We frequently receive many questions about muscle development, and three of the most frequently mentioned are:
- Can you build muscle without weights?
- Do bodyweight exercises or calisthenics build muscle?
- Can you build muscle at home?
Although barbell and dumbbell training have been very important in many muscle transformations, we must know that isometric and bodyweight training together exclusively for weeks can give us excellent results.
Free training at the gym can be used to gain muscle at home, to maintain muscle and fitness while traveling, or at times when you cannot visit the gym.
In this article we reveal everything you need to know about building muscle mass without weights or gym equipment.
The 3 Benefits of Bodyweight Training Without Weights
Bodybuilding has always been related to going to the gym and using expensive and heavy equipment; However, to perform the exercises of this discipline, only one resistance is required to overcome, and this can be our own body weight or other sources.
In addition to being versatile, simple, and can be performed anytime, anywhere, exercises, weight training, or calisthenics offer unique advantages for bodybuilders.
Calisthenics:
- Noticeably improve the flexibility of your joints.
- It develops strength that is easily transferred to sports or bodybuilding.
- Build functional muscle and strength, which is the key to looking younger.
And the biggest advantage: you can build muscle without going to expensive gyms and in the comfort of your home. Avoid traffic, sweaty gym machines, and pesky crowded gyms.
In this article, we tell you which exercises are part of a calisthenics workout and how you can plan calisthenics work out for yourself.
We have already answered this. Yes, you CAN build muscle with bodyweight training alone, but we’re going to scientifically prove that it works.
What Does Muscle Build?
The language of your muscles in tension. And they don’t care what gives them that tension. You can’t tell if the tension is provided by weights, kettlebells, gym machines, or your own body weight.
All that matters to the muscles is the stress placed on them. If the stress or tension is more than they can handle, they adapt as they grow (hypertrophy). If the tension is manageable, it doesn’t grow. If the stress / tension is constantly decreasing, then they get weaker and smaller (atrophy).
So, provide enough tension and your muscles will grow as long as the nutrition is taken care of.
How to Create This Tension Without Weights?
Using your body weight!
The combination of bodyweight + isometric training creates intense muscle tension that can sometimes exceed the tension generated with weights!
If you know the best bodyweight exercises, and how to do them the right way, with their proper gradual progression, then bodyweight exercises or calisthenics can be a real muscle builder.
So, here’s the key, »Provide optimal muscle tension using the best isometric and bodyweight exercises in a planned progression and you will build muscle mass without weights.
Bodyweight Training as A Strength Tool
There is a misconception that bodyweight exercises will only make you strong. Let’s clear this up.
- If you apply muscle building principles to weight training, you will build muscle mass.
- If you apply principles of pure strength training, then you will develop only brute strength.
This is called working your brain system vs. muscular system. The first makes you stronger and the second makes you muscular.
How does the muscular system work with bodyweight exercises? Following the 6 principles below …
6 Principles of Body Weight to Build Muscle
Unless you weigh 200 kgs, bodyweight training will be easier very quickly. And this seems to be a downside of calisthenics, but there is a way to see continued progress.
- Powerful and Skinny – You can see someone like Frank Medrano who can demonstrate incredible strength, endurance and flexibility and yet have little muscle. Many may be surprised by feats like handstands and effortless manual balancing, but they gain very little weight doing so.
- Big and Powerful – On the other side you will see bodybuilders who mass muscle with bodyweight training.
It sounds confusing, but this just proves that diet and training technique and not just exercises will dictate whether you will build muscle or just strength. It’s how you do it, that makes a difference.
Here are 6 principles to follow to build muscle with bodyweight exercises:
Work the Reps
The muscle growth occurs because of two things: high voltage and much metabolic stress.
Low reps (less than 5) work your nervous system. They don’t create enough metabolic stress to stimulate muscle growth.
Moderate reps in the 6-20 range are perfect for building muscle with bodyweight exercises.
If you can’t do more than 6 reps, work hard on the technique to add reps. If you can easily do 20 reps, add loads or advanced variations to make the exercises more difficult.
Stay in the 6-20 reps’ zone but add more sets, preferably 3-5 sets.
Use Compound Movements to Gain Muscle Faster
The more muscles you use, the more anabolic stress. Compound exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, and squats create maximum hormone release and should form the foundation of your workout.
Add difficult variations like one-arm push-ups, one-leg squats, and push-ups with additional loads to make them more effective at gaining mass.
Make Each Exercise More Challenging
This is in addition to the advice above. You can’t maintain consistent muscle gains unless you make your muscles work hard, hard, hard. If exercise becomes easier, your body stops growing. So, make them more difficult.
3 ways to do the most difficult exercises:
- Add more loads and master harder versions of the exercises.
- Use bags, sandbags, or weights.
- Add one leg or one arm workout.
- Add loads in the form of heavy bags, heavy vests, or other types of exercises.
Add Volume with Supersets
More sets = more metabolic stress = more muscle growth
Once the exercises get easier, what you will do is add supersets. The high-volume training (which means more reps and sets) is the key to muscle growth and supersets are a great way to add volume.
Here is an example. Do push-ups and squats without resting. Or do alternate squat / deadlift chin-ups without resting.
This adds considerable bulk while optimally resting your muscles.
Eat to Grow and Supplement Wisely
This is obvious. If you want to grow fast, you need to feed your muscles.
Stay Positive, Sleep Well, And Persist
Belief is the first requirement for success. Believe in your ability to create the body of your dreams, believe that bodyweight training will help you get there, and believe that you can do it fast.
Get enough sleep as it is the key to health, vitality, and muscle repair and growth.
It finally persists. Never give up. It’s just a matter of learning the proper training techniques, applying them for 4-6 weeks, and making changes to keep growing.
10 Best Bodyweight Exercises to Build Muscle Mass
Here are the top 10 muscle building exercises. Use the first 4 for maximum mass and add the other 6 to build a full physique.
Pull-Ups and Chin-Ups
Build your arms, back, and upper body in one motion with pull-ups and chin ups.
Add weights, or use just one arm (very difficult requires a lot of strength and better technique) for full upper body development.
Electromyography (EMG) has shown that chin-ups are also the best builder of biceps muscles.
Push-Ups
The pushups help build strong muscles in the chest and shoulders to the time you give your triceps a good workout.
Squats
Bodyweight squats are the foundation of all leg training. They work the quads, hamstrings, calves, and even the core muscles.
Once you’ve mastered the classic squats, move on to the Hindu, box, jump, and single leg squats for variety and growth.
Dead Weight
Want to build muscular hamstrings, glutes, and lower back? The big brother of the squat is the conventional deadlift. Add a weighted bag in your hands or do it with one leg. It will challenge your balance and stability.
Rear Bridge
It’s another total body tension exercise that targets your arms, back, and hamstrings. It is an advanced exercise that requires balance, flexibility and stability.
Handstands or Handstand with Flexion
These are the upper body squats, holding the full weight of your body on your shoulders. It is an advanced exercise and should be treated in the same way.
ABS
There are many abdominal exercises, but without a doubt without a strong core, it will result in a stronger body.
- The 3 Best Exercises to Work Your Core
- Why you should avoid these abs exercises
Twins
Although squats activate the calves, you need specific training for the calf muscles to make them stand out.
Isometric Curls
This is an excellent arm muscle builder. Tense your muscles as if you are holding a very heavy weight. We always recommend them at the top of chin-ups, holding the weight for 1-2 seconds in the state of maximum contraction. Your arms just swell and grow.
Boards
Another exercise for your core that includes abs, lower back and obliques is the plank. You can do elbow boards, side boards, or one-arm boards for variety.
Total Body Muscle Workout Routine Without Weights
This is a 3-day-per-week workout targeting the largest muscle groups in your body for faster muscle gains.
Each workout targets the muscles of the upper and lower body and that makes it very powerful.
