It’s not often you tackle a dropset workout that doesn’t involve lifting weights until failure. By that, I mean, dropsets aren’t just for the weight room, but the bodyweight versions are less common.
This 25-minute bodyweight workout is time-efficient and targets your entire body, including your core muscles. No fuss, no frills — 10 moves, no weights.
I recommend a pull-up bar and a bench (or similar) for some moves. You don’t need anything else. The workout is beginner-friendly and challenging enough for advanced exercisers, so there’s something for everyone.
That said, if you are quite new to exercise, I strongly recommend reading our instructions carefully below and dialing into your form as a priority, especially if you don’t use dropsets often.
Here’s the full workout.
What are dropsets?
Before we dive in, you might be wondering what a dropset is. This savvy strength training technique allows you to continue working past “failure” by reducing the load of an exercise.
For example, you might perform as many reps as possible of a biceps curl, which would usually be your point of failure. Then, you'll drop to a lighter weight and continue until failure, then drop again. And so on.
The aim is to give yourself little to no rest between sets, keeping muscles under constant tension, moving past the number of repetitions you think your body can achieve for any given exercise.
During this workout, we don’t have the luxury of weights to drop the load, so we need to be creative. For this routine, we’ll switch to a scaled-down version of the same exercise or choose an exercise that targets the same muscle groups and feels similar but less intense.
What is the workout?
You’ve got five supersets to work through, including a core finisher. A superset simply means two exercises performed back to back with no rest (other than transition time) between.
Superset 1: Upper body
- Superset A: Dips and pull-ups
- Superset B: Pike push-ups and inverted rows
Start with the dips and pull-ups, then move into the pike push-ups and inverted rows as your drop set once you reach failure. If you don’t have pull-ups in the bank, opt for banded pull-ups (see image above).
For the most advanced triceps dip variation, use bars and start with your arms extended and body elevated away from the ground.
Rest up to 30 seconds between supersets. Remember to perform maximum reps on each superset until failure — that means as soon as your form goes, you move on.
Superset 2: Lower body
- Superset A: Box jumps and burpees
- Superset B: Squat jumps and plank jacks
Start with box jumps and burpees, then move to your easier variations — squat jumps and plank jacks. For the box jumps, use any surface you can jump onto with both feet, then perform your squat jumps on regular ground.
If you don’t have a box or bench, opt for broad jumps instead, taking large jumps forward along the ground and landing with knees bent.
You can step out and in during the plank jacks if jumping doesn't feel comfortable for your joints.
Core Tabata
- Hollow
- Arch
Start in your hollow hold and maintain for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. Move straight to your arch, also known as the Superman hold exercise. Maintain for 20 seconds, then rest. Aim for 3-5 rounds.
Aim for at least two rounds of each superset above, if you have time.
Is 25 minutes of bodyweight exercise enough?
A bodyweight workout isn't worth the chalkboard it's written on unless it's an hour of sweat-laden graft, right? Wrong. We've seen a rise in exercise snacking as people look to make the most of their spare time, whether that's five minutes or 30.
Bodyweight training can actually feel more intense for some people, as it takes a combination of functional strength, core stability, mobility and muscular control to produce movement.
The routine above will help you strengthen your upper and lower body, and finishes with core work to round things off with some shaky abs. If you're not left with a trembling midsection, I recommend our guide on how to engage your core muscles to ensure you're performing the exercises correctly.
Trust me when I say 25 minutes is plenty, and I challenge anyone not to walk away from this routine a little humbled.
More from Tom's Guide
- Ditch the crunches and sit-ups — use the ‘corkscrew’ exercise to strengthen your abs at home or the gym
- No gym? Use this 30-minute walking workout instead to build a stronger upper body and core and boost your metabolism
- I did 100 reverse flyes every day for a week — here's what happened to my body
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