The Complete Bodyweight Exercise List: 30+ Exercises by Muscle Group

Bodyweight exercises use your own mass as resistance to build strength, muscle, and endurance. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, bodyweight training qualifies as both strength training and cardiovascular exercise when performed with adequate intensity — making it one of the most efficient training methods available.

A 2022 systematic review in Sports Medicine analyzed 13 studies and concluded that bodyweight exercises produce similar muscle hypertrophy and strength gains compared to traditional resistance training, especially in untrained and moderately trained individuals.

The practical advantage is obvious: you need zero equipment. Your bedroom, a park, a hotel room — anywhere with enough space to lie down is a gym.

Push-Up (Beginner) — The most studied bodyweight exercise in existence. EMG research shows push-ups activate the pectoralis major at roughly 61% of maximum voluntary contraction — comparable to a bench press at moderate loads.

Wide Push-Up (Beginner) — Hands placed wider than shoulder-width. Increases chest activation while reducing tricep involvement. A study in the Journal of Physical Therapy Science found wide push-ups produced 20% more pec activation than standard push-ups.

Decline Push-Up (Intermediate) — Feet elevated on a bench or step. Shifts the angle to target the upper chest, similar to an incline bench press. The higher your feet, the more shoulder-dominant the movement becomes.

Clap Push-Up (Advanced) — Explode off the ground with enough force to clap your hands mid-air. Plyometric push-ups develop explosive power and fast-twitch muscle fiber recruitment.

Archer Push-Up (Advanced) — One arm performs the push-up while the other extends to the side. A progression toward the one-arm push-up that builds unilateral pressing strength.

Superman Hold (Beginner) — Lie face down, lift arms and legs off the ground, hold for 3-5 seconds. Targets the erector spinae and posterior chain. Underrated for lower back health and posture.

Inverted Row (Beginner-Intermediate) — Hang beneath a table or low bar, pull your chest to the bar. The bodyweight equivalent of a barbell row. Adjusting your foot position changes difficulty — feet closer = easier, feet further = harder.

Pull-Up (Intermediate) — The gold standard for back development. Overhand grip, shoulder-width apart. According to a 2018 Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research study, pull-ups activate the latissimus dorsi more effectively than lat pulldowns at the same relative intensity.

Chin-Up (Intermediate) — Underhand grip version. Greater bicep involvement while still training the back. Research shows chin-ups produce ~10% more bicep activation than pull-ups.

Typewriter Pull-Up (Advanced) — At the top of a pull-up, shift your body laterally from one hand to the other. Builds the unilateral strength needed for one-arm pull-up progressions.

Pike Push-Up (Beginner-Intermediate) — From a downward dog position, bend your elbows and lower your head toward the ground. The most accessible overhead pressing movement in calisthenics.

Handstand Hold — Wall Supported (Intermediate) — Kick up against a wall and hold. Builds isometric shoulder strength and body awareness. Start with 10-second holds.

Handstand Push-Up — Wall Supported (Advanced) — From a wall handstand, lower your head to the ground and press back up. This is the bodyweight equivalent of an overhead press and one of the most demanding calisthenics movements for the shoulders.

Hindu Push-Up (Intermediate) — A flowing movement from downward dog, through a low push-up, into upward dog. Combines shoulder pressing with spinal mobility. A staple in Indian wrestling training for centuries.

Diamond Push-Up (Intermediate) — Hands close together under your chest, forming a diamond shape. The Journal of Sports Science & Medicine found this variation produced significantly higher tricep activation than any other push-up variation tested.

Bench Dip (Beginner) — Hands on a chair behind you, lower your body by bending your elbows. Straightforward tricep isolation using bodyweight.

Chin-Up Hold (Beginner-Intermediate) — Hold the top position of a chin-up with your chin above the bar. Isometric bicep contraction that builds the strength needed for full chin-ups.

Parallel Bar Dip (Intermediate) — On parallel bars or two sturdy surfaces, lower your body until your elbows reach 90°. Hits triceps, chest, and front delts. Adding a forward lean shifts emphasis to chest; staying upright targets triceps.

Bodyweight Squat (Beginner) — Feet shoulder-width, squat until thighs are parallel or below. The most fundamental lower body movement. Research in Sports Medicine confirms bodyweight squats build meaningful quad and glute strength in beginners.

Lunge (Beginner) — Step forward and lower your back knee toward the ground. Trains each leg independently, addressing strength imbalances. Walking lunges add a conditioning component.

Step-Up (Beginner-Intermediate) — Step onto a bench or sturdy elevated surface. Drive through the working leg to stand tall. The higher the step, the harder the exercise.

Bulgarian Split Squat (Intermediate) — Rear foot elevated on a bench. Requires significant single-leg strength and balance. Studies show this exercise produces quadriceps activation comparable to back squats.

Pistol Squat (Advanced) — A full depth squat on one leg with the other leg extended forward. Requires exceptional strength, balance, and mobility. Most athletes need months of progressive training to achieve their first clean pistol squat.

Nordic Curl (Advanced) — Kneel on the ground, anchor your feet, and lower your body forward as slowly as possible. The most effective bodyweight hamstring exercise. Research in the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows Nordic curls reduce hamstring injury risk by up to 51%.

Plank (Beginner) — Hold a push-up position or forearm position with a straight body. Builds isometric core endurance. 3 sets of 30-60 seconds is more effective than longer holds — Stuart McGill's research shows diminishing returns past 10 seconds per hold when using repeated short holds.

Dead Bug (Beginner) — Lie on your back, arms and legs in the air. Extend opposite arm and leg while maintaining your lower back flat against the floor. The gold standard for core stability rehabilitation.

Hollow Body Hold (Intermediate) — Lie on your back, press lower back into the floor, lift arms and legs. The gymnastics core position that transfers to every other bodyweight movement.

Hanging Leg Raise (Intermediate-Advanced) — Hang from a bar, raise straight legs to 90° or above. Targets the lower abs and hip flexors while building grip strength.

Dragon Flag (Advanced) — Lie on a bench, grip behind your head, and raise your entire body to vertical with only your upper back touching the bench. Popularized by Bruce Lee. One of the most demanding core exercises in existence.

Progress in bodyweight training comes from three sources: more reps, harder variations, and shorter rest periods. Unlike weight training where you simply add plates, bodyweight training requires you to track both the exercise variation and rep count.

REPS makes this automatic. The app uses your phone's camera and AI pose detection to count every rep in real time. Pushups, squats, burpees — point your camera and train. The AI handles the logging so you can focus on the movement.

Every rep earns XP toward your rank. The 8-tier progression system and global leaderboard give you something concrete to chase — not just "doing more push-ups" but climbing from Copper rank to Silver, from Silver to Gold.