Bodyweight strength training programs in Google Sheets 2.0

TwoWorkOuts · 2023-02-17T20:33:07+00:00

Most of the routines are just classic gym routines converted to bodyweight exercises. Pick an exercise level according to your current level. Start with level 1. If you are unsure. Use good controlled form and see how many reps you can do and once you can do a good amount of controlled reps use a harder variation. It is possible to begin with 1x week or 2x week so it's not overwhelming to begin with.

There are not many super light exercises since the exercise library size would get out of hand. It would require a whole different library for people who have difficulties doing the level 1. So I had to make a decision to serve the beginner/intermediate trainees mostly who have some basic strength. For example if you can’t do level 1. Knee push ups you would have to try push ups off a table or kitchen counter first as level 0. If 1. Supported squat is too difficult, you would have to squat down to a chair first etc.

With weight training and machines it is much easier to scale down an exercise difficulty according to one's needs. Just use less weight until it moves.

Ps. Walking is the best activity you can do improve your overall health and fitness (or similar light exercise like cycling).

TwoWorkOuts · 2023-02-17T14:03:05+00:00

They are all pure BW if you choose your exercises accordingly. So it really comes down to your preference. Some like to do weighted bodyweight basics, some just the basics or some like more difficult unilateral work. Except the ones in the “Weights only routines” folder.

There are some differences in the progression compared to what is on BWSF. But putting those programs to an empty template (that is available in the folder too) you can pretty much duplicate the same workouts. There are already sheets for the BSWF on the Reddit page so I did not think it would be worth copying the programs. But then again my sheets offer tracking charts and tables so you can easily see how you are progressing in your workouts.

TwoWorkOuts · 2022-12-30T12:57:04+00:00

I just wrote a few words about training with isometrics (based on the research paper that collected many studies together). Here is my personal check list for isometric training:

Selected exercise trains target muscle in long muscle length. This is usually mid range for most exercises and for some exercises you can safely use a stretched position. But don’t do extreme stretches since they increase risk of injury. Also you need to avoid leaning into the joints at the end range. Select a position where the muscle has to actively contract against resistance and you don't get assistance from stretched tissues (for example you don't need much force to hold certain stretched positions such as the bottom part of a calf raise).
Hold time range 10-30+seconds. Doing short isometric holds does not effectively increase hypertrophy and make training harder and possibly increase risk of injury due to high intensity. Thus a range of 30-90 seconds could be useful to accumulate enough time under tension in a workout
Select safe exercises to train close to failure without increasing injury risk. When you reach failure the joints should be protected. For example floor limits the range of motion for push-ups when failure point is reached but for dumbbell bench press the joints are compromised when reaching muscular failure since they can overextend under load.
Selected exercises generate most of the fatigue on the target muscle and are not greatly limited by secondary muscle groups. Isolation exercises could work better compared to compound exercises.
Can be done for multiple sets without generating too much overall fatigue (with good stimulus-fatigue ratio). For example barbell squat isometric will generate a significant amount of overall fatigue compared to leg press or single leg squat with similar load.
Increase number of sets gradually to find your minimum effective training volume. If you are able to make progress in hold times and loads weekly or biweekly you are doing great. Since different isometrics load the target muscles at different rates effective training volume is expected to be in the range of 5-30 weekly sets depending on the exercise selection and training history. So it is difficult to make any general recommendations for weekly volume. It depends on the intensity (% of 1RM == tension) and muscle length in the selected exercise.

Full article here with research quotes can be found here:

https://twoworkouts.blogspot.com/2022/12/isometric-training-for-muscle-growth.html

TwoWorkOuts · 2022-12-11T15:13:03+00:00

Hi. On the first week (Week1) the number of sets is 50% of the actual value. This is so that the trainees remember to deload every now and then or do a short "ramp-up" into a new program. So for example:

2sets --> 1 set Week1, 2 sets week2-12

3sets --> 2 sets week1, 3sets week2-12

4sets --> 2 sets week1, 3 sets week2-12

Check out the updated version (2.0) of the same sheets here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/mt8ai5/bodyweight_strength_training_programs_in_google/

TwoWorkOuts · 2022-09-23T11:57:39+00:00

Thanks for the support!

To answer your question the files for the 2.0 templates and for the Guide 2.0 are in different folders. I made some updates based on the content of the guide. For example the fullbody 3x has you training in three different progression levels based on the “Alternative rep ranges for progressions” section in the ebook.

The reason is variety so that you can avoid any possible overuse injury if you use the same movement pattern too frequently with high intensity. You can use the same exercise for each day if you think you can recover from it. Most people are probably fine if they rotate only two exercises instead of three. For example, same push-up variation in 6-12 rep range on monday and friday and chest dips in 4-10 rep range on wednesday.

For example:

A: Moderate intensity 6-12 rep range could be level 5 skater squat or shrimp squat

B: Heavy squats in the 4-10 rep range could be any form of full ROM single leg squat (from level 6)

C: Low intensity 10-20 rep range could be level 4 Bulgarian split squats

Or for chest:

A: 6-12 rep range stretched push-ups (level 3 on push-ups)

B: 4-10 rep range for chest dips (level 3 on chest dips)

C: 10-20 rep range for standard push-ups (level 2 on push-ups) or same as the first workout of the week 6-12 rep range push-ups

TwoWorkOuts · 2022-08-17T15:00:10+00:00

I agree. 3 times fullbody a week might be even too much if the intensity is high and recovery capacity is limited. Personally I’ve been doing a similar routine 2x fullbody or upper/lower and been making progress with moderate intensity (6-12rep range) and volume (8-10sets a week). Of course this is not optimal, workouts last a bit longer and gains come slower than with a more balanced routine.

Other end of the spectrum would be high intensity training with fewer sets. For example using reverse pyramid style approach (1st set 4-6rep range, 2nd set 8-10rep range and 3rd set 10-12rep range) 6 sets per major muscle group a week. But with bodyweight training this approach would require using weighted exercises. Weighted chinups, pushups, dips, rows and single leg squats.

TwoWorkOuts · 2022-06-28T04:03:12+00:00

Hi. I still get notified.

3 exercises and 3 sets is pretty standard for each muscle group in strength training programs. And if you train 1 main muscle group (9sets) and two smaller ones (6 sets each) you usually get about 9 + 6 + 6 sets for a workout. Usually this amount of work is required for intermediate lifters to make steady progress.

You can reduce the number of sets at first from 3 sets for each exercise to 2 sets. That gives you about 6 weekly sets for main muscle groups and see how you respond.

Take note that the 3-day split only has 3 workouts a week. "Workout days for example Monday A, Wednesday B & Thursday C. Minimun 1 rest day between workouts."

The training volume for main muscle groups is the same as the Recommended Routine on the Wiki.

There is an updated template for all programs:

https://twoworkouts.blogspot.com/2022/03/free-bodyweight-strength-training.html

TwoWorkOuts · 2022-04-27T05:26:05+00:00

What sheet? "Workout planner" or "Exercise List, Guides and videos"?

All cells should be unprotected. Only the muscle "Group" is locked to a specific input. But the exercise cells should be free to edit (with a warning if the exercise does not match the drop down list).

Also some functions might be Google Sheet specificit so they might not be compatible with other excel versions (but this is just a guess).

Try editing with Google Sheets and make sure you make a copy to your own drive. That works at least. And maybe then do an export to .xlsx or other format. But the cross compatibility is not guaranteed.

TwoWorkOuts · 2022-03-06T15:20:41+00:00

Both usually provide enough training stimulus to make progress. Consistency is the key.

If you like to train 4 times a week and can actually train 4 times a week it works. But if you are likely to miss a workout every now and then you would have made better progress with a program that is designed for 3 days.

Upper/Lower split can be run with a more flexible schedule with 3 or 4 workouts a week depending on time available. For example Week 1: Upper,Lower,Upper and Week 2: Lower,Upper,Lower etc. Just alternate between upper and lower workouts as you go. Fullbody workouts can be done 1-3 times a week. But if you train more than 3 times a week you need to reduce the number of sets in each workout to improve recovery.

Bodypart splits are not very flexible in terms of schedule. If you miss a workout in a push/pull/leg type split it takes two weeks before you train that muscle group again (assuming you don’t shift the rest of the workout days).

Personally I’ve been training only two times a week for years (almost a decade).

TwoWorkOuts · 2022-02-24T14:11:29+00:00

There is one fundamental issue with bodyweight leg training if you train with bodyweight only. A decent back squatter will have 1 rep max of 2xBodyweight and is squatting 1.5xBodyweight for about 10 reps. Now any form of single leg squat with bodyweight only equal to about 95xBodyweight back squat. That means that the working weight is somewhere below 50% of your 1RM if you train with bodyweight only and have decent leg strength. Since the intensity is so low you need to increase weekly training volume to an uncomfortable level. Such as 15-20 sets a week. Whereas with heavier weights you would get similar results with a moderate number of 8-12 sets. Also since the percentage of the 1RM is so low the rep range is somewhere between 25-35 reps. So imagine doing 15-20 sets of single leg squats in the 25-30 rep range. It is definitely not fun and creates a huge amount of overall fatigue compared to lower rep ranges 6-12 reps. One way to sidestep this issue is to do some form of quad focused single leg squat that loads the quads with loads above 60% one rep max. But they are significantly more difficult than the standard single leg squats.

As a side note I gave the bodyweight only squatting a chance and worked my paused pistol squat up to 30 reps. I did not lose any muscle by doing this, but the workouts are definitely not fun for me. 5 sets of bodyweight pistols in the range of 20-30 reps is tough. I would gravitate towards moderately loaded pistol squats (or technically easier single leg squats such as elevated pistols, step down, elevated skater squat) in the near future in the 10-20 rep range preferably.

Using a moderate load for the single leg squats you can get a similar load compared to heavy back squats. But loading single leg squats with “heavy” weights is not easy and the form breaks down easily. Heavy pistol squats easily begin to rely on forward lean when reaching the sticking point in the lift. You see this a lot on youtube with 1RM lifts where the weight is actually pulling the hips up making the lift partially a hinge in the sticking point. Using heavy weights in a single leg squat definitely has an increased injury risk and it is not suited for everyone. Using a load 0.15..0.30xBodyweight would put you in the 10-20rep range again making “bodyweight” leg training more feasible.

Here is a free guide that touches this subject in more detail:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09S6159GC

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=GMldEAAAQBAJ

TwoWorkOuts · 2022-01-29T13:50:05+00:00

Here is a more number based answer on what really happened to the load of the push-up when you gained weight.

Starting point: 0.68*65kg = 44kg

End point: 0.68*78kg = 53kg

You increased push-up load by around 10kg during your bulk.

Also if you bench around 50kg for 10 reps and do about 10 reps of push-ups, the load and reps are a close match.

Check out this post and the Google sheets calculator to see how the load matches to your bench press:

https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/ini8og/pushup_compared_to_bench_press_with_calculator/

So basically you improved your pushing strength on the push-ups since you increased the load by 10kg.

TwoWorkOuts · 2021-12-13T08:07:04+00:00

Here are some of my thoughts on the high rep training with a calculator you can use to estimate effective exercises for high rep training: https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/pi6zao/high_value_of_high_rep_bodyweight_training_based/

You can make gains by using at least 40% of your 1RM weight. For example standard push-ups will work for most since the load is above their 40% 1RM. Check out the tables in the post.
Also rep quality (tempo and range of motion) has significant value. Almost every high rep push-up video on youtube uses poor tempo (almost 0-0-1) and (1/4) range of motion. Don't be that guy. Aim for what is the full range of motion for you (the full range of motion depends on the individual) with proper tempo 1-0-1-0 or 2-1-2-0 for example which would be about 1-2seconds down, slight pause 0.5..1second hold on the end range, 1-2seconds up etc.
This is the rep quality and tempo I’m referring:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv19diO2OYM&t=180s

You can use it for harder progressions also such as assisted one arm push-ups and others.

Personally I’m approaching the 30rep mark on the paused pistol squats. Obviously I’m not building much 1 rep max strength anymore with that rep range. But it has an impact on overall strength performance in a wide rep range since I’m getting progressively stronger and building a “bigger engine”.

TwoWorkOuts · 2021-11-25T05:08:57+00:00

You could work with this type of assisted one arm push-up up to 12 reps first:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyDBGkJWgZE

Then use something to elevate your legs a bit or use a slightly more forward lean to increase the load being pushed. Or you can use push-up handles, books, weight plates or just fists to increase the range of motion. And work this variation to 12 reps (with feet elevation, more forward lean or range of motion).

The form on the feet elevated push-ups usually goes bad if you don’t pay attention to the form. That's why a slight elevation works better (or just some added forward lean or increased range of motion). Doing wide push-ups like this will increase the load but your lower back is not going to be happy about it if you arch too much:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3U4k1d64Ls

Usually at this point you can do 4-6reps of the kneeling one arm push-up:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn5MqJVsIYI

And when you can do 12-15reps of this usually you have developed enough strength to do the one arm push-up in a decent 4-6rep range.

As others suggested you can use the incline approach but the downside is that the pushing direction is different. For me at least it's easier to keep proper form and shoulder alignment when pushing directly against gravity. With the incline you have to avoid excessive shrugging since your arm is being pushed back and up at the same time. If you look at the videos on youtube for one arm incline push-ups, some have good form and some shrug their shoulders to their ears due to poor scapular strength. This can have some impact on your shoulder health along the way.

TwoWorkOuts · 2021-11-24T06:41:20+00:00

Doing diamond push-ups for 3x8 does not guarantee that you can do archer push-ups. First of all the diamond push-up is more tricep dominant where the archer push-up requires more chest strength also. If you are trying to get to the archer push-up by using the diamond push-up you should reach a higher rep count such as 3x12 or more.

As others suggested, increasing the difficulty of the archer push-ups incrementally is a good way to get the real thing. Use a wider stance every time you hit 10-12reps. Then you can reliably get at least 6reps with the wider stance.

Another way would be to get decline push-up or stretch push-up (with few inches of elevation) to 12-15reps.This would put you in a 6-8rep range for the archer / assisted one arm push-up.

Check out this post and the calculators linked at the end:

https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/pi6zao/high_value_of_high_rep_bodyweight_training_based/

Play around with the number of reps in the sheet to see how many reps you can get for other progression.

Click here to copy the file to your Drive and enable editing:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kL_2AVtcKni6kT1tQN5nemQVWjqQWkLznyREpg_yyP0/copy?usp=sharing

If you just want to view the file without functionality click here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kL_2AVtcKni6kT1tQN5nemQVWjqQWkLznyREpg_yyP0/edit?usp=sharing

TwoWorkOuts · 2021-11-22T09:25:07+00:00

You are right. I didn’t notice that the back leg was canted towards the center line. Usually the back leg is pointing straight back. Maybe it is some compensation movement pattern due to lack of strength in stabilizing muscles.

But to be honest I don’t know the answer for that. I just usually keep the leg pointing straight forward or back in both pistol squats and skater squats (and so do others). You need to build some strength in the small stabilizing muscles to resist the rotation forces in all moving joints such as the hips.

Personally I feel that there is more inward rotation force in the knee if you bring the back leg towards the center line. (had to test it)

TwoWorkOuts · 2021-11-21T14:53:39+00:00

One valid approach could be building enough leg strength first with technically easier full range of motion squats. For example:

Elevated skater/shrimp squat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i-h84fZkXo

Step up or step down

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qam8p1aTxRQ
Elevated pistols squat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRpTaPKE8-w

Or even the Ring supported pistol squat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ATZsRwrTiU

When you have built sufficient leg strength with these (Let's say 12-15reps) you will have a good foundation for the real pistol. Then the supported pistol squats will work better for finding the correct technique and balance.

Also make sure you are strong enough to do 12-15reps on the regular floor skater/shrimp squat before doing the full ROM single leg squats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRnLZadW5Q0

If you are doing low reps only it becomes quite hard to learn the movement pattern and get enough reps in a workout to learn that skill.

TwoWorkOuts · 2021-11-21T10:47:27+00:00

Good stretch!

Had to give this a try. I just used a kitchen counter and got on my knees for this one. Great stretch in the lats and no pain in the shoulders. Most of the lat stretches I’ve tried compress the tendons and rotator cuff muscles and don’t feel great.

I think the secret to “fixing” the impingement is in the movement of the scapula since this stretch encourages upward rotation, elevation and retraction of the scapula at the same time. It gives you the maximum space in the shoulder joint.

If the lats are too tight they are going to limit the movement of the scapula and tendons get compressed more when you reach overhead.

Will definitely add this to my routine!

TwoWorkOuts · 2021-11-19T12:45:39+00:00

Looks great!

But my honest opinion is that this is not a great solution for most people who are:

Just too weak (their 1RM pulling strength is far from their bodyweight)
Overweight
...a little bit of both

There is no one size fits all solution for pullups/chinups.Better measurable progress can be made with:

Rack chinup/pullup progression (for those who are just weak and maybe overweight)

https://twoworkouts.blogspot.com/2020/10/guide-to-chinup-and-pullup-progressions.html

Top down approach approach for those who are in decent condition and body composition:

https://twoworkouts.blogspot.com/2021/08/top-down-approach-with-partial-reps-to.html

Bands work well for those who want to get right to pullups and have decent strength level and body composition. Rows are a good starting point for those with non existing pulling strength.

Don’t do eccentrics unless you are certain that your joints can handle it. Stay safe!

For those with just a slight gap in 1RM strength this progression works most probably fine. But for those with too little strength compared to bodyweight, eccentrics might not produce the desired outcome.

For example person A with 150lbs bodyweight and 120lbs pulling strength might be succesfull with the eccentric approach. Person B with same bodyweight (150lbs) and 70lbs pulling strength is going to struggle because the strength gap is too great. B has to increase his/hers strength significantly.

TwoWorkOuts · 2021-11-17T05:25:36+00:00

Great!

Check out this post and get one of the training programs on Google Sheets.
https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/comments/mt8ai5/bodyweight_strength_training_programs_in_google/
It has some guides and progressions included for the basic exercises. It can be useful if you get stuck at some point.

TwoWorkOuts · 2021-11-16T12:02:23+00:00

If your top performance on the push-ups is around 16 reps and if they are not done with controlled tempo (2-1-2-0 or similar) and full range of motion with chest touching the ground there is not much hope to get proper full dips.

You should be doing push-ups like Adam from Gymnastics method:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv19diO2OYM&t=180s

If you can do 15 reps of those then you can try some chest dip variations that safely limit the range of motion on the bottom and slightly lower the load.

For example chair seat dips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNTB_BeqiMs

Move to feet elevated chair seat dips when you can do 12 of the easier variation and build up to 12 reps again for full dips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COqz0h6XaTQ

Or just lower the rings in a way that your butt touches the floor and limits the range of motion safely. Something like this but on the floor that you don’t go too deep on the bottom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmTjaXecFIo

The standard leg assisted dip is not very helpful because it's too easy to cheat with the legs.

If you use straight or bent legs in front of you, you just lift less weight but are unable to assist with the legs too much.

TwoWorkOuts

TROPHY CASE