow Body Position
3. Practice walking up and down the wall in a hollow body position and body facing the wall (lockout arms)
4. Handstand against the wall with body facing out
5. L Stand
6. Freestanding handstands (start with a tuck or straddle)

Technique Tips:
-For each progression, you should be able to do 1 minute before you move on.

3. One-Arm Push-Up Tutorial

Description:
The one-arm push-up is a more common but still grueling bodyweight exercise that requires you to only use one arm when doing a push-up.

This bodyweight exercise is not for the faint at heart.

Progression:
1. Incline One Arm Push Up
2. Self Assisted One-Arm Push Up
3. The L7 Push Up
4. Negative One-Arm Push Up
5. Pistol Position One Arm Push Up

Technique Tips:
-There are two types of stances for the one-arm push-up. One is to have your arm out which forces your legs and feet into a wide stance. This variation is usually easier because your wider stance helps you to stay balanced. Be sure to keep your hips from sinking too low or from sticking up in the air.
-Arm is closer to your body and almost directly under your shoulder. This variation tends to be more difficult because it relies heavily on your tricep muscle.

4. Backflip Tutorial

Description:
Backflips are not just for gymnasts.

This awesome bodyweight exercise challenges you to overcome gravity by jumping in the air and flipping your whole body backward and then landing on your feet.

Progression:
1. Start with a partner and have them not only spot you but have them help you flip over.
2. See the video for hand placement of the person spotting you.
3. Start on soft ground wearing shoes for support.
4. Practice…practice…practice.

Technique Tips:
-Start standing up not squatting down.
-Keep your arms up.
-Lean your back slightly.
-Bring your knees up when you are at your highest point in the air and grab your knees.
-Stay relaxed but be quick and energetic too!

5. Muscle Up

Description:
The muscle-up is a bodyweight exercise that combines a pull-up and a dip together.

The difficulty lies in transitioning your body from a pull-up into a dip.

This exercise can be done on a set of rings suspended in mid-air to make it even harder.

Progression: (Pull Up)
1. Bodyweight Rows do 4 in sets of 3-5
2. Elevator Rows do sets of 3-5 or until you are comfortable
3. Assisted Pull Up
4. False Grip
5. Basic Pull Up

Progression: (Push Up)
1. Decline Ring Push Up
2. Level Ring Push Up
3. Assisted Dip
4. Half of a Muscle Up – very slow & controlled
5. Assisted Negative Muscle Up – using a stool
6. Negative Muscle-Up without assistance
7. Assisted Muscle-Up
8. Full Muscle-up

Technique Tips:
-Heel of your hand goes on top of the ring.
-Hands need to be outward in the false grip.
-Use a false grip to speed the process of your transition.
-Your hands should naturally curl up
-Move slowly to ensure more muscle growth in your muscle-ups.

6. Front Lever

Description:
A front lever is a physically demanding bodyweight exercise that requires you to lower your legs from an inverted hang until the body is completely horizontal and straight with the front of the body facing upwards.

Progression:
1. Tightly Tucked Front Lever
2. Tucked Front Lever
3. One Leg Extended Front Lever
4. The Straddled Front Lever

Technique Tips:
-Aim for 15-second holds.
-Add ankle weights until you are ready for a harder variation.
-Lift up to the lever level and higher.
-Pull yourself up above the bar and then use the swing to mark the front lever position.
-Hang on the bar and bring your legs into full extension practicing the front lever position.

Assisting exercises:
Dragon flag works your the same ab and back muscles used in a front lever position.
Lat pulls with weights or with resistance bands.

7. Human Flag

Description:
The human flag is an extremely difficult exercise that requires super core and upper body strength.

This balance movement requires you to hold your body horizontally in the air by using your core and your arms to hold you up.

Progression:
1. Focus first on proper hand placement.
2. Work on three sets of proper hand placement. Hold for as long as you can.
3. Lift legs and hold them in a bent knees position.
4. Lift legs and hold straight in the air.
5. Lift legs and hold them straight in the air and then lower than slowly to the ground.
6. Kick your legs into the flag and hold.
7. Lift your legs into the human flag and hold using your core.

Technique Tips:
-Proper hand placement gives you a fixed grip. Place hands based on what’s most comfortable but be sure to practice hands in opposite positions in order to develop your core muscles on both sides.
-Bottom hand needs to have fingers facing down while the top hand needs to have the thumb facing downward.
-Keep your back pushed out with your core open.
-Keep your shoulders locked out and your bottom arm is locked out too.

8. Pistol Squat

Description:
The pistol squat is a balance demanding bodyweight exercise that requires you to squat down with one leg straight out and then come back up while keeping your straight leg still out.

Progression:
1. Sit on a bench with one leg straight out and practice standing up.
2. Stand on a bench and lower yourself into a squat.
3. Balance in pistol squat position
4. Full pistol squat exercise

Technique Tips:
-Keep chest up.
-Keep your lower back and the hamstring of your straight leg tight.
-Do not move on to the next phase of progression until you are comfortable.

9. Tiger Bend

Description:
A tiger bend is an ultra crazy bodyweight exercise that first starts with a handstand and lowers into a pushup.

As you lower into your pushup you tense your lower back and shift your weight from your hands to your elbows.

Progression:
1. Comfortably hold a 30-second handstand.
2. Comfortably hold a 30-second elbow stand.
3. Five full-range handstand push-ups.
4. Tiger bend

Technique Tips:
-Lower yourself down comfortably.
-Lower yourself slowly.
-Keep your lower back tense and engaged to prevent falling backward.
-Perform tiger bends with bent knees if you keep falling backward.

Which bodyweight exercises are on your bucket list! Let’s keep each other accountable in the comments section below!

-Todd

After all, you hide them under your jeans, right? Who needs to work them out? Haha! Legs are obviously just as important to work out.

Thankfully, you can use bodyweight exercises to build muscle and strength in your legs.

Here are 3 bodyweight leg workouts to help you build stronger, leaner legs without the need for weights. Say yes to leg day!

Bodyweight Leg Workout 1: The Leg Murder Workout

Here’s a fantastic bodyweight leg workout to help you build strength and lean muscle in your quads, hamstrings and glutes. After all, no one wants chicken legs!

If you don’t like chicken legs then you will like this bodyweight workout.

If you like having chicken legs, then this is your opportunity to changes your ways.

Using bodyweight exercises is one of the most effective ways of burning out your legs.

Many weight lifters suffer from the top-heavy syndrome.

Their upper body is extremely developed yet their legs are little chicken sticks.

Using this twice a week will add some bulk to your lower half and give you the ability to jump over small homes and kick down locked doors.

Ok, maybe not the last couple, but I haven’t done this routine for years on end so just it might just be true, O ye of little faith!

Try this legs workout and you’ll definitely be crying!

How To Perform the Bodyweight Leg Workout

For each exercise, do as many reps as you can in 60 seconds then immediately move to the next exercise.

Once you finish 1 round, rest for 30-40 seconds. Do 5 total rounds.

You can download the bodyweight leg workout training PDF for free by clicking here. Print it out and check off the boxes as you follow along.

EXERCISES

Bodyweight Squats

This is a classic bodyweight exercise.

Probably the most basic other than the push-up. But I’d like to give you some helpful tips to make sure you do it correctly.

Tips: Keep your feet parallel and feet hip-width apart or further.

Now here’s the KEY to this exercise.

Drive outward with your knees.

Pretend you are carrying 300lbs on your shoulders and you need a crazy amount of support.

When your knees collapse inward it increases your likelihood you’ll have an injury.

Even though calisthenics exercises don’t require weight, you should still protect your joints.

Imagine driving your knees outward while performing this exercise.

Front Lunges

This is another exercise a lot of folks do improperly. Here’s how to do it. Step with your left leg outward about 2 feet. Your left knee should not be further than your left foot. It should also be aligned with your left foot. So those are the two points to this exercise. Keep your knees away from going over your toes. And keep it in line with your foot. This will protect your knees.

Sumo Squats

One of the reasons this leg workout is so good is the unique calisthenic leg exercises part of it.

Sumo squat is one of those exercises.

It’s just like the bodyweight squat but your feet will be pointing outward and quite a bit further than hip-width apart.

Pro Tip: Just like with the bodyweight squat, drive those knees outward.

Think outward = protects your knees! Inward = hurts your knees.

Bulgarian Split Squats

This is an advanced version of a “split squat”.

It’s more challenging.

Place your back leg on a bench, couch, or stable chair.

Make sure your front leg is out far enough so your knee doesn’t go over your toes.

Keep your back knee bent. Lower until your front knee is about 90 degrees.

Then drive through your heels upward until your front leg is straight. Just like with all squats, drive that knee outward.

Wall Sits

Here’s the only isometric knee exercise in the workout.

Keep your knees bent at a 90 degree angle the entire time.

If that’s too difficult, then you can start off with your knees at a 45-degree angle.

If the 90 degree angle is too easy, pick up a weight and hold it.

Pro Tip: Place an object like a foam roller or even your fists between your knees.

Squeeze your knees together against the object.

This will intensify the wall sit and engage your abductor leg muscles.

You can do the same thing for your abductors (outer leg muscles) by placing your hands on the outer portion of your knees.

Then press your knees outward against your hands.

Leg day will turn into crazy-intense day! Haha. You’ll thank me later. 😉

ADVANCED MODIFICATIONS

For extra flying distance, you can hold some dumbbells in your hands while doing these exercises.

Also, you can swap regular squats with pistol squats.

BEGINNER MODIFICATIONS

Five rounds of five 6o second sets is not trivial.

If your level of fitness is there yet, you can adjust the set duration.

The important thing is to try hard to stick to the duration you choose for all exercises.

Alright, not that you’ve finished reading, time to workout those legs!

If you’d like an additional bodyweight leg workout, here’s one called the Golden Bodyweight Leg Workout.

Bodyweight Leg Workout 2: The Elephants Leg Workout

This bodyweight workout is all about giving your legs the strength of elephant legs (obviously a bit of an exaggeration but your legs will feel super strong).

Elephant legs are solid tubes of pure muscle.

Well, not pure muscle, there’s a lot of fat in there.

But for the purposes of this leg workout, we’re going to focus on the muscle part.

Elephants can carry up to 19840 lbs on top of their own weight which can get up to 14000 lbs.

We don’t promise you’ll get anywhere near that kind of strength, but human legs can do some absolutely impressive things, and with enough practice, you can get there. Try this workout on your next bodyweight leg day!

If you perform these bodyweight exercises regularly, this could be the first step to building “elephant-like” strength!

Let’s get to it.

INSTRUCTIONS

Do each exercise for the specified amount of time, rest for 10 seconds, then move to the next exercise.

Once you finish one round, rest for 1 minute. Do 4 rounds total.

EXERCISES

Bodyweight Squats

Alright, I explained quite a bit how to perform Bodyweight Squats above.

Just another reminder here to drive those knees outward, ok?

Keep your back straight as you go down.

I like to place my hands behind my head with my elbows flaring out.

You can also try the Matt Furey Hindu Squat version where you brush your fingers against the ground with each rep

Front Lunges

Step out with your left knee so that your knees aren’t over your toes.

Lunge down until your knees are at a 90-degree angle.

Step back to starting position and repeat on the other side.

Wall Sits

This Wall Sits exercise is in the leg workout above called “Leg Murder”.

If you haven’t tried the advanced wall sit variations then here is your chance.

Press your knees against your fists or hard object to work the adductors.

Press your knees against your hands on the outer portion of your knees to work your adductors.

ADVANCED MODIFICATIONS

Instead of regular squats, you can do pistol squats.

BEGINNER MODIFICATIONS

Feel free not to reach the specified amount of seconds and reps, as long as you’re giving it your all.

Bodyweight Leg Workout 3: Quick & Brutal 4 Minute Body Weight Leg Workout

This last body weight leg workout routine is designed to blast your legs and butt muscles in a very short amount of time.

Most people think that you need to spend hours in a gym to get firm buns and toned, sculpted legs.

This is a fallacy.

You just need a bit of commitment and this workout as your go-to guide to achieving great looking legs.

The above video will guide you through each exercise in the leg workout.

Make sure to notice the form that I show you in the video.

Whenever you are doing bodyweight leg exercises, it is especially important to remember to not let your knees go over your toes.

Some exercises will force this to happen but as a general rule to any exercise, try to keep your knees either in line or on the inside of your toes.

3 Reasons This Body Weight Leg Workout Is So Good:

1. This Leg Workout Incorporates Supersets

Supersets are when you do two or more exercises in a row with little to no rest in between.

The idea it to totally fatigue the muscle from many different angles and not give it a chance to recuperate between sets. So by the end of it, you’re totally dead.

2. This Leg Workout Incorporates Angular Training

Angular Training is when you target one muscle group from multiple angles.

In this leg workout, you will be adjusting your foot position several times throughout the workout.

In this way the emphasis shifts from one part of the muscle to another.

This way, you totally fatigue your entire leg and butt muscles in a short amount of time.

3. The Leg Workout Incorporates The Principle of Slowness

Most people just want to crank out reps during their body weight leg workout routines.

This is stupid. It’s not about how many reps you can do but how you perform the reps.

You want to be slow and deliberate in your workouts.

This workout incorporates a deliberate 5 second up and 5 second down movement.

It is a total killer for your legs.

Exercises In This Leg Workout Routine

1. Elevated Stationary Lunge

The Elevated Stationary Lunge is the most difficult bodyweight leg exercise in this routine.

It puts almost all of the focus on your front leg and the fact that you are doing the movements slowly helps to blast the leg muscle even further.

Try to make sure that your knee is not going over your toe during this exercise.

2. Stationary Lunge

Stationary Lunge is a great bodyweight leg exercise for developing tremendous strength.

In combination with the other exercises, this will totally fatigue your muscles to the max.

3. Narrow Stationary Lunge

The Narrow Stationary Lunge is unique but very effective.

Basically, you move your back leg up so that your feet are relatively close together.

This positions the muscles in a different way that changes the focus differently.

In combination with the other bodyweight leg exercises in this routine, this exercise is extreme.

4. Side Lunge

The Side Lunge is the final exercise in this bodyweight leg workout.

It again changes where the workout is targeting in your butt or legs.

Hope you find a bodyweight workout here that you love and do regularly.

Remember that bodyweight exercises are amazing at building strength, burning fat and protecting your joints so you can stay fit well into your later years.

Did you enjoy this bodyweight workout? Here are more you can try…

Body Weight Leg Workout Links

• 15 Of The Hardest Bodyweight Leg Workouts You’ll Ever See!
• Get Over 55 Bodyweight Leg Exercises to Add To Your Routine
• 4 Advanced Bodyweight Leg Exercises For Maximum Strength
• Best Calisthenics Routine For Legs (PDF Included)
• Men’s Health Leg Workouts
• Basic Training for Home Workouts

Your general cardio is also important to improve. Here are 10 insanely effective cardio workouts for you to try too.

I used to be like that in the beginning too.

When I started training with calisthenics my biggest aspiration was to achieve the unbelievable calisthenics skills that I saw on Youtube.

Almost all of these skills were related to upper body strength.

The few skills that were related to lower body strength (like pistol squats) didn’t seem as exciting.

And, for this reason, I pushed leg calisthenics training aside.

One day, I decided to crank out some pistol squats and was shocked to realize I could only get a few.

I actually needed to support myself on my left leg when I was trying to go back up. It sucked.

That was a complete eye-opener for me.

After that day, I never missed a calisthenics leg workout again.

“But Todd is it really possible to develop strong and muscular legs with bodyweight exercises?”

Can Calisthenics Build Your Leg Muscles?

The quick answer is yes, you can definitely build your leg muscles without using weights and simply following bodyweight leg workouts.

You just have to adhere to progressive overload principles such as increasing repetitions while reducing rest time, changing exercises and variations, and employing various workout protocols like drop sets.

The aim of this post is to show you all the variations of bodyweight leg exercises that you can add to your training regimen.

Before moving on, I would like to mention that this post is very similar to the “45 Bodyweight Exercises To Help You Build Strength And Definition”.

I recommend you to take a look at that post because it has lots of helpful info that applies to leg exercises as well.

Also, if you’re looking to use these exercises in the context of a whole body program, make sure to check out my Bodyweight Physique Academy.

Bodyweight Leg Exercises: Weightlifting VS Leg Calisthenics

If you have been following SOA for a while, you are probably going to know a dozen reasons why calisthenics is an awesome form of training and the many benefits it has over weight lifting.

So, in this section, I would like to focus just on the differences between calisthenics and weight lifting in regards to training legs.

A calisthenics leg workout is very effective for endurance and conditioning.

It can increase your explosive power and muscle mass in a similar way to upper body calisthenics.

The big difference comes in maximal strength training.

Maximal Leg Strength And Calisthenics

This is one of the areas where weight lifting can be considered superior to calisthenics.

When training with heavy squats, all you have to do is to master the technique, and then you just increase the weight on the bar “infinitely”.

On the contrary, to move from a simple squat to a pistol you have to master a completely new movement and after that, you have limited options on how to make a pistol more difficult.

But don’t let this scare you away because a calisthenics leg workout comes with another advantage.

Building Resilient Legs

If you train seriously with calisthenics, you are going to build a pair of very resilient legs.

Just take a look at parkouristas.

These guys jump from roof to roof and from big heights and absorb a lot of impact with their legs.

Yet, most of them don’t ever work out with weights.

This happens because as you are advancing with bodyweight leg exercises, you are moving through extreme ranges of motion and, as a result, your joints and ligaments become more supple and stronger.

What Are The Muscles In The Leg?

Before we dive into the exercises, let’s take a look at the basics of leg anatomy to get a sense of how the legs work.

The leg consists roughly of these main muscles:

• Hip Flexors – Lift your leg up
• Glutes (gluteus maximus) – Pull your leg back
• Quads – Extend your leg
• Hamstrings – Bend your leg
• Calves & shin muscles – Flex and extend your ankle, respectively
• Adductors & Abductors – Bring the legs to close and away from each other, respectively

Rotational movements use a combination of these muscle groups.

Of course, this is a very simplistic overview, but it’s enough to get you started.

If you are more interested in the anatomy of your leg, you can take a quick look at this site.

How To Warm Up For Bodyweight Leg Exercises

Warming up for your bodyweight leg workout is pretty straightforward.

In the beginning, do some light mobility work for 2-5 minutes.

You should perform exercises for all joints:

• ankles
• hips and knees
• pelvis
• squat clinic

This is really important if you are going to train for leg exercises like the shrimp squat, where you are going to move through an extreme range of motion.

After the mobility work, I sometimes like to include 5 minutes of jump rope to get my heart rate up, but it’s not necessary.

The rest of your warm-up is going to depend largely on which bodyweight leg exercise you want to add to your lower body workout for the day.

If your focus is on strength exercises or building muscle mass, then practice some low rep sets (3-5) of easier progressions leading to the move you are going to practice with.

For example, if you are going to train with pistol squats, you can do 3 sets of 5 reps of partial pistols increasing gradually the range of motion with every set.

If your goal is explosiveness or conditioning, practice with a moderate rep (6-12) and sets at a fast pace.

For example, you can do 2 sets of 8 reps of bodyweight squats at a fast pace.

55 Bodyweight Leg Exercises To Help You Build Strength & Muscle

Below is a complete guide of bodyweight exercises for legs.

I divided the exercises based on which muscles they target more.

This was very difficult for certain exercises since most of them target a lot of muscles simultaneously.

To help you choose which exercises are more appropriate for your current level, I divided the exercises based on their difficulty as well.

Lastly, there is a category for leg isometrics that is appropriate for every level.

Bodyweight Leg Exercises For The Quads

In this section, you are going to find the exercises that are quad dominant.

In this category belong some of the most difficult bodyweight leg exercises.

Beginner

Forward Lunge

Start in the standing position with feet hip-width apart and hands by sides.

Take a big step forward with your right foot and bend your left knee until both knees form 90-degree angles.

Press down into the right heel to push back to starting position.

Side Lunge

Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed straight forward.

Step out with your right foot as wide as possible.

Push through your right heel as you drop your hips down and back while keeping the left leg straight.

Stretch your groin on the left leg and keep both soles of the feet on the ground while your toes are pointed straight forward.

Make sure your right knee is tracking over your right foot the whole motion.

Powerfully “push” your right heel into the floor to get yourself back to your starting position.

Traditional Squat

Sumo Squat (Bodyweight)

Cossack Squat

Bear Squat

Hindu Squat

You can find more info on the Hindu Squat here.

Intermediate

Falling Tower

Bulgarian Split-Squat

Close Squats

I actually prefer to have my knees touching during the exercise, but either way, it is a good exercise.

Reverse Lunge

Advanced

Pistol Squat

Pistol squats are performed on a single leg. What adds to the degree of difficulty is having to extend your leg forward while squatting with the opposite leg.

It is a tough one to master but can really work your legs effectively.

Walking Pistol Squat

Shrimp Squat

Tuck Squat

Bodyweight Leg Exercises For The Hips

Here are bodyweight leg exercises for your hip flexors.

Most of the exercises for the hips are also core exercises, so you may want to train your hips at your core training sessions.

I recommend that you practice bridging after you’ve trained your hips because tight hips might “ruin” your posture because the hips flexors can pull your pelvis forward.

This gives you an anterior rotation in the pelvis which can cause problems in your low back.

Lastly, if you stretch your antagonist muscles (the hamstrings) prior to your workout, you are going to perform better.

Beginner

Lying Leg Raises

These exercises can be easily modified by bending your legs.

High Knees

Plank

Intermediate

Hanging Knee Raises

Jack Knife Exercise

One-leg Plank

Advanced

Hanging Leg  Raises

Some great variations from Al in this video.

L-sit

Bodyweight Leg Exercises For The Hamstrings

In this category belong the hamstring dominant movements.

Since most of the advanced bodyweight exercises are quad dominant, I recommend that you focus a lot of your attention on this muscle group.

Beginner

One Leg Deadlifts

Hamstring Curl

Intermediate

One Leg Hamstring Curl

Harop Curl Progression (Easier variations)

Advanced

Harop Curl

Bodyweight Leg Exercises For The Glutes

Almost all the leg exercises mentioned so far train the glutes pretty well.

For this reason, in this section, there are not going to be too many leg exercises for that specific muscle group.

Beginner

Bird Dog Exercise

Backward Reach

Hip Bridge

Elevated Hip Bridges

Intermediate

Single-Leg Hip Bridge

Elevated Single Leg Hip Bridge

Miscellaneous Bodyweight Leg Exercises

In the section, you are going to find various lower body exercises that weren’t put in any of the above categories.

Beginner

Calf Raises

Adductor Leg Lift

Side Leg Raise

Intermediate

Single-Leg Calf Raise

Adductor Plank

Side Plank With Leg Raise

Isometric Bodyweight Exercises For Legs

Isometrics for legs can be a great addition to your workout.

There are 2 ways to implement leg isometrics into your routine.

You can practice static hold as a finisher to your strength workouts and you can practice short isometric sessions for strength training.

The exercises in this section aren’t going to be divided into difficulty levels.

This is just a list to help you get introduced to isometrics.

Static Wall Squat

Warrior Pose

Horse Stance

One Leg Wall Sit

Plyometric Bodyweight Exercises For Legs

In this category, you are going to find exercises that help you develop explosiveness and speed in your lower body.

The difficulty levels start from intermediate because plyometric exercises require a solid foundation for safe practice.

Intermediate

Squat Jumps

The 180 Degree Spiderman Jump

Crazy Lunge

You can find more info about the crazy lunge here.

Tornado Jump Lunge

Sprinting

Advanced

Hill Sprinting

Box Jumps

Knee Jumps

You can progress even if you don’t have weights by increasing the height of the landing surface like in the last progressions of the video.

Depth Jumps

Explosive Pistol Squats

How To Train Your Legs

Since it is very difficult to isolate muscle groups with the advanced leg exercises, I recommend that you choose one advanced movement as your main goal and then train the rest muscle groups with easier exercises.

For example, if you choose pistol as your main goal, you should train for it following strength training parameters (low rep sets with big breaks), and afterward or in the next day you can train the rest muscle groups with beginner and intermediate variations.

If your goal is to build muscle, you can follow the same approach but instead of following strength training parameters, you are going to focus on building more volume with the progressions.

Of course, with this way of training achieving skills is going to take a little longer. For leg endurance and conditioning, I consider AMRAP type workouts to be the best option.

For explosiveness, you should choose 2 exercises to perform in every training session. I recommend you to stick to these 2 exercises for 2-3 months so that you can track your progress.

You can train with 3-4 for sets of 8-12 reps.

Speaking from experience, alternating between explosive and strength training workouts is really helpful.

How To Recover Faster From Bodyweight Leg Exercises

I really enjoy training hard.

I also enjoy training a lot.

However, there is a limit to this…

Namely overtraining.

During all the years that I have been training, I have searched for ways on how to train more frequently and with greater intensity.

The subject of recovery is very large, so here I am going to share with you some exercises and ways how to recover faster from your leg training.

Cooling Down

This is the simplest thing you can do.

After your workout just performs a short mobility session for 5-10 minutes similar to the warm-up.

Also, you can perform various static stretches and target the muscle areas that feel sore.

Using foam rolling is great as well. Some of the stretches that I like to perform are these:

• Figure 4 stretch
• Pike stretch
• Diagonal stretch

Your cool-down shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes (I usually spend about 5 minutes).

This is going to help release tension.

If you are doing it right, you should feel really relaxed afterward.

Active Recovery Sessions

Because it is very hard to get a full stretching and foam rolling session after your workout (except if you have a lot of available time), I recommend that you have a planned active recovery day where you dedicate 30-60 minutes (or more) to stretching and foam rolling.

If you don’t have big chunks of time for something like that, you can split the recovery days into upper and lower body days.

This practice is really valuable. You are going to be amazed at how much faster you are going to recover by using something like this.

This is the closest thing you can get to getting a professional massage.

Note: In the beginning, stretching and foam rolling might make you sore as well.

Don’t be afraid of this, it’s normal.

After a while, you are going to feel a lot better.

Here are some great articles on active recovery and stretching in general:

• Stretching For Strength
• Squat Like A Champion
• How To Stretch After A Workout
• What Is A Foam Roller, How Do I Use It, and Why Does It Hurt?
• How To Do A Full Splits: The 4 Stretches You Need To Know
• List Of Stretches And Routines

And Finally… The Training Plans

There are multiple training plans in regards to developing strong legs using bodyweight exercises.

All of these plans are different depending on your goals.

In this section, I am going to make a summary of some of the best articles that I have found on the web and some of my own on how to develop stronger legs.

Bodyweight Workout Plans & Resources For Strength Gains

• Pistol Perfect: One-Legged Squats And Beyond
• How To Develop Strong Legs With Calisthenics

Bodyweight Workout Plans For Muscle And Definition

• How To Develop Muscular Legs With Bodyweight Training
• Quick & Brutal 5-Minute Body Weight Leg Workout
• The 3-Month Bodyweight Butt Workout Plan

Bodyweight Workouts For Explosiveness

• Explosive Leg Workout
• No-Equipment Leg Workout
• Hill Sprints: How To Build Muscle And Burn Fat

Bodyweight Workouts For Endurance And Conditioning

Most of the workouts, in this section, are bodyweight circuits that contain upper body exercises as well.

• Burpee Conditioning – No More Nonsense!
• Sequential Fatigue Challenge
• The Interval Challenge

Other Helpful Resources For Calisthenics Leg Training

Some of the resources below are not exclusively dedicated to calisthenics leg training but you can find a lot of info that applies to leg training as well.

• Body Weight Workouts. (This is a complete list of all SOA workout plans)
• A Complete Guide To AMRAP Training
• How To Perform A Full Squat!
• Wheel’s Of Steel: Al Kavadlo’s Bodyweight Legs Workout
• 10 Irrefutable Ways To Build Muscle Using Only Bodyweight Exercises

Conclusion

To return to the beginning question of this post: “But Todd is it really possible to develop strong and muscular legs with calisthenics?”

I hope I answered this question fully and that you can now see the true value and potential of bodyweight exercises for leg training.

If you still have more questions that were left unanswered with this post, feel free to post them below.

I would love to help you out!

– Bodyweight Todd

BOOM! Crashing to the floor like Superman on Kryptonite.

For weeks, I had prepared for this moment… So you can imagine the disappointment when I came up one rep short of the goal…

See, for whatever reason, I had always had the goal to do 100 push-ups in a row.

After failing miserably on my first attempt, doing just 71 push-ups straight, I knew I had some work to do.

I needed to start a workout routine that would strengthen my chest muscles and triceps so I could improve my upper body strength.

Now before I introduce you to the push-up training program I used to achieve my goal, you must understand something:

No matter where you are right now in the “push-up game,” you can use the insights found on this page to double or even triple your push-up totals.

My Journey to 100 Pushups in a Row

When I did those 71 straight push-ups, I had already been doing push-up training for quite some time.

But it wasn’t until I used the simple tactics in the program below that I started seeing progress and doing more push-ups very quickly.

And now, you can do the exact same thing and reach the goal of doing 100 push-ups in a row.

After doing those 71 straight push-ups, I devised a plan that would allow me to start doing more pushups on a weekly basis without burning out.

Let me ask you something…

Are you familiar with the phrase, “practice makes perfect?” Well, that is the approach that I took.

After spending time researching (and from personal experience), I knew that it wasn’t a big problem to do push-ups more than a few times per week.

More often than not, when people want to increase how many push-ups they can do, a big mistake they make is not doing them enough.

Push-ups aren’t what I call a “big” exercise like bench press, squats, deadlifts, etc.

You can add them a few times more per week to your normal workout routine without a problem.

Of course, you do want to make sure you listen to your body.

If you are overly sore or feel fatigued, it’s probably best to take a day or two to recover so that you can come back stronger and fresh.

As you will see below, we place in strategic rest days so that your body can recover, grow, and get stronger.

Going back to the story from the beginning…

There I was on the 99th rep for push-ups… It would be amazing to write this to you telling you that I pushed through and reached 100 reps on that second attempt…

Yet, on rep 100… My arms just gave out, as if they were saying, “Dennis, that is enough.”

You know the feeling right?

Although I was disappointed in not completing that final repetition, I went back and looked at the stats over the previous two weeks.

In all, I had increased my max pushups from 71 reps to 99 reps.

That’s 28 more reps. Not bad for just 2-weeks.

And it was just days later when I eventually able to achieve 100 push-ups in a row.

In fact, the final count on that third test was 104 straight.

So how on earth was I able to do this and how can you do the same?

The plan that you will find below is very straightforward and to the point.

And as we talked about earlier, “practice makes perfect” when trying to dominate pushups.

If you think you are ready to start dominating YOUR pushups, let’s dive in…

How You Can Get 100 Push-Ups In A Row?

Step One: Test Day

Of course, before starting, you will want to test your pushup strength so you can have a measuring stick when you retest 2-weeks from now.

All you need to do for this is do as many push-ups as possible with proper form.

That last part is VERY important.

You want to make sure that you maintain proper form throughout your total number of pushups.

If you feel that your form is slipping, then stop.

As I like to say, “It’s better to do 25 perfect form pushups than 50 sloppy pushups.”

In the long run, having good form for fewer reps will benefit you more.

So, how many pushups were you able to do?

Write that number down: _______________________. (For example purposes, we will use the number of 50 straight pushups.)

Once you have your pushup total, you will then move to step number two.

Step Two: Goal Number (how many push-ups do you want to do?)

Step two is where we are going to determine YOUR goal pushup number that you will be doing over the next 2-weeks.

What you will do is take your total number of pushups from step one and multiply that by five.

For example, since our example number is 50 straight pushups, our equation would look like this:

50 Pushups X 5 = 250 pushups

What was your number? Write it down: ____________________________.

Note: If your pushup total is over 50 repetitions in a row, your pushups will consist of doing 250-300 reps MAX for your workout routine.

For example, even if your max rep was 70 pushups on your test day, you will NOT be doing more than 300 reps for your workout.

Instead, you will do 250-300 in as few sets as possible (see step 3).

Step Three: Different Day, Different Technique

Now that you have your goal pushup number for the next two weeks, it’s time to go over how to use that number.

Over the next 2-weeks, you are going to cycle through three different kinds of days:

1. Max Push
2. Sporadic Push
3. Rest

Let me explain what each day is:

Max Rep:

Max rep days are the days that you will be training to failure on each set.

*Your goal is simple: To complete all 250 pushups (or whatever your number is) in as few sets as possible.

In between sets, feel free to take a good rest so that you can recover and go hard on your remaining sets. An example of a Max Rep day would look like this:

Set 1: 50
Set 2: 44
Set 3: 38
Set 4: 36
Set 5: 30
Set 6: 30
Set 7: 22

So in this example, it took us 7 sets to get us to 250 pushups. Your goal would then be to beat those numbers the next time you did a Max Push day.

Remember, we are always looking for some kind of improvement.

Next up, we have our sporadic push days.

Sporadic Push:

Evenly spread out your pushups throughout the day to complete them. You are NOT training to failure.

You can call these days your “relaxed” pushup days. All you need to do is simply get your pushups done throughout the day.

For example, you could do 100 reps in the morning, 50 on your lunch break, and 100 when you get home.

You can do sets of 25 or 30 or whatever you want. Simply get all 250 done. Again, you are NOT training to failure on these days.

Rest Day:

Finally, we have our rest days. And I think you can guess what this will be.

Take this day to recover and let your body rest. Do not do any kind of upper body workouts on this rest day.

Now that we have covered the different days that you will be doing on this plan, let’s quickly cover how you are going to cycle them.

If you know anything about me, I like keeping things simple. That’s why all you will do is “rinse and repeat” with the three different days that we covered. This means:

Day 1: Max Rep
Day 2: Sporadic Push
Day 3: Rest

REPEAT

Pretty simple, right?

After day number 12 (which is a rest day), you will take another day rest on day 13 then take your pushup retest on day 14.

If you follow this simple format, you will be amazed at how easy it is to increase your pushup totals in just 2-weeks time.

Write Your Numbers In The Comments Section Below

For those who are serious, I recommend repeating three 2-week cycles so that you can really see how much improvement you can make.

Having the goal of doubling or tripling your pushups or doing 50 or 100 straight, is a great way to keep you focused and motivated in your workouts.

And what’s great about this plan is that you can add it to any workout program you are currently on.

No need to drop everything and just do this. In fact, I encourage you to add this to your current workouts.

Do yourself a favor and take your pushup test today, then post your numbers in the comments section below. Then in 2-weeks, come back and share with us all the progress you made.

Push-ups are an amazing exercise for your chest, shoulders, arms, and core. But you want to make sure you stay balanced.

Here are some very challenging bodyweight back exercises to help round out your routine.

Bonus Push Up Exercises For You to Try:

• No Arm Push Up
• Stretch Push Up
• Rolling Push Up

Frequently Asked Questions

What Will A 100 Push Ups A Day do?

Doing 100 push ups a day would improve your ability to perform pushing exercises as well as build strength, muscle, and mass in your chest, triceps, and shoulders.

Not only will you gain more strength and definition in those muscle groups, but you’ll be improving your overall pushing motion. This will allow you to move on to harder progressions of pushing exercises within calisthenics.

Are 100 Push Ups A Day Possible?

Yes, it is possible to do 100 push ups a day because it only takes a few minutes or so to do it however it takes practice, planning, and dedication to actually be able to do 100 push ups in a row, to begin with.

Should you do 100 pushups a day?

Whether you should do 100 push ups a day depends on your fitness level and how difficult it is for you to complete 100 push ups in a row.

You can also choose to do 100 push ups within multiple sets, which technically would still be 100 push ups a day.

In general, there is no problem with doing 100 push ups a day however it would be more beneficial to make sure you are working your full body so you don’t grow disproportionately.

How many calories do 100 pushups burn?

You will burn about 150 to 200 calories by doing 100 push-ups. The variables are your weight and how many sets it takes.

By doing 100 push ups in a row you will burn a lot more calories than if you break it up into fewer reps per set.

Other Push Up Articles You Might be Interested In:

• • Learn How To Do One Arm Push Ups
  • Complete List of 100 Push Up Variations
  • Official Push Up / Pull Up Challenge
  • Death By Push Up Test

Bodyweight leg exercises are extremely effective for muscle growth in the legs, you simply have to know how to do it.

Bodyweight leg exercises have been used by millions of people to add size and definition to their legs.

These hardest bodyweight leg exercises are sure to leave you crying.

All of the below leg exercises develop massive strength and coordination without using weights.

Though there are also many different types of leg exercises.

The below-leg exercise videos encompass plyometrics, static exercises, dynamic exercises, exercises with props, exercises in the water, and more.

It’s so cool to think that you can use many other props to develop your leg muscles other than weights.

Some of the below exercises are very difficult and should not be tried without consulting a personal trainer.

Though, if you get the go-ahead then jump in. Some incorporate a ton of balance and coordination to complete, not just strength.

Start with the exercise at the top, Frog Squats, and work your way down.

Some of them you may feel are too easy until you do 10-20 of them.

Bodyweight leg exercises are meant to do in quick succession to completely shred the leg muscle tissue.

Hardest Bodyweight Leg Exercises

15. Frog Squats

14. Falling Tower

13. Hindu Squats

12. Single Leg Wall Sits

11. Super Skaters on Bosu Ball

10. Tornado Lunges

9. Plyometric Hops

8. Crouch Jumps

7. Advanced Shrimp

6. Pilates Ball Squats

5. Pistol Squats

4. Plyo Water Hops

3. Pistol Squats on Bosu Ball

2. Russian Hamstring Curl (aka Harop Curl)

1. Front & Back Flips

Body Weight Leg Workout Links

• Bodyweight Leg Workout Routines For Stronger, Leaner Legs
• Get Over 55 Bodyweight Leg Exercises to Add To Your Routine
• 4 Advanced Bodyweight Leg Exercises For Maximum Strength
• Best Calisthenics Routine For Legs (PDF Included)
• Men’s Health Leg Workouts
• Basic Training for Home Workouts

I think this is especially true with advanced bodyweight leg exercises.

I mean, with the upper body, it almost seems like there are endless exercises you can perform.

There are so many different variations of the basic pushup, for example, that you can perform: wide pushup, clap pushups, condensed pushup, handstand pushup, etc.

Yet with bodyweight leg exercises, what else can you do other than the normal no-weight squat?

This post is about 4 advanced bodyweight leg exercises I think you should work into your leg routine.

I am going to showcase some insanely difficult bodyweight leg exercises for maximum leg development.

*If you are looking for a true leg challenge, here’s a great one. It’s called the Bodyweight Squats Muscular Endurance 5-Minute Challenge. It’s a killer.

What are Bodyweight Leg Exercises?

Exercises using only your bodyweight are meant to develop strength without using the assistance of a weight (dumbbell, barbell, or other means).

Bodyweight leg exercises utilize gravity to help develop strength in the leg muscles. The key to effectively getting stronger, without using weights, in your leg muscles is to think about angles.

Why are Angles So Important in Bodyweight Exercises?

Your leg muscles are made up of several different muscles.

You have the quadriceps in the front (which have four main muscles) and you have your hamstrings in the back.

Each of these muscles has different striations of fibers inside them. When using bodyweight leg exercises to get stronger, you must target these fibers in order to effectively tear the muscle tissue.

That’s why it’s important to do several different variations of bodyweight leg exercises.

Below I will show you the best bodyweight leg exercises to target your leg muscles from different angles.

Best Advanced Bodyweight Leg Exercises For Leg Strength

Bear Squat

Bear Squat is a little-known bodyweight leg exercise for leg strength.

At first, it may not seem like it is difficult but once you get the form right, you’ll realize how difficult it really is.

One way to make this exercise even more difficult is to do it after you do all your other training. It’s brutal.

Hindu Squat

The Hindu Squat is a traditional, “bread & butter” bodyweight leg exercise. It’s used by almost every purist out there.

Karl Gotch could do over a thousand of these in a row.

Realize that these will develop strength as you build up the number you can do.

Many personal trainers say that you have to stay at the 6-8 rep mark in order to build strength.

With Hindu Squats, it’s just not true.

Falling Tower

The Falling Tower leg exercise is unique. Very few people know about this one.

The below video will show you how to do it. It targets the quads tremendously.

The further you go down, the more difficult it is.

You can even raise your hands above your head if you wish to get a more difficult workout.

Duck Walks

Duck Walks exercise is absolutely brutal. Follow the directions below to learn how to do it.

Again, when incorporating the best bodyweight leg exercises into your routine, you have to remember that it is so important to target the muscles from different angles.

When doing Duck Walks Exercise, you are in a low squat the entire time which targets the leg muscles in a unique way.

Advanced Bodyweight Leg Resources:

• Hardest Bodyweight Leg Workouts You’ll Ever See!
• Advanced Bodyweight Leg Exercises For Maximum Strength
• Best Calisthenics Routine For Legs (PDF Included)
• Bodyweight Leg Workout Routines For Stronger, Leaner Legs
• Men’s Health Bodyweight Leg Exercises 
• Complete List of Bodyweight Leg Exercises

I hope you enjoyed this list of the best bodyweight leg exercises.

Feel free to comment below.

This is absolutely one of my favorites to shred the entire body and to get that lean tight look.

What Are Spider Crawls Exercises?

The Spider Crawl is a full-body calisthenics workout that combines balance, core strength, and forward movement.

It is sometimes referred to as a spider walk or even spiderman crawls.

How To Do a Spider Crawl Exercise

For your starting position, get your left foot and right foot about shoulder-width apart and legs forward.

Then bend down into a normal push-up position.

Lower your body down until your nose and your pelvis region just barely touches the ground.

Begin to crawl across the floor while keeping your nose and pelvis just barely off the ground.

You basically externally rotate your right knee to your right elbow then externally rotate your left knee to your left elbow and keep repeating that.

You should look like a spider crawling across the floor.

When you reach your desired distance turn around and go back the other way or you can crawl backward until you get to your starting position.

Repeat this exercise as many times as you dare!

Target Repetitions for Muscle Growth: 3-4 reps across the room

What Muscles Do Spiderman Crawls Work?

Spider crawls work your entire body including your pectorals, shoulders, deltoids, latissimus dorsi, trapezius, triceps, biceps, abdominal muscles, obliques, hamstrings, glutes, quadriceps, adductors, and abductors.

Why a Spider Crawl Works

The reason the spider crawl works so well is that it combines so many muscle groups including your core.

All weight is distributed to your feet and hands.

But by placing your body so close to the floor makes it more difficult to hold yourself up.

Tips: The critical component for the spider crawl is to keep your nose, your chest, and your hips close to the ground without touching it.

Is The Spider Walk a Good Exercise?

Yes! The Spider Crawl is one of the best exercises you can do because it builds strength and also increases your heart rate so you can burn fat.

Can Spider Crawls Help Your Lose Weight?

Yes! Because performing a spider crawl can increase your heart rate, it is a great way to break a sweat and burn fat.

Common Mistakes When Doing A Spider Crawl

The most common mistakes that you might make when performing the spider walk involves technique, form, and posture.

Dropping your Head

To get the most out of this exercise you want to keep your head in line with your spine and your eyes down.

By dropping your head you will put pressure on your upper back and neck which can lead to injury.

Allowing Your Hips to Sag

The key to the effectiveness of the spider walk is to keep your back flat and your core tight.

When you drop your hips, the core muscles stop doing their job, and you add pressure to your lower back.

This can cause discomfort and pain.

Putting Your Butt in the Air

As you walk across the floor, avoid putting your butt in the air.

Again, when you don’t keep your core engaged and your back flat, you risk injury.

Plus, it takes away from the effectiveness of the exercise because your arms and chest are not required to work as hard since you shift the load to your lower body, letting your upper body off the hook.

Not Keeping Your Core Muscles Engaged

Any time you are upright and moving, you’re engaging the muscles in your core.

The power, stability, and support generated from these muscles will help you move quicker and protect your lower back from injury.

Important!: Breathe in and out slowly throughout this exercise.

Disclaimer: Talk to your primary care physician before beginning any exercise regimen. This guide is for informational and educational purposes.

As a child, my mom and I would argue about the above saying.

The argument would usually come as a result of her telling me that I needed to relax more and enjoy life.

I remember one particular sunny Saturday morning when I was fifteen years old. I was locked away in my room practicing Jimi Hendrix (my favorite Jimi song) and Stevie Ray Vaughan (favorite SRV song) songs on my electric guitar.

My mom opened the door and said that everyone was headed to the cottage in thirty minutes.

I told her that I wasn’t going.

Mom: “You have to, Todd. Everyone is going.”

Todd: “Not me.”

Mom: “What are you going to do here?”

Todd: “I have to practice my guitar. If I want to get as good as Jimi, I have to practice.”

Mom: “But it’s such a nice day; you can take a day off.”

Todd: “Sorry,” I said, “not gonna happen.”

Mom: “You need to relax more.”

Todd: “I’d rather work toward my dreams, live one day like a lion and give my all, than relax and live a thousand days as a lamb.”

Looking back, I certainly could have taken the day off (especially because I quit practicing the guitar a few years later), but this mentality was part of my life (and, honestly, still very much is.)

When you’re working towards a goal, you have to give it everything you have. You have to leave no stone unturned.

When you’re building muscle, this is also true.

There are many muscle fibers within a single muscle group.

Using one exercise to target the muscle group is not enough to fatigue all the muscle fibers. You have to target the muscle group from different angles.

The best way to do that is by using The Bodyweight Omni Set Technique.

What Is The Bodyweight Omni Set Technique?

“Omni” means “all things” or “in all places”.

The Omni Set is a technique that works “all” portions of a muscle group.

This technique is a hybrid between a superset and drop set and focuses on one single muscle group.

A superset is when you perform multiple exercises in a row without stopping.

A drop set is when you go from a more challenging exercise to an easier exercise that targets the same muscle group.

The Bodyweight Omni Set Technique is gruesome and will tear more muscle fibers than when performing a single exercise. In the example below, I’ll take you through an Omni Set for the chest muscle group using an assortment of push-ups.

Bodyweight Omni Set:

1. Pike Push-up – Works the highest fibers in the chest muscle group
2. High Decline Push-up – Works high fibers in the chest muscle group
3. Low Decline Push-up – Works high fibers in the chest
4. Regular Push-up – Works the middle portion of the chest
5. Low Incline Push-up – Works the lower portion of the chest
6. High Incline Push-up – Works an even lower portion of the chest
7. Super High Incline Push-up – Works the lower portion of the chest and fully fatigues the chest muscle group

There should be no rest breaks between the above exercises.

You’ll immediately move from one exercise to the next.

After you make it through all of the exercises, rest for 45 seconds, then go through the sequence four more times for a total of five sets.

You’ll have an amazing pump in your chest and you’ll be incredibly sore.

Important Points To Remember When Doing Omni Sets

1. Push the floor away.

When doing a push-up, think about pushing the floor away from you.

This will help engage more muscle fibers than if you were to simply let gravity carry you down.

“Pushing the floor away” is a mental cue, but when you get it right you’ll feel your chest muscles contract even more.

Another push-up technique to try is squeezing the ground together between your hands.

Pretend that the ground between your hands is a high-tension spring.

As you go up and down, squeeze this spring together.

2. Continuous tension.

This technique requires that you don’t take any rest at all during the movement, especially at the top. Keep the muscles engaged.

Keep your focus on the muscle that you’re working on.

When doing push-ups, if you try to just knock out a certain number of reps, your body will adapt and recruit other muscle groups in order to complete the movement (the triceps, for example).

This is NOT what we want.

It is important to focus on the muscle that you’re working on.

3. Eccentric downward movement.

When completing the downward portion of the movement, it should take you a total of five seconds.

The greatest amount of muscle tearing occurs during the eccentric portion of the movement, so this should be slow and controlled.

Do a five-second count on the way down, and a one-second count on the way up.

You should not be worried about how many reps you’re getting.

Instead, just focus on the eccentric movement and the other principles outlined in this post.

Chest Omni Set Exercises

1. Pike Push-ups

The Pike Push-Up is the first exercise.

It will work the front part of the shoulder, along with the uppermost fibers of your pecs.

2. High Decline Push-ups

The High Decline Push-Up exercise will also work the front part of the shoulders and the upper portion of the chest.

However, it’s a slightly different angle than the pike push-up so it will work different muscle fibers.

3. Low Decline Push-ups

Lowering your feet a little will change the angle so that more mid-range muscle fibers are worked.

4. Regular Push-ups

Regular push-ups will work mostly in the middle portion of the chest muscle group.

5. Low Incline Push-ups

Placing your hands on a chair or elevated surface will shift the focus to the lower portion of your chest.

6. High Incline Push-Ups

This exercise will strengthen the lowest fibers of the chest muscle group.

7. Super High Incline Push-ups

Trust me when I say that after doing all of the other exercises, this super high push-up will be challenging.

The best part is that it will be working an even lower portion of the pec.

After you’ve tried this technique, let me know what you think in the comments section below.

Also, remember that the Omni Set Technique can be used for any body part.

Changing angles is a great way to target different muscle fibers and make bodyweight exercises more challenging.

– Todd

If you have been following SOA for a while then you must be aware that SOA is completely dedicated to bodyweight training.

But I want to be honest with you.

As I mentioned in the article “How To Choose The Right Bodyweight Training Plan”, there is no perfect training plan.

Similarly to this, I could say that there is no ultimate training tool or form of exercising.

In short, that means that calisthenics might not be the best training methodology for you.

Huh? What are you talking about Todd?

Let me explain myself.

During the last few years, I have taught you how to burn fat, build muscle, increase strength, and more using only calisthenics.

However, that doesn’t mean that bodyweight training is always the best option or the best training method for the accomplishment of your goals.

With this post, I am going to give you an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of bodyweight training so that you can see if calisthenics is actually the method that is going to help you reach your goals in the fastest way possible.

The Advantages Of Bodyweight Training

In this section, I am going to make a quick list of the benefits of bodyweight training.

This is not a definitive list and, of course, more benefits exist.

Also, the benefits are sorted randomly and not in terms of importance.

Advantage #1: No Need For A Big Starting Investment

A great benefit of calisthenics training is that you need very little to no equipment for your training.

Needing no equipment means that you don’t have to buy anything expensive to start training.

Of course, as you become more advanced some equipment might become necessary (e.g. pull-up bar, rings, etc), but the investment is still minimal in comparison to weight training, in which expensive equipment becomes necessary later on.

(There are some weight training methods that also share the same advantage like, for example, sandbag training.)

Advantage #2: You Can Train Everywhere

A direct byproduct of the first benefit is that you can train everywhere since there is no need for access to special equipment.

This was one of the reasons calisthenics seemed such an attractive choice to me early on in my training.

Being able to work out anywhere you desire is a great privilege that few other forms of training offer.

This way it’s very hard to miss workouts due to circumstances (i.e. when traveling) and you can stay in top physical shape wherever you are.

Advantage #3: Target Multiple Qualities Simultaneously

When you progress into advanced calisthenics moves you are going to be challenged in multiple ways and not only in regards to maximal strength.

As a result, you are going to build strength, balance, mobility, flexibility, etc.

Also with calisthenics, you are going to build a lot of kinesthetic awareness, body control and be in better touch with your body in general.

Advantage #4: Learn Awesome Moves

This is the biggest reason I started to train seriously with calisthenics.

Seeing calisthenics legends like Hannibal The King back in the early youtube days, perform movements that defy gravity, was a very big inspiration for my training.

My motivation was beyond imaginable!

Now that I can do some of the advanced movements myself, such videos are even more motivating because they remind me of my progress.

I assure you that the feeling of achieving an advanced calisthenics movement is unique and amazing.

Furthermore, I haven’t met many people who don’t have respect for high-level calisthenics skills, regardless of the way they train.

Advantage #5: You Can Be More Creative

As you train with calisthenics you will be challenged to come up with new ideas on how to train.

This might be for various reasons.

Training in a new environment, for example, is always possible with calisthenics but most of the time you will have to come up with new ideas on how to implement your training in that new environment.

Calisthenics can also challenge your creativity when you are exploring new movements that you haven’t trained with before.

In addition, when you want to progress towards a new movement, many times you will have to come up with your own progressions. This is the main reason so many different bodyweight tutorials exist.

Take a look, for example, at these two single-arm pull up tutorials:

• Learn How to do a One Arm Chinup (Tutorial)
• How to do a One Arm Pull-up Tutorial

Both of these tutorials apply the progressive loading principle but use different exercise progressions.

While training for the one-arm pull-up, you may need to “invent” your own progressions or combine some already existing.

Advantage #6: It’s A No Excuse System

By combining the 1st and 2nd benefit, namely that you can train everywhere and with minimum equipment, comes a new benefit.

That is…

You have no more excuses.

With calisthenics, you can train right here right now.

No special equipment is missing and no special place is required.

If you want to train with calisthenics and you are not doing it, there are no excuses left for you. There is no one to blame except yourself.

Advantage #7: Ideal For Fat Loss

Calisthenics is one of the best training “tools” for fat loss.

I say this because calisthenics can be easily implemented into HIIT training, AMRAP circuits, MRT, etc.

These 3 methods are some of the best for fat loss and all of them require some bodyweight exercises to be in place.

If your goal is to lose fat fast, then there is no reason for you to avoid bodyweight training.

Advantage #8: Fantastic For Building Whole Body Strength & Muscular Development

When you perform bodyweight exercises, you typically work your body as a unit. The muscle works together in synergy to perform the movement.

Think of a chain.

When one link in a chain is weak, it makes the whole chain weak. With bodyweight training, the whole chain becomes strong because all the muscles work together.

Compare this to isolation exercises in bodybuilding.

For example, when you perform seated bicep curls on a machine.

The only muscle you are working on is the bicep.

The complimentary bodyweight exercise, the chin up, works the bicep, back muscles, abs, low back, and more.

Advantage #9: Train Your Core At Every Move

When you train with calisthenics your core is going to be challenged at every move.

This is great for developing a strong and functional core.

The Disadvantages Of Bodyweight Training

While most people that train with calisthenics tend to put emphasis on the benefits of bodyweight training, it’s important to know the disadvantages of it so that you can have a complete picture.

In this section, I am going to cover some of the biggest disadvantages of bodyweight training.

Disadvantage #1: It’s Hard To Isolate Certain Muscle Groups

When you train normally for strength or endurance, isolating muscle groups might not be an interest of yours.

However, if you want to target only a specific weak muscle or to rehab from an injury, one of the best options is to practice with isolation exercises.

Isolating muscle groups or weak spots is very hard to do with bodyweight exercises.

In this respect, weight lifting is superior to calisthenics as it allows you to isolate areas that require your attention quite easily.

Disadvantage #2: It Has Limitations In Leg Training

This is the biggest disadvantage of bodyweight training.

While calisthenics can help you build muscle and strength as well as resilient and strong joints in your lower body with exercises like the pistol squat, the shrimp squat, the dragon pistol squat, explosive pistol squats, etc, it’s very hard to develop maximal strength in the squatting pattern and to build hugely muscular legs (like a bodybuilder).

As you progress with more advanced movements you are going to target mostly qualities like flexibility, mobility, strength in extreme ranges of motion, balance, etc.

However, you can’t provide the glutes and quads with the same resistance you can do with weight lifting (e.g. with heavy squats).

I can’t tell you that weight lifting is superior to calisthenics in regards to leg training since calisthenics has clearly many advantages in the area that weight lifting doesn’t.

But, if your goal is to develop hugely muscular and strong legs (like a football player) weight lifting is a better option for you.

Disadvantage #3: It Can Be Hard To Measure

The difficulty level of some bodyweight exercises is very hard to measure with accuracy.

These lead to 2 drawbacks:

#1: Progressions Aren’t Intuitive

Most people give up on calisthenics training because they can’t figure out how to progress towards harder moves.

Unlike weight lifting in which you just put more weight on the bar, in bodyweight training, you will have to move gradually towards more advanced progressions.

Sometimes, figuring out these progressions by yourself can be very hard.

In addition, these progressions can be measured only in terms of difficulty and not in terms of actual strength gained.

Let me clarify this a little more.

In weight lifting, you are progressing very accurately by knowing how much weight you are putting on the bar.

In bodyweight training, you are progressing from a mastered move to a harder one, but it’s very hard to know exactly how much strength is required for that new progression.

It can be like adding 5kg or even 20kg.

For this reason, achieving advanced calisthenics movements usually requires more complex planning than weight lifting.

#2: It’s Hard To Reflect On Your Progress

Similar to the previous issue, in weightlifting, after a while you can know exactly how much strength you have gained from your workouts.

You can be, for example, 50kg stronger in deadlifts than before.

With bodyweight strength training, you can’t be that accurate.

You can only know how far you moved towards a skill or how many reps you have added to a movement.

If you can’t see how much progress you’ve made, it can be hard to stay motivated.

However, the most important area of measurement in any fitness system is how you feel and how you look.

These are subjective and (in my opinion) outweigh statistical measurements like reps, amt of weight, etc.

Disadvantage #4: Harder To Build A LOT Of Muscle Mass

While bodyweight exercises are super effective for building a very muscular body, it’s very difficult, or impossible to get the body of a competitive bodybuilder (think Arnold, Ronnie Coleman, etc.).

With weight lifting, you can keep packing on more and more weight and force your body to get bigger and bigger.

Really, there is no limit to the amount of weight you can put on the bar (except for what the human body can structurally take).

The “Chicken-legs” Case

The most common argument weight lifters use against calisthenics training is that calisthenics athletes have skinny legs.

Most of the time this is true.

But that doesn’t mean that it has to be this way.

You can build muscular legs with calisthenics you just won’t be able to build the same amount of muscle like a bodybuilder.

Also, most competitive calisthenic experts try to keep the least amount of muscle on their bodies but have the maximal amount of strength.

Less muscle means you weigh less so it’s easier to perform advanced moves like the front lever).

As you can see the effectiveness of a tool is totally related to one’s goals and a certain disadvantage might have an advantageous effect on your goals.

Beware Of The Bodyweight Cults!

Now that you know the benefits and disadvantages of bodyweight training I would like to talk about one of the biggest problems in the calisthenics community.

This problem is the bodyweight cults.

There are various groups online that train only with calisthenics and disregard all other forms of training as ineffective and inferior without even trying them.

It’s very easy when you invest a lot of time and effort into one training “tool” to get attached to it and try to defend it at all costs.

I have been there and it’s not a good position to be in as it limits your perspective and your training opportunities.

Do I use only bodyweight exercises?

Yes.

But that doesn’t mean other systems aren’t as effective (or more effective depending on your goals).

Of course, such cults exist in other training communities as well and it’s not a problem related to calisthenics only.

The best way to avoid being too attached to a single tool is to educate yourself more on different systems.

Resistance Is Resistance

Strength training is resistance training and if you want to get stronger you just have to apply the progressive loading principle.

That means that as long as you increase the resistance you are going to get stronger, whether you are training with calisthenics or weight lifting, or other forms of training.

The only difference is in the way the principle is applied.

Train in Accordance To Your Goals

So, what should I do Todd?

Should you train with calisthenics or with weight lifting?

This depends largely on your goals.

The main reason I included the benefits and disadvantages of calisthenics training was so that you can have the whole picture and be able to make the right choice depending on the goals you have right now.

In the “How To Choose The Right Bodyweight Training Plan” post, I included a simple goal-setting process.

If your goal is to get as big as humanly possible, then weight training is the best option for you.

If extreme calisthenics skills inspire you and you want to achieve them, then bodyweight training is the way to go.

If you just want to get fit and you already have access to weights, there is no reason to abandon them completely for bodyweight exercises.

Instead, you can combine different training “tools” and reap the benefits of all of them.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that calisthenics training is a very effective and efficient way to get stronger, build muscle.

Nonetheless, no method is perfect and the same rule applies to calisthenics training.

I hope with this article you’ve got a fairly good idea of the benefits of calisthenics training and where it stands in accordance with your goals.

Here are some bonus links for you if you’d like to take a deeper dive into calisthenics.

• Start the 30 Day Calisthenics Workout Plan (Plus FREE PDF Download) 
• Complete Calisthenics Progression Guide (Beginner to Advanced)
• Al Kavadlo: One of my favorite calisthenics experts (and genuinely nice guy!)

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Calisthenics Better Than Weights?

It really depends on your goals.

If you are looking to become the next Arnold, you’ll want to stick to weights.

But if you are looking for functional strength, a lead body, and overall health, calisthenics are a perfect training plan.

Is Calisthenics Cardio?

Cardio exercise is a type of training that works your cardiovascular system.

So you could have calisthenics-based cardio or weight-based cardio.

For example, running, elliptical machines… even jumping jacks are all cardio-type exercises because you are not using weights and improving your cardiovascular health.

Is Calisthenics a Sport?

Calisthenics just recently has become a sport.

It’s incredible to see the evolution of this simple training methodology and morph beyond an underground “street workout” movement.

Now it is a worldwide sport with competitions across the globe.

Check out the World Calisthenics Organization for more details.

Is Calisthenics Hard?

Hell yeah! Calisthenics can be extremely difficult!

Just check out the hardest push-ups of all time, 100 hardest bodyweight exercises of all time, or the 25 hardest ab exercises.

Is Calisthenics Good For You?

Calisthenics improves your strength, endurance, mobility, muscle mass and helps you lose fat.

It’s one of the most effective types of training of all time.

Not only that, they are amazing at helping you stay injury-free since you are using your own body weight.

How are you going to apply the information you learned in this post?

Is calisthenics training the fastest way to reach your goals? Let me know what you think in the comments section below.

– Bodyweight Todd

Handgrip strength is critical to pushing yourself to your limits during your workout.

I was doing some hanging leg lifts recently and began to struggle about midway through my routine.

(a hanging leg lift is when you hang from a chin-up bar with your arms straight and lift your legs up until your toes touch the ceiling.)

My abs hadn’t reached full fatigue but I had to stop because I was losing my grip on the pull-up bar.

I thought to myself, “Dang! I never realized before how important good grip strength is.”

Why Is My Grip So Weak?

In order to perform hanging leg lifts or any calisthenic exercise from a chin-up or pull-up bar, you have to have a strong grip.

The muscles in your hand, fingers, wrist, and forearm work in tandem to keep your body suspended in the air.

Just working out your main muscle groups consistently isn’t enough.

It is these smaller muscles in your hands and forearms that will make or break your long-term results from bodyweight workouts.

If you lose your grip faster than your other muscles fatigue (like I did) you destroy your chances of using the bar as a strength tool.

That’s why I created an easy 4 Step Method you can do to add grip exercises to your routine.

What Muscles Make Up the Grip?

What Grip Exercises Improve Hand Grip?

The types of grip exercises that improve handgrip can range from finger pinching to wrist curls and squeezing a tennis ball.

No matter the routine, you will want to focus on 4 key muscle groups:

1. Fingers
2. Hands
3. Wrists
4. Forearms

Using isolation exercises in your grip training workout routines will allow you to increase grip strength to super-natural levels!

How To Improve Grip Strength (4-Step Method)

This 4-Step Method can be done in 10 minutes or less 3 to 4 times a week.

I prefer to do this grip training circuit after my regular workout.

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Fingertip Squeezes (10 reps)

It’s true, there aren’t any muscles in your fingers however, as Motion Orthodontics points out, each finger has 6 muscles controlling its movement.

(the index and little finger each have an extra muscle, by the way.)

Many times, your fingers will be your weakest link when it comes to having a solid grip.

A great way to work these muscles is through finger exercises like fingertip squeezes.

The fingertip squeeze strengthens all the muscles on the inner part of the hand.

This can be a benefit for those with weak hands or those with a weak overhand grip.

You also end up with a killer pinch grip after a few weeks of doing these!

You can’t see it in the picture but our starting position is a plank position.

You will want to place your hands about shoulder-width.

Keep your weight suspended on your feet and your fingertips.

Once you have that position, squeeze your fingertips together against the floor.

These will be very small movements and maintain proper form.

Do 10 reps. 

Step 2: Hand Squeezes (10 sec. each hand)

The next exercise is a yielding isometric called the hand squeeze.

That just means we will be using our own force on our hands by squeezing.

It is similar to resistance training.

Yielding isometrics can have amazing effects on muscle performance and require very minimal movement.

When trying to overcome weak grip strength, there is no better grip work than tightly gripping an object.

For this exercise, you’ll be griping your hands together and squeezing as tightly as you can for 10 full seconds.

After you have finished one side, flip the hands over as shown in the video below and do another set.

Doing these exercises consistently will also contribute to forearm strength in the long run.

Step 3: Wrist Lifts (10 reps)

The third step in the routine is called Wrist Lifts.

We do wrist exercises because not only does it improve our grip but it also has a positive correlation with preventing carpal tunnel syndrome and other wrist pain.

You’ll be in a doggy starting position.

Lift your wrists up as high as you can with the weight of your upper body directly over them.

Slowly lower your wrists back down to complete a full rep.

The more weight you put over your wrists the harder the exercise.

Do 10 full reps.

Step 4: 2 Handed Hangs (60 sec.)

The last step is called 2 Handed Hangs.

Essentially, this is just hanging from a bar.

I use this as my “finisher” move because it’s fun and it’s a great move to try to max out.

If you can do 60 seconds of these then you’ll want to move on to the alternate variation below.

Step 4 (Alternate): 1 Handed Hangs (60 sec.)

The 1 Handed Hang is the alternate variation to the 1 Handed Hang.

It’s much more difficult and requires you to grip the bar with even more force.

Once you can hold a 1 Handed Hang for 60 seconds on both sides consider your grip strength to be at a very proficient level.  

Grip Strength Routine Video

Grip Strength Routine Recommendations

I recommend following a schedule of 3-4 days per week.

You can go through the above routine once, twice, or three times if desired.

Here are some sample routines to follow:

Mon/Wed/Fri

Mon/Tues/Thur/Fri

Sun/Tues/Thur/Sat

How Long Will It Take To Have A Strong Grip?

It will take 9-12 weeks of consistent training to improve your grip strength.

Of course, it’s about consistency and sticking with a grip training routine.

If you ever find yourself becoming less motivated with this routine don’t be afraid to change it up or switch up your schedule.

Can You Do More Pull-Ups and Chin-Ups With A Stronger Grip?

Yes, absolutely.

A stronger grip means you will be able to do more pull-ups and chin-ups.

When you improve your grip strength it also contributes to the rest of your body because everything is interconnected.

For example, if you improve your grip strength, you’ll be able to hold yourself in a position for longer which in turn builds endurance.

Then, your entire workout will improve and become more efficient.

Benefits Of Having A Strong Grip

Beyond strengthening your forearm muscles, fingers and hands there are many benefits to adding grip work to your bodyweight training routine.

Here are just a few:

• Grip strength can help prevent tendinitis
• Lowers your risk of carpal tunnel syndrome
• Reduce risks of arthritis
• More resilient to injuries

We go deeper into this topic in our Benefits of Adding Grip Exercises to your Routine article.