Body Angle

A universal rule to adjust the resistance of most bodyweight exercises.

There is a common misconception that calisthenics exercises are sometimes too hard and not for everyone. Unlike weight training, where adjusting the difficulty of an exercise is as easy as adding or removing weight, bodyweight exercises don’t seem to be adaptable to each individual.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, there is a simple trick that offers a virtually infinite number of different degrees of resistance: body angle.

Using our bodyweight as resistance means we are using gravity, which affects the difficulty of an exercise depending on our body angle.

With inclined exercises (head above feet level and body straight), the higher the shoulders, the easier the exercise.

With declined exercises (head below feet level and body straight), the higher the feet, the harder the exercise.

A horizontal body angle is considered medium difficulty.

Every change in the body angle affects the difficulty of an exercise in one way or another, even if it is only one degree (°).

Let’s take a look at a few examples:

- Push-ups are considered medium difficulty. Placing your hands on a surface at 50cm above the floor will make the exercise easier. Placing your hands 1m above the floor will make it even easier.

On the other hand, elevating your feet on a 50cm high surface will reverse the angle and make the exercise harder. Placing your feet 1m above the floor will make it even harder.

- Australian Pull-ups (see video) are considered medium difficulty. Using a bar which is 1m50 high will make this exercise relatively easy for most people. Using a bar as low as 80cm will make the exercise much harder.

Remember that a 5cm difference in your body angle will make a big difference in the resistance of the exercise. This makes it possible to adjust an exercise to virtually every level. You can refer back to this post every time one of our programs suggests a higher or lower body angle than a previous workout.

Please see the free videos on our app for your reference, try it out and see for yourself!