60+ Bodyweight Exercises to Try At Home
Lower body
1. Air squat
- Your stance needs to be either shoulder-width or a little wider, toes pointing slightly outward.
- Keep your back straight and spine neutral.
- Keep your weight on the heels.
- Have a tight core through the whole movement, this will be crucial when you add weight.
- On your way down, knees should be in line with your toes.
- To do a full squat, your hip joint needs to be lower than your knees – always aim for that, in order to get the maximum out of the movement.
- The upper body and hips rise at the same rate, maintaining a more vertical torso.
- Look straight ahead through the whole movement.
To learn more about the different squat variations check out this article where you can find detailed information on back squat, front squat, and low bar squat.
2. 1 and 1/2 Squat
Very similar to the air squat but adding an additional pulsing 1/2 squat before coming all the way up and finishing the movement.
3. Wallsit
Lean with your back against the wall and lower yourself down until your legs form a 90 degrees angle. Hold that position for as long as you can and you’ll certainly feel the burn!
4. Jumping squat
Remember when we talked about plyometrics? Here’s a great example – the jumping squat.
Adding jumping squats to your bodyweight routine can really spice up your home workouts by adding a dash of explosiveness to them.
Just make sure you’ve mastered the air squat first before moving to this variation.
5. Sumo squat
Stand with your feet as wide as you’re comfortable and toes pointing outwards. Lower yourself down while keeping a straight back and your chest upright.
6. Crossack squat
Your starting position is similar to the sumo squat. Then you slowly descend your weight on one leg while the other one stays straight to the side.
It’s normal that when you’re at the bottom of the position, your straight leg is only touching the ground by the heel and toes are in the air. Keep your back straight.
7. Single leg squat/Pistols
This exercise is one of the fairly advanced bodyweight exercises. It requires a lot of leg strength and balance.
A great way to practice it is by holding to a chair so you can pull yourself up and keep the balance.
Another option is to have a chair behind you and only lower yourself down until you reach it thus reducing the range of motion.
8. Split squat
Standing up, take a step forward with one foot and allow your back heel to lift of the ground.
Both feet face forward. Bend your knees at the same time and shift your weight towards the front foot, while keeping an upright torso and a straight back.
Drive through your front heel to return to starting position.
9. Step-ups
Stand in front of a stable elevated surface and step on it with one foot.
Drive through the heel of the upper foot and try to lift your weight up with that leg. Step down with the opposite leg and then repeat alternating both sides.
10. Box jump
Yet another explosive plyometric bodyweight exercise. Make sure to use a really stable surface to jump on and use an upswing arms motion to help you with the jump.
Land softly and smoothly lower yourself into a squat. Once you get better, you can challenge yourself by trying different hights.
11. Lunges
Probably one of the most popular lower body exercises – loaded or not. Standing tall, take a step forward with one foot and bend your knees simultaneously.
Keep your torso upright and back straight. Drive through your front heel to return back to the starting position.
12. Reverse lunge
Just like the name suggests – it’s like a regular lunge but instead of stepping forward, you step backward. Possibly one of my most favorite lower body exercises ever.
13. Side Lunge
Standing tall with a narrow stance step to the side, bend your knee and shift your weight on the side-stepping leg.
The stationary leg stays straight and to the side – you can lift your toes up in the air and only tough the ground with your heel. Drive through the heel of your bent leg and return to starting position.
14. Jumping lunges
As with any other plyometric exercise, make sure you have sufficient body control to be able to perform them safely. Practice regular lunges first before trying out jumping lunges.
15. Bulgarian split squat
The Bulgarian split squat is very much like your regular split squat – the only difference is that your back leg is elevated.
This makes the movement far more challenging as this adds extra weight for you to lift up.
Try to use your back leg only for balance and drive your weight with the front leg only.
16. Single leg bodyweight deadlift
The bodyweight single leg deadlift is a great exercise to build your balance and unilateral strength. It will activate your glutes and hamstrings.
Start with a standing position, with a slight bend in your plant leg hinge forward from the hip.
Try to keep your back leg straight and aim to keep your hips neutral (don’t rotate them). Hinge until 90 degrees and return to starting position.
17. Skater lunge
Another jumpy bodyweight movement.
From standing position, step your left leg diagonally behind your right leg and lower yourself into a lunge.
From here reverse the movement by jumping to your left, landing on your left leg while your right leg lands diagonally behind.
18. Bodyweight Good Mornings
The bodyweight good morning is a great exercise to activate your hamstrings and posterior chain as a whole.
Additionally, practicing the hip hinge will help you with mastering the proper deadlift form – loaded or not.
Start with a shoulder-width stance, hands behind your head, hinge from the hips, and lean your torso forwards.
Keep your back straight, core engaged and knees slightly bent. Return to starting position and repeat for the desired number of reps.
