A beginner bodyweight program with dedicated Upper, Lower, Push, Pull, and Legs days. Used as a supplement pool to ensure sparse AI-generated days receive focus-appropriate exercises.
Bodyweight Foundations – Split Days is built for people who are ready to move past basic full-body routines and want to train with more purpose — without buying a single piece of equipment. If you have been exercising consistently for a few months and want to dedicate each session to a specific part of your body, this five-day split gives your training a clear structure while keeping every movement grounded in fundamentals.
The program organises your week into five focused sessions: Upper Body, Lower Body, Push, Pull, and Legs. Upper Day targets your chest, shoulders, and arms using Push-Ups, Wide Push-Ups, and Pike Push-Ups. Lower Day works quads, hamstrings, and calves with Bodyweight Squats, Reverse Lunges, and Wall Sits. Push Day isolates pressing muscles further with Decline Push-Ups and Diamond Push-Ups. Pull Day rebuilds your posterior chain with Table Inverted Rows, Doorframe Rows, and Superman. Legs Day finishes the week with Hip Thrusts, Single-Leg Glute Bridges, and Reverse Lunges to ensure your lower body gets double the volume it needs.
The science behind this split is straightforward: splitting muscle groups across five days allows more total volume per area than a three-day full-body routine, while the 48-hour gap between sessions targeting the same muscle ensures adequate recovery. Beginners respond well to higher frequency and moderate volume — this plan threads that needle by hitting each area twice per week at a beginner-appropriate rep range of 10–15.
After eight weeks of consistent training you can expect noticeably improved push-up strength (most people add 5–10 reps to their max), better posture from the balanced push-pull ratio, and visible muscle tone across the upper body and legs. Core stability from the daily Plank and Bird Dog work will also carry over into everyday movement.
This template is best suited to beginners who have outgrown a three-day full-body plan and want more structure without equipment. It is not the right fit for complete beginners (start with Bodyweight Foundations – Full Body first) or for anyone looking to build maximum strength — bodyweight will limit absolute load over time.
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Knee Push-Up | 3 × 10-12 | 90s |
| Table Inverted Row | 3 × 10-12 | 90s |
| Wide Push-Up | 3 × 10-12 | 90s |
| Pike Push-Up | 3 × 8-10 | 90s |
| Side Plank | 2 × 20s per side | 45s |
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Box Squat (Bodyweight) | 3 × 12-15 | 90s |
| Glute Bridge | 3 × 15 | 60s |
| Reverse Lunge | 3 × 10 per side | 90s |
| Bird Dog | 3 × 8 per side | 45s |
| Dead Bug | 2 × 8 per side | 45s |
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Knee Push-Up | 3 × 12-15 | 90s |
| Wide Push-Up | 3 × 10-12 | 90s |
| Diamond Push-Up | 3 × 8-10 | 90s |
| Pike Push-Up | 3 × 8-10 | 90s |
| Plank | 3 × 20s | 45s |
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Table Inverted Row | 3 × 10-12 | 90s |
| Doorframe Row | 3 × 10-12 | 90s |
| Towel Row | 3 × 12 | 90s |
| Superman | 3 × 12 | 45s |
| Side Plank | 2 × 20s per side | 45s |
| Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Bodyweight Squat | 3 × 15 | 90s |
| Hip Thrust (Bodyweight) | 3 × 15 | 60s |
| Reverse Lunge | 3 × 10 per side | 90s |
| Single-Leg Glute Bridge | 3 × 12 per side | 60s |
| Bird Dog | 2 × 8 per side | 45s |
This plan is designed for five training days per week with two rest days. You can arrange your rest days however suits your schedule — for example training Monday through Friday and resting on the weekend, or spreading rest days mid-week. The key is that you do not need to do all five days back-to-back; two consecutive rest days is fine.
No. Every exercise in this plan uses your own bodyweight. You will need a clear floor space roughly the size of a yoga mat, and access to a sturdy table or doorframe for the inverted row and doorframe row movements. No bands, dumbbells, or pull-up bar required.
Progress by adding reps first — once you can hit the top of every rep range with good form, add one more rep per set each week. When you consistently reach 20 reps on Push-Ups, add a harder variation such as Archer Push-Ups or slow-tempo Push-Ups. For leg work, progress from two-leg to single-leg variations to significantly increase the challenge.
After eight weeks most people see a noticeable improvement in push-up and squat endurance, visible muscle tone in the shoulders, arms, and legs, and significantly better core stability. You will also build the habit of structured split training, which makes transitioning to weighted programs much easier later.
This plan is designed for beginners who already have some exercise history — ideally a few months of consistent movement or a completed full-body beginner programme. If you are brand new to exercise and struggle with a standard Push-Up, start with a full-body beginner template first and return to this split in six to eight weeks.
Yes. Bodyweight training is one of the most joint-friendly training modalities available and this plan is fully appropriate for people over 50. Focus on controlled movement, take extra time to warm up, and do not skip rest days. If any exercise causes joint pain rather than muscle fatigue, substitute a lower-impact variation — for example replace Decline Push-Ups with standard Push-Ups.
Rest fully between sets. Focus on form over speed. Stop if you feel sharp joint pain.
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