As a personal trainer, I always meet people looking to improve their bodyweight exercises. While a lot of people are working on getting their first pullup or pushup, the work is far from over once you reach that milestone – it’s time to make your bodyweight exercises harder.
The post is for those of you looking to progress your bodyweight exercises to the next level. If this is you, well done! We focus so much on getting our first reps on these exercises, that it’s common to be unsure of what comes after that milestone. I often meet people who have been stuck doing the same number of reps on pushups and pullups for over a year, without being sure how to progress these bodyweight exercises.
To make further progress, we need to introduce some progressive overload into your bodyweight training. This essentially means making your bodyweight exercises harder. There are lots of options at your disposal to make bodyweight exercises harder, including:
- Changing the tempo (speed) of the movement;
- Adding pauses;
- Altering the training parameters (sets, reps, rest periods, etc.)
However, I don’t want to focus on any of that. To keep things simple, I’m going to focus on one of the most straightforward ways of progressing pushups and pullups: adding weight. This may seem simple in theory, but I still see plenty of people making it more complicated than it needs to be. I’m hoping this post will work as a resource for you to add weight in the safest, simplest ways possible.
When Should I Add Weight to Pullups and Pushups?
When my clients are interested in improving pullups and pushups, I have some rough criteria in my head that I like to check before we go for it. The main thing is achieving a number of high-quality reps without resistance. I use these numbers as a rough guide:
- Pushups: 10-15
- Pullups and Dips: 5-8
If you want to add weight to one of these exercises, this is generally the number of reps I’d like you to be able to do first. However, these numbers are fairly arbitrary. There is no magic number of reps that will qualify you to add weight to bodyweight exercises. For example, you could technically add weighted pushups to your workout as soon as you can perform regular pushups with good form.
However, just because you could, that doesn’t mean you should. It’s worth making a concerted effort with the methods used above before you jump straight to adding weight.
With this in mind, I tend not to introduce weighted pullups and pushups until you can hit the numbers above, OR until progress has stalled for more than three weeks.
Using Weight Belts for Pullups and Dips
Weight belts are very convenient and simple to use, as long as you have the money and bag space to bring one with you to the gym.
Putting Weight on Your Back for Pushups
This is a great way to progress your pushups, but people often avoid it because it can feel unstable or awkward to set up. This should help:
Holding a Dumbbell with Your Legs for Pullups
If you don’t have a weight belt and you’re just getting started with weighted pullups, this is a pretty convenient way of loading the movement.
The Band Backpack Method for Pushups and Pullups
This is another method I came across while trying to make bodyweight exercises harder. It’s a little awkward and requires a thick resistance band, but it works well for pullups and pushups. It might work for dips too, although I haven’t checked.
Time to Get Started!
These methods should cover all your bodyweight progression needs. If you have any other questions, or would like help in reaching this level in the first place, get in touch! You can also subscribe to my Youtube channel for more tips.