Productive Bodyweight Training Guide
In this guide I'm going to share some tips when it comes to getting the most out of bodyweight resistance training, when and how to use it, and eventually sharing my training log from a recent vacation I took, along with some general advice and tips for training when away from your usual environment. I initially wrote this with the intention of providing a simple structure to maintain your training habit while gone on vacation, but it turned into a bodyweight training guide, as well as being a vacation workout companion.
Enjoy.
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When traveling, it's nice to have a convenient gym nearby. But that's not always possible. That's also not a problem, though.
Bodyweight training (basic calisthenics) works incredibly well. The stronger or more advanced you are, the more variables you may need to manipulate, but it's still remarkably effective for everyone, no matter what some people may say.
Bodyweight training should be centered around the following main movement patterns:
Push
Pull
Squat
Hinge
You might notice that those are the exact same movement patterns I talk about prioritizing for any form of resistance training. That's because bodyweight training is resistance training, and the basic compound movement patterns are no different than those we would prioritize if using barbells, machines, kettlebells, or sandbags. General resistance training principles remain the same even when equipment varies. That's the beauty of resistance training — it's flexible.
Now, the exercise variations and volume and frequency may be adjusted accordingly, based on what equipment you have.
For me – bodyweight training yields itself to higher volume training.
When on vacation, I like to enjoy the vacation and – if applicable – the people I'm vacationing with. So I want my workouts to be quick and effective (which is no different than my normal workout structure — quick and effective — hence the name, "30 Minute Physique").
Let's look at the push, pull, squat, and hinge options for bodyweight.
The main 4 movements will be broken down into some variation of:
Horizontal Push: Pushup
Vertical Push: Pike Pushups
Horizontal Pull: Inverted Row
Vertical Pull: Pullups
Squat: Bodyweight Squat/single leg squat variation
Hinge: Glute Bridge/hip thrust
You don't need to do both horizontal and vertical push/pull options, but it is nice if you have the ability and means to do so.
From here, you can progress to more challenging push, pull, squat, and hinge options.
Push could be made more difficult by doing decline (feet elevated) pushups, dive bomber pushups, archer pushups, or even one hand pushup variations.
Pull can be made harder my decreasing the angle on inverted rows or using varied hand positions on pullups (most people don't need help making pullups harder. Increasing pullup volume alone is often enough).
Squats can be made more difficult by doing Hindu squats, heel elevated squats, or – as I like to recommend – single leg squat variations like step ups, lunges, split squats, pistol squat variations, or Bulgarian split squats.
Glute bridges also benefit from single leg progressions, such as single leg glute bridges, feet elevated glute bridges, single leg foot elevated glute bridges, hip thrusts, single leg hip thrusts.
That brings me to the next matter of consideration:
Programming Bodyweight Workouts
Yet again, we have lots of options.
And, if you're not worrying about isolation accessory exercises – like bicep isolation work, tricep isolation work, or calf isolation work – the programming gets real simple.
*If I were looking to train with primarily bodyweight only workouts long term, I would find ways — either with bands, light-moderate dumbbells, unconventional equipment, or specific isolation/small muscle group-focused bodyweight exercises — to train my biceps, triceps, and calves (maybe even side delts) within my program. But since my recent trip was just 1 week, I said, heck, I'll get plenty of bicep and tricep stimulus just from increasing volume of the compound exercises. I did make sure to add a few sets of an ab exercise either at the beginning or end of most workouts.
Below are a few program structures I think work really well for brief bodyweight workouts, that you can adopt anytime, whether it be your main training template or just one used for brief periods of time, like vacations or deload weeks.
Full Body
Session A
Ex 1: Squat or split squats x 4-8 sets
Ex 2: pullups x 4-8 sets
Ex 3: pike pushups x 4-8 sets
Session B
Ex 1: single leg hip thrusts or feet elevated glute bridges x 4-8 sets
Ex 2: inverted rows x 4-8 sets
Ex 3: pushups x 4-8 sets
You may choose to do less volume if you wish, whether for time, frequency, energy, or recovery demands. There's nothing special about 4-8 sets. I just find these higher volumes – by way of doing more sets – works well with bodyweight training.
I don't include reps because that's varied, and, you may see reps decrease from set to set. Ideally you'd be doing exercise variations that get you close to failure somewhere within the 5-15 rep range, but doing reps as high as 25-35 can also be beneficial. If reps seem easy, select a more challenging variation or manipulate the tempo (like 3-5 seconds down each rep, pause 1-2 seconds, then come up under control yet quickly/explosively, pause at the top/peak contraction for 1-2 seconds, repeat). Maximizing tension is the name of the game, and time under tension is one way to achieve that.
Upper/Lower
This one is even simpler. Pick 2 lifts per day and accumulate volume.
Upper
Ex 1: pushup or pike pushup x 4-8 sets
Ex 2: pullup or inverted row x 4-8 sets
Lower
Ex 1: split squat or Bulgarian split squat x 4-8 sets
Ex 2: single leg hip thrust or feet elevated glute bridges x 4-8 sets
Keep in mind I'm just using specific exercise variations that I like. If you hate split squats and prefer heel elevated squats or box step ups, plug that in as the "squat" or "Ex 1" variation on lower body days.
During this recent vacation, I chose to use the above upper/lower split. It worked well and I had 4 very good bodyweight workouts during the 5 days I was away.
Push/Pull/Legs
Another one where you can get creative. For the purposes of focusing on the 6 main movement patterns, I'm going to share a plan with 2 exercises per session. But, you could follow this structure and do more exercises and variations (including some specific work for smaller muscle groups and/or hitting the big movement patterns from different angles. As an example, doing Pike pushups, decline pushups, pushups, and close grip pushups on Push day would give you a big shoulder move, 2 big chest moves, and a tricep dominant movement). You could also follow a PPL split while doing 1 lift per day, and just spamming volume on that one lift.
Here's a simple, sample template:
Push
Ex 1: pushups x 4-8 sets
Ex 2: pike pushups x 4-8 sets
Ex 3: Optional tricep variation x 2-4 sets
Pull
Ex 1: pullups x 4-8 sets
Ex 2: inverted rows x 4-8 sets
Ex 3: optional bicep variation x 2-4 sets
Legs
Ex 1: split squats x 4-8 sets
Ex 2: single leg glute bridge x 4-8 sets
Ex 3: optional calf raise variation x 2-4 sets
Again, you could also find ways to add in some tricep isolation, bicep isolation, and calf isolation at the end of the respective sessions. Likely you'd be fine doing 2-4 sets of triceps at the end of push day, 2-4 sets of bicep focused exercise at the end of pull day, and 2-4 sets of calf raises at the end of leg day. But, those isolations are optional.
1 Lift per Day
Finally, we come to the final template option: 1 lift per day.
Since we're only doing 1 lift, I'd suggest increasing the volume from 4-8 set range to 8-10 sets.
Day 1
Pullups x 8-10 sets
Day 2
Pushups x 8-10 sets
Day 3
Squat of choice x 8-10 sets
Day 4
Pike pushups x 8-10 sets
Day 5
Inverted Row x 8-10 sets
Day 6
Glute bridge variation for 8-10 sets
Pros and Cons of Each Split
Full body splits are very logical and allow you to hit each muscle group and the general movement patterns (push, pull, legs) most frequently, without needing to workout as frequently as the later program splits. The full body split I shared works great if done anywhere from 2-5 days per week, so it's very flexible and you'll likely accumulate the most weekly volume per muscle group using a full body split, however, recovery and soreness could limit training frequency, thereby, reducing the overall volume potential.
Upper/lower is a great compromise. You get a lot of benefits of full body schedules – good frequency per muscle group without needing to train more than 4-5 days per week, but also shares benefits of the later 2 splits – focusing on fewer areas of the body per session, which may be mentally relieving.
PPL splits are my personal favorite, but they're NOT for everyone. The pros of PPL are you get a lot of direct focus on one region of the body each session. That can be fun and easy, mentally, to digest. PPL templates require at least 3 sessions per week, but if you want to compete with the frequency benefits of full body and upper/lower splits (and the weekly volume accumulation and skill improvement that accompanies hitting each movement pattern and muscle group 2+ times per week), you'll need to train 6 days per week – or close to it – with PPL. This can be tough to manage long term from a scheduling standpoint for some. With that said, I think you can definitely make PPL work – and make it work very well (for bodyweight training and other forms of resistance training) – if you focus on accumulating more volume per session. PPL is especially well-suited for people that like training very frequently – like 5-6 days per week. However, technically, 3 days per week is all you'll need to do with PPL splits. You just may want to increase the number of sets per session if you're planning on doing just 3 days per week – hitting each muscle group once every 7 days. If regularly hitting each session twice per week, you can do just fine with doing less volume per exercise (like 3-5 sets per exercise per session), whereas if training each session only once per week, aim to do higher volumes (like 6-8 sets per exercise per session). I like training 5-6 days per week with PPL and doing less volume per session. This keeps my sessions brief and more manageable, but I am more fresh for each session. But again, it requires me being able to train almost every day. PPL is a bit less flexible than the previous 2 training splits and requires greater adherence. For those reasons, it's better suited for fewer individuals, but is a great fit for individuals like myself.
The 1 lift per day split is the least flexible schedule and you only have the opportunity to practice each lift once per week. Yet, if you love to crush volume on 1 exercise per day, go for it. I don't think it's a great plan for most people, though. Too many potential problems for it to yield consistent long term adherence and, therefore, results.
My General Recommendation
If you're looking to get into bodyweight training, whether it be a long term program or just a vacation routine, I nudge you towards either the Full Body or Upper/Lower programs. For what it's worth, the same is true for most people when it comes to any resistance/strength training plan. 2-4 day per week (maybe 5 days for some cases) full body or upper/lower plans are best. Full Body is 3 exercises per session with a 4th exercise option if you want some arm isolation work each day while Upper/Lower is generally 2 exercises per session with an optional 3rd or 4th exercise if you want to include arm and calf isolation at the end of sessions.
EMOM
Another fun variable to use in bodyweight training is doing EMOMs. EMOM stands for every minute on the minute. I've discussed this many times in the past, but usually only a few times per year. And considering how much nonsense I write each year, it's easy to miss those articles or forget them. So I'll provide a quick summary by way of an example.
Let's say we are doing an 8 minute EMOM with split squats. You set a timer for 8 minutes. At 0:00 you begin doing your split squats (let's shoot for 8 reps per leg per minute).
You finish your 8/8 reps (8 each side) of split squats in 30 seconds. You now rest the the remainder of the minute (in this case, 30 seconds) before starting set 2 when the timer hits 1:00. Repeat this for 8 rounds. In this example, you'll get 8 sets of 8/8 split squats (64 total reps each leg!) completed in just 8 minutes. Talk about density.
You could also do this in a circuit.
Let's say we do a 24 minute EMOM, cycling through pushups (10-12 reps), pullups (3-6 reps), and split squats (5-8 reps each leg). So we'd start the timer and during 0-1 minutes we'd do 10-12 pushups. Rest the remainder of the minute. Then do 3-6 pullups during minutes 1-2. Rest the remainder of the minute. Then do 5-8 split squats on the left leg and 5-8 split squats on the right leg during minutes 2-3. Rest the remainder of the minute. Repeat.
In 24 minutes you'll have 8 sets of pushups, 8 sets of pullups, and 8 sets of split squats. But, cycling through exercises gives each exercise 2.5+ minutes of rest. So while your chest, shoulders, and triceps are working during the pushup set, your back and biceps, quads and glutes are resting.
EMOMs aren't necessary, but they are a fun option and they tend to keep people focused. The downside with EMOMs is that while you may get a lot of volume in a short period of time, you're usually not taking each set very close to failure because you need to leave at least 25-30 seconds of rest.
For that reason, I think the best option for maximizing training density while getting the most strength and muscle stimulus from our workouts is to take each set pretty close to failure (rep speed should slow down, and you may not be able to get another rep with good form), and then simply rest 60-90 seconds before beginning the next set/exercise. This may leave you getting 25 pushups on set 1. Then 18 pushups set 2. 15 pushups for set 3, 12 pushups for set 4, and possibly as little as 8 pushups for set 5. That's a big performance drop off, but each set we pushed the pushup muscles near their maximum, creating fatigue. If working hard on your sets and limiting intraset rest by resting only 60-90 seconds between sets, this sort of rep drop off is common, and even a positive sign. The goal then, in this pushup example, is to slowly nudge up the numbers of each set. Not to make all the sets match the first set. But a good indicator of progress would be if over the following 6 weeks you took you first set of pushups from 25 to 30 reps and your last set of pushups from 8 reps to 12 reps, while also increasing the rep numbers for sets 2, 3, and 4.
Finally, My Recent Vacation Training Log (from August 2026)
Okay, as promised, the rest of this writeup will be my training logs from a recent vacation, with some thoughts and musings that I wrote down after each session.
I hope these workouts and random tid bits that follow them are helpful. Otherwise, oh well.
08/18/2026 Workout of the Day: Vacation Upper Body at Sunrise
Frog crunches-20,20,20
Glute bridges-20,20,20
Pullups-5,5,5,5,5
Pushups-15,15,15,15,15
Total Time = 20 minutes
Nice bodyweight workout.
I used jay flex door frame pullup bars and they are awesome. Although, one of the handle's grips came loose, resulting in a spinning grip each rep of each pullup on my left side. A little less than ideal but I think I'll just pull those grips on both sides off and wrap them in athletic tape when I get home.
Sometimes training the back/pulling movements with no weights and no gym can be tough on vacation. These handles are small, collapsible, and fit easily in a backpack (though, at the airport I guess the pipes and the wrapped band around the pipes made it look somewhat like a bomb, so I'll take it out of my backpack for now on when going through security).
Anyway, these handles are convenient.
08/19/2026 Workout of the Day: Vacation Bodyweight Leg workout
Ex 1: split squat x 15/15, 15/15, 15/15, 15/15, 15/15
Ex 2: single leg hip thrust x 12/12, 12/12, 12/12, 12/12, 12/12
Ex 3: side plank x 3 x 30 seconds each side
Total Time = 33 minutes
Fun-filled day. Waited until all the nieces and nephews went to bed after dinner before hitting this night time leg session.
It worked out just swell.
5 sets of split squats supersetted with 5 sets of single leg hip thrusts, followed by a few sets of side planks.
08/20/2026 Vacation Workout of the Day: Upper
Ex 1: pike pushups x 10,10,10,10,10,10,10,10
Ex 2: pullups x 6,6,6,6,6,6,6,6
Total Time = 30 minutes
8 supersets of vertical push and pull today.
Pike Pushups x 10 reps per set.
Pullups (alternating sets between overhand and neutral grip) x 6 reps per set.
80 total reps for Pike Pushups (vertical push. Shoulders, triceps, upper chest).
48 total reps for pullups (vertical pull. Back, biceps, shoulders, forearms).
Great session.
I use a systemized approach to training that doesn't rely on any sole piece of equipment other than my bodyweight and somewhere to hang from. Sure, having a couple kettlebells and/or dumbbells, along with an adjustable bench are always nice. But when you simplify training into movement patterns, effort, and consistency, the world becomes your gym, regardless of what equipment (even if it's no equipment) you have available at any place and time.
At my garage gym my upper body sessions are pretty similar. I may use a kettlebell overhead press instead of pike pushups, and I may follow up the pullups and vertical presses with some bicep and tricep isolation. But pike pushups hit the same pattern and muscles as kettlebell overhead press. No isolation work getting done this week or this session so I decided to do extra sets (increased volume) of my compound, bodyweight push and pull exercises for the day.
08/21/2026 Workout of the Day. Bodyweight Legs
Ex 1: Bulgarian split squats x 12/12, 12/12, 12/12, 12/12, 12/12, 12/12, 12/12,12/12
Ex 2: feet elevated (on couch) glute bridges x 15,15,15,15,15,15,15,15
Ex 3: hollow rocks x 20 seconds x 3 sets
Total Time = 35 minutes
Still on vacation. Still no weights. Still no problems.
Got this session done before dinner.
Kept rest periods short, exercise selection minimal, and volume high.
8 sets of Bulgarian split squats for 12 reps apiece. Covers the squat pattern and hits the quads and glutes.
8 sets of feet elevated glute bridges for 15 reps apiece. Covers the hinge pattern and hits the glutes and hamstrings.
If my calculations are correct, that's 96 reps of Bulgarian split squats and 120 reps of feet elevated glute bridges. That's a lot in my book.
2 great exercises that can be done in most living rooms or bedrooms.
Hollow rocks for 3 sets of 20 seconds finished things off for the core.
What's short rest periods?
About 60-90 seconds.
Brief rest periods may not be appropriate for every scenario, but when it comes to training the lower body with just your bodyweight, I find lots of volume, little rest, and harder exercise variations (along with time under tension) do the trick.
Density is often overlooked, but it can be an excellent variable to manipulate in training if building more muscle and/or better conditioning is a goal.
Opportunity
Thanks for reading. If you like the idea of these bodyweight workouts, check out the following links to sign up and follow along with me as your guide, using my wonderful app to track and plan your bodyweight workouts for you! Video demonstrations are included for all exercises and the app keeps track of each session's performance stats, so you'll know what you did before, which allows you to know what to do to beat your former self.
Here's the 3 bodyweight program options:
Bodyweight Full Body: https://www.trainerize.me/profile/benen/?planGUID=34c706ff52494376a97a831bcdae1ccf
Bodyweight Upper/Lower: https://www.trainerize.me/profile/benen/?planGUID=17e480a0f4a442b7909b255c4f897a3c
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