The Basics

Everyone agrees.

Basics are irreplaceable.

You want to be strong? You must get good at the basics- squat, dead, bench, row, pull and press. Maybe some Ab work too.

So what are the basics for exercise without equipment?

I am gonna make this easy for you, cause almost nobody approaches bodyweight exercise as an entire alternative system to weight training. It can do everything weight training can, that I am convinced.
The Basics of Bodyweight Training are-
Lower Body-
Squat
Bridge
Glute Ham Raises
Upper Body-
Push ups
Chin Ups
Handstand Push Ups
Body weight Rows
And Leg Raises

And how do you train the basics?

Go heavy, increase the weight- progression is the name of the game.
How to make body weight exercises progressive, I will discuss later.

Today lets get down to the absolute basics. What are the exercises if at which you get strong, you are strong?

Squat, Bridge, Chin Up And Push Ups

If you can perform 20 pistol squats a leg, 2 one arm chin ups an arm, 15 one arm push ups each arm and 10 strict full bridges with one leg, every fiber of you is strong.

Push ups and pull ups are self explanatory. The one arm chin up is the gold standard of lat, back and bicep strength. The one arm push up, with no body twisting and minimal distance between the feet is incredibly hard. I have never actually seen someone do a no twisting, no legs open one arm push up ever. Your triceps and delts would we like stone and your pecs graceful.

One leg squats get a lot of crap from the weightlifting community. People never seem to be able to get their one legged and two legged numbers to match. That is because they are different exercises you twits!! Pistol squats are not barbell squats. Pistol squats use a whole lot more stabilizer strength, require a much deeper motion for proper gains and use the quads and hamstring much, much more than the glutes. A barbell squat uses the glutes as a prime mover and does not involve as much stabilization. Also the lower back is a major (weak) link in the barbell squat. Neither is better or worse, nor are they comparable.

I find that the barbell squat is related closely the long jumping and medium distance running strength, while deadlifts are related to vertical jumping and to a much lesser degree sprinting. I think neither is sufficient for developing sprinting power, I feel the barbell hip thrust has the most direct relation to sprints. 

Anyway, Pistol squats seem to relate very closely to moderate distance running and vertical jumping ability. This is not only because of the muscles used, but because of the fact that these movements are executed one legged. That is why a lot of people who play sports feel a spring in their legs after mastering pistol squats for reps. It really balances the knee out, and develops the knee from every direction. A person good at pistol squats will have incredibly injury resistant knees, great active flexibility and really strong skipping and jumping ability. But long jumps and sprints are not worked as well, due to the low glute stimulus.

That is where in my opinion the queen of all bodyweight exercises- the bridge comes in. The squat may be the king, but it can never produce a powerful offspring without the queen. The bridge- done properly- is a true power exercise. It works the glutes through its main function- hip hyper extension. This takes sprinting and long jumping ability through the roof. It stretches the hip flexors, balancing out the hip and correcting almost all lower back problems. It strengthens the lower back correcting the greatest weak link in bodyweight exercise. It stretches the pecs and strengthens the shoulder re-tractors balancing out the shoulder joint. It corrects posture and stretches the rib cage. It strengthens all the spinal ex-tensors very evenly and properly. It strengthens the traps and the shoulder girdle. It opens up the spine. It provides the finish to the body. Worked properly it is the most functional exercise around.

The proper execution of these exercises will be discussed in a later post. How to make them harder will also be discussed.

Also, abdominal exercise is not in the list of absolute essentials as push ups, pull ups and squats work the abs pretty hard, specially once you get to one limbed and uneven variations.

Btw, remind me I also need to talk about training intensity. the proper artistic advantages of bodyweight exercise and the perfect body.
Aaaah, You wont forget.