At-Home Bodyweight Workout for Real Muscle Growth (Minimal Equipment)

Mike calls sternum pull‑ups a ‘very hardcore exercise’ and insists on a specific warm‑up. The shrug‑ups (which he describes as ‘a third of a pull‑up’) activate the lats, biceps, rear delts and lubricate the shoulder and elbow joints. After a brief rest you progress to half pull‑ups, moving only through the middle portion of the range. Finally, you perform full chin‑height pull‑ups to prime the full movement pattern. This sequenced ramp ensures the working set of sternum pull‑ups can be taken to failure safely.

The workout is designed as a relentless upper‑body assault. It begins with the hardest pulling variant (sternum pull‑ups) paired with wide push‑ups to attack back and chest. As fatigue accumulates, the exercises shift toward more arm‑dominant patterns: chin‑ups and medium push‑ups, then underhand pull‑ups and diamond push‑ups. The final block uses a lower bar for inverted rows, skull crushers and face pulls, hitting the back, triceps and shoulders from a different angle. Mike emphasizes that the 5‑second transition is the ideal to keep heart rate high and compress total time, but explicitly allows up to 30 seconds to protect rep quality. The last few exercises are ‘brutal’ and you will be gasping for air. The entire session can be done with nothing more than a doorway pull‑up bar, a broom handle, two chairs and floor space.

Mike acknowledges not everyone can do sternum pull‑ups: ‘That's just not in the cards for me. Jared's really strong.’ He then presents a clear menu of options. Using an adjustable doorway bar set low allows the feet to remain on the ground, so you can push lightly to offset bodyweight. Alternatively, you can simply do more sets of chin‑ups (hands supinated) in place of sternum pull‑ups, which is an easier version. Finally, partial range of motion—pulling only to the chin and not all the way down—is acceptable and can be ‘implemented into this program’ as a progression toward the full exercise.

Mike explains that bodyweight exercises are not inherently “too hard” if you understand leverage. Placing hands on an elevated surface for push‑ups reduces the lever arm at the shoulder, effectively decreasing the load. For inverted rows, the difficulty is inversely related to the distance your feet are from the bar—the closer the feet, the shorter the lever and the easier the row. He advises that if rows ‘feel really hard at first, walk up closer to the bar, back pedal so that they're easier.’ The same principle applies to the other lower‑bar exercises: you can set the bar at waist height for easier rows, knee height for stronger individuals doing skull crushers, and chest height for face pulls. This makes the workout accessible to anyone, regardless of initial strength.

Mike emphasizes that because the workout is bodyweight, progression is straightforward via repetition increase. He recommends tracking reps, either mentally or with a tool like the RP Hypertrophy App, and incrementing each session. He gives the example: start at 10 reps average, then 11 the next week, then 12. This linear progression can be sustained for a long time before a plateau, at which point you can increase the difficulty by adjusting leverage or adding a set. He notes that the workout can be done 2‑3 times a week, making consistent progression feasible.

Mike frames the extremely short rest as one of the key innovations. The instruction is to ‘get off that rack, shake it out for a second’ and immediately begin the next movement. He emphasizes that the ideal is 5 seconds flat. The result is a cardio‑respiratory challenge that leaves you gasping for air by the end. He allows an extension to 30 seconds if you cannot catch your breath or need to secure more reps, but warns that the total time is still kept minimal. He ties this rest strategy directly to the workout’s three‑in‑one benefit: muscle growth, strength, mobility, and cardio ‘all in a tiny amount of time.’ He also notes that if you fall below 5 reps on a movement, you should use the extra rest to recover enough to hit the rep target, because rep count is the priority for hypertrophy.

Mike explains that the exercise order intentionally fatigues the larger back and chest muscles first (sternum pull‑ups, wide push‑ups) before moving to arm‑ and shoulder‑dominant movements (underhand pull‑ups, diamond push‑ups, inverted skull crushers, face pulls). Short 5‑second transitions keep the heart rate elevated and produce a severe pump, while 30‑second allowance prevents form breakdown. He argues this single‑set‑to‑failure protocol, when done with full range of motion, stimulates hypertrophy, improves conditioning, saves enormous time, and can be done almost anywhere—a cruise ship, a friend’s house, or a cabin in the woods.

For push‑ups, placing hands on chairs or a couch edge reduces the load because the angle decreases the lever arm at the shoulder. For inverted rows, walking the feet closer to the bar shortens the lever, making the row easier; stepping back makes it harder. Mike extends the concept to the entire circuit: the pull‑up bar is set high for pull‑ups, waist height for rows, knee height for inverted skull crushers (if strong), and chest height for face pulls. By simply moving the bar height or foot position, a trainee at any strength level can achieve the prescribed rep range. He stresses that if a movement feels too hard, ‘walk up closer to the bar, back pedal so that they're easier.’

In the chest/back‑focused session, perform 2‑3 sets of the early pulling and pushing exercises (sternum pull‑ups, wide push‑ups, chin‑ups, medium push‑ups) and only 1 set of the later arm/shoulder exercises. In the arms/shoulders‑focused session later in the week, reverse the priority: 1‑2 sets of the early chest/back movements and 2‑4 sets of underhand pull‑ups, diamond push‑ups, inverted rows, inverted skull crushers and face pulls. The face pulls act as a ‘turn dial’ for shoulder volume—add 3‑5 sets if you want extra shoulder work. This variation prevents overuse, keeps progression even, and injects freshness into the plan without requiring any new equipment or exercises.