So you want to build muscles? But don’t want to go to the gym and lift those heavy weights. Don’t worry because it is possible to build muscle without weights. How? Doing bodyweight strength exercises at home at your convenience.
Bodyweight exercises help you target different groups of muscles in your body and help you enhance your muscle strength.
Nowadays many people are trying to build muscle without weights because of its various benefits like no need for equipment, lower risk of injuries, etc.
Can you build muscle with bodyweight exercises?
Before discussing how to build muscle with bodyweight exercises, let’s first understand the mechanism behind it. The process of building muscle or muscle growth is known as muscle hypertrophy, in which an increase in muscle mass is observed.
Now, what causes muscle hypertrophy? It is caused due to bodyweight strength training or weight lifting. When one performs strength training it causes muscle damage, which the body repairs. During the recovery, body increases the protein synthesis which results in the growth of muscles’ size and strength.
In strength training, the muscles are put under resistance which can be achieved using resistance bands or your body weight. This type of resistance training in which you use your bodyweight as resistance is called bodyweight resistance training. The body’s resistance against gravity causes muscle strength and growth.
Performing bodyweight exercises not only helps in muscle building but has other benefits too.
For example:
- They are a great option for people who prefer home fitness as you can perform these exercises anywhere anytime without any equipment.
- Save money on gym membership and equipment.
- Body weight exercises are suitable for people of all age groups and fitness levels. Depending upon whether you are a beginner or a novice, you can perform exercises according to your body’s needs.
- Also helps in enhancing flexibility, stability, coordination, etc.
Effective Bodyweight Exercises to Build Muscle
Bodyweight exercises are a great option for building muscles and also help in targeting multiple muscle groups. By incorporating both lower and upper body exercises in your daily routine, you can build muscle without weights.
Here we have highlighted some of the best bodyweight strength exercises:
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Push-Ups
It is one of the most performed bodyweight strength exercises. When you do push-ups; your chest, shoulders, and triceps are targeted as you are pushing your body upwards. And this helps in building your upper body strength.
For targeting different body areas and maximizing the benefits, try different variations. For example, incline push-ups, decline push-ups, diamond push-ups, etc.
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Pull-Ups
Pull-ups are an effective way to target your back, shoulders, and biceps. To perform pull-ups, you need a pull-up bar or a sturdy surface from which you can hang and then pull your body up. When you repeatedly pull your body up and down it helps to strengthen muscle. This will be your bodyweight workout for muscle growth.
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Squats
Squats mainly target your lower body including quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. When performing squats, form is the most important. Keep your feet a little wider and bend your knees as if you are sitting on a chair. Make sure to keep your torso and head straight and chest up.
If performed properly, squats are a great bodyweight strength exercise for lower body muscle development. You can also try some different forms of squats such as jump squats and pistol squats for advanced muscle growth.
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Planks
Planks are a bodyweight strength exercise that helps you strengthen the core, shoulders, and stabilizers. To perform planks, you need to pull up your body while keeping your back straight and hold the position. This will help you build core strength.
You can also try side planks, plank to push-up for dynamic core building.
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Dips
Dips mainly target the triceps, chest, and shoulders. They help in targeting larger muscle groups. To do a dip, you need parallel bars or a sturdy surface, grabbing onto which you jump and straighten your arms. Then lower your body by bending your arms.
This is a great bodyweight exercise to build muscle without weights.
How to progress with Bodyweight Training
Progressive Overload
- Once you start doing these bodyweight exercises daily you might want to gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts – this is called progressive overload. This helps in muscle growth and keeps muscles challenged.
- If you don’t implement progressive overload, your muscles will plateau. So with time, you need to increase the number of reps and number of times you perform the exercises.
- Examples of progressive overload are:
- Increase the duration of the workout: if you do run daily for 20 minutes then increase it by 20 minutes every few weeks.
- Increase muscle endurance: shift from normal level of exercise to advanced level. For example, perform pistol squats in place of regular squats or add explosive movements.
Time under tension
- Another way to keep your muscle-building process in progress is to keep your body for a longer time under tension.
- Time under tension denotes the amount of time the muscle is under activation while performing exercise.
- The process of performing slow movements to increase the time under tension is called slow-tempo training. It helps in increasing muscle activation and muscle strength.
- Examples: Hold the plank position or squat for a longer period to increase muscle activation.
Building a bodyweight muscle-building routine
To build muscle without weights you need a well-planned bodyweight muscle-building routine. This routine should include several bodyweight strength exercises for the upper body, lower body, and core.
You can maintain a fit body by doing strength training at home if you incorporate the right movements. The workout should include squats, pushes, pull, legs, core, bends, etc.
Example workout:
Here is an example of a workout that helps build muscles without weight and is helpful for people doing strength training at home.
- 3 sets of 15 push-ups (targets the upper body)
- 3 sets of 10 pull-ups (helps in upper body movements)
- 3 sets of 20 squats (targets the lower body)
- 2 sets of 60-second planks (helps in core movements)
- Rest for 60-90 seconds in between
This kind of workout targets large groups of muscles.
The importance of Nutrition for Muscle building
Nutrition plays an important role in the muscle-building process. Doing bodyweight strength exercises alone will not help. But why do we need nutrition? When the muscles get damaged during muscle hypertrophy, nutrients are required for muscle recovery.
The foods that are best for muscle building are rich in protein. The right amount of protein intake and a full body workout will be your secret recipe for building muscles without weights.
Though proper protein intake is important, your diet should also be well-balanced and have the correct amount of carbohydrates, fats, and vitamins.
Examples of foods that are high in proteins and will help in muscle-building
- Eggs: They are high in protein and also help in muscle recovery.
- Chicken: A great option for gaining muscles.
- Beans: They are not only rich in protein but also fiber, iron, and vitamins.
- Nuts: Nuts provide proteins, healthy fats, and fiber.
Benefits of building Muscle without weights
- Save fees on money on gym memberships and equipment.
- Bodyweight strength exercises can be performed in your room and according to your schedule.
- Also the chances of injuries are rare since you are not working with weights. So it helps in injury prevention.
- Save the inconvenience of going to the gym.
- It is suitable for all people of all fitness levels. For beginners, it is easier to start with bodyweight strength exercises. And for people at an advanced level, they can try exercises with some variations.
- These are functional fitness and will help you in staying healthy by performing everyday activities.
Conclusion
We tried to cover all the points regarding building muscles without weights including its benefits, how it works, the types of exercises you can perform, etc. The thing to keep in mind is that you need to be consistent and perform these bodyweight strength exercises properly. Maintaining the correct posture, increasing the intensity of exercises, and taking the right amount of nutrients are also crucial steps in building body muscles.
Moreover, you can easily fit these workouts into your schedule and stay fit and healthy. What more do we need? So start your fitness journey today and build muscle without weights. And you already know it is possible after reading this article. So go for it!!
