Depending on your fitness goals, progressive overload of the lower body may eventually require a heavy external load. In the weight room, that could mean leg press machines, dumbbells, kettlebells, or barbells. That said, most people can get all the resistance they need with a modest free weight and some unilateral loading, as performed in a one-leg squat or deadlift. See more examples here.
Body Leverage Training makes safe, heavy lifts accessible to everyone. It may very well be the most versatile, functional, and underappreciated of all exercise modalities.
Still it’s important to be pragmatic and appreciate it’s limitations. Some muscles and movements are best targeted with an external load.
Consider the following mirror pair of exercises:
Countertop or bar dips are among my favorite exercises. But the average kitchen doesn’t offer a practical, heavy mirror opposite body weight “pull” to target the upper back. Swap the detergent bottle for a sturdy duffel bag or backpack filled with books, water, or sand and you’re back in business at a bare minimum of cost and inconvenience. Calculate weights and volumes for a DIY sand bag here.
Since mirror-opposite movements sometimes require switching modalities (from body weight only to free weights, for example), calisthenics purists can get stuck in a common trap of mismatched exercises. Push-ups and pull-ups—awesome exercises on their own—don’t make a balanced pair. They both strengthen internal shoulder rotators.
Here’s a well-matched minimalist vertical “push” and “pull” using nothing more than a pair of rings and a heavy backpack:
Push-ups are a horizontal movement and require a horizontal pull of some type for balance. Here’s another great set of mirror movements that will adequately challenge agonist and antagonist muscle pairs: push-ups and inverted rows.
The anchor for your hands should be high enough to avoid strain but low enough to produce fatigue at your chosen repetition range. Suspension straps make this easy by allowing you to simply walk forward or backwards to achieve the optimal load:
If body weight options aren’t convenient, try a one-arm row with the free weight of your choice:
You can purchase dumbbells but consider that you’ll need a variety of weights to ensure continual progress. Consider time-tested adjustable dumbbell brands like Nuobell or Trulap in order to achieve the progressive overload you’ll need over time.
