5-Week Bodyweight Program

*Introduction to the Program

Click here to download the pdf file of the program: Layman’s Fitness 5-Week Bodyweight Program 

This is a bodyweight-only program that focuses on 4 key movements: 

1. Body Squats
2. Pull-Ups
3. Planks
4. Push-Ups

I also have a 12-week bodyweight program. If you are completely new to exercise, I’d recommend starting with the 12-Week program first (after consulting with a physician). 

 

If you exercise regularly, I’d recommend starting with the 5-week bodyweight program. 

Or you can skip both and find a program elsewhere. Totally up to you. My advice would be to not get caught up in the analysis, but to just pick a plan, start, and make adjustments along the way. 

The Goal of the 5-Week Program

The goal of this program is incremental strength improvement in 4 key bodyweight exercises.

This program is simple: 4 movements over the course of 5 weeks. Test your max in each of these 4 movements before, during, and after the program, and through regular practice and repetition, watch your strength incrementally improve. 

This program will be challenging for both beginners and those who exercise regularly. 

One last encouragement – accountability is a catalyzing help for building habits. We all benefit from a community of people who encourage and challenge us to keep pressing forward. 

Consider inviting a few of your friends to do this program with you. Doing this program with others will make your experience much more rewarding, and you might find that you will go further with others than you will by yourself. 

As a challenge amongst your friends, see who has the largest improvement in strength over the 5 weeks. 

Now let’s get into it.

The 5-Week Bodyweight Program

• Goal: Incrementally improve your strength in 4 key bodyweight movements.
• Time: Each session will take 20-40 minutes to complete (on average).
• Equipment: You will need a:
  • Pull-Up Bar (visit the Pull-Up page for alternatives to a pull-up bar)
  • Jump Rope
  • As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. 
• Duration: This program will last for 5 weeks (~35 days).
• Modality: This program uses bodyweight only movements.
• Exercise Instructions: Be sure to use the “LF HUB” page on the Layman’s Fitness website for video instructions of all the exercises. 

This program uses a modification of a type of training called “step-loading”. Step loading is a type of programming where you stay at the same intensity (or weight) but increase the volume.

With bodyweight, you can increase the intensity of a movement by making it harder (i.e., one-handed push-up instead of two-handed, etc…). For this program, you stay at the same intensity (same 4 bodyweight movements) but will cycle through increased volume (adding rounds) each week.

At the start of the third week and the end of the fifth week you will retest your max. 

Questions?

Please email me at don@laymansfitness.com with any questions on the program. Let me know how much your max repetitions increased. Be strong!

*As always, I’d recommend consulting with a physician prior to starting any exercise plan.