The best bodyweight exercises for beginners are those that provide a solid foundation for strength, fitness and mobility while being easy to learn and posing minimal risk of injury. Outlined below are five of the best. If all you ever did was get good at these movements (and their progressions) you would still be in really good shape!

Push-Ups

Push-ups are excellent for building upper body strength, especially in the chest, shoulders and triceps. If floor push-ups are too challenging start with incline push-ups. This reduces the load on your working muscles making them perfect for beginners!

Body Rows

Body rows are great for developing a foundational level of strength in the the muscles of your arms and back. They also make the perfect complement to push ups and help keep your upper body training in balance. Like with push ups, the difficulty of body rows is determined by the angle of your body. The more vertical your torso the easier the exercise becomes!

Bodyweight Squats

Bodyweight squats are great for building lower body strength and developing your leg muscles. They also help with balance and functional mobility. Another great anytime, anywhere exercise which is perfect for beginners!

Glute Bridges

Glute bridges activate and strengthen the powerful glute muscles in your hips and make a simple and effective complement to bodyweight squats.

Bird Dogs

This yoga-derived exercise helps develop core strength and stability across your mid-section, hips and lower back and is an excellent addition to any beginners workout routine.

Putting Them Into Action

If you would like to get a beginner-friendly workout program which incorporates all these moves click here (or on the button below) and download my free workout guide.