5 Bodyweight Exercise Substitutions

Earlier this week I was contacted by a former client who moved to Japan to give them awesome exercise substitutions to make workouts better.

I decided to do the same for you. Here are 5 bodyweight exercises to do in place of common free weight moves:

1) Pushup becomes a Harder Pushup


It doesn't matter where you're at with pushups, there's always a way to make them harder. Here's a great progression:

- Wall Pushups (standing position)
- Kneeling Pushups
- Pushups with your hands on a bench or bar set at hip height
- Regular Pushups
- Close-Grip Pushups
- 1-Arm Elevated-Pushups (1-hand on 4 inch block)
- Decline Pushups
- Spiderman Pushups
- Decline Spiderman Pushups
- Decline Spidermand Close-grip Pushups <= Good times!

2) Dumbbell Squat becomes Jumps Squats or Total Body Extension


Dumbbell squats are a good start, but most people have grip problems. So let's keep the intensity but eliminate the need for weights by switching to Jump Squats.

Put your hands behind your head, Prisoner-style, dip your hips and knees, and drive up. Land with your knees bent and hips back to absorb the force in your muscles, not your joints.

But only do this on a soft surface, not concrete. preferably a floor covered in gym mats, or outside on flat grass.

3) DB Row becomes TRX Suspension Trainer Row


DB Rows are great, but most people use terrible form. With suspended rows, you must use good form, otherwise you can't even do a single repetition. So keep your body in a straight line and squeeze the muscles between your shoulder blades.

4) Leg Press becomes a 1-leg Squat Variation

Leg press can be dangerous for your low back because your spine will round at the bottom position. That's a no-no, just like doing sit-ups and crunches.

So you'll switch to a single-leg exercise to hit your quads and glute with a safer move.

If you are a beginner, use the 1-leg lying hip extension.

For intermediate, go with a split squat or reverse lunge.

If you're advanced, use the Bulgarian Split Squat (back foot elevated on a bench or step) or the 1-leg squat. You can use a resistance band looped around a pole or a TRX Suspension Trainer for support. Make sure to 'sit back' in the move to work your muscles better
5) Pulldown becomes Pull-ups (overhand) or Chin-ups (underhand)


Pulldowns are fine, but pull-ups are harder, and almost any time an exercise is harder, that means it's also better.

Your abs, upper back, lats, and arms all get more work from the pull-up.

Today I did chin-ups in my workout, and my entire body worked much harder to keep my strict form as my arms and lats tired out.

BONUS) Crunches becomes Cross-Body Mountain Climbers


Crunches are useless. Switch to a total body ab exercise that requires core stability and upper body strength. Plus, Mountain Climbers were one of the exercises used in a recent study that found 4 minutes of bodyweight intervals resulted in the same fitness gains as 30 minutes of slow cardio.

Put it all together and what have you got?

Amazing exercise substitutions.

Train Insane or Remain The Same,

Marty Ozaeta
Velocity Performance Training
VPTraining10@yahoo.com