Body weight workouts can take you quite far, as long as you keep adding more difficult movements to your workouts. However, most people keep doing the same stuff over and over again.

They never do that hard stuff.

Well, lets do the hard stuff. You can start off by incorporating at least one of these 4 body weight compound movements into your training regimen:

Squat Jumps

In order to perform a squat jump, you need to know how to perform a squat. And I’m assuming you know how to squat. The basic points of a squat include keeping your back straight, thighs parallel or below parallel from the floor, and feet planted.

There’s a lot of debate on whether your knees should be behind your toes or not. However, if you focus on pushing your hips as far back as possible, chances are, your knees WILL be above your toes.

From the basic squat position, simply extend and explode your body up, and literally jump off the ground. The problem I see most people making is that they land with heavy feet. When you land, make sure your knees are slightly bend.

Landing with your legs completely straight can actually cause some breakage in your bones (actually a lot of gymnasts injure their legs that way). So, focus on a nice, soft landing by bending your knees slightly.

In fact, I just like to land in the deep squat position. This allows me to keep the momentum flowing and finish all the repetitions I need to do in one shot.

Rope Pushups

This is a brand new pushup variation I’m incorporating into my training. Rope pushups are basically pushups using a suspension training system. I’m using martial arts belts to create my own suspension training system.

However, you can use TRX, Jungle Gym, Rings, or any other system out there. It’s up to. But if you want to learn how to create your own home made suspension training system using a simple piece of rope, I suggest grabbing TacFit Rope.

Anyways, pushups on a suspension training system are performed exactly like regular pushups. Experiment with the distance of the rope from the ground, and where your feet are. A rope that’s about three feet off the ground, with your feet on the floor will work your triceps more than your chest.

If you are unable to find a rope that allows you to keep it closer to the floor, then simply place your feet on a chair, and perform rope pushups that way. You can also try to place your feet on stability balls to make it harder.

Hanging Straight Leg Raises

Leg raises are a great lower abs movement, but they’re also super easy. One thing I learned from Craig Ballantyne is that high rep abdominal training doesn’t work. So lets make things harder!

Grab on to a pullup or monkey bar. Keep your body straight. Know lift your legs straight up in front of your body. Stop when they are parallel to the floor. Return to starting position. To make this movement easier, simply bend your knees, and do Hanging Knee Raises.

To make the movement more difficult, don’t stop the movement. Keep raising your legs up and towards the bar for as far as your ab strength will allow.

Side Planks

Regular planks are still tough. But if you want a more difficult plank type movement, try side planks. Simple lay on the floor on your side. Keep one forearm on the floor, and your feet together on top of each other.

Raise your hips off the floor until your body is completely straight. Hold this position. A 15 second hold will feel like an eternity!

Start incorporating some of these difficult variations to get more out of your bodyweight workouts. If you’re looking for a super tough bodyweight program, then check out my Bodyweight Hardcore Asault program.

This is the first ever, original Shah Training workout, packed with new, unique movements, and variations for those bodyweight movements. Bodyweight Hardcore Assault was designed to 1) teach you how to train with intensity, and 2) shock your body with three different training styles.

Click here to learn more about Bodyweight Hardcore Assault