Bodyweight exercises
No equipment at all. Progress comes from leverage, range of motion, tempo and single-limb versions rather than from adding plates.
What this kit can actually load
121MOVEMENTS
Covering 16 muscle groups as prime movers and 9 of the 9 movement patterns — all of it usable in a front room.
SOURCE·Published exercise references·COVERAGE COUNTED FROM PRIME MOVERS ONLY·REVIEWED JUL 2026
How the bodyweight list is built
- Start from the joint action, not the sensation. A muscle is credited when the action it produces is the one being resisted.
- Credit exactly one role per exercise: prime mover, or synergist and stabiliser. Nothing is listed twice.
- Rank by technical demand on a 1–5 scale — how much practice the movement needs to be done safely, not how hard the set feels.
- Credit a movement to a piece of kit only when that kit supplies the resistance — a bench you lie on is not the load.
- Attach the published MET category so the energy figure on every card traces back to the same table.
SOURCE·Published exercise references·ATTRIBUTION BY JOINT ACTION·REVIEWED JUL 2026
All 121 bodyweight movements
Muscles you can cover with bodyweight
Not covered: side deltoid, rear deltoid, biceps, rotator cuff. That is the honest gap — fill it with another implement or with bodyweight work.
Programmes that run on this alone
The questions that come up on the floor
What can I train with bodyweight?
121 exercises on this site use bodyweight, covering 16 muscle groups as prime movers and 9 of the 9 movement patterns. 59 of them are compound movements, which is the number that decides whether a piece of equipment can carry a whole programme on its own.
Is bodyweight enough to build muscle?
Yes. With 121 exercises across 16 muscle groups, bodyweight covers enough of the body to run a complete programme. Muscle growth responds to effort, load progression and volume — not to which brand of resistance supplied them.
Can I use bodyweight at home?
Yes — this is home-scale equipment. No equipment at all. Progress comes from leverage, range of motion, tempo and single-limb versions rather than from adding plates.
How do I make bodyweight exercises harder over time?
Not by doing more reps forever. Move to a harder variation, slow the tempo down, add a pause at the hardest point, or switch to a single-limb version — each of these adds load without adding equipment. Every exercise page on this site lists its harder versions.
Muscle roles follow standard kinesiology references and are described by joint action rather than by gym convention — see how this site is built. Energy figures are derived from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. Every reference is named and dated on the sources page. General information only — not medical or coaching advice. Load, form and progression should be adjusted to your own experience and any injury history. When in doubt, get coached in person.
SOURCE·Published exercise references·MUSCLE ROLES ASSIGNED BY JOINT ACTION·REVIEWED JUL 2026
The people behind these sites
Follow the build
This site and nine others like it are built and photographed by two people: Amit Sharma — behind the build; Geeta Patel — the poses, demonstrated. New work goes up on Instagram and Facebook before it reaches a page here.
Amit Sharma
@amitsharmaofficial
Instagram
Geeta Patel
@geetapatelnz
Instagram
Geeta Patel
GeetaPatelYoga
Facebook
Following changes nothing here — every page stays open, with no account and no wall.
