Bodyweight exercise - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Bodyweight exercises are strength training

Strength training

Strength training is the use of resistance to muscular contraction to build the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles. There are many different methods of strength training, the most common being the use of gravity or elastic/hydraulic forces to oppose muscle contraction...

exercises that do not require free weights; the practitioner's own weight provides the resistance for the movement. Movements such as the push-up

Press up

For the 2004 single by Freestylers, see Push UpA push-up, or in British English a press-up, is a common calisthenics exercise performed in a prone position by raising and lowering the body using the arms...

, the pull-up

Pull-up (exercise)

A pull-up is an upper body compound pulling exercise where the body is suspended by the arms, gripping something, and pulled up with muscular effort...

, and the sit-up

Sit-up (exercise)

The sit-up is a strength training exercise commonly performed with the aim of strengthening the hip flexors and abdominal muscles. It begins with lying with the back on the floor, typically with the arms across the chest or hands behind the head and the knees bent in an attempt to reduce stress on...

are some of the most common bodyweight exercises.

In general, increasing the amount of repetitions will focus on improving endurance, while strength gains are made through increasing the intensity of the exercise through decreasing leverage and working at the ends of range of motion.

Advantages

Because they do not require weights, bodyweight exercises are the ideal choice for individuals who are interested in fitness but do not have access to equipment, however that doesn't mean strength can't be gained when practicing it. Weights can be incorporated to increase the difficulty of most bodyweight exercises and some exercises do require some sort of apparatus to lean on or hang from, but the majority of bodyweight exercises require only a floor. For those exercises that do require equipment of some kind, a substitute can usually be improvised, for example using two branches of a tree to perform tricep dips. Some bodyweight exercises have been shown to benefit not just the young, but the elderly also.

Bodyweight exercises, compared to weight lifting, often require much more flexibility and balance in order to perform repetitions. Such exercises include handstand pushups, planche pushups, and bridges. Many bodyweight exercises can be progressed or regressed to meet the individual's need. This progression/regression strategy allows nearly all levels of fitness to participate. Bodyweight training can be used effectively to strengthen the core muscles with the addition of speed or unstable surfaces (such as a stability ball) as well as exercise variations that limit the motion (such as extra wide push-ups or wide pull-ups).

Disadvantages

Bodyweight exercises use the practitioner's own weight to provide the resistance for the movement. This means that the weight being lifted is never greater than the weight of one's own body (which is never essential in body-building). This makes it difficult for less experienced athletes to achieve a level of intensity that is near their one rep maximum

One rep maximum

One rep maximum in weight training is the maximum amount of weight one can lift in a single repetition for a given exercise. One repetition maximum can be used for determining an individual's maximum strength and is the method for determining the winner in events such as powerlifting and...

(although of existing bodyweight exercises hard enough to achieve it), which is desirable for strength training. Other methods for increasing intensity include using additional weights (such as wearing a weighted vest or holding a barbell

Barbell

A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight training, weightlifting and powerlifting. Barbells range in length from to although bars above 7' in length are used primarily by powerlifters and aren't commonplace...

, sandbell or plate during a sit up) or by altering the exercise to put one's self at a leverage disadvantage (such as elevating the feet, hanging from straps to change leverage, using one limb, and incorporating isometrics).

Gymnasts make extensive use of this last technique by doing much of their training with straight arms (such as iron crosses, levers, and planches), a mechanically disadvantaged position. Furthermore, a unilateral progression scheme can be used. Instead of a bilateral movement, such as a two-handed pull-up, the practitioner may decide, for strength increases, to choose a set of exercises that will allow him/herself to complete the one-arm pull up. In the bodyweight-training community, unilateral movements are highly regarded and sought after.

List of exercises

This is a list of common bodyweight exercises. Most of these exercises have several variants that can be performed to make the exercise more or less challenging, or to train different muscles. These variants are described in the articles covering the individual exercises.

Name	Muscle groups	Description
Dip Dip (exercise) The dip is an exercise used in strength training. Normal, shoulder-width dips primarily train the triceps, with major synergists being the anterior deltoid, the pectoralis muscles , and the rhomboid muscles of the back...	Arms (triceps), chest Chest The chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals. It is sometimes referred to as the thorax or the bosom.-Chest anatomy - Humans and other hominids:... , back Human back The human back is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck and the shoulders. It is the surface opposite to the chest, its height being defined by the vertebral column and its breadth being supported by the ribcage and shoulders...	Hanging from a dip bar Dip bar A dip bar is a piece of fitness equipment that consists of a U-shaped bar, usually about 1" in diameter, which surrounds the user's body at the waist.-Overview:The user grips the dip bar with both hands, and supports their body weight on it... or other implement with the arms straight and the shoulders positioned above the hands, the body is lowered until the arms are bent at a 90 degrees angle.
Bridge Bridge (exercise) Bridge is an exercise. Many variations of this exercise are employed throughout the world, most commonly the balancing of the body on the head and feet. Hands are occasionally used instead of or along with the head. It is effective in improving lower back strength...	Back Human back The human back is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck and the shoulders. It is the surface opposite to the chest, its height being defined by the vertebral column and its breadth being supported by the ribcage and shoulders... (deep spinal muscles), flexibility, arms (triceps), upper legs	The person will begin in a sit up position with the hands positioned by the ears, palms down, fingers facing the legs. The person pushes up with the arms and the back muscles until the body resembles a lowercase 'n'. The spine must be convex and the limbs straight. The exercise can be made harder by entering the bridge from a standing position (bending the back backwards in a controlled manner into the bridge.)
Press-up / Push-up	Chest Chest The chest is a part of the anatomy of humans and various other animals. It is sometimes referred to as the thorax or the bosom.-Chest anatomy - Humans and other hominids:... , arms (triceps), shoulders Shoulders Shoulders is drinking game that involves players competing in a fast paced game attempting to "count" to 21.-Game play:*The game begins with a player slapping his left/right shoulder, this starts the count at 1....	In a prone position, the body is raised and lowered using the arms while the back remains straight and the toes remain on the ground. The exercise can be made more difficult by placing the legs at an incline. Thus, the upper body must support more weight. The exercise can be made even more difficult by performing it with a single arm. Notable variations include the Hindu pushup (dand), the divebomber pushup, and the diamond pushup.
Handstand push-up	Shoulders, triceps, trapezius	The body is positioned in a handstand, is lowered and pushed up.
Planche Planche (exercise) A Planche is a skill in gymnastics in which the body is held parallel to the ground, giving the illusion of floating. It is a move that requires a great deal of strength and balance....	Full Body	Holding one's body in the air, in a line parallel to and facing the floor through balancing one's entire bodyweight on both hands with straight arms.
Plank Plank (exercise) The plank is an isometric core strength exercise that involves maintaining a difficult position for extended periods of time...	Core (abdominals, back and shoulders)	Lying on the stomach and lifting the body by keeping the toes and forearms on the ground.
Pull up Pull-up (exercise) A pull-up is an upper body compound pulling exercise where the body is suspended by the arms, gripping something, and pulled up with muscular effort...	Back Human back The human back is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck and the shoulders. It is the surface opposite to the chest, its height being defined by the vertebral column and its breadth being supported by the ribcage and shoulders... with emphasis on latissimus dorsi, forearm Forearm -See also:Forearm flexorsForearm muscles... , biceps Biceps Biceps may refer to:Biceps brachii muscle, a muscle located on the inside of the upper armBiceps femoris muscle, one of the hamstring muscles of the back of each thigh*Biceps , a point in a metrical pattern... , rear deltoid, trapezius, erector spinae Erector spinae The Erector spinæ is a muscle group of the back in humans and animals. It is also known as sacrospinalis in older texts. A more modern term is extensor spinae, though this is not in widespread use. The name of the muscle is pronounced e-rec-tor speen-aye, or e-rec-tor spinae-ee.It is really not... , abdominals.	Hanging from a bar with arms extended and palms facing away from the exerciser, the body is pulled up until the elbows are bent and the head is higher than the hands.
Chin-up Chin-up The chin-up is a strength training exercise. The verb chinning means to do them. People frequently do this exercise with the intention of strengthening muscles such as the latissimus dorsi and biceps, which extend the shoulder and flex the elbow, respectively.It is a form of pull-up in which the...	Back Human back The human back is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck and the shoulders. It is the surface opposite to the chest, its height being defined by the vertebral column and its breadth being supported by the ribcage and shoulders... , arms (biceps Biceps Biceps may refer to:Biceps brachii muscle, a muscle located on the inside of the upper armBiceps femoris muscle, one of the hamstring muscles of the back of each thigh*Biceps , a point in a metrical pattern... )	Like the pull-up Pull-up (exercise) A pull-up is an upper body compound pulling exercise where the body is suspended by the arms, gripping something, and pulled up with muscular effort... , but with the palms facing towards the exerciser. The closer the hands, the more the emphasis on the biceps.
Crunch Crunch (exercise) The crunch is one of the most common abdominal exercises. It primarily works the rectus abdominis muscle.-Form:A crunch begins with lying face up on the floor with knees bent. The movement begins by curling the shoulders towards the pelvis. The hands can be behind or beside the neck or crossed over...	Abdomen	Lying face up on the floor, the shoulder Shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle , the scapula , and the humerus as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder make up the shoulder joints. The major joint of the shoulder is the glenohumeral joint, which... s are curled towards the pelvis while the lower back remains flat against the floor. Focus is put on contracting the abdominal muscles.
Sit-up Sit-up (exercise) The sit-up is a strength training exercise commonly performed with the aim of strengthening the hip flexors and abdominal muscles. It begins with lying with the back on the floor, typically with the arms across the chest or hands behind the head and the knees bent in an attempt to reduce stress on...	Abdomen, hip flexors Hip flexors In human anatomy, the hip flexors are a group of skeletal muscles that act to flex the femur onto the lumbo-pelvic complex, i.e., pull the knee upward....	It begins with lying with the back on the floor, typically with the knees bent in an attempt to reduce stress on the back muscles and spine, and then elevating both the upper and lower vertebrae from the floor until everything superior to the buttocks is not touching the ground.
Russian twist Russian twist The Russian Twist is a type of exercise that is used to work the abdomen muscles by performing a twisting motion on the abdomen. The exercise is believed by those who practice it to build explosiveness in the upper torso, which may help in sports such as swimming baseball, track & field, hockey,...	Abdomen	Sitting on the floor with knees bent as in a sit-up, with the back kept straight and at a 45 degree angle to the floor, the straightened arms are held outstretched with the hands locked together. The arms are moved from one side of the body to another in a twisting motion.
Squat Squat (exercise) In strength training, the squat is a compound, full body exercise that trains primarily the muscles of the thighs, hips and buttocks, quads , hamstrings, as well as strengthening the bones, ligaments and insertion of the tendons throughout the lower body...	Leg Human leg The human leg is the entire lower extremity or limb of the human body, including the foot, thigh and even the hip or gluteal region; however, the precise definition in human anatomy refers only to the section of the lower limb extending from the knee to the ankle.Legs are used for standing,... s	Standing up, the legs are bent at the knees and hips, lowering the torso between the legs. The torso leans forward to maintain balance. (Usually called a bodyweight squat to distinguish it from the use of weights.) The single leg squat, or "pistol squat", can be used to make the exercise significantly harder as it requires one to have a great deal of balance, flexibility, and strength.
Hyperextension Hyperextension (exercise) A hyperextension is an exercise that works the lower back as well as the mid and upper back, specifically the erector spinae....	Lower back Human back The human back is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck and the shoulders. It is the surface opposite to the chest, its height being defined by the vertebral column and its breadth being supported by the ribcage and shoulders... , erector spinae Erector spinae The Erector spinæ is a muscle group of the back in humans and animals. It is also known as sacrospinalis in older texts. A more modern term is extensor spinae, though this is not in widespread use. The name of the muscle is pronounced e-rec-tor speen-aye, or e-rec-tor spinae-ee.It is really not...	Lying face down on the floor, the torso and arms are lifted up at the same time.
L seat	Abdomen, arms (triceps)	The person will sit in an L position with the legs straight and parallel to the ground and the upper body perpendicular to the ground. The hands are placed beside the glutes. The hands then push the entire body upwards off the ground. The legs must remain off the ground and parallel to the ground. The exercise taxes the muscles through isometric tension.
Human flag	Abdomen, full body	The person will grab a vertical object such as a pole or tree trunk, with both hands palms pronated. The practitioner will lift the entire body using the abdominal muscles into a position parallel to the ground.
Calf raises Calf raises Calf raises are a method of exercising the gastrocnemius, tibialis posterior and soleus muscles of the lower leg. The movement performed is plantar flexion, aka ankle extension.-Bent-knee:...	Calf muscle Gastrocnemius muscle In humans, the gastrocnemius muscle is a very powerful superficial pennate muscle that is in the back part of the lower leg. It runs from its two heads just above the knee to the heel, and is involved in standing, walking, running and jumping. Along with the soleus muscle it forms the calf muscle...	Standing calf raises are executed with one or both feet on a raised surface with the heel lower than the toes. The exercise is performed by raising the heel as far as possible. The exercise can be made harder by performing the exercise on one leg.
Leg raise Leg raise Leg raise is a strength training exercise used for strengthening the abdominal muscles and hips.Leg raises without equipment are done by lying on the floor on the back. Keep the lower back in contact with the floor and place hands to sides or under lower back for support. Lift legs upward as far as... s	Abdomen, hip flexors Hip flexors In human anatomy, the hip flexors are a group of skeletal muscles that act to flex the femur onto the lumbo-pelvic complex, i.e., pull the knee upward....	Lie on the floor on your back. Keep the lower back in contact with the floor and place hands to sides or under lower back for support. Lift legs upward as far as possible. Lower down to starting position slowly and with control. Make sure the back stays flat on floor and that the abdominal muscles are tight. The exercise can be made significantly harder by performing the exercises from a hanging apparatus, such as a pull up bar, and lifting the legs upwards until parallel with the ground. The exercise can further be increased in difficulty by lifting the legs to the utmost vertical position (to the head).

Advantages

Disadvantages

List of exercises

See also