No gym? No problem. Bodyweight training gets dismissed as “beginner stuff,” but that’s a mistake. When performed with intensity and proper programming, bodyweight workouts can build strength, power, and conditioning just as effectively as barbell work.
These 8 workouts are designed for situations where you have limited or no equipment: traveling, training at home, taking a deload week from heavy lifting, or just wanting to switch things up. Don’t mistake “bodyweight” for “easy.” Done right, these will challenge even experienced athletes.
What you’ll need:
- Space to move (living room, hotel room, park)
- Pull-up bar (or sturdy tree branch for pull-up workouts)
- Jump rope (optional, can substitute with imaginary rope or high knees)
- Wall for wall walks
- A way to measure 200-400m for runs (track your route once, then repeat)
How to use these workouts:
- Run 2-3 per week as standalone conditioning sessions
- Add them to the end of strength work for extra volume
- Use them during travel or deload weeks to maintain fitness
- Scale movements and reps based on your current capacity
Let’s get into it.
Workout 1: Descending Burpee-Squat Ladder
4 Rounds
12-9-6 reps of
Rest 1 minute between rounds.
Time Cap: 20 minutes (including rest)
Workout flow: 12 burpees, 12 air squats, 9 burpees, 9 air squats, 6 burpees, 6 air squats. Rest 1 minute. Repeat for 3 more rounds.
What it trains: Glycolytic capacity and muscular endurance. The descending ladder gives you psychological relief as reps decrease, but accumulated fatigue makes later rounds harder than early ones.
Pacing strategy: Don’t sprint round 1. Burpees should be steady and unbroken. Air squats should be quick singles or small sets. Your goal is consistent rounds, not a fast first round followed by death.
Scaling: Reduce to 3 rounds or decrease reps to 10-7-4 if you’re new to high-volume burpee work.
Workout 2: Lunge and Wall Walk AMRAP
AMRAP 16 Minutes
20 Forward Lunge (10/10) 🎞
2 Wall Walk 🎞
20 Reverse Lunge (10/10) 🎞
2 Wall Walk
What it trains: Lower body endurance and shoulder stamina under fatigue. Wall walks are deceptively taxing, especially when your legs are already smoked from lunges.
Movement notes:
- Lunges: Alternate legs. Back knee should gently touch the ground. Stand fully upright between reps.
- Wall walks: Start in plank, walk feet up wall while walking hands back toward wall. Go as high as comfortable (ideally chest to wall), then reverse. Control the descent.
Scaling: Substitute wall walks with 4 inchworm + shoulder taps, 4 pike walk-outs, or partial wall walks (only go halfway up).
Goal: Aim for 4-6 rounds. If you’re getting more than 7 rounds, you’re not going hard enough on the wall walks.
Workout 3: Pull-Up and Push-Up Chipper
For Time
15-12-9 reps of
Rest 2 minutes
9-12-15 reps of
Push-Up
Pull-Up
Perform 30 double unders after each round. 🎞
Time Cap: 20 minutes
Workout flow: 15 pull-ups, 15 push-ups, 30 double-unders, 12 pull-ups, 12 push-ups, 30 double-unders, 9 pull-ups, 9 push-ups, 30 double-unders. Rest 2 minutes. Then reverse: 9 push-ups, 9 pull-ups, 30 double-unders, etc.
What it trains: Upper body stamina and the ability to cycle through gymnastics movements when fatigued. The rest period in the middle is a trap. You’ll feel recovered, but the second half will hurt worse than the first.
Movement notes:
- Pull-ups: Any style (strict, kipping, butterfly). Break into manageable sets before failure.
- Push-ups: Chest to ground, full lockout at top. For extra challenge, do hand-release push-ups.
- Double-unders: If you don’t have them, substitute 90 single-unders or 30 high knees.
Scaling: Reduce reps to 12-9-6 or substitute jumping pull-ups / ring rows for pull-ups.
Do NOT substitute handstand push-ups for push-ups in this workout. The volume is too high and the shoulder fatigue will compromise pull-up quality.
Workout 4: Run-Lunge-Sit-Up Grinder
3 Rounds
20 Butterfly Sit-Up 🎞
200m Run
40 Walking Lunge Step (20/20) 🎞
200m Run
20 Butterfly Sit-Up
200m Run
Rest 1 minute between rounds.
Time Cap: 30 minutes (including rest time)
What it trains: Aerobic capacity with muscular endurance. The runs keep your heart rate elevated while lunges and sit-ups accumulate volume. This is a grind, not a sprint.
Movement notes:
- Butterfly sit-ups: Soles of feet together, knees out. Use momentum to sit up, touch ground overhead on descent.
- Runs: Moderate pace. You should be able to talk in short sentences. Don’t sprint.
- Walking lunges: Alternate legs. Focus on upright torso and full hip extension at the top of each step.
Pacing: Rounds should take 7-9 minutes each. If you’re finishing in under 20 minutes total, you went too hard on the runs.
Scaling: Reduce to 2 rounds or substitute 100m runs if 200m isn’t feasible.
Workout 5: Ascending AMRAP Double
AMRAP 5 Minutes
2-4-6-8-10…reps of
Squat Jump 🎞
Push-Up 🎞 or Handstand Push-Up
Rest 2 minutes
AMRAP 5 Minutes
2-4-6-8-10… reps of
Jumping Lunge (each side) 🎞
Plank Up Down 🎞
What it trains: Power output and work capacity. The ascending ladder forces you to do more reps each round. Eventually you’ll stall. The goal is to get as far up the ladder as possible.
Movement notes:
- Squat jumps: Full depth squat, explosive jump, land softly back in squat.
- Push-ups: Standard or strict handstand push-ups for advanced athletes proficient in gymnastics.
- Jumping lunges: Lunge position, jump and switch legs in the air, land in opposite leg lunge.
- Plank up-downs: Start in plank on forearms. Press up to hands one arm at a time. Lower back down to forearms. Alternate which arm leads.
Scaling: If you can’t do handstand push-ups, stick with regular push-ups. If jumping lunges are too intense, do alternating reverse lunges.
Goal: Get through the round of 10 in the first AMRAP, the round of 8-10 in the second.
Workout 6: High-Density EMOM
EMOM 15 Minutes
5 Air Squat 🎞
5 Push-Up 🎞
5 Squat Jump 🎞
5 Butterfly Sit-Up 🎞
What it trains: Work capacity and movement efficiency. You have 60 seconds to complete 20 total reps. The goal is to finish quickly, rest the remainder of the minute, and repeat.
Pacing: All movements should be completed within each minute. If your first round takes longer than 40 seconds, lower reps to 4 per movement (or even 3 if needed).
Intensity check: This should feel easy for the first 5 minutes, moderate at 7-10 minutes, challenging at 12-15 minutes. If you’re blowing up at minute 5, you’re going too hard or need to scale reps.
Scaling: Reduce to 4 or 3 reps per movement. Substitute regular sit-ups for butterfly sit-ups.
Goal: Complete all 15 rounds unbroken.
Workout 7: Classic Run-Burpee
5 Rounds
400m Run
20 Burpee 🎞
Time Cap: 25 minutes
What it trains: The ability to run hard, then immediately perform high-rep bodyweight work, then run hard again. This is pure mental toughness wrapped in glycolytic suffering.
Pacing: Runs should be at 80-85% effort. Hard but sustainable. Don’t sprint the first one. Burpees should be steady, broken into 2-3 sets max. The faster you move through burpees, the more rest you get before the next run.
Movement notes: Burpees are chest-to-ground, jump with hands overhead at the top. No step-ups unless absolutely necessary.
Scaling: Reduce to 3-4 rounds or decrease burpees to 15 reps if you’re new to this volume.
Goal: Complete in 18-22 minutes. Under 18 minutes means you’re well-conditioned. Over 22 means you need more aerobic base work.
Workout 8: Descending Squat Pyramid
For Time
50 Air Squat 🎞
15 Push-Up 🎞
40 Air Squat
15 Push-Up
30 Air Squat
15 Push-Up
20 Air Squat
15 Push-Up
10 Air Squat
15 Push-Up
Time Cap: 12 minutes
What it trains: Leg endurance and the ability to maintain upper body output even when your quads are on fire. The descending squats give psychological relief, but the constant 15 push-ups every round add up.
Pacing: Air squats should be fast but controlled. Break them into sets of 10-20 depending on your capacity. Push-ups can be done in 1-2 sets. Don’t go to failure.
Movement notes:
- Air squats: Full depth (hip crease below knee), stand fully at top.
- Push-ups: Chest to ground, full lockout. For advanced athletes proficient in gymnastics, substitute strict or kipping handstand push-ups.
Scaling: Reduce squat reps by 20% (40-30-25-15-10) or decrease push-ups to 10 reps.
Goal: Finish in 8-10 minutes. Under 8 minutes is elite. Over 12 minutes means scale the reps next time.
Programming These Workouts
Use these strategically:
- During travel: Run 2-3 per week to maintain conditioning
- Deload weeks: Swap heavy strength work for these to give joints a break while keeping fitness
- Conditioning focus: Add 1-2 per week alongside strength training
- No equipment available: Cycle through all 8 over 2-3 weeks
Don’t just pick randomly. Rotate through different styles (AMRAPs, timed chippers, EMOMs) to develop all aspects of conditioning.
Want complete bodyweight programming that builds strength, power, and conditioning without equipment? Check out the Functional Bodyweight Program for structured progressions that go beyond random workouts.
