Fate whispered to the warrior, “you cannot withstand this storm.” The warrior answered, “I am the storm.”
For thousands of years, long before comfortable gyms existed, the world’s strongest people relied on bodyweight training. They built real strength, cardio, and mental toughness without any equipment. In this article I’ll share what my time as an Army Ranger taught me about getting strong using only my body.
Life as an Army Ranger
Being an Army Ranger keeps you incredibly busy. Training is endless, and long trips away from home fill the calendar. Yet the job still demands real-world strength. For example, I once weighed about 250 pounds in full gear—about 80 pounds more than my own bodyweight. Could you strap on 80 pounds of gear, lift someone, and sprint 100 or 200 yards? That’s the kind of strength that matters out in the field.
No matter which elite unit you’re talking about, function matters most. My buddies and I tried to train in a real gym whenever we could, but life didn’t always cooperate, and sometimes there was no iron to lift. Not having a gym wasn’t an excuse to skip workouts or get weak. We kept getting stronger using the best tool we had: our own bodies.
Are bodyweight exercises better for building strength than barbell exercises?
Strength means different things to different people. If you want to get seriously strong, lifting heavy things overhead is hard to beat. Unless you’re Hulk-like, you’re not likely to join a 1,500-pound barbell club with bodyweight alone. World-class powerlifting strength might be out of reach with bodyweight work alone, but bodyweight training still offers huge value for real-world strength. It strengthens the body and lets you express that strength in ways a barbell can’t. It can humble even seasoned lifters. I’ve seen people who can squat huge weights crumble when faced with a single difficult pistol squat.
So, how do you build strength using only your body?
Assuming you’re on a desert island with no gym gear, zero equipment is all you need to make progress. Of course, add gear later and your options grow even more. If you learn to manipulate your body for strength, you can get strong anywhere, anytime. Here are four ways to turn basic bodyweight moves into serious strength builders (I’ll demonstrate with pushups, but you can apply these principles to many exercises).
1) Remove a limb (or two)
Creating instability forces your muscles to tense harder, and that tension drives strength. This approach works well with pistol squats, single-leg hip bridges, bodyweight Romanian deadlifts, and freestanding handstand pushups—if you’re up for it.
2) Remove a limb, slow down the rep, and add pauses
Another way to boost tension is to slow down your reps and pause at key points. This eliminates momentum and keeps you tense and in control throughout the movement. Try longer pauses in exercises like pushups or planks.
3) Be explosive
Power comes from strong movement done fast. You need to be strong first, then train speed and power. Explosive bodyweight moves are great for expressing the strength you’ve built. Examples include jump squats, jump lunges, and muscle-ups.
4) The kitchen-sink approach
This is about mixing several strength-building elements into one move. For example, a Spider-Man pushup can combine slow reps, a reduced limb, dynamic movement, abdominal bracing, and weight distribution. A word of caution: if you’re training in the field, watch where you place your hands (ant hills or other hazards can ruin a set).
Desert island strength-building workouts
Now that you know how to use bodyweight for strength, give it a try. Here are two example workouts that you can do anywhere, anytime—no equipment needed.
Routine 1 — “Destroyer of Legs and Core”
Three rounds:
– 5 pistol squats per leg, with a 1-second pause at the bottom
– 8 single-leg hip bridges per leg, and at the 8th rep hold the top for 8 seconds
Five rounds:
– 15 air squats
– 20 walking lunges (steps)
– 8 jump squats
– 8 jump lunges
Three rounds:
– 20-second plank with left arm lifted
– 20-second plank with right arm lifted
– 30-second hollow hold
Routine 2 — “Pushups Seem Harder Today”
Three rounds:
– 3 explosive pushups (focus on a fast takeoff from the ground)
Three rounds:
– 2 single-arm, single-leg pushups per side
Four rounds:
– 1 thirty-second pushup with a leg lifted; lower for 10 seconds, pause above the ground for 10 seconds, then raise for 10 seconds
Notes: on sets 1 and 3 keep the left leg off the ground; on sets 2 and 4 keep the right leg off the ground.
Final thoughts
Building strength is a noble pursuit. You’ll see the fastest gains with a full gym, but when life blocks access to equipment, being able to train strength anywhere is incredibly valuable. Thanks for reading, and I hope you found this helpful.
About the author
Tom Coffey is a former Army Ranger, a certified nutrition coach, and currently pursuing a master’s degree in Exercise Science. He is also on a lifelong quest to brew the perfect cup of coffee. You can follow his coffee quest or read more of his work on his blog: https://tomcoffeyfitness.com
