Can you really improve your overall strength and conditioning by doing an intense bodyweight workout routine?

I can remember when I started to train for my Muay Thai fight in Thailand back in 2010.  Before I stared I was 195lbs and training with weights, kettlebells, sandbags, etc. But when my Kru told me I was going to fight at 175lbs and that I had to stop using weights, I was a bit reluctant and scared at first but I had a task and goal set so it was time to adjust my training.

I sculpted my body using mostly weight prior to this and I felt that strictly using bodyweight exercises over the next 8 months was going to kill everything I had worked hard for… or so I thought!

I started implementing the best bodyweight exercises to create intense bodyweight workouts and circuits to help with endurance, explosiveness, cardio, strength and fat burn while keeping my...

Body Weight Circuit to Build Full-Body Strength

Body weight training is the best measure of your pound-for-pound strength.

Georges St. Pierre, one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, uses Olympic weightlifting, track and field, and gymnastics to prepare for his fights.

St. Pierre and his legendary coach Firas Zihabi both believe that gymnasts are the strongest and best athletes in the world. And what weights do gymnasts use? Their bodies.

Today, Sean Fagan will show you a body weight workout designed to build full-body strength, just like a gymnast. And because you are only using your body weight, the difficulty of the exercises determines your pound-for-pound strength. The easier the exercise, the stronger you are, pound for pound. Now, let’s build that strength.

Supersets

Perform each exercise pair in back-to-back sets.

Set #1

• 5 x 5 one-arm push-ups (or wide grip)
• 10-second break
• 5 x 5 fast, half-ROM explosive push-ups

Set #2

• 5 x 5 assisted one-arm pull-ups
• ...