11 Bodyweight Workouts for Beginners

Starting a new fitness journey is challenging and exciting, especially for beginners. At Planet Fitness, we believe in making fitness accessible to everyone, which is why we love bodyweight workouts so much.  

This comprehensive guide will dive into the whats, whys, and hows of bodyweight exercises: what they are, why they're great for beginners, and how you can create a simple workout plan from the comfort of your home. 

Don’t start your fitness journey alone. Find a club near you for support and expert guidance when you need it.

What are Bodyweight Workouts?

Bodyweight workouts are simple and effective. By utilizing a variety of movements and positions, you work out various muscle groups—developing strength, stamina, and flexibility—using only the body's weight. That's right, it's a workout you can do at home, with no additional equipment required. 

Bodyweight workouts are an excellent option for people still new to the world of fitness due to their simplicity, as they can be easily adjusted. This means beginners can progressively increase their strength and endurance without complicated equipment or routines. Bodyweight exercises also incorporate motions that resemble everyday activities, making daily tasks easier as well, which adds to the feeling of fitness success. 

When you realize how powerful your body can be, exercising becomes less intimidating, making bodyweight exercises an accessible and effective approach to fitness. 

Benefits of Bodyweight Workouts

A cornerstone of fitness, bodyweight workouts allow people to enhance their health and well-being outside traditional gyms. People love their efficiency, and targeting multiple muscle groups simultaneously ensures well-rounded development of strength, endurance, and flexibility. 

With a focus on nurturing the body's natural movements, bodyweight exercises are ideal for home workouts or on-the-go fitness routines. Plus, you don’t need a gym membership to practice, and modifiable exercises help you start where you are and allow for gradual progress without stress. 

A few more things we love about bodyweight workouts: 

• Promote natural range of motion.
• Improve functional fitness, making daily tasks easier.
• Provide a foundation for strength.
• Encourage a simple approach to health within anyone’s reach.

Importance of Proper Form and Other Safety Precautions

Like any other type of fitness, proper form is crucial for unlocking an exercise’s full potential, ensuring safety, effectiveness, and long-term success. By practicing proper form, you: 

• Lower the risk of injury. Proper form in bodyweight exercises reduces risk of injury. Planet Fitness trainers emphasize precision and promote mindful movement for a sustainable fitness journey.
• Increase results. Proper form ensures that your body engages multiple muscle groups, maximizes calorie burn, and promotes muscle development, increasing overall benefits and results.

At Planet Fitness, we prioritize beginning any new exercise with this foundation, ensuring every step is safe and enjoyable.

11 Essential Bodyweight Exercises for Beginners

Without further ado, let’s unpack these exercises!

Warm-Up Exercises

Don't go in cold! A proper warm-up encourages blood flow, stretches muscles, and helps your body achieve maximum potential. 

1. Dynamic stretches help improve your range of motion and prepare the body for activity. Involving controlled movements that engage muscles and increase blood flow, dynamic stretches also increase flexibility and set the stage for safe and efficient workouts. Start with a few leg swings, arm circles, and torso twists to get yourself moving!
2. Joint mobility exercises improve your range of motion in everyday life. Like oiling the hinges of a door before opening it, these exercises enhance overall joint health, making everyday movements more comfortable. Whether reaching for an item on a high shelf or bending down to tie your shoes, joint mobility exercises ensure that you move effortlessly in your daily life. Try some shoulder circles, wrist circles, or ankle rolls before moving on to the meat of your workout. 

Both types of exercises combine stretching and movement to provide a balanced warm-up routine. 

Core Exercises

Next up? Core exercises! Fundamental to providing stability and improving posture, strengthening the core is crucial to overall health.

3. Planks. A simple yet effective exercise that strengthens core stability, planks engage the entire core and promote better posture by strengthening the muscles that support the spine. 

4. Russian Twists. A fantastic core exercise that targets your obliques and improves rotational strength, beginners to this exercise won't add any additional weight. But once you've built core strength, adding a medicine ball or kettlebell at the gym can be a fun challenge. To perform Russian Twists, sit on the floor with knees bent and feet lifted, then twist the torso from side to side, touching the floor with each twist. 

5. Reverse Crunches. Reverse crunches target the lower abs and strengthen the core. Beginners should keep movements slow and controlled, focusing on engaging the lower abs throughout to avoid straining the back. Perform a reverse crunch by lying on your back, lifting legs off the ground, bending knees at a 90-degree angle, contracting abs, and slowly lowering hips back down. 

Incorporating core exercises into a bodyweight routine encourages healthy posture. The plank builds a solid foundation of stability, Russian twists strengthen the obliques, and reverse crunches add a dynamic element to your core engagement, strengthening core muscles and encouraging balance. 

Whether you're a beginner or more experienced, these core exercises are essential to a well-rounded workout routine.

Upper Body Exercises

But strength isn’t built in the core alone. The following exercises focus on upper body strength. 

6. Push-Ups. A fundamental upper-body exercise that engages your chest, triceps, shoulders, and core muscles, push-ups build upper-body strength and contribute to functional fitness. Don’t worry if push-ups haven’t been a past favorite. Try a modification to build strength in the beginning.

7. Dips. Known for simplicity in enhancing strength, dips are a great way to target the triceps and chest muscles. If you've got parallel bars, wonderful, but a chair or edge of a table can also work well to try a few dips at home. Start by gripping parallel bars with arms fully extended and body upright. Lower the body slowly by bending the elbows until upper arms are parallel to the ground, then, slowly and with control, return to the starting position.

8. Arm Circles. Don’t discount the deceptive simplicity of arm circles (both big and small) to boost upper body strength. No need to wait for “workout time.” Arm circles can accompany you throughout daily tasks or while sitting on the couch to catch the latest episode of your favorite show.

Combining various exercises, like the ones above, guarantees your upper body a thorough workout, regardless of your experience level.

Lower Body Exercises

The final pillar of bodyweight exercises supports the whole structure. The grand finale? Lower body exercises. 

Our favorite no-equipment bodyweight exercises for the lower body are:

9. Squats. A great lower-body workout that strengthens hamstrings, glutes, and thighs, start your squats by placing your feet shoulder-width apart, slowly lowering your body, and maintaining balance by stretching your arms. Off to a great start! 

10. Lunges. A simple yet effective lower-body exercise, lunges add a dynamic element to lower-body exercise routines due to their versatility and effectiveness. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, then step forward with one leg, lowering your hips until both knees are bent at a 90-degree angle, making sure your front knee is over your ankle. Push back up to the starting position and repeat with the opposite leg.

11. Glute Bridges. Engaging both your core and lower body in one exercise, glute bridges can improve overall lower body strength and stability. Start by lying on your back with your knees slowly bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart. Engage your core muscles and press through your heels to lift your hips off the ground until your body forms a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement and hold.

By warming up effectively and combining a few exercises that engage your core, upper, and lower body, you can build a bodyweight routine that supports your health and lifestyle for years to come. 

Creating a Beginner Bodyweight Workout Plan 

While a new fitness journey can be overwhelming, a well-structured beginner bodyweight workout plan brings success within reach. At Planet Fitness, we understand the importance of providing a clear roadmap for beginners. 

Like the above suggestions, a balanced group of exercises is a great place to start. But you'll also need to consider your workout's frequency, intensity, and progression over time. Of course, this will be slightly different for each person. 

When deciding what's suitable for you, remember that balance is one of the fundamental principles of an effective bodyweight workout plan. Each section–whether focusing on warm-up, core exercises, upper body, or lower body–plays a role in targeting different muscle groups. This variation not only prevents muscle imbalances but also contributes to overall functional strength and flexibility. 

At Planet Fitness, our trainers guide members to create well-rounded workout plans, ensuring that each muscle group receives adequate attention for a functional, fun, and practical fitness experience. 

Consistency is the foundation of any successful fitness journey, and finding a workout time that aligns with your schedule is crucial. Whether you prefer morning or evening workouts, the key is establishing a routine you can stick to.

Ready for More? Download the PF App for FREE!

Join Trainer Toby Massenburg as he guides you in building the ultimate bodyweight routine! 

Planet Fitness’ Beginner Bodyweight 8-part progressive program is designed to teach you the basics of simple exercises and circuit training targeting every area of the body. 

The best part? All workouts are under 15 minutes and can be done anywhere—no special equipment required!

Need More Support?

If you want to begin your physical fitness journey and aren’t sure how, start with bodyweight exercises. Easy to incorporate into your daily routine, no additional equipment to purchase, and no need to join a gym, bodyweight exercises can help you take those first steps. Get started now for free on the PF App—with or without a membership.