In the grand scheme of things, the possibilities are endless when it comes to building muscle with weights. But if you’re reading this then you’re probably wondering can you build muscle without weights?

Even if you are marooned on an island by yourself you can still build muscle. You just have to learn how to use your body to its fullest potential, making the most of what you have and build muscle using natural resistance.

Use your body for resistance

Just because you aren’t using weights, it doesn’t mean you can’t tax your muscles with resistance. You just have to get creative and use your body. In the big picture, your muscles don’t recognize where resistance is coming from.

This means if you can tax them by using only the weight of your body, you can still get a favorable effect. Make note of this and be ready to think outside the box.

Perform compound exercises and combinations

Compound exercises require you to activate multiple muscle groups and joints at the same time. The end result is that you get a higher amount of overall muscle recruitment, which in turn bulks you up faster.

It’s easy to do compound exercises through weightlifting. But when you are learning how to build muscle without lifting weights, it gets a little bit more complicated. Just a little bit, though.

You need to think to yourself: What exercises can I do that incorporate more than one muscle and joint working in unison? Well, there are plenty to choose from when it comes to bodyweight, like push-ups, elevated push-ups, handstand push-ups, squats, lunges, Bulgarian split squats, chair dips, and pull-ups.

Again, you just have to think outside the box to get the best return on investment.

Doing combinations is another way to boost your results. A combination is two or more exercises performed together in a smooth and synchronous fashion. For example, you can do a sumo squat, place your hands on the floor, and then walk out into a plank. Perform a push-up, handwalk your way back to the low position of the squat, and rise back up.

You just paired multiple exercises together and recruited multiple muscle groups. That’s how to build muscle mass the fastest way, partner!

Look to tricks of the trade to get more resistance

You already know how to use combinations. But there are some other things you can do that will also prove beneficial to your body.

For example, do off-balance exercises like side dips with hip abduction, alternating single leg push-ups, and dips with alternating knee pull-ins. The more movement you can do, the more muscle you will gain.

Another valuable technique is to move slowly through your reps. This will deliver more tension to your muscles. In reality, it is tension that builds muscle. The more you can create, the more buff you will be.

To chose the right exercises for yourself you should now your body type: Body Type 101 >>

Now you should know ho to build muscle without weigths

Although you might have been on the fence about how to build muscle without weights, you should now have a really good understanding. As time goes on and you start to develop some skills, you will have no trouble accomplishing your objectives. And you can do all of this from the comfort of your home!

P.S. Even if you aren’t using equipment in a gym a lot of our advice about patience, diet and rest still applies from our article on how to build muscle. If you’re interested in learning more click here to take a look.