Can You Build Muscle with Bodyweight Exercises? [The Ultimate Guide]

Get Ripped with Bodyweight Exercises to Build HUGE Muscles!

Most goes to the gym to bulk up muscles. What if you can’t hit the gym daily? Can You Build Muscle with Bodyweight Exercises?

Bodyweight exercises are first in the head of fitness trainers when regular gyming isn’t possible.

The new workout regime flows simple principle

• Increased reps
• Reducing resting time
• Performing workout variations
• Workout to fail
• Elevate under time tension
• Employ mechanical drop sets

With the straightforward bodyweight workout plan and your strategies, you can get impressive results.

The motive of the article was to discuss the real power of bodyweight workouts.

What are Bodyweight Exercises?

Fundamental bodyweight exercises for beginners involve workouts using bodyweight.

You will have to push, pulls, jump, and performing any kind of workout employing your weight as the resistance.

It may appear simple, but when it comes to reality, it is going to challenge you.

In fact, a little change in movement or position of reps can improve results. The same happens with interchanging the figure of sets and reps you perform.

For extra guidance, you can take the help of your fitness trainer.

It will provide you the information required to achieve maximum muscle gains with the best bodyweight exercises to build muscle without equipment.

While bodyweight exercise offers promising results, people wonder—

Can You Build Muscle with Bodyweight Exercises? 

Let’s find out!

Bodyweight Exercise is the new trend in the fitness community.

So, people question in the first place— can bodyweight exercises build muscle mass?

The answer is YES!

Muscle building depends on the muscle tears occurring due to workouts.

When you employ bodyweight exercises to gain muscle mass, the same things happen. In other words, you receive maximum muscle tears.

Bodyweight workouts put a strain on your muscle.

Different strategies involved in the workout react differently to your muscle mass.

The core of a functional bodyweight workout for mass involves:

• Increased reps
• Reducing resting time
• Performing workout variations
• Workout to fail
• Elevate under time tension
• Employ mechanical drop sets

When your training involves these strategies, it puts huge muscle strain causing bigger muscle tears.

Naturally, your body would respond to stimulate muscle repair and healing. The repair process adds more muscle in the normal space.

Eventually, you will have bigger, massive muscle gain in a short while.

Thus, we can conclude a bodyweight workout plan to build muscle works. Besides, the science behind the exercises routine.

There are other factors ensuring your greater bulking results.

#1: Accessibility

The gym isn’t for everyone. Getting ready for the gym, packing all the stuff, taking your office clothes are a whole lot of things.

That requires a whole lot of time. Indeed, gyming is inconvenient for most. Thus, people skip workouts

Contrarily, bodyweight exercises require no or zero equipment. You just need to change your workout clothes.

You can perform bodyweight exercises for men in your backyard or the gym. Not only it makes the workout pretty convenient but saves a whole lot of time.

#2: Suits All Levels

Full-body bodyweight exercises are suitable for everyone.

Whether you are a beginner or a pro, the workout program will change the dynamic of your physique.

However, the variations and changes employed to perform the exercises are a bit challenging.

As the workout program involves every kind of workout from mild level to pro. So, you won’t get bore.

#3: Functional in Everyday Life

Bodyweight exercises involve simple movements you can perform daily.

In fact, the workout program can boost your flexibility, mobility, and stability. This won’t only improve your ability to perform your workout but boosts your bulking results.

Simple tasks like carrying groceries or lifting the chair are also bodyweight exercises at home.

In short, bodyweight exercises keep you away from the mess at the gym.

Just by performing the simple movement, you can shape up your physique. Nonetheless, how to build muscle using bodyweight exercises.

Top 5 Best Bodyweight Exercises To Build Muscle

Bodyweight exercises can improve your muscle mass.

These full-body workouts are suitable for both the upper body and the lower body.

Here, we’ve shared the top 6 best bodyweight exercises to build muscle

Bodyweight Exercise #1: Dips

Dips are a great bodyweight workout to enhances your shoulder and chest muscles.

In fact, it’s a compound workout that targets multiple muscle groups. In other words, it’s going to benefit more than your shoulders and chest muscles.

Here’s how to perform Dips

• You have to use a dip bar or two parallel bars.
• Using it jump up and expand your arms.
• Bend your arms to drop your body down.
• Bend forward to focus on your triceps and chest
• Once your shoulders are parallel to your elbows, push back by unbending your arms

The bodyweight exercises target your arms, shoulders, and chest muscles.

To maximize the results, you can try variations of this workout.

Bodyweight Exercises #2: Push-Ups

Pushes are the best bodyweight exercises for strength and muscle building.

Specifically, it benefits upper body strength by engaging your chest, shoulder, core, lower back, and triceps.

Here’s how to perform push-ups:

• Begin with your chest and stomach lying on the floor
• Uplift your body from the floor up pushing your arms against the ground while keeping your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Now, bend your arms to bring your body to the ground.
• When you reach the floor, again push against the ground keeping your core engaged.

Push-ups are part of every best bodyweight workout program. Not only it helps build strength but develops biceps and triceps.

Try push-ups variation to challenge yourself.

Are You Doing Push-Ups Right? Here’s How to Do It In Right Way!

Bodyweight Exercise #3: Pull-Ups

Pull-ups are also effective compound workouts.

The single bodyweight exercise targets your shoulder, lats, rhomboids, and arm muscles.

Moreover, the resistance also functions in favor of muscle building.

Here’s how to perform Pull-ups.

• Begin by extending from a straight bar or pull up bar
• Pull your body up towards the bar
• Target to lift your chest to the bar and pull your elbows down and back

You can also try easier variations for similar benefits. As a compound workout, it benefits the whole body making it part of almost every bodyweight workout plan to get ripped.

So, you can try it without a second thought.

Bodyweight Exercise #4: Lunges

Lunges are the best lower bodyweight exercises. In fact, it is great for targeting your upper leg including quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings.

As a unilateral workout, it manages muscle imbalances.

Here’s how to perform Lunges.

• Begin by stepping out in front with one leg and drop your back knee down to the floor.
• Make sure your front knee aligns with your ankle.
• Stand back and repeat with the other leg.

You can perform variations like reverse lunges or stationary lunges. It helps in maintaining your leg muscles benefiting your muscle-building goals.

This makes it the best bodyweight exercise to build muscle without equipment.

Bodyweight Exercise #5: Squat

Squat targets your big leg muscles. This includes Glutes, hamstrings, and quads.

This is why the compound workout becomes part of the best bodyweight workout plan with no equipment.

Here’s how to perform Squat.

• Keep your feet at hip or shoulder-width apart.
• Bend at knees to get into the squat position.
• Keep your back straight and upright.
• When your thighs are in line with the floor return to the initial position.
• Repeat the workout as much as possible.

For making it easier, you can perform a chair or box squat. Or, to make it challenging, try jump squat or elevate the depth of your squat.

Add Squats to your Workout Routine for Stronger Legs

These are the top 5 best bodyweight exercises for muscle building and strengthening

Undoubtedly, involving these workouts in your training program will elevate your bulking results.

Still, you need to look for additional strategies to improve muscle building using bodyweight workouts.

Top Strategies for Maximum Bulk Using Bodyweight Exercises

Bodyweight exercises won’t help in muscle building unless you employ the right strategy.

This is where most people miss and end up wasting their time and effort.

Thus, having the right strategy in the first place gives you an edge in achieving your bulking results. Here’s what you can do…

#1: Increase Your Reps

The best simple way to increase muscle gain using bodyweight exercises is by performing more reps.

Well, you have to lift lighter way, greater reps can hit the RPE.

It’s a scale determining the intensity of the workout. Indeed, greater reps take sufficient time to get used.

Still, once you are up with it, your muscle gains improve tremendously.

#2: Reduce Rest Time

Rest between sets is important. However, if you want to intensify the workout, you have to take the other way i.e., decreasing your rest time.

If you rest break range between 60-90 seconds, then reduce it to 60 seconds. By cutting down the rest time, your workout becomes intense.

Henceforth, you receive maximum muscle growth in the long run.

#3: Involve Variations of One Movement

Performing one workout bore you. Also, it targets only certain muscle groups specifically. However, one exercise has different ways to perform.

The more variations you try, the more muscle groups your workout would target.

Eventually, you will tend to have bigger muscle growth and physique. So, perform more than one variation of any bodyweight movement.

#4: Train to Fail

Train to fail is another strategy to enhance muscle growth by employing bodyweight workouts.

In other words, you have to perform AMRAP i.e., as many reps as possible until you can’t do anymore. Still, make sure your body supports such a strategy.

Performing a couple of more reps isn’t bothering, but it can be dangerous when not employed properly.

So, train to fail, but make sure your body responds positively.

#5: Elevate Time Under Tension

Bodyweight exercise stimulates muscle growth if you amplify time under tension. This is the amount of time you put a strain on your muscle.

For putting strain on your muscles, you have to slow down your movements.

Another way to elevate time under tension is by slowing down the unusual phase of the workout.

Actually, you have to lower a part of the workout by stretching your muscles by lowering your muscles into a pushup or squat. Eventually, this results in greater muscle damage which promotes muscle growth.

#6: Mechanical Drop Set

The final strategy is employing a mechanical drop set in your bodyweight workout plan. This is different from the normal drop set in your workout until failure. Afterward, reduce the weight and continue.

In contrast, during the mechanical drop set, you train until you are exhausted but alter the exercises slightly to boost muscle gains. This tire you causing greater muscle building.

These were a few working strategies for a bodyweight workout program. In fact, leading fitness trainers use the above strategies to promote muscle gain and strength elevation.

Bodyweight Exercises To Build Muscle – FAQ’s

Bodyweight exercises have emerged as the most promising workout in the town. However, there are many doubts surrounding the popular workout routine.

Here, we’ve answered many such popular queries…

Q1: Can you build muscle mass with bodyweight exercises?

Certainly, yes!

Bodyweight workouts can help gain muscle mass. You just have to stick to few key principles. Here’s what you need to set in your mind.

• Perform more reps
• Reduce rest timings
• Do variations
• Train to fail
• Elevate time under tension
• Involve mechanical drop sets

Just by sticking to these points, you can improve your physique immensely. Besides, take care of your diet and stick to a healthy lifestyle.

Q2: What are the 4 best bodyweight exercises for strength?

There are many bodyweight exercises good for strength, not only 4. Here, we have listed a few of such amazing workouts.

1. Push-Ups
2. Chin-Ups/Pull-Ups
3. Dips
4. Pistol Squats

These are the top 4 best bodyweight exercises for strength and bulking.

Nonetheless, there are other workouts that can get you greater results.

Q3: Is bodyweight training enough?

A bodyweight workout is one of the crucial elements for a fruitful strength training program.

In fact, the workout program helps increase core strength, postural stability, and improve proprioception.

Also, it elevates body awareness to produce good results. Still, you require other exercises for additional support and greater gains.

Q4: What are 4 important keys to bodyweight squats?

Here are the 4 important keys to bodyweight squats:

• Begin with your hips
• Keep Knees over ankles
• Keep your low back middle-of-the-road
• Maintain a gap between your knees

People miss these essential factors while performing squats. Thus, they can’t transform into better bulking results.

Q5: How many push-ups a day is good?

There is no restriction on how many push-ups or upper body exercises you can perform in a day.

Many prefer performing more than 300 push-ups a day. However, an average person should perform 50 to 100 push-ups.

This figure is enough for maintaining a functional upper body.

For beginners, you can start with 20 push-ups. Still, the number depends on your comfort and ease.

Q6: Can you get fit with bodyweight exercises?

Definitely, yes.

Bodyweight exercises employ resistance training. It can be an effective type of strength training and a decent addition to your workout plan and fitness program.

Not only it enables you to maintain your fitness level, but also helps to build muscle.

Q7: Are bodyweight squats useless?

There is no straight answer to the question. Still, let’s talk about the science involved in performing a workout.

Over an extended period of time, the workout doesn’t contribute to strengthening or body composition.

Even then, it helps in maintaining average body composition. You can add variation to get better results.

These were a few common questions related to bodyweight workouts. Lastly, let’s check out our final answer to Can You Build Muscle with Bodyweight Exercises?

Final Thoughts

Muscle building with bodyweight exercises isn’t simple as weight lifting. However, the strategies mentioned can contribute toward your big bulking goal.

These key factors determine your bulking results.

Only by increasing reps, time under tension, more variations, mechanical drop set, and other strategies, you can achieve an edge during your workout.

If you are planning to go for a bodyweight workout for bulking goals, we give you a green signal. The only condition being, you consider all the strategies mentioned.

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