The Beginner Bodyweight Workout: 20-Minute Routine To Do At Home or Anywhere!
A Nerdfitness.com article titled "Beginner Body Weight Workout: Burn Fat, Build Muscle" provides a detailed guide for individuals who are new to fitness and looking to improve their physical fitness by utilizing bodyweight exercises. See our article on Zone 2 & 5 training to get more a perspective on how to train correctly, you don't need to kill yourself to get good results.
The article emphasizes the effectiveness of bodyweight exercises as a means to burn fat and build muscle. It highlights how these exercises enable individuals to improve their overall fitness without the need for any complex equipment or gym memberships. This is generally true for casual fitness goers and serious fitness warriors. But don't forget about the concept of muscle confusion and working the muscles that help build correct posture and body health.
The article starts by introducing the concept of bodyweight exercises and their benefits. It explains that bodyweight exercises utilize the individual's own body weight for resistance, making them accessible and highly effective for beginners.
Next, the article provides a step-by-step breakdown of a beginner bodyweight workout routine. It includes detailed instructions for exercises such as squats, push-ups, lunges, planks, and jumping jacks. Each exercise is accompanied by clear explanations of proper form and technique to ensure optimal results and prevent injuries.
Furthermore, the article provides guidance on creating a workout schedule and offers tips for progressing in the workouts as one's strength and fitness level improves. The importance of rest and recovery is also emphasized to prevent overexertion and ensure a balanced approach to training.
In addition to the workout routine itself, the article highlights the significance of nutrition and adopting a healthy eating plan to support the desired fitness goals. It emphasizes the importance of consuming a balanced diet with adequate protein and the need to stay hydrated during workouts.
Overall, this article provides a comprehensive guide for beginners looking to burn fat and build muscle through a bodyweight workout routine. By following the given instructions and incorporating these exercises into a regular fitness plan, individuals can begin their fitness journey and achieve their desired results.
The Beginner Bodyweight Workout: 20-Minute Routine To Do At Home or Anywhere!
So you want to lose weight and get in shape, but don’t want to leave your house?
Well, as your fitness Yoda, I will teach you a great bodyweight workout routine that you can do ANYWHERE: In your living room, at a park, or in a galaxy far, far away…
Let’s dig into the different parts of this workout and get to the action:
Make sure you also download the Beginner Bodyweight Workout PDF so you can track your progress and level up at home.
Can You Build Muscle Mass With Bodyweight Exercises?
You want to know:
Can you build muscle mass with bodyweight exercises?
Yep, bodyweight exercises can build muscle mass, as long as continuously challenge your muscles by:
Increasing reps.
Decreasing your rest periods.
Performing more difficult variations.
Increasing your time under tension (by going slower).
Just ask our friend Jimmy here, who got in great shape using bodyweight exercises in his apartment:
You just need to make sure you have the right program to follow.
Enter the Beginner Bodyweight Workout.
I’m going to take you through a basic home workout today that can be completed anywhere – in your house, apartment, out at a park, in your basement, on the moon, wherever.
Beginner Body Weight Workout Video & exercises
THIS IS THE BEGINNER BODYWEIGHT WORKOUT (3 CIRCUITS):
20 Bodyweight squats.
10 Push-ups.
10 Walking lunges (each leg).
10 Dumbbell rows (use a milk jug or other weight).
15 Second Plank.
30 Jumping jacks
In a circuit routine, you’ll do each exercise in succession without a break in between (if you’re able).
Once you’ve finished all exercises in the circuit, do it again.
If you’re still able after the 2nd run through, go for a third.
Because all of these exercises come one after another, you’re bound to get tired – and that’s okay!
It’s better to stop and take a break than to do an exercise incorrectly.
Before you start, don’t forget to do a Dynamic Warm-Up – Make sure to get your heart rate pumping and get your muscles warmed or you’re just asking for injury.
You can run in place, jump rope, do a few push-ups, pedal on a stationary bike, do some punches and kicks, jog up and down your stairs, and/or twist and swing your arms and legs to get them moving!
HERE’S A BEGINNER WARM-UP YOU CAN TRY:
After you’ve completed your workout at home, feel free to cool down and stretch.
“HOW OFTEN SHOULD I DO THE BEGINNER BODYWEIGHT WORKOUT?”
Do this routine 2-3 times a week, but never on consecutive days.
You don’t build muscle when you’re exercising, you build muscle when you’re resting, so try not to do a strength training routine (of the same muscle groups) two days in a row.
I like to follow a training pattern of:
Strength training on one day (like this workout).
20 minutes of interval training the next.
Back to strength training.
Back to interval training or rest!
Alternatively, pick one of these fun exercises to do on your off days instead!
The 12 Best Bodyweight Exercises For Beginners
As laid out above in our Beginner Bodyweight Workout video, there are some key movements you can work on to help you get started strength training!
#1) KNEE PUSH-UP
#2) ELEVATED PUSH-UP
#3) REGULAR PUSH-UP
We have a whole article on how to do a proper push-up, but we also cover it extensively in this 5-minute video:
#4) ASSISTED BODYWEIGHT SQUAT
#5) BODYWEIGHT SQUAT:
If you want even more instruction, here’s how to do a proper bodyweight squat:
#6) SUPPORTED LUNGES:
#7) REGULAR LUNGES:
#8) ONE ARM ROW
Use a milk jug, suitcase, or actual dumbbell.
#9) PLANK
#10) SIDE PLANK
#11) WALKING JACKS
#12) JUMPING JACKS
If you are looking for even MORE bodyweight exercises you can use in your workouts, make sure to check out our mega-resource:
“The 42 Best Bodyweight Exercises You Can Do Anywhere.“
Is Bodyweight Training Effective for Weight Loss?
The question of the day is:
Is bodyweight training effective for weight loss?
Yep! Bodyweight training can be great for weight loss, as long as you have your nutrition dialed in.
If you don’t…then no, it won’t be your magic bullet.
That’s because a good workout and a crappy diet won’t help you lose weight.
After all, one of the Rules of the Nerd Fitness Rebellion is “you can’t outrun your fork” and you can’t out-train a bad diet!
This means if you don’t ALSO fix your relationship with food, then all the exercise you do won’t help you get in shape.
It’ll just make you frustrated…
So if you are trying to lose weight, then you need to fix your nutrition first and foremost.
Remember, when it comes to fitness, eating healthy is key!
You have two options here to dial in your nutrition:
Track your food by counting calories – you can calculate your daily caloric needs here.
Look into proper portion sizes, like with our healthy plate strategy:
Eat natural, whole foods whenever possible.
Cut back on sugar and liquid calories wherever you can. The stuff is in everything!
Put vegetables and fruit on your plate!
Know your fats and carbs – these are the foods we can overeat without realizing it.
Make sure you get enough protein each day (meat, chicken, fish) – this helps with rebuilding muscles and things like that.
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The raw honest truth: how you eat will be responsible for at least 80% of your success or failure.
If you’re doing bodyweight workouts because you’re interested in losing weight, know that training is only 10-20% of the puzzle!
If you need help figuring this all out, or you just want your own Yoda to tell you what to do, you’re in the right place!