How well you can move your bodyweight is a great barometer of your relative strength – and even better, you can test yourself from almost anywhere.

Josh Hash from the Strength Side YouTube channel has devised 12 bodyweight fitness tests to prove how strong you really are, while also providing benchmarks to work towards as you become more adept with the movements. While Hash aims these tests at parents, they’re relevant for anyone looking to challenge themselves and set a useful goal to work towards.

‘These are 12 bodyweight strength levels that any parent can try out and train while you’re hanging out with your kids,’ he says.

The 12 bodyweight strength levels progress from accessible movements such as push-ups and squats to more advanced tests including pull-ups, pistol squats and handstand push-ups. You don’t necessarily need to complete them in order – use them to identify where your current strength sits and give yourself a target to work towards.

‘Each set of four levels is a “push, squat and pull”, so you can train the clusters of three together, then graduate to the next three,’ explains Hash. ‘I wanted to get 12 levels that also work as a training plan, not just testing random strength. The last three levels get pretty challenging. Please don’t take them lightly. Only attempt them if you’re really confident with those first nine levels.’

‘Too many people skip on these for dumbbells, machines and bars, but push-ups are one of the most accessible ways to build full-body strength while you’re hanging at the park with your kids,’ Hash says.

Remain strict with your form to determine where your strength really lies. Keep your core tight so that your hips don’t sag and your back doesn’t round, and keep your chest proud to ensure tension on the target muscles. Work up to unbroken sets of high volume by just dropping anywhere you can and performing the exercise.

Benchmark: 25 reps

Building foundational leg strength through squatting helps to keep you mobile and your joints healthy, with higher-rep sets verging on tough bouts of endurance due to their demanding nature. They’re a go-to exercise for good reason.

‘I used to think squatting without weights was pointless until I started getting into high reps,’ Hash says. ‘These build conditioning for running, hiking, walking, and if you make a point to sit deep, mobility becomes the side quest.’

Benchmark: 100 reps

Crab Press

Facing towards the sky, with your shoulders and wrists below you and your legs bent in front of you, bridge up so that your torso is flat. Hash recognises they might not build traditional strength, but crab presses help to counteract the imbalances that can arise from extensive chest and shoulder work and too much sitting down.

‘A highly underrated calisthenics move that mobilises the front side of your body while activating the back. The goal is hips extended, but you can certainly start with a smaller range of motion.’

Benchmark: 10 reps (straight hip)

A step harder than regular push-ups, pike push-ups focus more on your shoulders to create a bodyweight version of an overhead press.

‘Technique here is important. With the hips high, you lean the head forward and in front of the hands. A smaller range of motion is often a good place to start. When I started training these, my max was five. Now I can do 12-plus, and my shoulders have certainly grown because of it.’

Benchmark: 10 reps

Toe Squat

Shift your weight to your toes and slowly squat down. While it places more load on your quads, the toe squat also strengthens your toes and the muscles in your feet as you stabilise your body through both the eccentric and concentric portions of the exercise.

Benchmark: 50 reps

‘Much like the crab press, but the legs straight steps us up a notch. Now, to achieve the straight body line, we need strong activation from the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. And shoulder extension has to work very hard to raise the body. This means all those scapula muscles are strengthened like crazy. And of course, the front of the core must still work to stabilise the movement,’ Hash explains.

Benchmark: 8 reps

Set up close to a wall, facing away from it. With your hands on the floor, kick up so that your heels are now lightly touching the wall and your arms are straight. You require plenty of shoulder, arm and core strength as you press your body up and remain stable while doing so.

‘This is a bodyweight military press that forces you to master and control yourself. Most people who can do these have well-defined shoulders and serratus muscles. Getting strong in the pike push-up certainly helps you graduate to this level.’

Benchmark: 5 reps

Shrimp Squat

Similar to a no-equipment Bulgarian split squat, the shrimp squat develops the glutes, quads, adductors and stability muscles throughout the hips and legs. The knee also bends less than in a full squat, making it more friendly for some people. But how is this different from a lunge?

‘Leverage. When you plant the foot and tap the knee down behind you, your front leg is forced to produce more strength. This makes the shrimp challenging but attainable for most of you parents chilling at the park.’

Benchmark: 5 reps each side

‘Hip flexor, core, and shoulder strength all mixed into one brutally challenging position,’ Hash says. ‘The L-sit gives you a unique strength that’s really not found in the gym or other exercises.’

Hash recommends building up to full L-sits by starting in a tucked position and completing one- or two-second holds. It’s a tough movement that requires plenty of practice and strength.

Benchmark: 15 seconds

Developing on from the handstand push-ups, this handstand involves using bent elbows to really exaggerate the strength required for your shoulders and arms.

‘This develops an elite level of strength from the front delts, serratus, and triceps. Upper body stabilisation and balance are taken to a whole another level. And if you can do these, then tons of upper-body calisthenics movements become easier. Like I said, these aren’t necessary at all, but it can be a pretty fun skill to play around with while you got extra time at the park,’ he adds.

Benchmark: 5 seconds

‘One of the best things you can do for your body as you age is be strong going down to the ground and back up. The pistol squat ensures that you have that ability and more. The quads and glutes are strengthened tremendously because one leg works to push your whole bodyweight.’

Hash prefers keeping the volume for these single-leg squats low and quality high.

Benchmark: 5 reps each side

‘In my opinion, it’s much more challenging to develop an impressive upper back than it is the front side of your body. But pull-ups are your fastest ticket to a strong back, arms, and grip,’ Hash concludes.

Benchmark: 10 reps

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