If you want to build a starting level of strength… endurance… and lose fat, then this bodyweight program is for you. This is the bodyweight exercise program that I built much of my early strength, size and muscle “tone” on.
I believe everyone should master their own bodyweight first, before moving on to lifting weights, kettlebells or otherwise introducing “outside” resistance. Your own bodyweight is enough resistance to build an amazing level of muscle… and… it’s definitely enough to chisel away at any extra fat.
Why This Program Works So Well
You will perform these exercises in a “ladder” format. That means you will start on the bottom “rung” of the ladder and “climb” your way up it… then… when you hit the top, you’ll “climb” down. Because there are 4 exercises done on each rung, you are getting a good rest period for each exercise…
Additionally, when you start to get fatigued, when you start to hit your “max” rung on the ladder, you start going down it, doing less reps per rung (set). Which means you can still keep good form and concentrate on doing the reps perfectly.
Meet The Best Bodyweight Exercises
- Pullups
- Squats
- Pushups
- Situps
In keeping with the Double Your Gains philosophy you have a pull movement (pullup), Push movement (pushup), a Squat movement (squats, duh) and an ab movement (situps). Everything you need for a fit and functional body!
The Bodyweight Exercise Program To Build Muscle and Burn Fat
Bodyweight Exercise Ladder
| Rungs | Pullups | Squats | Pushups | Situps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| 2 | 2 | 10 | 6 | 10 |
| 3 | 3 | 15 | 9 | 15 |
| 4 | 4 | 20 | 12 | 20 |
| 5 | 5 | 25 | 15 | 25 |
| 6 | 6 | 30 | 18 | 30 |
| 7 | 7 | 35 | 21 | 35 |
How To Do The Program
Here’s what you do: see the column heading “Rungs”? Think of each one as a “set”. So on rung #1 you would do the prescribed number of reps for each exercise on that rung (the row that rung is on, go horizontally).
So on this program you would start on rung 1 and do 1 pullup, then 5 squats, 3 pushups, and 5 situps. No waiting or rest between the exercises, one after the other.
Then you go to rung 2 and go across… then 3 and so on until you get to rung 7 OR until you start to fatigue and you feel like you won’t complete the next rung of the ladder. When this happens you’re going to start going down the ladder. For example, if you get to rung 7 and feel like you just barely completed it, then you start going down it again, by going to rung 6, then 5, 4, 3, etc.
Try this bodyweight exercise program yourself to build more muscle burn more fat and build more strength endurance.
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Love the website. Lots of good information. I love to do bodyweight workouts, but I’m wondering do you have anything up your sleeve about dumbbells? I like them too.
@Jeff.
To tell you the truth, I don’t do a lot of dumbbell exercises but I do like kettlebells a lot… and the same moves can be performed with each (with some minor differences in form)…
I’ll put some dumbbell stuff up soon though.
Thanks for the comment!
Great post, quick question though. For the squats is it just a good idea not to use any type of resistance? I could do a ton of squats before I feel anything and I’m pretty out of shape.
Thanks for this info btw.
@ Chris: thanks for the comment — yeah, if you just focus on doing a lot of them very rapidly you’ll probably feel something… it’s a lot harder than it sounds. BUT… if it’s too easy you could always throw on some weight like a backpack with some books in it or weights in it or even try doing it with just one legged squats in the beginning till those get too hard then switch to the regular version. Hope it helps!
how many days a week is this workout recommended?
@ Marcus: that depends on your activity/fitness levels now. If you’re in good shape you could do this 5x per week – M-F. But if you’re just starting out you’re going to get SORE! so do it 3x per week and work up to 5x per week. It’s a relatively short workout — intense, but very short — so you can get away with doing it every day and still make progress
That workout whooped my ass. I thought I was in pretty good shape, work out 5 times a week, but my workouts aren’t nearly as intense as this one. I could only climb up the ladder my first time. This workout’s great an I can’t wait to see the kind of results I get from it. THANKS!!!
I’m quite overweight, so I can’t do a single pull-up. I can do the other exercises though. What should I do about the pull-ups?
@ Heavy: From my page on how to do pullups (click that link and read it all to help you — but here’s what to do if you can’t do one yet):
Thanks for the help! Will try that.
i have a really hard time doing pullups. any suggestions?
Great workout! It surprised me! I thought I could get all the way down the ladder by doing single leg squats and using the ab roller instead of crunches. Boy was I wrong!
This really gets the heart rate up!
@ Cold Vodka: great name
Yeah this workout is deceptively hard… ab roller and single leg squats is sick!
I had a couple questions. How much rest should I be getting between rungs and should I be doing anything else on the other two days on which I am not doing the workout?
@ Iram: take as little rest as possible, but as much as is needed — push yourself. Do you need to do something else on the other two days? Are you too sore to do anything? Or are you in good shape? If you’re severely overweight, then go for a walk every day of the week in addition to this… and on the other two days per week go play outside–walk a dog, fly a kite, go do something active… or if you find you’re getting results with just three days a week on this program and you can control your diet — then no, take the other days off. Bottom line: it’s highly individual
I was sore after doing it for the first time on Saturday and still am. I’m overweight, 5′8″, 215 lbs, and 19 body fat %. The highest I’ve been able to complete is rung 5 and I’m beat after that. What kind of a diet would you recommend?
@ Iram: I’ve been doing a lot of posts on eating healthy lately, you can read the latest posts or search through my archives or go to http://leanbodyreport.com to get my complete program and take the guess work out of everything because it’ll all be there in one place.
Are there any general principles to correct breathing technique? I generally try to inhale during the motion requiring greater effort, exhale with less effort. E.g. with pushups, exhale going down, inhale coming up. Some people have told me it should be just the reverse. Can u guide me on this. Thanks.
Alright, so I’ve had this page bookmarked for a while and I’ve been doing it whenever I’ve had the opportunity. Right now I make it to the fourth rung and then give up, but I think that’s mostly because my legs are so underdeveloped that the notion of doing more squats makes my head spin.
For once I get past that, though, is that chart just an example, and you can just keep doing higher and higher rungs until you decide to move onto other exercises, or what?
Also could you see anything wrong with doubling the number of other exercises I do compared to the number of squats?
@ LadderKilledMe: you can keep going higher and higher up the rungs if you want… but the best thing to do is once you reach that giving up point. Take a second to catch your breath, ready yourself for some more workout action and start going back DOWN the ladder… in this way when you’re most tired — you’ll be gradually doing less and less work the more tired you do, but still getting in as many quality reps as possible of each exercise.
I don’t see anything wrong with doubling the other exercises, except that you’re going to continue making your undeveloped legs more of a problem. My recommendation would be to bust out as many bodyweight squats as possible at some other time each day. either 4-8 hrs before this workout, or 4-8 hrs after — to make sure you’re rested (adjust per your schedule) — but you need to get your legs to “catch up” with the rest of your body.
Good luck and keep me posted!
hey caleb I have a quick question of this workout. For the pull-ups do I do regular pull-ups or chin pull-ups? I’m trying to aim for massive arms(both biceps and triceps) and chest. What type of pull-ups do u recommend for me?
In your article, “Best Fat Burning Exercises,” you mention your two best fat burning exercises, Strength Training and Interval Training. Do you recommend doing these simultaneously or choosing one? If simultaneously, what schedule would you recommend. I am 39, just started exercising in mid April, figured quickly that jogging doesn’t work (I gained wait and my stomach looks bigger!).
i certainly agree about bodyweight training. thats how i gain my strength by doing pull-ups, sit-ups,bodysquats, and push-ups. believe me its works. i’ve been doing that work-out for years. i always told people that pushing your own bodyweight is the best way to start. but the people i tell it too does not listen. they rather hit the weights first then try to burn fat second. then they use the supplements,to break down there bodyfat and gain energy. but when they stop working out for a long while then their body starts looking funny. thats why i tell them to just stay natural. its ok for them to take vitamins but the other stuff no way. but you hit it on the head about bodyweight training. keep giving good tips man. from rockyo34
Hello, Caleb. Thanks for this great website. I am a physician and mom and have been meaning to start strength training for years but am having trouble getting started. I want to do it from home. I run and have started some swimming and am already at a healthy body weight. I don’t know much about strength training and am having the hardest time getting started with a routine. I tried a strength training DVD this morning, but not sure if that’s going to be the right route. I like your program of using your own body weight, so I am going to read more and try it. Thanks so much for your exercise advice.
@ Adrian: I’d always go for pullups (palms facing away).
@ Heavy: depends. you can alternate days, m/w/f-strength training – tu/th/sa/-intervals … or reduce the interval training time (something like 4 min. tabata protocol) and do it after your strength training days.
@ tyaiwan: yp, BW training is cool
@ Doc: Glad you like it and good luck!
Hello, from strength training 101 it is written there 1 push, 1 pull, 1 squat and 1 explosive.
Do sit ups counts as explosives?
@ Kenth: Nope, that’d be like explosive squats, cleans, snatches, etc or something.
Caleb, thanks for posting “Bodyweight Exercise Program To Build Muscle and Burn Fat” on the net. I’ve always had a love/hate relationship toward exercise routines but I like the variety that your program offers. I had a few important questions to help me stay the course.
Folks have commented how I have lost weight on this program along with my better diet. I haven’t noticed any muscle development though. If I increase the numbers of “rungs” from say 7 to 10 and still don’t develop muscle, what would be my next step to build the muscle?
Do you have a similar body weight pyramid program with say 4 more exercises to work the biceps and perhaps other muscle groups that could be done on the same day as the “Bodyweight Exercise Program To Build Muscle and Burn Fat”?
If you have these other routines I mentioned, would it be advisable to do each pyramid routine every other day or both routines the same day?
Again, many thanks!!!
Hey Mike,
No I don't have any other routines like that. You don't need those other routines now anyways …
If you're losing weight, then you're probably a little overweight right? What will happen is this
– if you keep calorie intake about the same you'll see body recomposition (like you're seeing now) less fat, more muscle, same weight
– if you eat more, you'll probably build some muscle … lose very little fat … gain some weight …
– if you eat less, you'll burn more fat, keep what muscle you have (maybe build a little more), and get more "ripped" …
If you want a more muscular "look" or to speed up the process, try doing the routine through twice.
So you get to rung 7 or 10 or whatever. Rest 5-10 minutes, go for it again … try to get to 7 or 10 again or whatever … still got some energy left? Try it again! you'll get a crapload of volume in like that. hope that helps
Just a quick clarification…
Would my daily workout be just going to the highest rung I can, and then back down? Then I’m done? Or do I want to do several “up the ladder and down the ladder” sets? Thanks
Jesse,
The short answer is try it … but … yes, up the ladder to highest rung, down and you're done usually.
Unless you happen to be in good shape or that gets easy or you want to really go for it.
You could do the "easy" version once up once down every day, or maybe 3 days a week, really go for a couple sets up and down the ladder — kind of up to you. Try it
I am in fairly good shape. Or at least I thought I was. I've been following a beginner bodybuilding workout from bodybuilding.com. I've seen some results from the squats and deadlifts (my pants fit better, I can wear shirts that I haven't worn in a long time, etc), but I haven't really gotten stronger, I can barely do one pull up and only about 3 good chinups, which I think is kind of sad. Thats why I've decided to try your bodyweight training plan. I want funtional strength as well as to look good.
I went through the workout yesterday. Because I can barely do 1 pullup (and only once) I followed your advice and jumped up to the bar. Doing this I was only able to get up to rung 3. I then rested and did it again to rung 2 but switched to chinups (and I actually still needed to jump up to the bar). I followed this up with a walk mixed in with all out runs/walks for about 10 minutes. Today I'm only slightly sore. I plan on doing it again today.
Is there any other ways I can build up my pullup and chinup strength so it will catch up to my pushup strenght faster? Thanks!
Jesse,
Try the alternatives here:
http://doubleyourgains.com/how-to-do-pull-ups-and...
And the inverted row alternative here:
http://doubleyourgains.com/pullup-alternatives-wh...
And google for more on the inverted row and figure out how to do them with some piece of furniture you have (table, door handles/frame, etc) … that should help. Also you could do negative pullups as explained on the first page
Thanks! I’ve been doing the program for a week and I can already tell a difference in my strength. In addition to the ladder workout I’ve been doing some “holds” above the bar to help develop the pullup and I think that has also been helping a lot.
I’m looking forward to being able to KILL pull-ups without the jumping assistance. I’ve also been doing some frog jumps and one-legged jumps, and some HITT on my bike using a hill in my neighborhood.
I’ve been working out Mon-Fri and I started adding your abs circuit at the end of the ladder routine before the jumps and cylcing.
Do you think this is too much to do everyday? doing it all takes less than an hour, and after the first day I haven’t been sore in the mornings or anything. I’ve also started the Warrior Diet last week. Do you have any opinions on it?
James,
You could probably do well to start with the bodyweight exercise program at least 3x per week to build up the "base level" of strength and conditioning you want/need
Best,
Caleb
How frequently should this be done? Daily? Every other day? 3 times a week?
start with 3x per week, if you're still recovering easily, work up to every day.
Jesse,
If you're not too sore and you're recovering and still making progress, you're fine.
The Warrior diet is awesome, I eat basically like that every day …
Good luck!
– Caleb