Great Bodyweight Exercises for Small Spaces

Far too often we make excuses for why we can’t exercise: we don’t have the right equipment, we don’t have the money for a gym membership, we travel too much, we don’t have the room, etc. You name it; we’ve all thought it. But did you know that bodyweight exercises that require no equipment whatsoever can do an amazing job of increasing your strength, stamina, and muscle tone?

Bodyweight exercises leave you with no excuses.

• You can do them anywhere. Can’t make it to the gym? No problem. Travel a lot? Good for you! Work long hours? No sweat. Bodyweight workouts can be done in the bedroom, office, hotel room, or even in front of the TV.
• They are FREE. With a few simple bodyweight exercises, you can create a full-body workout that won’t cost you a dime.
• Strength and cardio in one workout. If you increase your tempo and decrease your rest time between sets and exercises, you can turn a bodyweight workout into both a cardio session and a strength workout.

To get you started, we’ve highlighted 6 main bodyweight exercises that will work your entire body. With slight modifications, you can actually create over 50 different exercises from these 6 basic movements!

1. Push-ups: Pushups work multiple muscle groups (chest, anterior deltoid, triceps) and can easily be modified to decrease or increase difficulty while working different muscles. Check out this video for 5 different ways to modify push-ups! Want more than 5 options? Here’s a link to 30+ push-up variations!
2. Pull-ups: Pull-ups are an incredibly effective exercise that work several muscles (latissimus dorsi, biceps, traps, pecs, forearms). They can be done anywhere there’s a place to hang from — think monkey bars, portable pull-up bar, tree limbs, etc. For pull-up variations that target different muscles, check this out.
3. Squats: This basic movement works your hamstrings, glutes, hips, and inner thighs. There are several variations to keep your workouts interesting – give these a try.
4. Dips: Dips focus on the triceps, pecs, shoulders, forearms, and core and can easily be done using a chair with your feet on the floor or propped up on another surface. Try these dips for variety in your workouts.
5. Hanging Leg Raises: Work your abs, obliques, rib muscles, forearms, quads, hips, and shoulder muscles all at once with this exercise! Find a place to hang from and blast your core with these movements.
6. Burpees: Burpees test your strength and aerobic capabilities while working your entire body. You either love them, or hate them, but no matter what, they will make you a better athlete. Some call the burpee “the one exercise to rule them all,” and with so many options, who can blame them?

Time to get up, get moving, and stop inventing excuses for why you just can’t workout today! Your health will thank you.