A muscle grows in response to any form of stress, tension or resistance applied to it, whether it’s through a dumbbells, a barbell, a resistance band or simply through bodyweight exercises at home. Body only cares about stress and as long as this resistance continues, muscle will continue to grow.
While, this is one factor of muscle growth, the other is for how long and how many times the stress is placed on a muscle.
Simply put, there are 3 factors that influence muscle hypertrophy –
- Load – the resistance
- How many times – no of sets per muscle
- Repetitions – for how long is the stress placed
if this is clear to you, and you are a beginner who just wants to work with his/her bodyweight to grow your muscle the following three compound movements will get you started –
- push-up, a classic compound movement targeting the chest, shoulders, and triceps muscles. perform 4 sets with 10 to 15 reps per set.
- squats, a lower body compound movement for overall leg development. also, do 4 sets with the same reps per set
- lastly, pull-ups or chin-ups. if you can’t do these, try inverted rows or bottle rows, again, compound exercises targeting the back and biceps. again, perform 4 sets with the same number of reps.
do these three exercises 3 to 4 days a week and gradually increase the difficulty by adding more reps, reducing rest time, or trying more challenging variations of various exercises and keep challenging your muscles for growth.
Additionally, protein intake in this range of 1.5-2g/kg of body weight and a calorie surplus of 250 to 300 calories is essential.
Looking to achieve your fitness goals?
We offer personalized nutrition & training plans tailored for fat loss, muscle gain, or any other health goal. Click below, fill out the form, and reach your fitness goals much faster than most people.
Below is a sample bodyweight workout for beginners.
Leave A Comment