Almost four years ago I quit going to the gym and started working out with nothing other than my own body weight. The exercises I use are really basic, not super innovative, but very effective. For some more advanced exercises you can find aid in household items like chairs and tables. Also you are not bound to any location; you can basically train wherever you want, e.g. at home, in the park, on vacation.

Every exercise that I’ll explain can be done in lots of variations, either to stress the muscle differently (e.g. different angle) or to put more force on it. I’ll explain the basic movement first and then the variations to make the exercise easier or harder, and to help make it more exciting. To start I would recommend repeating every exercise in three sets of 8-12 repetitions. If you can’t reach 8, switch to an easier variation. If you can easily do twelve, try to make it harder.

Exercises

Pushups

Lie flat down on your chest, legs straight. Place your hands next to your chest on the ground. Now, push your upper body away from the ground until your arms are fully extended. Only your hands and your toes (and balls of your feet) should be touching the ground. From the topmost position, move back down till your body just slightly hovers over the ground (don’t set your body down), and start over again with the next repetition.

Posture

Keep your whole body as straight as possible, with your shoulders, hips and legs forming one straight line. Look either down or to the front.

Variations

Easier: Either put your hands on a higher surface (e.g. two chairs) or kneel. Still keep in mind to keep your body straight.

Harder: If you want to put more force on your chest and triceps, put your feet up higher.

You can put your hands closer together to put more pressure on your triceps, and further apart to shift the load more towards the chest.

If any of these variations are still too easy, try arch push-ups. From the base position you put your hands as far away from the body as possible so that your lower and upper arms form at least a 90-degree angle. Instead of going down vertically, you go down towards one side, coming up the same side and then slide over to the other side and repeat. Use the other arm for balance only. You will feel the difference immediately.

There is one more level, though. Stop using the second hand all together. This puts the full load on one arm. As a side effect, your whole torso gets twisted and therefore needs to be stabilized. Put your legs further apart and flex your core muscles to keep your body from twisting.

Dips

Whereas for push-ups you have to keep your body horizontal, for dips you have to keep it vertical. This exercise does not work completely without additional objects.Two rigid chairs would do. Place them back to back with each other about shoulder width apart. Stand between the chairs and grasp the top of the chairs’ backs. Push down on the chairs until your arms are straight. If your feet are not dangling in the air yet, bend your knees. Now lower yourself until your lower and upper arm form, at most, a 90 degree angle. Push yourself up again.

Variations

Easier: Put your hands on the seat of a chair, body upright, legs straight to the front. The movement is the same as before.

Harder: Use gymnastic rings instead of chairs. I bought mine for about 20 euros on the internet. More muscles are used as a result of the increased difficulty in balance.

Triceps extensions (on table)

Stand about one-and-a-half meters away from a table. Put your hands at the edge of the table. Dive with your head under the table top until your neck is under it. Push yourself back up again. Keep your upper body and your legs straight. Only bend your hips.

Easier: Use a higher surface or stand closer to the table.

Harder: Use a lower surface (e.g. chair), or gymnastic rings.