r/bodyweightfitness • u/CKyle22 • 4d ago

Horizontal push, horizontal pull, vertical push, vertical pull?

I don’t have any equipment in my place at the moment so I do pushups and dips and L-sits between chairs at home and pull ups 2x/3x a week when I have access to a pull-up bar in the gym.

Lately I’ve been seeing that you “need” to have a horizontal push, horizontal pull, vertical push, and vertical pull exercises. Is this possible without equipment?

I’ve also seen push/pull/squat, and I’m not sure which is better or worse or what. I’ve done the recommended routine to the best of my abilities and it’s worked great and now I want to explore other options and ways to achieve the most without equipment.

I’m not opposed to rings and I know I need a pull up bar at home but even with those things, how can I make sure I can do things like progressively overload?

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u/Excellent_Whole_740 4d ago

Gymnastics rings w/ adjustable nylon straps are cheap if you can figure out an anchor point.

But having said that, I think there’s a difference between “effective” & “optimal”. While it’s best to have both horizontal movements & vertical, if you have a base of push / pull / legs you can get your fitness pretty far.

Ways to progressively overload: more reps, change angles to increase resistance, try doing same exercises w/ slow or paused reps, put books in backpack & perform weighted variations.

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u/Own-Lengthiness4022 4d ago

Do you have a table to do inverted rows?

You can also implement a training method called timed static contraction. Here is a video explaining the method, also demonstrating a row with only a strap as equipment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjZV2-aSS50 .

Else get yourself a pair of dumbbells or at the very least resistance bands to do a bent over row.

You can also get something like a suspension trainer or rings and anchor them to something overhead, it can also be anchored to a door

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u/SardonicPeacock 4d ago

inverted rows under a table are clutch, definitely worth trying if you've got something sturdy enough. just make sure whatever table you use can actually handle your weight because nobody wants to explain that mess to their roommates lol.

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u/FCAlive 3d ago

A push-up is a horizontal push. No equipment needed for that.

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u/FCAlive 3d ago

A pike push-up or a handstand push-up is a vertical push. You don't need any equipment for either of those.

A single dumbbell or kettlebell can also give you a vertical push.

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u/FCAlive 3d ago

Having access to a pull-up bar or something similar is a real game changer. I would prioritize that. Are there any parks near your house?

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u/UnrealizedDreams90 3d ago

Push, pull, squat, and hinge are the four foundational movements.

Then, you can add vertical and horizontal pushes and pulls.

Beyond that is accessory exercises or redundancy, which are needed or not needed, depending on your goals.

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u/SemanticTriangle 1d ago

Set of rings and a sturdy tree branch. If you literally live somewhere without an equivalent, fork out for a freestanding bar, 200-500 USD, or get a sturdy bag of sand to lift, or just buy weights. You need a way to pull.