Different people have different reasons for not visiting the gym on a regular basis.

Some have a busy schedule and lack the necessary free time;

Others are stay-at-home moms that are taking care of their children;

Third just don’t have the financial power and would much rather stay at home.

What all of these people have in common, however, is that they want to be in shape.They want to develop an impressive and aesthetically pleasing physique just like you and I.

The good news is that you don’t need to visit the gym.

There are a lot of body weight exercises that you can perform from the comfort of your home that do not require any sort of expensive equipment and will still help you tone and shape your body into perfection.

In this article I will share with you a full bodyweight workout that can be done at your home and will still work every muscle group of your body.

*If you don’t read through my boring story then you should probably just skip ahead and get to the juicy bits that matter in this article*

Before I start:

I should probably explain to you why should you listen to me in the first place.

My name is John Gregory and due to a financial problems that I was experiencing at the time (which was just 2 years ago), because I was a student (still am, but more stable), I had no money o afford a fancy gym subscription.

It wasn’t because my parents had lost all of their money or some other broadway story like that, I just had transferred in a different country where the currency was much higher than that of my home country, as well as the fact that student accommodations in Aberdeen (Scotland) are expensive as f*ck.

Supplementation prices were quite high for me to able to afford as well as some of the foods.

However, I still wanted to retain my current muscle mass as well as maintain a healthy body weight, so I started thinking of  ways that I can still workout without having to go do the gym.

I thought about practicing street workout, but then I realized how cold it was outside during winter time. So I went to the next logical conclusion “I can just workout from home”.

I started experimenting and testing different exercises that could actually work the muscles enough so that there is a molecular ripping and a muscle pump that’s going on.

After a couple of weeks of playing around and I finally managed to combine a bunch of exercises that work the majority of the muscle groups and deliver a really good pump/burn.

I stuck around with the workout for about 6.5 months.

When I compared the end results with those that I measure at the day I had started with the home workout I noticed that I had actually lowered my waist line from 33″ (84cm) to 71″ (79cm) without even trying to lose body fat (my diet was constructed so that I have enough carbs, protein and fats to reduce catabolism and boost anabolism, which means that was eating quite a lot of calories).

I dropped in weight and went from 187lbs (85kg) to about 178lbs (80kg).

My arm measurements and overall muscle measurements dropped ever-so-slightly (with about 0.7″ – 1.7cm) which is normal considering that before that I was actively training at the gym, this was a drastic change for me, but still quite impressive as I managed to retain a large portion of my hard-earned muscle mass).

My body fat percentage went form 18% to 13% and my FFMI went from 22.1 to 22.5.

I am sorry that I don’t have any tangible proof to show it to you guys, it’s just that this happened 2 years ago and I didn’t really expect that I would be writing this as a blog post one day.

The results I had achieve were quite impressive to me, and if I have to be frank with you guys, I was extremely proud of myself.

Later on, when I started visiting the gym on a regular basis, I managed to return all of the lost muscle mass (due to a phenomenon known as muscle memory) and managed to even increase my measurements.

This served as evidence that even without a gym membership the human body can still be work on really well from the coziness of your home.

Enough story telling! Here is the

Home Bodyweight Workout For A Great Body

Remember, our aim here is to develop an aesthetic physique. In order for this to happen we would need to work the majority of our muscle groups: chest, back, triceps, biceps, shoulders, quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves, and even our traps.

A lot of people believe that is impossible to do at home, let alone without any weights.

Obviously, we are not going to be able to hit those muscle groups to the same extent as we would if we were training in a specialized premises, such as a gym, because we have all of the machinery and weights that are at our disposal, but that doesn’t mean that you’re incapable of completing a full-body workout with nothing else other than your body’s own weight.

However, what I would recommend is purchasing a small set of weights, be that kettlebells or dumbbells, that you can use from the premises of your own homes. They are inexpensive (a full set of kettlebells ranging from 9lbs (4kg) to 98lbs (44kg) will cost you about 135 us dollars or 95 sterling, it’s a long-term investment and you will stick with these kettlebells for years, not to mention that you can easily purchase a smaller set of weights because a 98lbs kettlebell is quite a heavy one), and they will help you achieve that full range of motion (FRM) that you cannot manage with just bodyweight exercises. This in term will let you get a more fully formed frame and a better-developed physique in general. Not to mention that the kettlebells can be used to aid in cardiovascular exercises as well. They are just something that will really help you out.

For all of you that prefer to keep things simple and avoid the use of any external influences of weight other than your own body’s weight, get your butts ready, because this workout’s quite a doozy.

When training with just your bodyweight you would want to use every trick and hack that will help you work your body to its full capacity.

The program is constructed in a way that there is enough given time for your muscles to fully recuperate from the previous time it was activated. Remember, muscle protein synthesis (the development of new muscle tissue) only lasts about 24-48 hours (depending on genetics, read about it here). What this means is that you are going to work on some of the muscle groups twice a week instead of just once, to ensure that you are reaping your body’s maximum.

Warm-ups are not included in the program! Make sure that you warm-up for at least 5 minutes before each workout.

The Workout Program

Day 1: Back, Chest and Shoulders                                                                                                      

Push-ups – 4 sets
1st: 11-15 | 2nd: 10-12 | 3rd: 9-11 | 4th: 8-10
Perform traditional-shoulder-width push-ups. If you don’t have the strength to do so, then what you can do is start with your knees on the ground and try your best to work your way up. Once you start noticing improvements, you can start moving up to the traditional push-up. Make sure that you are keeping your body straight like an arrow, without raising your butt. Make sure that your elbows are not spread out. This is a good exercise that engages your chest, shoulders and triceps simultaneously.

Feet-elevated pike push-ups – 4 sets
1st: 12-15 | 2nd: 11-12 | 3rd: 10-11 | 4th: 9-10
Place your feet on an elevated surface. Keep your legs and back straight. Bend your hips and raise your butt toward the ceiling so that your torso is vertical. Lower your body to the floor to the point where your head is between your hands. Push back up. A really good exercise that trains your shoulders.

Declined push-ups – 4 sets
1st: 12-15 | 2nd: 11-12 | 3rd: 8-11 | 4th: 8-10
Elevate your feet on a comfortable surface. Straighten your back and legs as if you are in a push-up position. Perform the exercise in the same fashion as push-ups. This is perfect exercise that helps develop the lower section of your pectorals.

Laying on the ground elbow lifts – 4 sets
1st: 12 | 2nd: 12 | 3rd: 10 | 4th: 10
Lay on the ground with your legs bent and your elbows spread at nipple-level; you want to push yourself off the ground by using your elbows; this is going to hit the upper section of your back.

Wide-grip push-ups – 4 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9 | 4th: 8
Stand as if you are about to perform a traditional push-up with your hands spread out wider than shoulder width. A good exercise that helps develop the width of your pectorals. 

Crab walk – 5 sets
1st: 30 sec | 2nd: 30 sec | 3rd: 20 sec | 4th: 20 sec | 5th: 20 sec
Sit on the floor and plat your hands under your shoulders. Place your feet and bend your knees. Raise your hips so that they are about an inch above the floor. This is called the crab position. Start walking forward on your hands and feet, by moving your right leg and left arm in tandem and vice versa. A good exercise that trains your shoulders, a bit of your chest and your abs.

Back slides – 3 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9
Find a part of your household where the floor’s a bit more slippery (bathroom or somewhere where there is a laminate) and you can wear something slippery on your legs. Stand in a push-up position with your knees touching the ground (but not so that you’re standing in a doggie position, no pun intended). Without moving your arms start sliding your legs on the slippery floor to the point where you can feel a full stretch in your back (about when your chest is approximately 1 inch off the ground), then pull yourself back by just using your back muscles.

Superman – 3 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9
Lay on the ground with on your stomach with your hands pointing towards. Raise your hands up in the air and your legs at the same time from the lying position. This is a really good way to train your lower back and your back in general.

Day 2: Legs                                                                                                                                        

Squats – 4 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9 | 4th: 8
Stand in a position where your legs are set apart at hip ratio. Squat all the way down and raise yourself up. This exercise is really good as it trains your quads, hamstrings and glutes at the same time.

Lunges – 4 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9 | 4th: 8
Step forward with your right leg around 2 feet from the foot being stationary behind. Lower your upper body, while keeping your torso upright, with a straightened back and maintaining balance. Switch one leg with the other and do the same thing. One repetition is considered when you do that for both legs. So, for the first set where you need to do 13 reps, that means that you need to do 13 reps for the left leg and 13 reps for the right leg (a total of 26).

Plank jump-ins – 4 sets
1st: 12 | 2nd: 12 | 3rd: 12 | 4th: 12
From a plank position you would want to jump your legs inwards, towards the chest. Then, by jumping, move your legs down into a plank position.

Lunges step-ups – 4 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9 | 4th: 8
The same execution as the lunge, the only difference is that as you come up you swing your leg that is the supporting leg behind up and you raise it up as if you are performing high knees.

Day 3: Rest                                                                                                                                       

Take this time to fully rest your muscles. Be lazy, or do something that you personally enjoy

Day 4: Chest and Back                                                                                                                   

Declined push-ups – 4 sets
1st: 12-15 | 2nd: 11-12 | 3rd: 8-11 | 4th: 8-10

Chest squeeze – 4 sets
1st: 20sec | 2nd: 20sec | 3rd: 20sec | 4th: 20sec
Place your arms in front of your pectorals and imagine that you have a small ball in your palms that you are trying to squish. A great exercise for the inner section of your chest. If you have an old ball laying around that is pretty small in diameter then you can use that one so that it’s more comfortable for you.

Floor flyes – 4 sets
1st: 12 | 2nd: 12 | 3rd: 11 | 4th: 10
You would want to locate a slipper section of your house – laminate, for example. Locate 2 little cloths that you will want to put beneath your palms. Stand in a traditional push-up position with your knees on the ground and with the cloths underneath your hands. Start pushing apart your hands left arm going left and right arm going right. Stretch the chest to the point where you are about 2 inches above the ground. Push yourself back to your normal position by using your chest primarily. As you progress and gain some strength in your pectoral area you can start working your way up and doing these bad boys with extended knees.

Wide-grip push-ups – 4 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9 | 4th: 8

Back slides – 3 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9

Laying on the ground elbow lifts – 4 sets
1st: 12 | 2nd: 12 | 3rd: 10 | 4th: 10

Day 5: Arms and Shoulders                                                                                                                     

Close-grip/Diamond push-ups – 4 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9 | 4th: 8
In a push-up position place your hands close to each other. The reason this exercise is referred to as “the diamond push-up” is because you place your hands in the form of a triangle that resembles a diamond. This exercise also trains your inner pectoral, but places most of the strain on your triceps.

Triceps dips – 4 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9 | 4th: 8
Locate an elevated surface in your hope where you can place your hands. Extend your your legs on the ground. Start lowering yourself towards the ground, not the elevated surface, while making sure that you keep your torso upward. Make sure that you are moving your butt up and down at a 90° angle.

Triceps extensions – 4 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9 | 4th: 8
Standing in a plank position with your weight being falling on your forearms. Keep your arms a bit further away from you. Keep your palms down so that they are facing the ground. Push up your body’s weight by extending your arms so that they are no longer in a plank position and you weight is not on your forearms but rather on your triceps now. Slowly return to the same position as you were when you started.

Body rows – 4 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9 | 4th: 8
Take two chairs and place them parallel from each other. Then take a broom or another long object that can be placed between the chairs and is rigid enough to hold you weight. Stand below the broom and grab on it with a shoulder-width grip. Pull yourself out of the ground toward the broom so that it almost touches your chest. Lower yourself, but not too much, don’t lay on the ground again. This exercise is also really good for your lats. The wider the grip the more the lats are activated.

Slippery pulls – 4 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9 | 4th: 8
Using the same logic we used for the back slides. Grab on an object that is convenient for you while laying on the ground, which needs to be slippery. Pull yourself toward the item you’ve grabbed on. Push yourself away from it and that counts as 1 repetition. A good exercise that targets both your biceps and triceps. Plus, it transforms you into the human mop.

Shoulder Taps – 4 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9 | 4th: 8
Stand in a push-up position. Instead of lowering your body down you would just want to “tap” your shoulder – left hand to your right shoulder and right hand to your left shoulder.

Feet-elevated pike push-ups – 4 sets
1st: 12-15 | 2nd: 11-12 | 3rd: 10-11 | 4th: 9-10

Day 6: Legs                                                                                                                                              

Squats – 4 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9 | 4th: 9

Jump Squats – 4 sets
1st: 10-12 | 2nd: 10| 3rd: 9 | 4th: 8
This exercise is a bit similar to the traditional squats, but with a twist. The difference that the jump causes is that it puts more tension on your calve muscles, as well as on your quads and hammies, due to the fact that it takes quite a bit of power to push your whole bodyweight from a squat position to a jump.

Mountain Climbers – 4 sets
1st: 30s | 2nd: 30s | 3rd: 30s | 4th: 25s
A pretty similar exercise to the plank jump-ins. The only difference is that you do not jump in and you’re not really in a plank position, but more in a push-up position. Start raising your knees towards your chest. One knee at a time! Increase the velocity in which you shuffle your legs and there you go you’re mountain climbing. A really good anaerobic exercise that also trains your abdominal muscles and your shoulders as collateral.

Sprints – 4 sets
1st: 15s | 2nd: 15s | 3rd: 15s | 4th – 15s
The sprint is a really good exercise that will train all of your lower-body muscles. Take a good walk around your home town and find a nice place where you can practice your sprints. You don’t need to follow the guided seconds, by the way, they are just there to guide to. If you can do more than 15 seconds of a sprint, be my guest, if you can’t do even 10, don’t worry you’ll work your way up.

Day 7: Rest                                                                                                                                    

Conclusion

This full bodyweight workout will help you develop a truly great physique. Keep in mind that workout is just 50% of the whole deal. If you want to be working at full capacity then you need to make sure that your diet is in check. That you are providing yourself with all of the necessary nutrients and that you are using all of the correct diet techniques.

As I’ve already mentioned above. The prescribed number of sets and repetitions are nothing more but a guide. A framework, if you will, that will show you what is expected of you during the workout. If you believe that you are capable of achieving higher reps or higher sets, be my guest, you are the best judge of your own body’s capabilities.

Remember that no matter where you are now, physically speaking, you can progress through these exercises and upgrade them to make them a bit harder. What I used to do, for example, for my squats was that I would put on my back pack and just cram all of the books I could in there. This way I increased the weight and made my squats a bit harder. I did the same for my triceps dips and some other exercises. You can add resistance bands to increase the resistance or you can just increase the intensity of the exercise, you can switch to using one limb – one legged squats, this way more of your body’s weight falls on your muscle group.

And again, you can always upgrade your arsenal by purchasing some weights like kettlebells or dumbbells, or even a pull-up bar. These equipments will assist you with your bodyweight exercises providing you with more alternative exercises that can be performed from your own home. They are a long-term investment and they are not even that expensive, quite cheap if I may add.

Thank you for taking the time to read this quite long article (3300 words) and I hope I have helped you somehow!

*If you have any proposals, please leave them in the comment section below*