Bodyweight version of Strong Lifts 5x5

sutibo
sutibo Posts: 71 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone have a programme similar to the 5x5 programme but using bodyweight exercises?
I really like the progressive aspect of SL but need something I can do anywhere. I appreciate it's going to be trickier to get that linear progression that free weights give you but needs must.

So for example, I was thinking:
A
Squats = Squats (progression: pick something up, single legs, lunges)
Bench Press = Push ups (progression: bars to make it deeper, raise feet etc.)
Row = Chin ups (progression: not worried about this, it'll be hard enough for me anyway)
B
Squats = as above
Military Press = Handstand push up (any other ideas - not sure I can do these)
Deadlift = Not sure of a good replacement for this - any ideas?

Many thanks,
Steve

Replies

  • Soundwave79
    Soundwave79 Posts: 469 Member
    Well for the deadlift and squats maybe you could go all Rocky 4 style and pick up some big logs or something? ;)

  • singletrackmtbr
    singletrackmtbr Posts: 644 Member
    I would go with longer holds and slower reps to increase your workload. You can do pike or divebomber pushups for shoulders until you get to handstand pushups. For pikes you can progress by using a box or chair to lift your feet higher on the ground, which will put you in a more vertical position. Good luck!
  • Noelani1503
    Noelani1503 Posts: 378 Member
    Convict conditioning has progressions for everything you listed, plus hanging leg raises and bridges. The handstand push-up progression starts with a wall headstand and is beginner friendly, but works up to handstand push-ups. It's simple in that there are only 6 exercises, each with 10 steps.

    The only bodyweight deadlift I've tried is a standing single leg Romanian deadlift. You can increase difficulty by holding an object in your hands and extending your arms, but I think you'd max out quickly.
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
    Convict Conditioning is good, especially if you're unsure of proper form in the big bodyweight movements like squats, pushups, and pullups.

    You Are Your Own Gym is also excellent, and can push you quite far with just bodyweight progressions.

    I've done both, and I found that YAYOG was very much an all-encompassing program; when I was running YAYOG it was the extent of my strength training, and often left me in a puddle on the floor (especially the muscular endurance phase at the start). CC is also good, but I find that it works best for me when paired with complementary workouts. Right now I am running CC with a kettlebell program and am finding that is a good balance for me.

    Bear in mind that I am 35 and female, so my progression in CC was a bit slower than a man's might be, which is why I feel adding extra workouts via kettlebells helps immensely. YAYOG on the other hand is a lot broader and more challenging, which is why I treated it as the only program I followed.

    To give you an idea, during the endurance phase a YAYOG workout might look like this:

    Workout A-Upper body ladders: 7 minutes of pushups, 7 minutes of horizontal rows, 7 minutes of military pushups, 7 minutes of vertical rows.

    Workout B-Lower body ladders: 7 minutes of lunges, 7 minutes of jump squats, 7 minutes of one-legged Romanian Deadlifts, 7 minutes of Russian twists.

    On the other hand, CC is a lot of simple intervals. It's not better or worse, just different.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Body By You
    Convict Conditioning
    You Are You're Onw Gym.

    Body weight progression is notoriously difficult and under "promoted". But it's very do-able.
  • sutibo
    sutibo Posts: 71 Member
    questionfear wrote: »
    I found that YAYOG was very much an all-encompassing program;

    So would you recommend following the YAYOG programme rather than trying to build my own bodyweight programme based on Strong Lifts? I'm only using Strong Lifts 5x5 as the base because I did it a couple of years ago and really liked the simplicity and clear progression.
  • sutibo
    sutibo Posts: 71 Member
    yeah, it's pretty obvious now that I'm reading about YAYOG.
    I'll be over on Amazon ordering this book if anyone needs me.
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
    sutibo wrote: »
    questionfear wrote: »
    I found that YAYOG was very much an all-encompassing program;

    So would you recommend following the YAYOG programme rather than trying to build my own bodyweight programme based on Strong Lifts? I'm only using Strong Lifts 5x5 as the base because I did it a couple of years ago and really liked the simplicity and clear progression.

    Yes, absolutely follow YAYOG. There's an app as well for iOS and Android, I think it's $3.99. Read the book, then the app helps by providing the walkthrough and timing for each workout.

    I had a ton of success on YAYOG, I worked through the Beginners as well as Intermediate levels, and the only reason I stopped was that the next level was too big of a jump and I wanted a bit of a change after spending 6+ months doing YAYOG.

    I still do bodyweight work as well as kettlebell work, like I said I do Convict Conditioning plus a kettlebell program called Simple and Sinister. But I don't think I would be doing nearly as well as I am if I didn't have a solid base from YAYOG.

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