r/bodyweightfitness Recommended Routine

The full-body bodyweight routine maintained by the r/bodyweightfitness community and published free on the subreddit's wiki. It builds strength and muscle with little more than a pull-up bar, a low bar or rings for rows, and parallel bars or two sturdy chairs for dips. Built for beginners, it carries most people well into intermediate strength.

Weekly structure

Train 3 days a week on non-consecutive days (e.g. Mon/Wed/Fri). Every session is the same full-body workout, about an hour:

1. Warm-up (5-10 min): 5-10 shoulder band dislocates, 5-10 squat sky reaches, 10+ reps of wrist prep and 30s of dead bugs. Add 10 arch hangs once you reach pull-up negatives, a 30s support hold once you reach negative dips, 10 reps of an easier squat step once you reach Bulgarian split squats, and 10 reps of an easier hinge step once you reach banded Nordic curls.
2. Strength pairs, 3x5-8 each: pull-up + squat, dip + hinge, row + push-up.
3. Core triplet, 3x8-12 each: anti-extension, anti-rotation, extension.

In a pair, do a set of the first exercise, rest 90 seconds, do a set of the second, rest 90 seconds, and repeat for 3 rounds. The core triplet works the same way with 60 seconds rest. If your reps drop off sharply from set to set, rest up to 3 minutes. Use a controlled tempo: about 1 second down, no pause, up fast. Stop each set about a rep short of failure.

Progressions

Bodyweight exercises get harder by moving to a harder variation, not by adding plates. Each slot is a ladder of variations, easiest first. This program lists the first step of each ladder. Swap in the step that matches your strength, and keep the sets and reps as written.

• Pull-up: scapular pulls, arch hangs, pull-up negatives, pull-ups, weighted pull-ups. After 3x8 pull-ups you can go to L-sit, arch body, or typewriter then archer pull-ups instead of adding weight.
• Squat: assisted squat, squat, split squat, Bulgarian split squat, beginner, intermediate and advanced shrimp squats, weighted shrimp squats. After Bulgarian split squats, step-ups then deep step-ups, or partial then full pistol squats, also work.
• Dip: parallel bar support hold, negative dips, parallel bar dips, weighted dips. After 3x8 dips, ring dips then rings-turned-out dips, or headstand push-ups, also work.
• Hinge: Romanian deadlift, single-leg deadlift, banded Nordic curl negatives, banded Nordic curls, Nordic curls. After single-leg deadlifts, hamstring slides, Harop curls or glute-ham raises also work.
• Row: vertical rows, incline rows, horizontal rows, wide rows, weighted inverted rows. After 3x8 wide rows, tuck front lever holds then pulls, or archer then one-arm rows, also work.
• Push-up: wall push-ups, incline push-ups, full push-ups, diamond push-ups, pseudo planche push-ups. After 3x8 diamond push-ups, ring push-ups, rings-turned-out push-ups and RTO pseudo planche push-ups, or headstand push-ups, also work.
• Anti-extension: plank, ring ab rollouts. Ab wheel rollouts (kneeling, then standing), hanging leg raises (tucked, pike negatives, straight) or pike compressions also work.
• Anti-rotation: banded Pallof press. Copenhagen plank progressions or ring Pallof presses also work.
• Extension: reverse hyperextension. Arch body raises, holds and rocks, or hyperextensions, also work.

How to progress

Start each slot at the hardest step you can do for 3 sets of 5. Add a rep to each set every session until you reach 3x8, then move to the next step and start again at 3x5. Holds such as the plank and support hold use 10-30 seconds per set. Move on once all three sets reach 30 seconds. Log the seconds as reps. If you have a barbell and rack, the routine suggests swapping the squat and hinge slots for barbell squats (3x5) and Romanian deadlifts or deadlifts once you have the bodyweight basics.

How long to run it

This layout covers 12 weeks, but the routine is open-ended. Keep running it while you are still moving up the ladders, and move on to an intermediate routine once progress stalls for weeks at a time.