Bodyweight workouts are a great place to start for beginners for two key reasons. They can be done at home without specialized equipment. When you are just beginning your fitness journey you can improve a lot with simple beginner bodyweight workouts.

Countless bodyweight movements can effectively target the various muscle groups. Even following a basic bodyweight plan has been found to improve aerobic fitness by 7%. Additionally, many bodyweight exercises can be modified to increase difficulty as you progress with continued training. 

If you have no gym, no weights, and no experience — no problem! Read on to see a great example of a beginner bodyweight workout with no equipment.

10 Beginner Bodyweight Workouts

Here are bodyweight exercises for beginners that you can combine for a full-body bodyweight workout plan.

Knee Push-Up

The knee push-up is an efficient compound movement that can be integrated into many workout programs. It is especially useful during upper-body and chest-focused workouts and is one of many bodyweight chest exercises for beginners. 

Knee push-ups primarily target our pectoralis muscles as well as the deltoids, triceps, rectus abdominis, and obliques, among other muscles. They allow beginner athletes to develop proper technique for the traditional push-up. 

How To Do

1. Start in a kneeling plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart and your arms fully extended.
2. Keep your core engaged and a neutral spine (to avoid letting your hips sag) throughout the movement. Maintain a straight line from your knees through your head. 
3. Lower your body towards the ground, bending your elbows as you descend. Be sure to keep your elbows close to your body. 
4. Lower yourself as low as you can comfortably go without your chest hitting the ground. 
5. Briefly pause at the bottom of the movement. 
6. Straighten your arms to push yourself up to the starting position. Keep your elbows close to your body as you push upward. 

Tips

• Use a softer surface to protect your knees. A yoga mat, carpet, or grass will work nicely. This won’t feel good on concrete or hardwood. 
• Keep your head in a neutral position. Don’t bring your head too far up or tuck it in to limit neck strain and decrease injury risk.
• As you improve and this begins to become too easy, switch to traditional push-ups from your feet. 

Optimal Sets And Reps

Tricep Dips On Bench

Triceps dips target the triceps, shoulders, and lower chest and can be easily modified to suit different ability levels. By using a bench, beginners can make this movement easier and appropriately challenging for them. Bench dips also put extra emphasis on the triceps for those targeting that muscle group. 

How To Do

1. Sit on the edge of the bench with your hands next to your hips. Your fingertips should face forward along the side of the bench.
2. Slide your rear off the bench as you straighten your legs out in front of you. Have your heels on the ground with your arms fully extended.
3. Lower your body weight by bending your elbows, keeping them along your sides. Lower yourself until your upper arms are parallel to the ground, or further if you can in a controlled manner.
4. Hold the bottom position momentarily.
5. Push through your palms as you straighten your elbows, pushing yourself back to the starting position. 

Tips

• Point your elbows behind you, not out to the side. This will increase the focus on the triceps.
• As this becomes too easy, explore other dip variations to increase the challenge. Ring dips and bar dips can be a nice way to add difficulty.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Plank

The plank builds core strength and stability. It targets the rectus abdominis, transversus abdominis, and obliques, among other core muscles. As it is a static hold with a core focus, it is more suitable for muscular endurance and stability goals.

The plank is a classic exercise for athletes in all sports to improve performance. Having weak inner core muscles can be a recipe for low back pain for runners and in sports involving running. A strong and stable core is required to compete at a high level and is key for injury prevention.

How To Do

1. Start kneeling with your hands on the floor in front of you. Lean your weight forward so your hands are directly beneath your shoulders. 
2. Extend your legs to straighten your knees, which will elevate them off the ground.
3. Engage your core and glutes.
4. Maintain a straight line from your ankles to your shoulders for the duration of your set.

Tips

• Don’t let your hips sage, nor allow them to raise up too much. The goal is a straight line from shoulders to ankles. 
• A variation of this exercise includes having your elbows and forearms on the floor instead of your hands. While many people prefer this way, it is especially helpful for those with wrist or elbow pain.  
• There are several ways to increase or decrease the difficulty of the plank. You can do it from your knees to make it easier. There are many more options to increase the difficulty, including adding weight, only using one arm or leg, etc. 

Optimal Sets And Reps

Squat

Squats are key to any training program. Including bodyweight leg exercises for beginners like classic bodyweight squats in your program can be a great way to start. While squats utilize most of the muscles in our body, they most powerfully target our glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps.

Whether you are training for the Olympics or want to be stronger for everyday tasks, squats are for you. Beyond the obvious sporting benefits of improved strength, squats may play a big role in reducing injury risk for athletes. 

How To Do

1. Stand with your feet slightly outside hip width with toes and knees turned slightly outward. Engage your core and stand up straight with good posture before starting the movement.
2. Maintaining this posture, sit back slightly on your heels while leaning your torso slightly forward.
3. Lower your hips down until your thighs are parallel to the ground.
4. Push through your feet and extend your knees and hips back to the starting position.

Tips 

• Keep an upright posture. You can lean forward a bit, but keep your shoulders upright and your chest big. 
• Start by only going through the range of motion that you can do while maintaining good posture and balance. 
• Increasing difficulty can be as simple as adding weight. You can also do unilateral variations that target one leg at a time. 

Optimal Sets And Reps

Glute Bridge

Glute bridges are great for isolating and strengthening the gluteus, hamstrings, and hip muscles. These muscles are essential for everyday tasks like lifting objects and sports performance. 

Most athletic movements require a strong core and hips to transfer force between your upper and lower body. Glute bridges help bridge this gap between the upper and lower body by strengthening key muscles. 

How To Do

1. Lie on your back on a comfortable, stable surface. Bend your knees and keep your feet flat, hip-width apart. Have your arms by your side.
2. Engage your core and stabilize your hips before starting the movement.
3. Lift your hips towards the sky by pushing through your heels and squeezing your glutes. Continue until there is a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. 
4. Hold momentarily at the top, continuing to squeeze your glutes.
5. Slowly lower your hips back to the starting position in a controlled manner.

Tips

• Keep your shoulders, upper back, and head on the floor throughout the movement.
• This can be made more difficult by adding weight or doing it with only one leg at a time. Additionally using a BOSU ball or foam roller under your feet can add a stability challenge. 

Optimal Sets And Reps

Lunge

Lunges are an example of a compound exercise that offers benefits for sports and everyday activities. The combination of stability, mobility, strength, and coordination required to perform lunges gives them a broad range of improvements. Lunges primarily target the quadriceps but also target the hamstrings, glutes, calves, and erector spinae. 

How To Do

1. Start by standing upright with your hands next to your hips. 
2. Step forward while maintaining an erect posture and engaging your core. Ensure your front foot lands far enough away from your body so your knee will end up above your foot. 
3. Bend your front knee and lower your body until your back knee almost touches the floor. 
4. After a quick pause at the bottom of the exercise, push your front foot back to return to the starting position. 

Tips

• Stay up tall with your upper body throughout the movement. Don’t lean back or forward. Cueing a nice big chest can help ensure good posture. 
• Don’t let your front knee go past your toes if you have had issues with your knees. This can add extra pressure to the knee. If this happens don’t step out so far next time. 
• Beyond adding weight, you can also add jumping and more explosive movements for an extra challenge. 

Optimal Sets And Reps

Bodyweight Single-Leg Deadlift

Single-leg deadlifts activate the muscles at the back of the body, which can benefit athletes. The hamstrings and glutes get a great workout from incorporating this into your routine, enhancing performance and reducing injury risk. Additionally, the unilateral element of this movement has further benefits relating to reducing muscular imbalances.  

The hip hinge movement in deadlifting translates very well to sports and everyday life contexts. This is true whether you are trying to win an Olympic medal or lift a box off the floor. Training hip hinge movements will help you acquire functional strength for sports and life. 

How To Do

1. Stand upright, with an erect posture and feet shoulder-width apart. Each arm should hang alongside your body. Keep engaging your core throughout the movement. 
2. Reach your right hand down towards the floor as your right leg moves backward. Keep your right leg straight and in line with your trunk as you lean forward. The opposite arm will stay alongside your trunk. 
3. Reach down until you get to the bottom of your comfortable range of motion and have a slight bend in your left knee. Maintain a neutral spine and keep your chest up. 
4. Move your hips forward while straightening your knee as you stand up and return to the starting position.
5. Repeat on the opposite side and for the rest of the repetitions in your set. 

Tips

• Cue for a big chest to help maintain good posture throughout the movement. 
• Focus more on pushing your hips forward and back, rather than up or down. 
• To add difficulty, you can add weight or stand on unstable surfaces, like a BOSU ball.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Bird Dog

The bird dog is a core exercise that additionally targets the glutes, back, and shoulders. The erector spinae, hamstrings, abdominals, obliques, latissimus dorsi, and trapezius all benefit too. It improves strength, balance, stability, and coordination and is commonly used by athletes. 

This can be a great exercise for beginners, particularly when you focus on the muscles being used. 

How To Do

1. Start with both your hands and knees on the floor with a neutral spine position. Ensure your shoulders are over your hands and your hips are over your knees.
2. Slowly extend your right arm forward and your left leg backward until both limbs parallel to the floor.
3. Pause momentarily and slowly return your arm and leg to the starting position.
4. Repeat with the opposite arm and leg and for as many reps in your set.

Tips

• Keep your core engaged and don’t let your belly or hips sag during the movement. 
• Adding weight and/or using unstable surfaces under your hands and knees can make this movement more difficult. 

Optimal Sets And Reps

Dead Bug

Dead bugs are another great bodyweight exercise that can be done almost anywhere. Their stability benefits are substantial, as shown by research on dead bugs and other exercises that promote spinal stability. Their improvements in spinal stability, motor control, and injury reduction benefits can spur athletes toward peak performance. 

How To Do

1. Lay on your back on a flat surface with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
2. Lift your arms straight over your chest with your fingers pointing to the sky.  
3. Lift your feet off the floor. Keep your hips and knees bent at 90-degree angles. 
4. While extending your knee, lower your right leg towards the floor and lean your left arm behind your head.
5. Return your limbs to the starting position and repeat with the opposite arm and leg.

Tips

• Be controlled with your movement. Don’t flail and go too quickly. 
• Add weight to increase difficulty. Hold dumbbells in your hands and use ankle weights for your legs. 

Optimal Sets And Reps

Mountain Climber

Mountain climbers are a full-body exercise that can be done as part of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) given their intensity and how easy they are to time. Athletes will benefit from the improved strength and intermuscular coordination. 

How To Do

1. Start in a push-up position with your hands directly beneath your shoulders. Engage your core before starting the movement. You should have a nice straight line from your ankles to your shoulders in the starting position. 
2. Forcefully drive your right knee up to your chest, as if you are running. 
3. Return that leg to the starting position.
4. With as little transition time as possible, quickly repeat with the other leg. Continue alternating legs rapidly for your set amount of time or rep.

Tips

• Drive your knees forward rather than kicking your feet up and down. 
• Keep your eyes on the floor slightly in front of your head to maintain good posture. 
• When both legs move in a synchronized manner you can better establish a proper rhythm. 
• Adding ankle weights can increase difficulty.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Best Beginner Bodyweight Workout Routine

The five exercises below comprise a full-body workout that should challenge a beginner. Adjust the sets, reps, or rest to best fit your needs.

Benefits Of Bodyweight Exercises For Beginners

For beginners who haven’t trained in a long time or have never trained, bodyweight exercises are a good starting point. 

Increased Mobility

Several of these bodyweight exercises target mobility like the triceps dips and squats. Movements like lunges and knee push-ups have large ranges of motion for our hips, ankles, and shoulders. Additionally, strength training in general has been shown to have similar range of motion benefits as stretching. 

Improved Posture

Good posture is inherently important for sporting contexts but is also important for general health and well-being. In our modern society with desk jobs and binge-watching, good posture is something most of us need to work for. Strengthening our traps, upper back, and chest muscles combined with regular stretching helps keep our shoulders from rounding forward.

Hip Stability And Strength

Strong and stable hips are key in our daily lives, particularly as we age. With unstable hips, you may find yourself with poor posture, off-balance, and more likely to fall. By beginning your strength training journey you can support pelvic alignment during everyday tasks like standing up and lifting objects. 

Expert Training Tips 

• Keep It Simple: If you are a beginner any training is going to be beneficial versus no training. Don’t start with anything complicated, there will be time to add that in later as you accumulate experience. 
• Learn From Experts: Using a personal trainer and consulting knowledgeable friends can help you refine your training. Also, learn more about the science of exercise so you can train smarter, not just harder. 
• Don’t Train Too Hard To Start: Think more about how much training you can do in the next week or month than just today. Soreness can be good, but too much will hinder your training. 

Conclusion

Don’t let a lack of equipment or knowledge prevent you from starting to improve yourself through physical training. These were just ten of many exercises you can start doing to better yourself mentally and physically. 

While expert knowledge is helpful, it’s not required. So, pick some exercises and get started!