So the secret is to continually increase
the difficulty of your bodyweight exercises so that 6 - 10 reps is as taxing as an exercise with weights would be.
Another way to increase
the difficulty of bodyweight exercises and get strong is by incorporating plyometrics (also known as «jumping training») into your bodyweight workouts.
Sure it's easier to build mass with weights, but if you can figure out a way to increase
the difficulty of bodyweight variations, then the principle is the same.
Not exact matches
Even though a dip is essentially is a
bodyweight exercise, you can easily play with the
difficulty of the exercise.
Not only does this require serious leg strength (the kind
of strength you would need if you squatted with a barbell that's about as heavy as your own
bodyweight), but the balancing part adds even more
difficulty.
The most important part
of using
bodyweight exercises for strength training: consistently and progressively increasing the
difficulty.
Even a 1 - 2 % loss
of bodyweight in the form
of fluid causes cognitive changes such as increased irritability,
difficulty concentrating, and increased sense
of fatigue.
The
bodyweight lateral rollout, unique
bodyweight exercises
difficulty rating for one rep 10 out
of 10
This could be true
of basics such as the push - up or squat, but there is a wide variety
of modifications and leverage adjustments that can be made to change the
difficulty of most
bodyweight exercises.
If, in time, you make so much progress on a
bodyweight exercise that you can do what seems like an endless number
of reps (50 +), you can increase the
difficulty by adding resistance / weight or moving on to a more difficult exercise or progression.
To fatigue within this repetition range, you can adjust the
difficulty of the exercise by choosing harder progressions with
bodyweight training or by adding more resistance with weight training.
PS: If you're looking for tons
of bodyweight workout plans (with different levels
of difficulty), high definition video demonstrations
of each exercise, boss battles, a full questing system, more than a dozen more workouts, a full guide on how to eat properly, and a supportive online community, check out the Nerd Fitness Academy!
Early in my fitness journey I found this to be very helpful, as he takes five basic
bodyweight exercises and shows you progressions
of each to increase the
difficulty as you grow stronger.
TBK Fitness Program by Tamir Katz shows how to achieve fitness through a healthy, natural hunter - gatherer diet along with a comprehensive exercise program with over 60 different
bodyweight exercises
of varying
difficulty targeting all
of the muscles in the body.
One
of the other great aspects
of bodyweight workouts are that you can increase the
difficulty and complexity
of the workout with a few additional accessories.