Build Muscle
Minimal Equipment Builder
Three full-body days a week with nothing but a doorway pull-up bar, a floor, and something to row under — a low bar, a sturdy table, or rings.
- Days a week
- 3
- A session
- 59 min
- Sessions in it
- 3
- Split
- Bodyweight + Pull-Up Bar (3×/Week), Progression by Leverage
How it runs
Every muscle group is trained three times a week, and every pattern has a ladder rather than a weight.
What you actually train
3 sessions, in order. Every movement links to how to do it.
Full Body A
7 movements
Superset — no rest between these
- Incline Push-Up4 sets of 12 reps
- Negative Pull-Up4 sets of 5 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Split Squat4 sets of 20 reps
- Inverted Row (Bodyweight Row)5 sets of 10 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Single-Leg Glute Bridge4 sets of 24 reps
- Pike Push-Up4 sets of 8 reps
- Plank4 rounds of 45 seconds
Full Body B
8 movements
Superset — no rest between these
- Incline Push-Up4 sets of 15 reps
- Inverted Row (Bodyweight Row)4 sets of 12 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Bodyweight Squat5 sets of 20 reps
- Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift4 sets of 20 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Pike Push-Up3 sets of 8 reps
- Prone Back Extension3 sets of 14 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Single-Leg Calf Raise5 sets of 24 reps
- Hollow Body Hold3 rounds of 40 seconds
Full Body C
8 movements
Superset — no rest between these
- Push-Up4 sets of 10 reps
- Negative Pull-Up4 sets of 5 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Curtsy Lunge3 sets of 16 reps
- Inverted Row (Bodyweight Row)5 sets of 12 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift4 sets of 20 reps
- Pike Push-Up3 sets of 9 reps
Superset — no rest between these
- Single-Leg Calf Raise5 sets of 30 reps
- Hanging Knee Raise3 sets of 12 reps
Why it works
- Where to start is published rather than assumed: eight strict push-ups and a twenty-second dead hang runs it as written, and if you have neither, incline push-ups everywhere is the intended way in.
- Progression has three levers in order — work the rep range, change the leverage, then move up the ladder. Endless reps are not one of them.
- The vertical pull opens with a five-second lowering from the top of the bar, because that is the version that needs no strength on the way up.
- Nothing here asks you to buy anything, and nothing assumes a gym is open.
- Movements are paired so a push and a pull share their rest, giving each nearly three minutes between its own sets.
The four days you are not training are part of the programme, and a bodyweight circuit is not what they are for — that is the same movements on the same tissue. Walking and mobility work sit alongside this well.
What to expect
Expect the single-leg work to take longer than the set count suggests, because every one of those sets is really two.
Before you start
Before you start, please read this part. Lifting is among the safest and most useful things most people can do, and there is a short list of exceptions worth checking yourself against first.
If you have a heart or lung condition, chest pain or pressure at rest or on effort, dizziness or blackouts, blood pressure or diabetes that is not currently controlled, a hernia, low bone density or osteoporosis, a joint or back problem that is flaring, or you are pregnant or within a year of giving birth, speak to your GP or a physiotherapist before starting and follow their instruction over anything written here.
Stop the set and get advice for chest pain or tightness, breathlessness out of proportion to the effort, dizziness, or a sudden sharp pain in a joint or the back.
Stop it as well for pain, numbness, pins and needles or weakness that travels down an arm or a leg, and get that seen before you load the pattern again.
Check whatever you are hanging from or rowing under before you put your weight on it: a doorway bar that has worked loose and a table that is not as solid as it looks are the two injuries this programme can actually cause.
Nothing here is medical advice.
What you need
- Bodyweight
- Pull-Up Bar
- Mat