Bodyweight Exercises for Beginners to Master

By: The U.S. Army

Most people struggle to embrace bodyweight exercises. Most beginner athletes and fitness enthusiasts will want to skip over these exercises and use the fancy equipment at the gym or find something a little more sport specific to start their training. Before you can move an external load, though, you must be able to master the movement of your own body. Here are 5 very important bodyweight exercises for beginners to master:

Squat – The squat is one of the most fundamental and important exercises a human can perform. Squatting is natural and easy to perform in children. Many adults and children are very sedentary in today’s world. Unfortunately many can’t perform good squat technique even with zero resistance. It is important to be able to perform a solid, deep squat before using a barbell to add resistance.

Push Up – This is probably the most well-known and basic of all bodyweight exercises. If you are laying face down on the floor, it is a natural movement! Getting strong at push ups is a great way to build upper body strength.

Lunge – Lunges are another great way to add lower body strength, along with the squat. This also improves lower body mobility and flexibility.

Pull Up – This is probably the most advanced of the exercises listed here. It is great for upper body strength to be able to perform a pull up, not to mention the confidence boost that comes with being able to lift yourself over a bar you are hanging from.

Plank – The core is often one of the areas most in need of strengthening at the beginning of a training program. The plank will improve strength and stability in all areas of the core.

There are many more bodyweight exercises to practice, but these are the most common and will strengthen your entire body to prepare it for a future training program. You can get an excellent workout by just using these five movements.