Comparison between 4 popular beginner bodyweight workouts shared in this sub over the last decade

[kc8vji]

Thought it would be interesting to look up the history of the RR with it changing now and compare the different versions. It appears as though the RR changed in 2017 with a slight change in the order of exercises and the removal of the skills section. I can't find out when the previous routine started. However, it seems that the "startbodyweight" website's workout from 2013 preceded it, as there are a lot of posts in the early days of the sub from people following that WO and it's extremely similar to the RR/BWSF (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about that).

Workout
SBW (2013) RR1 (year?) RR2 (2017) BWSF (2023)
Set style
straight sets
paired sets
paired sets
straight sets

Set x Rep ranges
3 x 4-8
3 x 5-8
3 x 5-8
3 x 5-15

Rest Times
2 min
1.5 min
1.5 min
1 - 2.5 min

Warmup
Yes
Yes
Yes
Optional

Skill Segment
No
Yes
No
No

Pull 1
Pull Up
Pull Up
Pull Up
Pull Up

Pull 2
Row
Row
Row
Row

Push 1
HSPU (pike)
Dip
Dip
HSPU (pike)

Push 2
Push Up or Dip
Push Up
Push Up
Push Up

Leg 1
Squat
Squat
Squat
Squat

Leg 2


Hinge
Hinge

Core Exercises
2
6
4
2

Order
Warm Up
Warm Up
Warm Up
Push


Leg
5x Core in WU
1x Core in WU
Pull


Pull
Pair1 Pull + Push
Pair1 Pull + Leg
Push


Push
Pair2 Core + Leg
Pair2 Push + Leg
Pull


Core
Pair3 Push + Pull
Pair3 Pull + Push
Leg


Push

Core Triplet
Leg


Pull


Core


Core


Core


Stretch

Looking at this it seems the only major changes are:

1. straight sets vs super sets
2. pikes vs dips
3. Adding hinge exercises for hamstrings & glutes
4. whether or not skills, warm ups and stretching should be included
5. how many core exercises to do

IMO numbers 1, 4 & 5 are mostly superficial and just depend on how much time/energy you have. No.2 Dips vs Pikes is the only major question. I think that should be up to the individual to choose, as the same argument against dips can be made against overhead pressing (i.e. shoulder injuries). As for No.3: that's a no brainer, hinges are a must do.

Edit: I changed supersets to paired sets to appease the pedants

 

[redbone63]

@kc8vji I don't know what compelled you to do this, but this was really interesting. Thank for writing this up!

 

[kc8vji]

@redbone63 Thanks. I guess I was just curious about the big build up and focus on changing the RR, when it hadn't really changed that much imo.

 

[petroula]

@kc8vji New routine also suggests that you can do dips if you like and they should replace push-ups... Same as 2013 lol

Interesting comparison! Thanks

 

[kc8vji]

@petroula The more things change the more they stay the same

 

[beaud20]

@kc8vji Paired sets for life.

I'm also a fan of Every Minute On the Minute(EMOM) sets. EMOM especially with higher loads. If you can do 3 reps with a certain resistance level, just do 1 rep EMOM for 15 - 20 minutes.

 

[fromgenesistorevelation]

@kc8vji Pretty cool overview.

 

[kc8vji]

@fromgenesistorevelation Thanks

 

[hannahmarie313]

@kc8vji Really cool breakdown!

I think dips are more interchangeable with push ups/bench than with pikes/hspu/ohp, based on my experience with dip carryover to other stuff. Back when I did stronglifts, dips helped my bench more than my OHP.

I view some sort of overhead work as a essential tbh. Nowadays what I'm doing is focusing a lot on ring push ups and doing Turkish getups to maintain overhead mobility and strengthen the rotator cuff. What I'd really like to do is ring dips + kb OHP but my left shoulder is a lot less stable than the right one (broken collarbone in May, lots of sling time), so I gotta fix that first.

 

[kc8vji]

@hannahmarie313 Yeah I agree with the carryover. I think we should be more interested in muscle activation of different movements than whether they're vertical/horizontal.

Bret Contreras did a great series of articles testing damn near every exercise you could think of with sensors attached to the muscles. Predictively, pushing downwards (dips/decline bench) doesn't really work your shoulders but it's great for chest. Overhead pressing doesn't really work your chest but it's great for shoulders. Pushing forward (flat bench, push ups) works both.

So push ups are a great place to start for either dips or pikes/ohp as they're easier and halfway between both. But pikes/ohp and dips have very little cross over to each other. I think you're correct to combine them because that way you get the best of both worlds.

I'm similar in that my ohp is weak (old shoulder injury), but my chest is fine. I can do dips on rings no problem, but struggle with pikes. Am doing a lot of stretching and assistance exercises to improve on that front

 

[hannahmarie313]

@kc8vji

/horizontal.

I strongly recommend TGUs and ring facepulls for shoulder fixing, I can feel it getting better on a weekly basis. In my case the collarbone healed a little shorter, making the shoulder a bit internally rotated, but months of diligent work have gotten it a lot closer to what it used to be and I'm gonna keep the pressure on for the time being

 

[thehook]

@kc8vji They weren't super sets, they were paired sets.

And I think nick would have a lot to say about the different incarnations of the routine. What might seem superficial becomes more important when you're writing a program for an online audience of wildly varying abilities and commitment. Like I imagine there would have been a lot of posts complaining about needing somewhere to do dips.

 

[kc8vji]

@thehook I'd be surprised if you had somewhere to do rows but not dips, since you can do both on most of the same equipment whether that's bars or rings.

Shoulder injuries are listed as a reason not to do it, but I personally have had issues with overhead pressing on the past and while looking up how to fix those issues I've seen that a lot of other people do too. Ok the other hand dips feel great for me. So from that point of view I think it should just be down to the individual. Present both options and let them choose.

 

[dawn16]

@kc8vji I can do rows under my table. Maybe I can do dips on my chairs but that depends on the type of chair. The row is much easier.

 

[dawn16]

@kc8vji super set is something slightly different, if i recall correctly rr advocated the use of paired sets- eg. you do pullups, rest 90s do dips (or pike pushups or leg exercise) rest 90s do pullups again until you get 3 sets of each. superset would be if you did pullups, immediately afterwards dips and then rest.

 

[kc8vji]

@dawn16 Effectively the same thing. The goal is to combine exercises so you get more rest in less time.

 

[dawn16]

@kc8vji double the rest time would be the difference.

 

[kc8vji]

@dawn16 You're really splitting hairs here. It can be viewed as more rest if you are working out for a set amount of time or can be viewed as time saving if you need a minimum of 3min rest.

The goal is to be more efficient by combining exercises.

Its not like I called giant sets drop sets.

 

[vinhhali]

@kc8vji Well supersets are a hypertrophy thing for the same muscle, paired sets are for different muscles and putting your sets halfway between your other sets.

 

[kc8vji]

@vinhhali I've seen Dr Mike Israetal talk about antagonistic and agonistic supersets in Renaissance Periodization videos so they can definitely be both. I'll accept that the spacing of the rests are slightly different though.