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The 13 Best Bodyweight Exercises for Beginners, According to Experts
No heavy weights needed.
By Amy Marturana Winderl•
What Are Bodyweight Exercises?
Benefits of Bodyweight Exercises
Can You Build Muscle By Doing Bodyweight Exercises?
How to Choose the Best Bodyweight Exercises for Beginners
Beginner Bodyweight Exercises: Chest and Back
Beginner Bodyweight Exercises: Arms and Shoulders
Beginner Bodyweight Exercises: Legs and Glutes
Beginner Bodyweight Exercises: Core
Try These Beginner Bodyweight Workouts
You might assume that you need dumbbells, barbells, or other big, shiny weights to build strength or gain muscle mass, but your body can act as a powerful source of resistance on its own. Particularly during the early stages of your strength training journey, bodyweight exercises can help you focus on learning proper form and intentionally activating your muscles, setting beginners up for long-term success.
Here, experts explain why weight-free strength training workouts are effective and provide the best beginner bodyweight exercises to target each major muscle group, including how to incorporate them into your routine.
What Are Bodyweight Exercises?
Bodyweight exercises allow you to build strength, stability, and coordination using only your body—no additional equipment required, says Peloton instructor Jermaine Johnson. “Bodyweight exercises are great for beginners, as they allow gradual progression and are adaptable to different fitness levels,” he adds. Because you don’t have to worry about any weights, you’re able to focus 100 percent of your energy on your form.
The resistance, or load, comes from the weight of your own body, says Carol Mack, a physical therapist and certified strength and conditioning specialist. You usually do this in three ways:
Using gravity as resistance, like when your arms work against gravity to lower your body to the ground with control as you do a push-up.
Exerting force against a surface, like when you press your back against a wall and your feet into the floor during wall sits.
Creating tension via the mind-muscle connection, like when you’re holding a high plank position and focus your thoughts on intentionally activating your core muscles.
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Benefits of Bodyweight Exercises
Bodyweight exercises are an effective way to build strength, stability, and balance, Mack says. They can help you make major strides in the early days of your strength training journey. Here are some of the main benefits of bodyweight exercises for beginners:
They’re cost-effective. You don't need to buy any equipment or spend money on a gym membership for access to weights.
They’re convenient. You can do them anywhere (at home, at the gym, or even on vacation).
They promote body awareness and proper form. Working with just your body weight helps you develop better proprioception (your ability to sense where your body is and how it moves through space) and recognize when you’re ready to safely progress.
They can lower your risk for injury. Removing weights from the equation makes it easier to focus on your form, which can reduce your risk for injury. After all, there’s no chance you’ll lift a weight that’s too heavy while doing bodyweight exercises.
They’re efficient. If you move through bodyweight exercises quickly, they can double as a strength and a cardio workout.
They’re adaptable. You can almost always modify a bodyweight exercise to meet your current fitness level or available range of motion. For example, if a deep squat isn’t doable, you can opt for a partial squat instead.
Can You Build Muscle By Doing Bodyweight Exercises?
Yes, bodyweight exercises are “enough” to build muscle, Jermaine says—especially if you’re a beginner or haven’t worked out in a while. A 2020 study, published in BMC Public Health, for example, found that when untrained adults participated in a 12-week program of bodyweight exercises, they saw significant increases in muscle size and strength. Research shows that you can build muscle even without using external resistance like weights as long as you’re sufficiently challenging your muscle fibers.
On that note, if you keep at it, bodyweight exercises might eventually start to feel easy. To keep seeing progress in your strength, you need to continually challenge yourself. You can achieve this with bodyweight exercises by choosing more difficult moves, increasing the number of reps, playing with time under tension, or trying more advanced variations.
How to Choose the Best Bodyweight Exercises for Beginners
When it comes to selecting bodyweight exercises for your strength training routine, you have no shortage of options. However, beginners should make sure the ones they select fall into the below categories.
Each move should be simple, meaning it doesn’t have multiple parts or feel difficult to perform safely on your own.
The exercise should be easy to execute. If you still don’t understand what to do after reading a few basic steps, consider swapping it for another move.
It should be foundational, meaning it trains a basic movement pattern (a hip hinge, for example) that you’ll use for other exercises as you get stronger and more mobile.
Each move should engage major muscle groups. There’s a time and place for training tiny muscles, but when you’re just starting out with bodyweight exercises, you should focus on working the big muscle groups (more on that below).
The exercise should have room for progression. The best bodyweight exercises for beginners are manageable enough to do during your first workout and possible to modify as you get stronger and need more of a challenge.
We factored in these qualities when choosing the best exercises for each major muscle group below. They’re all basic (but super effective) movements you can try at home and will likely see if you take a class on the Peloton App.
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Beginner Bodyweight Exercises: Chest and Back
1. Modified Push-up
A push-up works your chest, shoulders, and triceps, while also engaging your core, as it’s essentially a dynamic plank. A full push-up is challenging, so beginners can modify by dropping to their knees or placing their hands on an elevated surface such as a chair, table, or wall, Mack says. The taller the surface, the easier the move becomes.
Regardless of the variation you choose, be sure to maintain a plank position, keeping your back flat and your core engaged.
Start in a high plank position. Place your hands on the floor directly underneath your shoulders with your fingers spread. Extend your legs, positioning your feet hip-width distance apart, and engage your core so that your body forms a straight line from your head to your heels.
Drop your knees to the floor and slightly shift your body forward so your upper body supports the majority of your body weight.
Bend your elbows to slowly lower your body toward the floor. The goal is to lightly touch your chest to the ground, but only lower as far as you can while still maintaining control and a straight line from your head to your hips. Your elbows should form a 45-degree angle with your torso (not extending directly back or out to the sides).
Pause at the bottom before pressing through your palms to straighten your arms, returning to your starting position.
That’s one rep. Do 2–3 sets of 10 reps.
Make it harder: Increase the total number of reps you perform or try a full push-up with your knees off the ground.
2. Superhuman
This bodyweight exercise is great for strengthening your back—specifically the erector spinae, which are deep spinal muscles that help you bend, flex, and rotate your back, Mack says.
Lie on your stomach with your legs straight. Extend your arms overhead with your palms facing each other. Relax your head and look down at the floor to maintain a neutral spine.
Engage your core muscles, slightly tucking your pelvis. Then, lift your legs, arms, head, and chest a few inches off the floor. Keep your gaze on the floor. Hold this position for two seconds.
With control, lower your arms and legs to the floor while keeping your lower back and hips stable (avoid any lifting or rotating).
That’s one rep. Do 2–3 sets of 12 reps.
Make it harder: Hold the top of each rep for five seconds.
Beginner Bodyweight Exercises: Arms and Shoulders
1. Triceps Dip
As its name implies, this move works your triceps, which are the muscles located on the back of your upper arms that you use to straighten and bend your elbows. You can do tricep dips on the floor using only your bodyweight, or beginners can modify the move by placing their hands on an elevated surface such as a chair, step, or bench.
Sit on the floor with knees bent, feet flat on the floor in front of you, and your palms on the floor behind you, fingers pointing toward your glutes.
Lift your hips off the foor, trying to form a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Keep your neck long, looking up and forward.
Without lowering your hips to the ground, bend your elbows to lower your body a few inches, then press into your palms to straighten (but not lock) your elbows.
That’s one rep. Do 2–3 sets of 10 reps.
Make it harder: Move your feet farther away so that your legs are straighter. The farther your feet are from your trunk, the harder the move becomes.
2. High Plank
Most people think of a high plank as a core exercise (and it is!), but it also strengthens the muscles that stabilize your shoulders, including your rotator cuff and deltoids, Mack says. Plus, planks “help build a solid foundation for more advanced exercises,” Jermaine explains.
Place your hands on the floor directly under your shoulders. Extend your legs behind you with your feet together and squeeze your core. Engage your upper back and lower body, including your glutes and quads, so that your body forms a straight line from your head to your heels.
Actively engage your core, glutes, legs, and upper back as you hold this position. Think about gently drawing your belly button toward your spine, and pulling your shoulder blades back and down. Look at the ground to keep your neck in a neutral, comfortable position and avoid straining it. And of course, don’t forget to breathe. Inhaling through your nose and exhaling through pursed lips can help you activate your pelvic floor and deep core muscles.
Hold for 30 seconds. Do 3 sets, with brief rests in between. If 30 seconds feels like too much, hold a plank as long as you can before resting, gradually working up to a longer hold.
Make it harder: Hold a plank for 10-20 additional seconds each time.
3. Arm Circles
This move is simple yet effective, and a great beginner bodyweight exercise for targeting your upper body. “Arm circles target the deltoids and the smaller muscles that stabilize the shoulders,” Mack says.
Stand tall with your feet hip-width distance apart and knees softly bent. Engage your core and extend your arms straight out from your shoulders so they’re parallel to the ground.
Move your arms in a small circular motion, initiating the movement from your shoulders (not your hands or elbows). Keep your core engaged and your back straight.
Do 2–3 sets of 10 circles, then reverse the direction.
Make it harder: Once 10 reps in each direction feels too easy, increase to 20 reps.
Beginner Bodyweight Exercises: Legs and Glutes
1. Bodyweight Squat
This classic bodyweight exercise primarily targets your quads while also activating your glutes, hamstrings, calves, and core.
Stand with your feet hip-width distance apart. Engage your core and keep your chest upright. To make the move easier, place your hands on your hips. For more of a challenge, hold your arms straight out in front of your body so they’re level with your shoulders.
Inahle and push your hips back and bend your knees to lower your body as if you were about to sit in a chair. Pause when your thighs are parallel to the ground, or as low as is comfortable for you.. Make sure your knees track over the middle of your feet and aren’t caving in or out.
Pause at the bottom for one second. Then, exhale and press through your feet to return to a starting position.
That’s one rep. Do 2–3 sets of 15 reps.
Make it harder: Take four counts to lower into a squat and then one count to push back up. This emphasizes the squat’s eccentric phase, which happens when your muscles lengthen, and boosts strength gains by keeping your muscles under tension for a longer period of time.
2. Lateral Lunge
All lunge variations are solid lower body exercises for beginners, but the lateral lunge specifically gets bonus points for encouraging you to move in a different plane of motion—not just forward or backward. It strengthens your quads, glutes, and hip adductors in your inner thighs.
Stand with your feet together and your arms at your sides.
Take a big step out to the right with your right foot, simultaneously sitting your hips backward and bending your right knee to lower into a squat with your right leg. Your left leg should remain straight with your foot flat on the floor. It’s OK to let your torso hinge forward slightly, but try to keep your chest tall.
Push through your right foot to return to the starting position.
That’s one rep. Do 2–3 sets of 10 reps on each leg.
Make it harder: At the bottom of each rep, hold your position for five seconds before explosively pushing back up. This increases the amount of time your muscles are working during the hardest part of the move.
3. Hip Bridge
This bodyweight move strengthens your glutes and hamstrings. It also doubles as a core exercise since it requires you to activate your abdominals and lower back muscles to keep your body stable.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Let your arms rest at your sides, about 45 degrees from your torso, with your palms up.
Squeeze your glutes and engage your core as you lift your hips. Stop lifting when you’ve formed a straight diagonal line from your shoulders to your knees.
Hold the bridge for one breath. Keep your core and back flat as you slowly return to your starting position.
That’s one rep. Do 2–3 sets of 15 reps.
Make it harder: Do single leg hip bridges, which target one leg at a time and require more hip stability.
4. Single Leg Deadlift
Deadlifts are a hip-hinge movement, a pattern that shows up in a wide variety of other exercises and in daily life (think: bending down to pick something up). This exercise targets your glutes and hamstrings while also engaging your core, particularly the muscles in your lower back. The single leg deadlift variation challenges your balance and coordination while still being an appropriate bodyweight exercise for a beginner.
Stand with your feet hip-width distance apart, your knees slightly bent, and arms by your sides.
Maintain the bend in your knees as you shift your weight into your left foot and hinge forward at your hips. Keep your back flat as you lift your right leg straight behind you, lowering your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor. Keep your hips and right knee square to the floor, trying not to rotate them open to the side. Reach your fingertips toward the floor.
Pause for one second, then simultaneously lower your right leg, lift your torso, and push your hips forward to return to the starting position. Step your right foot next to your left or, for a challenge, hover it off the floor until you begin the next rep.
That’s one rep. Do 2–3 sets of 10 reps on each leg.
Make it harder: After each rep, drive your lifted leg forward and up into a high knee, as demonstrated by Jermaine above. For a bonus challenge, stand and balance in this position for five seconds to work the muscles for even longer.
5. Split Squat
This squat variation strengthens your quads, glutes, and hip adductors. “By targeting each leg individually, split squats are more of a balance challenge than traditional squats,” Mack says.
Stand with your feet hip-width distance apart. Place your hands on your hips or clasp them in front of your chest. Take a big step back with your right leg so you’re balancing on the toes of your left foot, with your feet still about hip-width distance apart.
Keep your torso upright as you bend both knees to lower your body as far as you can, or until both knees form 90-degree angles and your front thigh is parallel to the ground.
Pause for one second before pressing through your front foot to straighten your legs and return to the starting position.
That’s one rep. Do 2–3 sets of 10 reps, then repeat on the other side.
Make it harder: Add a five-second hold or a pulse at the bottom of the movement.
Beginner Bodyweight Exercises: Core
1. Dead Bug
The dead bug looks easy, and it can be if you fail to actively engage your core as you move your arms and legs. When you do this move properly, it’s a serious strength challenge that activates your deepest core muscle, i.e., your transverse abdominis.
Lie face-up on the floor in a tabletop position with your knees and hips bent at 90 degrees, and shins parallel to the floor. Extend your arms toward the ceiling. Engage your core and keep your lower back gently pressed into the floor the entire time.
Simultaneously lower and extend your right arm behind your head and your left leg away from your body so they both hover about an inch off the floor. Keep your core engaged; don’t allow your back to lift off the floor or your ribs to splay open.
Return to the starting position. Repeat, but this time, extend your left arm and right leg.
That’s one rep. Do 2–3 sets of 10 reps.
Make it harder: Hold a light dumbbell (3-5 pounds) in both hands and perform the dead bug with this added resistance.
2. Bird Dog
“Bird dog strengthens the deep core muscles, back, hip-stabilizing muscles, and even the glutes,” Mack says. It’s great for training core stability and teaches you how to maintain a neutral spine as you extend your arms and legs.
Start on all fours in a tabletop position, stacking your shoulders over your wrists and your hips over your knees.
Brace your core as you lift one arm off the ground and extend it in front of you while simultaneously lifting and straightening your opposite leg behind you. Think about pressing your back heel against an imaginary wall.
Hold this position for a few seconds before reversing the movement to return to tabletop position. Repeat these steps with the other arm and leg to complete one rep.
Start with two or three sets of 15 reps.
Make it harder: Move your arm and leg a few inches out to each side instead of forward and backward to change up the stability challenge.
3. Mountain Climber
This dynamic plank variation features a knee-driving motion that increases the intensity on your core, and it also strengthens the muscles that stabilize your shoulders. Like many other bodyweight moves, it can double as a cardio exercise.
Start in a high plank, with your hands on the floor directly underneath your shoulders and your feet hip-width distance apart. Brace your core. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your ankles.
Hold this position as you lift your right foot off the floor and pull your knee as close to your chest as you can. (Optional: Touch the floor with your right toes.)
Then, extend your right leg to return to the starting position. Immediately repeat this movement on the other side, driving your left knee in toward your chest.
Continue quickly alternating knee drives for 30 seconds. If this movement feels too challenging, slow down.
Do 2–3 sets, resting as needed between sets.
Make it harder: The faster you drive your knees in and out, the harder the cardio challenge will be.
Try These Beginner Bodyweight Workouts
You can practice any of the above beginner bodyweight exercises in isolation to perfect your form and build strength, but grouping them together can also make for super effective, easy-to-follow workouts. Jermaine recommends starting with a combination of bodyweight exercises that target different muscle groups. (Try picking one or two exercises from each of the categories above, and doing the for the recommended number of sets and reps.)
“Aim for two to three sessions weekly, gradually increasing reps and sets. Progress when exercises feel easier or form stays solid throughout sets,” he says. “Listen to your body, rest, and recover well between workouts."
Granted, if you’re a beginner, putting together your own workout may seem a little complicated. Instead, consider trying one of the many bodyweight classes on the Peloton App. That way, you can get a feel for what you like and how expert instructors typically program these exercises together. You don’t have to think, and can just focus on getting your workout done.
This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized advice. It is not intended to replace professional medical evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment. Seek the advice of your physician for questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition. If you are having a medical emergency, call your physician or 911 immediately.
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