10 Best Bodyweight Exercises to Build Full-Body Strength (No Equipment Needed)
Watch this video to learn the 10 best bodyweight exercises to build full-body strength with no equipment.
You don’t need a gym to build a strong, functional, and athletic body…
With the right bodyweight exercises, you can train your chest, back, legs, core, and arms anywhere. Train from your living room to the mountains, without a single machine or dumbbell.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the top 10 calisthenics exercises I recommend for building full-body strength, muscle, and control, complete with beginner, intermediate, and advanced progressions.
These movements are designed for:
No equipment or minimal equipment setups
All levels (scalable from beginner to advanced)
Strength and muscle building without a gym
Functional, skill-based fitness
1. Push-Up Progressions (Best bodyweight chest exercise)
The push-up is one of the most effective upper body exercises you can do without equipment. It targets the chest, triceps, front delts, and core.
Why it works:
Easy to scale for any fitness level
Builds pressing strength and core stability
Trains a functional movement pattern
Progressions:
Beginner: Knee push-ups, incline push-ups
Intermediate: Full push-ups, wide push-ups, archer push-ups
Advanced: Assisted one-arm push-ups, full one-arm push-ups
Pro Tip: Rings or parallettes increase range of motion and muscle activation.
I demonstrate different push-up progressions for building chest, shoulders, and triceps strength using bodyweight calisthenics.
2. Pike Push-Ups & Handstand Push-Ups (Best bodyweight shoulder exercise)
For shoulder strength and vertical pressing power, pike push-ups are the perfect starting point. Progress them into handstand push-ups for an advanced challenge.
Why it works:
Shifts pressing movement to a vertical plane
Builds strength for handstands and overhead lifts
Scales easily with foot elevation or wall assistance
Progressions:
Beginner: Pike push-ups (on floor or elevated hands)
Intermediate: Feet-elevated pike push-ups
Advanced: Wall handstand push-ups, freestanding handstand push-ups
There are lots more progressions like this one in the Berg Movement app. Start training for 7 days free now.
Bodyweight pike push-ups and handstand push-ups for advanced shoulder and upper chest strength training with calisthenics.
3. Pull-Ups & Bodyweight Rows (Essential pulling strength)
Pull-ups train vertical pulling, while bodyweight rows train horizontal pulling. Together, they develop your lats, biceps, upper back, and grip.
Why it works:
Balances pressing movements
Improves posture and shoulder health
Builds climbing and functional pulling strength
Progressions:
Beginner: Band-assisted pull-ups, inverted rows
Intermediate: Full pull-ups, ring rows with feet elevated
Advanced: Muscle-ups, one-arm rows, one-arm pull-ups
The cool gymnastics rings I use are called the Minimalist Gym Rings. You can buy the equipment here.
Pull-up and bodyweight row variations to build back, lats, and biceps strength without weights.
4. Hanging Leg Raises (Best bodyweight ab exercise)
This core strength staple targets your abs, hip flexors, and grip — far more effective than endless crunches.
Why it works:
Scalable for all levels
Builds compression strength for skills like L-sits and levers
Strengthens hip flexors, often neglected in ab training
Progressions:
Beginner: Knee raises
Intermediate: Alternating straight-leg raises
Advanced: Full toes-to-bar
Hanging leg raises for core strength and hip flexor development using calisthenics training.
5. Walk-Outs / Bodyweight Ab Rollouts (No-equipment core builder)
If you have no bar or rings, this is your go-to ab exercise. It trains anti-extension core strength and stability.
Why it works:
Adapts automatically to your strength level
Strengthens abs, lats, shoulders, and spinal stabilizers
Progressions:
Beginner: Partial walk-outs
Intermediate: Full walk-outs
Advanced: Slow eccentrics or pause at max range
No-equipment walk-outs and bodyweight ab rollouts for building abs, shoulders, and lower back stability.
6. Air Squats & Assisted Pistol Squats (Lower body strength and balance)
Squats build quads, glutes, and hamstrings, while pistols challenge single-leg strength and stability.
Why it works:
Develops balance and mobility
Trains full lower body without weights
Progressions:
Beginner: Air squats
Intermediate: Assisted pistol squats
Advanced: Full pistol squats, tempo pistols
Air squats and assisted pistol squats to develop leg strength, balance, and mobility with bodyweight exercises.
7. Sissy Squats (Quad isolation for knee health)
Sissy squats are unmatched for quad isolation and knee stability when done correctly.
Why it works:
Strengthens quads through deep knee flexion
Improves resilience for sports and calisthenics skills
Progressions:
Beginner: Partial range with support
Intermediate: Full range with light assistance
Advanced: Full range unassisted
Sissy squats for quad isolation and deep knee strength using bodyweight only.
8. Hamstring Curls (On Rings) (Bodyweight hamstring builder)
This mimics a hamstring curl machine — no weights required. Just rings or straps.
Why it works:
Targets hamstrings and glutes with full contraction
Adjustable difficulty by body position
Progressions:
Beginner: Hips slightly lowered
Intermediate: Full range with hips high
Advanced: Slow eccentrics and max tension holds
The mat I’m using is called the Movement Mat. It has markings on it for tracking progressions and hand placement. You can grab yours here.
Hamstring curls using gymnastic rings to strengthen hamstrings and glutes with calisthenics.
9. Reverse Leg Extensions (Lower back isolation)
While not essential for everyone, these are great if you want to specifically target your spinal erectors.
Why it works:
Strengthens lower back and glutes
Complements core and hamstring training
Progressions:
Beginner: Bent knee lifts
Intermediate: Straddle lifts
Advanced: Straight-leg lifts from extended leverage
Reverse leg extensions for targeting lower back and spinal erectors using bodyweight strength training.
10. Bodyweight Biceps & Triceps Isolation (Arm hypertrophy without weights)
With rings or a bar, you can mimic curls and extensions for arm strength and size.
Why it works:
Allows targeted hypertrophy work in calisthenics
Easy to scale with body angle and leverage
Progressions for Biceps:
Beginner: Ring curls, elbows high
Advanced: One-arm curls
Progressions for Triceps:
Beginner: Ring triceps extensions, high hips
Advanced: Lower rings, one-arm progressions
Bicep curls and tricep extensions using rings for arm strength and muscle building with bodyweight exercises.
Final Thoughts: Your No-Equipment Strength Blueprint
These 10 calisthenics exercises cover every major muscle group. They’re scalable, functional, and gym-free. Whether you’re a beginner starting at home or an advanced athlete traveling light, this list is your complete no-equipment workout plan.
If you want structured programming, progressions, and personal guidance, train with me in the Berg Movement App.
Looking for the minimalist tools I used in these exercises? They’re all made from sustainable materials under my brand, Movement Made.
Question for you: Which of these exercises is already in your routine, and which are you adding next?
Drop a comment below.
— Written by Sondre Berg, calisthenics coach with 15 years of experience training, teaching, and competing professionally.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some quick answers to questions I get a lot of the time.
What is the best bodyweight exercise for overall strength?
If I had to choose one, the pull-up would be my top pick. It trains your back, biceps, core, and grip strength, while also improving functional pulling power for climbing, calisthenics skills, and everyday movements.
Can you build muscle with only bodyweight exercises?
Yes. As long as you progressively overload your muscle. You need to be increasing reps, changing leverage, or advancing to harder variations. You can build significant strength and muscle without weights.
How often should I do bodyweight workouts?
Most people can train with bodyweight exercises 3–5 days per week, depending on intensity and recovery. Alternate muscle groups or focus on full-body workouts with enough rest between hard sessions.
Do I need equipment for these exercises?
Most exercises can be done without equipment. However, having gymnastic rings or a pull-up bar opens up more vertical pulling options and adds variety. Minimal gear like resistance bands can also help with progressions.
What’s the best way to progress in bodyweight training?
Use measurable progressions, increase reps, slow down the tempo, adjust body angle, or move to more challenging variations. Bands, rings, or parallettes can help you scale exercises precisely.
