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Pull-ups are a common bodyweight exercise.

Bodyweight exercises are strength training exercises that do not require free weights; the practitioner's own weight provides the resistance for the movement. Movements such as the push-up, the pull-up, and the sit-up are some of the most common bodyweight exercises.

[edit] Advantages

Because they do not require weights, bodyweight exercises are the ideal choice for individuals who are interested in fitness but do not have access to strength training equipment. Weights can be incorporated to increase the difficulty of most bodyweight exercises and some exercises do require some sort of apparatus to lean on or hang from, but the majority of bodyweight exercises require only a floor. For those exercises that do require equipment of some kind, a substitute can usually be improvised, for example using a strong tree branch to perform pull-ups.

[edit] Disadvantages

Bodyweight exercises use the practitioner's own weight to provide the resistance for the movement. This means that the weight being lifted is always the same. This makes it difficult for less experienced athletes to achieve a level of intensity that is near their one rep maximum, which is desirable for strength training. Other methods for increasing intensity include using additional weights (such as wearing a weighted vest or holding a barbell or plate during a sit up) or by altering the exercise to put one's self at a leverage disadvantage (such as elevating the feet or using only one hand during a push-up). Gymnasts make extensive use of this last technique by doing much of their training with straight arms (such as iron crosses, levers, and planches), a mechanically disadvantaged position. Furthermore, a unilateral progression scheme can be used. Instead of a bilateral movement, such as a two-handed pull-up, the practitioner may decide, for strength increases, to choose a set of exercises that will allow him/herself to complete the one-arm pull up. In the bodyweight-training community, unilateral movements are highly regarded and sought after.

[edit] List of exercises

This is a list of common bodyweight exercises. Most of these exercises have several variants that can be performed to make the exercise more or less challenging, or to train different muscles. These variants are described in the articles covering the individual exercises.

[edit] See also

• Bodybuilding
• Calisthenics
• Circuit training
• General fitness training
• Health club
• Physical exercise
• Physical fitness
• Plyometrics
• Resistance training
• Strength training
• Stretching
• Supercompensation
• List of weight training exercises