Calisthenics is a trend that originally came from the United States. But even here in Germany, the topic of functional training and calisthenics is becoming more and more popular. We, too, have specialized in this fitness trend and wanted to know from experts what the top 3 exercises with your own body weight are.
The advantages over conventional strength training are obvious. On the one hand, the joints are protected and, on the other hand, you build up a much more aesthetic figure.
We asked 12 experts this question, which they all answered for us. We would like to thank you for that.
You are welcome to add your top 3 exercises in the comments or send them to us by email. Maybe we'll add your contribution afterwards.
Now let's turn to the experts!
Lisa - Personal Trainer and Workout Expert at Fit For Fun
Lisa is a writer for the well-known online magazine fitforfun.de. She is also a personal trainer and workout expert at the aforementioned fitness magazine.
She always recommends the plank and all variations first. The exercise not only activates the abdominal muscles, but also uses the entire core, including arms and legs.
Equally effective is the Hollowman Body Rocks. She wrote an article about this last week https://www.fitforfun.de/news/promi-trainer-enthuellt-diese-geniale-bauchuebung-wird-unterschaetzt-348884.html released. Hollowman Body Rocks ensures strong abdominal muscles and excellent body tension.
And the Russian twist is also particularly good for the core muscles and the lateral abdominal muscles. This exercise helps build a strong core. In addition, the exercise can be expanded with weights.
Felix – trainer and responsible for training concepts at the original boot camp
Felix is at Original Bootcamp responsible for the sporting concept and took the time to incorporate his technical expertise into our article.
“Basically, I always find it difficult to define a top 3 or top 5, no matter in which context, because in the end it is always the respective background or the objective that decides which exercise is appropriate and goal-oriented for whom. For this reason I take a rather critical view of the generalized lists of the best.”
“In a generalistic perspective and based on healthy and resilient athletes, I would choose exercises that require as many muscle parts as possible and thus, from a metabolic point of view, have the highest possible energy requirement and thus calorie consumption, as well as being as coordinatively demanding as possible in order to train the ability to move ."
Felix top 3 exercises are:
- squats
- Push Ups
- pull ups
But since he didn't want to limit himself to the top 3, he also "added in hip-dominant exercises and static core exercises."
- Hip bridge variations
- Plan variations (side plank, front plank unilateral, i.e. lift one leg/arm off the ground and counteract rotational forces)
Fitforbeach – Squats, Planks and Burpees 3
The team of experts from fitforbeach.de contributed a very detailed answer. Fitforbeach is an online fitness magazine that revolves around many different sports. There is something for everyone!
“Exercises using your own body weight, also known as bodyweight exercises, are becoming increasingly popular. The biggest advantage of these exercises is that you can do them anywhere. No matter at home, in the office, in the gym or outside outdoors. The only thing you need is your own body.
Training in the gym is primarily aimed at building strength and muscles. However, the movement sequences of the exercises usually do not resemble the natural movements of the body. When training with your own body weight, those muscles are trained that you also need in everyday life.
There is now a wide range of exercises that cover this type of training. In the following I present you the three best exercises with your own body weight.
burpees
Burpees are a real all-round talent and one of the most strenuous bodyweight exercises there is. That's why they trigger cold sweats in many athletes. In terms of effectiveness, however, burpees are definitely in the premier class.
The special thing about burpees is that they work the whole body. These include the main muscle groups such as the chest, back and thigh muscles. But the smaller muscles in the torso, shoulders and arms are also trained with this exercise.
Training the smaller auxiliary muscles is just as important as training the larger ones. They serve as a basis for the larger muscle groups to work efficiently and be trained effectively. They also ensure better posture and stability of the body.
Another benefit of burpees is that they are real fat burners. Because a wide range of muscles is used, your body needs a lot of energy to perform this exercise. Due to the high intensity of the exercise, this effect lasts long after the workout.
planks
The so-called planking is a very efficient exercise that stands out due to its simple exercise. It doesn't require special sportswear or a lot of space, so it can be done almost anywhere.
Planking uses the entire body. In addition to the shoulders and chest, the torso is trained, as are the back, hip, leg and buttock muscles.
The goal is to hold the position as long as possible. The positive effects of planking are the improvement in posture and the increase in performance in all sporting activities. This exercise can also help prevent back pain.
Squats
Squats are nothing more than squats. To the surprise of many, squats don't just target the leg muscles. It is a very effective exercise to train your abs and buttocks in addition to your legs.
Hardly any other exercise puts as much strain on the buttocks as squats. Which muscle groups are trained also depends on the respective execution. With thighs, you can distinguish between the front and back. The leg extension is on the front and the hamstrings are on the back. These parts, as well as the associated hip muscles, glutes, and calf muscles, are all strengthened with this exercise.
Squats offer another benefit as they also train the abdomen and lower back. To be more precise, back extensors, as well as lateral and straight abdominal muscles are always trained. This ensures better coordination, stability and power transmission to the entire musculature.
Many athletes tend to skip their legs when training because the appearance of the leg muscles is not that important to them. Women are also often afraid of putting on excessive muscles below the waist. Squats are just as ideal for burning fat as they are for building muscle.
The butt and thigh muscles make up a very large proportion of the total muscle volume in the body. This means that the body uses a lot of energy when squatting, i.e. it burns fat. Training this muscle group increases the release of growth hormones, which drives overall muscle building.”
We particularly like the precise description of the burpees. In more and more sports - especially in martial arts - the exercise is carried out and carried out. It trains so many muscles and has so many positive effects on the body that we can only emphasize this exercise again.
Jahn Sterley from fitvolution - fitness expert for busy people
"If I could only do 3 exercises with my own body weight, these would be the classics. These are push-ups, pull-ups, and squats. After all, I can use it to train all the major muscle groups.”
On his website (fitvolution.de) you will find different information on the topics of strength training, cardio, sports motivation and nutrition. In general, the blog is aimed at busy people, which makes it particularly interesting to read.
Jens from inspired-sein.de with an interesting approach
Jens from the website inspired-sein.de also gave us a very detailed answer. You can find many more helpful tips on his blog.
"In my opinion, the three most effective bodyweight exercises depend primarily on the individual's neurotransmitter profile. This determines whether someone can get good results with high-speed and explosive exercises like sprints, hill sprints, jumps, and plyometrics, or whether isometric and static exercises like planks, tuck leavers, etc. are more appropriate.”
Basically, Jens emphasizes that every body is individual and therefore reacts individually to different exercises. Nonetheless, he has three general exercises that he would rank as the most important bodyweight exercises.
- Push-ups/push-ups, or handstand supports or dips on bars or gymnastic rings - "as the best push exercise"
- Pull-ups and hanging rows as the best pull exercise
- Lunges, Bulgarian split squats, step ups as the best all round leg exercise, with hill and stair sprints also unbeatable!
He then emphasizes that it's not easy for him to limit himself to the three most effective bodyweight exercises. This gave us more information - thanks Jens!
Peter – aesthetics-blog.com – Expert for the perfect aesthetic figure and lifestyle
Peter - Author of aesthetics-blog.com – sees the exercises similar to Johannes Diem. However, one exercise differs, which then also trains the legs. His top 3 exercises are:
- Pull-ups: For a broad back, the pull-up is the best training exercise. Whether on the pull-up bar, on a stable branch or on the stairs - the nice thing is that this exercise can be done quickly and easily anywhere.
- Dips: For big arms, strong shoulders and a broad chest, dips are the perfect muscle exercise! But beware, this exercise is not for beginners. As soon as you feel pain with dips, you should stop doing this exercise for the time being
- Lunges: A very effective exercise for the entire leg muscles and a firm butt. This exercise is also suitable for beginners. If training with your own body weight is too easy for you with this exercise, you can also hold a dumbbell in each hand or wrap yourself around a filled backpack.
dr Dotzauer - Expert in the field of sports medicine and health
Dominik Dotzauer recommends the following exercises. For one, the squat (under https://drdotzauer.de/uebungen/kniebeugen visible) in the form of the goblet squat is very useful. As well as the pull-up with an underhand grip and shoulder width. He explains this in his article below https://drdotzauer.de/uebungen/klimmzuege. Finally, he recommends push-ups. However, the implementation is different here (see https://drdotzauer.de/uebungen/liegestuetze).
Furthermore, there are some criteria to find the best exercise for yourself. Dominik Dotzauer proceeds according to the following points:
The best exercise for you:
- Should be as easy as possible for you and not require a lot of technique and flexibility training.
- Should be "robust". That means you should be able to do them the same way every time as easily as possible. If it looks worse from the execution, you shouldn't hurt yourself. Because of this, explosive/less controllable exercises like power cleans or kipping pull-ups are usually not a good choice.
- You only "have to" do an exercise if you have to perform the exercise in a competition. Otherwise, you can choose any exercise that will help you achieve what your real goal is.
Dominik also gives more advice on exercises to build or maintain muscle.
“To build or maintain muscle, you need an exercise that:
- hits the muscle
- Which you can increase flexibly and
- that you can do without pain.
To build strength, the requirements are slightly different. Here, too, Dominik has tips for us:
- Train the movement you want the strength to do
- Which you can increase flexibly and
- Which you can do without pain.”
Johannes Diem – pullup-dip.com and provider of professional fitness equipment
Johannes Diem, Managing Director of FT Fitness Technology GmbH (pullup-dip.com), has also included his expert opinion. In his opinion, the three best exercises are the following:
- pull ups
- pushups
- Dips
With it you can train the most important and largest muscle groups and also see rapid results that motivate!
René – Specializes in bodyweight workouts
René is a fitness expert and shares his knowledge on his website bodyweight-workout.com further. On the website you will not only find reports on fitness programs, but also healthy recipes and the latest news.
He also contributed his top 3 exercises.
For him, the ranking is as follows:
- Push Ups
- burpees
- pull ups
In our opinion, burpees are an extremely underestimated exercise that also trains endurance. The advantage of this is that it can be done anywhere. If you like, you can make the exercise even more difficult and attach weights, for example.
Kevin from super-pump.de with his "classics"
Kevin runs the fitness blog super-pump.de and is an expert in fitness and bodyweight exercises. He represents the motto "quality of life through fitness."
His top 3 bodyweight exercises are squats, push-ups and pull-ups - according to Kevin, these are classics and no big surprise.
“I think it covers pretty much every muscle group and you can do different variations at the same time, like wide-grip pull-ups or single-leg squats. Also, it makes you sweat a lot. Of course, the hardest part is finding a bar for pull-ups.”
Here he gives us the tip to look for playgrounds, but of course we shouldn't disturb the children here.
Flex - Calisthenics fan since day one
Flex is an enthusiastic calisthenics fan and reports on his blog flex-calisthenics.de of exercises, his personal experiences and lots of tips. He was also able to help us with his three exercises:
- pull ups
- Dips
- Squats
“Of course there are many more exercises, each with a different focus. But if you have to break it down into 3, then do the XNUMX exercises because bodyweight training builds on that.”
Dennis - Expert on home exercises and tips for our equipment
Dennis – Author and operator of the blog uebungenzuhause.de – even took a look at our equipment for his expert answer and then selected the best exercises.
- Pull-ups in all variations: Pull-ups can be trained practically anywhere. You train the entire upper body and the difficulty can be perfectly adjusted through different grip positions and execution variants.
- Legraises hanging (on the pull-up bar, on the horizontal bar or on gymnastic rings or even supported on parallel bars or a dip station): Super effective for the abdominal muscles and the entire core and upper body musculature. In addition, a clean execution requires good coordination.
- Pistol squats: Leg training with just your own body weight is sometimes not that easy, especially when it comes to classic muscle building and explosive box jumps and powerful burpees are not perfect. Pistol squats are perfect for building strength while training coordination and stability like no other leg exercise.
Conclusion on the top 3 bodyweight exercises
The most common exercises mentioned are pull-ups, push-ups, and squats. However, there are also many variations that are also important. We personally love burpees or pistol squats.
If you want to vary your training plan, you can always refer to these experts and adapt the exercises. You will surely have a lot of fun and see results!
