If you are trying to build muscle, this bodyweight workout for teens can help you burn some body fat, build some muscle, and improve your overall health. Building muscle as a teen can be hard due to lack of gym equipment, no way to get a consistent ride to the gym, or you may not have enough money for a gym membership.
Fortunately, there are exercises you can do at home to build lean muscle and burn some body fat without any weights.
If you can get your hands on some dumbbells, the added resistance can improve your gains.
Protip: Grab some plastic grocery bags or fill your backpack full of bottled waters for weight. A 16.9 ounce bottle of water is around 1 pound. A couple of cases and some creativity and you have yourself a decent cheap home gym.
Full Body Bodyweight Workout for Teens
The CDC recommends children aged 6 to 17 years to perform 60 minutes or more of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity each day. Along with your 60 minutes each day, the CDC recommends 3 days of activities that build muscle, and 3 days of activities that strengthen bones.
In short, you should get 60 minutes of running, jumping, playing, jogging, shooting hoops, playing a sport, or otherwise sweaty activities every day and three days a week of climbing, doing pushups, bodyweight exercises, and other strength-focused activities.
This bodyweight workout is designed to be used daily — alternate between Workout A and Workout B. Take a day off if you need to or if you plan on getting some other form of exercise in.
Consistency is key, so find a schedule that you can hold yourself to.
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Push Ups | 4 | 20 |
| Bodyweight Squats | 4 | 20 |
| Pushup Position Planks | 3 | As Long As Possible |
| Sit Ups | 4 | 20 |
| Mountain Climbers | 4 | 20 |
| Jumping Jacks | 3 | 30 |
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Burpees | 2 | 10 |
| Dips | 4 | 20 |
| Elevated Pike Pushups | 3 | 20 |
| Side Planks | 3 | As Long As Possible |
| Russian Twists | 4 | 20 |
| Pull Ups | 3 | As Many As Possible |
Workout Tips
If you’re willing to use objects as dumbbells, you can substitute the elevated pike pushups for traditional exercises like front and side lateral raises.
Exercises Using Objects as Dumbbells
- Overhead press
- Arnold Press
- Skull Crushers
- One Arm Tricep Extensions
- Curls
- Hammer Curls
- One Arm Bent Over Rows
- Shrugs
- Goblet Squats
Pull Ups – This is a great exercise to build a solid back and nice biceps. Save up some money and get yourself a decent pull up bar. You’ll be able to train in a doorway and remove the pull up bar without any damage to the door frame.
Nutrition
It can be hard to control everything that you eat. You don’t always have the choice of eating home cooked meals full of fresh vegetables and lean protein.
Do your best to eat all of the vegetables, fruit, and whole foods you can. Instead of eating a drumstick ice cream cone, grab a couple of apples and a salad. You’ll feel fuller longer and replenish vital nutrients your body needs.
Weigh yourself around the same time on the same day each week and log your food.
You’ll be able to control your bodyweight, build muscle, and get healthier. After a few weeks, you’ll know exactly how many calories you need to eat to maintain your weight. If you need to lose weight, eat 300 fewer calories per day. If you want to build muscle, eat 300 extra calories per day.
Be consistent, push yourself, and strive to do better every workout.
Hello Cutty,
Thanks for the reply! Especially considering this is such an old post.
Now when I saw I want to be toned I’m not sure if that’s the correct word or not.
Look at this guys profile http://picbear.com/martin_mrkl
If you scroll down you can see some shirtless pics. My goal is to look like that. Will I be able to achieve that only with this body weight exercise? If so how long will it take? If I can’t achieve that with only body weight exercises then what must I do in addition to body weight exercise to achieve it? Thanks again!
It takes a while to build muscle and then get lean but it’s possible. When I was growing up my buddy did a similar workout and he had a better physique than him.
Be dedicated to eating right and getting exercise in and you’ll see the results. Lifting weights speeds up the process, but it’d doable with body weight.
Good luck and keep me updated.
What would happen if u cant get a “good” diet.
Just need to count calories and make sure you only eat enough for your goals then. You can either have a couple big chicken breasts and some rice or you can have a mcchicken…
Hi, very nice guidance.
I was wondering what the best way to get ripped and muscular at my house (without going to a gym, without major equipment, etc.) is.
Are these exercises, along with some variation, enough to get ripped? Or are other weight-related exercises necessary?
Also, what plant-based diet do you suggest?
Thanks, Pranav
Achieving a decent body at home with minimal equipment is possible, although it can take longer. Buying a few pieces of equipment can really speed up the process, and I can help with that.
I would say doing bodyweight exercises and adding resistance when possible is going to be the easiest way to get started. While I don’t have many suggestions for a plant based diet, I have compiled a list of some vegetarian and vegan foods.
Thanks, Cutty. Could you please tell me the equipment that I can use to speed up the process?
A weight vest and adjustable dumbbells work mighty fine. You could even buy like gallons of water or put a couple bags of rice in a bag for weights. Get creative and let me know what you come up with.
Are you in the US or outside? If you’re in the US I’ll link to some products I can ship to you.
Hey cutty, I’m a little bit overweight but not too much and just started doing this and i wanted to know if you have to do all sets at the same time or you can divide it up over the whole day because i am able to do 1 set of each but when i get to the second set i just can’t do it anymore so i wanted to know if i can do the 4 sets divided up in a day
For this, you could do this throughout the day and build up strength. I would also look into making the exercise easier until you build up more strength. Things like do pushups on your knees or elevated surface, etc.
It’s a tough workout and if you aren’t used to doing these it can be difficult. The focus is to keep improving and getting stronger. You’ll notice after a few weeks you’re going to be able to do more than you thought you could.
thanks for the tip, Instead of following the workout I’m trying to do as many reps of each exercise in as less sets possible and when i build up some strength I’ll start following the workout
Or if it’s easier, split the reps in half per set. So if it is 10 reps for 4 sets (just pulling numbers out of my head) do 5 reps for as many sets as possible. If you make it to the 4th set go until you can’t. That way you can log and gauge your progress. It’s all about building strength and getting better at the movement. I would have a hard time doing some of these exercises and I’m a 500+ squatter and bench in the 300s so don’t get discouraged at all.
It’s a journey so embrace it.
That is actually a good idea… I’ll definitely go ahead and try it
Thanks again
No problem. Keep in touch and let me know how it goes.
Another question. Will I gain enough muscle weight from this that I will be able to cut calories and lose fat without losing weight?
Don’t worry about what’s on the scale. Watch yourself in the mirror, how things fit, etc. Body recomp is slow and a little hard doing bodyweight lifts but yes you can recomp your body.
how long do u do each execise for??
The sets and reps are included in the workout.
How many minutes or second should i rest between each sets of each workout ?
It is more independent on the person but I generally do around 90 seconds for small stuff and a couple minutes for the harder exercises.
I’m 14 and a half, I weigh 46kg (108 pounds) and I am 165cm tall which is pretty skinny. I am quite athletic as I like to exercise a lot but I don’t get a lot of gains from this workout even when I eat the right food and do the right workout. Could you please give me advice on how to get bigger with this workout
You simply need to eat more. Your metabolism is fast and you need to start getting more protein in there so your body will build. If you aren’t eating more calories than you burn, you’re not going to make any gains.