You know this by now:
The only way to ensure massive gains from head to toe is by loading up the barbell with tons of plates and pushing yourself to your limits.
Bodyweight exercises are nothing more than convenient.
Your last resort when the gym is closed.
Right?
Well, the Athlean Xero Bodyweight Workout is taking that long-held belief and turning it on its head. The claim—build muscle, burn fat, and boost your athleticism with no equipment needed.
Sound too good to be true?
Let’s find out if this Athlean-X bodyweight workout program is legit.
Table of Contents
About the Creator – Athlean-X & Jeff Cavaliere
As at-home fitness DVDs were fading off into our distant memories, workout programs like Athlean-X were slowly making headway.
Behind Athlean-X is a guy named Jeff Cavaliere.
Jeff Cavaliere isn’t your everyday gym lunk or even a random online user detailing his favorite hypertrophy workouts on bodybuilding forums.
Here’s a list of what makes Jeff Cavaliere the “real deal.”
- A Master’s Degree in physical therapy
- Expertise in injury prevention
- 3 years serving as the Mets’ strength coach
- Support from celebrities & athletes (Sylvester Stallone, David Wright, Antonio Brown)
- Desire to bring science back to the gym
Jeff Cavaliere is now the mastermind of Athlean-X, developing dozens of workout programs for mass-building, fat loss, and every unique goal in-between.
Athlean-X is known for tough workout plans that produce great results for regular people, not just professional athletes.
This is where other programs tend to see their downfalls.
The company also sells fitness and nutrition supplements to trigger even more significant gains when following an Athlean-X program.
So if you’re looking to take your body back, Athlean-X may be your solution!
What is the Athlean Xero Bodyweight Workout?
The Athlean Xero Bodyweight Workout is a 6-week exercise program that requires absolutely no equipment other than your bodyweight.
Over 45 days, this bodyweight workout program should help you catapult your muscle growth while slimming down on the fat front.
You should end those six weeks far more fit, agile, and buff than before!
Perhaps even more significant than the likely results is what your near-daily workouts will entail.
So here’s what you need to know about the bones of this routine:
- Over 150 unique exercises
- No equipment necessary
- 45-minute limit workouts
- An ab-sculpting program included
Best of all, you can reap all of the benefits of an extensive resistance training routine without loading up a single barbell.
Well, assuming this program is really what Athlean-X makes it out to be!
Athlean Xero Bodyweight Workout Details & Features
The Athlean Xero Bodyweight Workout Program may not be the most complex program in terms of equipment, but it sure has a lot to offer fitness enthusiasts of all levels!
Now, let’s go over the ins and outs of this Athlean-X program.
The Concept of “Xero”
The first thing you’ll have to do when accessing the module is to answer a few questions. You’ll be quizzed on everything from how many push-ups you can do to how long you can hold a plank.
The Xero program will then recommend a “temperature,” so to speak.
“Xero” is the basic program, and one or two “degrees” below Xero will mean that you’ll take the program a bit easier, given your current fitness level.
Don’t take offense to this—it’s only there to ensure you get the most out of the program!
You can also adjust your Xero option as you progress in a few weeks.
Strength Workouts
Each week has two strength workouts, known as Strength Workouts I & II.
Strength Workout I will consist of A/B combos.
For example, you’ll do a set of X plyo push-ups to failure, jump immediately to a set of step-through push-ups to failure, rest for 60 seconds, and then repeat.
You’ll crush through five unique A/B combos and finish strong with a six-pack shuffle if you still have a bit more fuel left in the tank.
As the weeks progress, you’ll enter into A/B/C/D territory, where you’ll run through five exercises within the same muscle group and then move onto another muscle group.
This includes back-to-back exercises for the chest, back, legs, and more!
Then, there’s Strength Workout II, which comes four days after Strength Workout I.
This “Xero Sum” workout style is about cranking out as many reps as possible for six exercises—like handstand push-ups and power plank ups—and keeping track of your reps.
All with up to 90 seconds of rest between sets.
Athlean Bursts
Each week, you’ll also crank out two Athlean Burst workouts.
Every Athlean Burst workout has a different name and will drive you through an entirely different workout, making plateaus and boredom from one workout to the next a non-issue.
For example, the Lock Box workout is conditioning-heavy and prioritizes strength exercises like push-up variations.
Then you have more unique workouts like the 3 Point Panic, which forces you through four-straight single-arm exercises that require three points of contact on the ground always.
No two Athlean Bursts are the same, and all target different fitness concepts.
Dynamic training, high-reps, and tough variations—they have it all!
Challenges
Your final workout of each week—right before your last rest day—will be some sort of challenge. We’re talking The Grinder, Lactic Acid Trip Challenge, and other exciting titles.
These are the workouts where you’ll see what you’re truly made of.
For example, you may pump through a circuit with every exercise from wall sits to thumbs up push-ups. Repeat as many rounds as possible with just 30 seconds between to get a score.
Are you a “Man of Titanium” or a “Paper Tiger?”
Other workouts will “punish” you when you reach failure too soon, forcing you to redeem yourself with wall sits (or another exercise) until you achieve the rep goal.
Each challenge is different, some with 100 rep goals and others with grueling rest-pause sets.
Regardless, you’ll finish the week strong with a much-needed rest-day before you pick-up again with Strength Workout I next week.
Meal Plan
Like any legitimate exercise regimen, the Xero program comes standard with a meal plan to ensure proper nutrition and optimal growth.
We’re talking three large meals a day and three snacks, with foods like:
- Greek yogurt parfait
- Turkey slices wrapped around pickles
- Whole-grain pretzels with mustard
- Apple spice oatmeal
- Pasta salad with grilled chicken
The meal plan changes each day for greater variety—no more plain oatmeal, chicken breast, and brown rice all day everyday.
The diet plan also comes with nifty color coding.
Each ingredient in every meal (or snack) has a particular text color, so you’ll know that you’re eating pasta salad for its starchy carbs and your chickpeas for protein.
Learn about essential nutrition concepts and continue them after you finish the program!
Degrees Below Xero
Now, you may be wondering how your workouts will differ if you’re opting for the one or two degrees below Xero plans instead.
Here’s what you need to know:
- 1 Degree Below Xero: Three full-body workouts per week (some repeating, some unique), a 28-day program, and a challenge at the end of the program
- 2 Degrees Below Xero: Three full-body workouts per week, a 28-day program, and one challenge at the conclusion of the routine
We suggest abiding by the recommended Xero option when you complete your survey before starting the program. Raise the Xero option if you notice the workouts are too easy for you.
4 Cool Benefits of the Athlean Xero Bodyweight Workout
1. No Two Workouts Are the Same
Nobody says that sticking to a standard split isn’t beneficial for muscle growth. But when you cycle through the same workouts week in and week out, you get tired of the monotony.
This Xero program ensures that it’ll never be a problem.
You’ll wake up each morning, not knowing what your workout will call for, whether you’ll be cranking out 100 reps for each exercise or doing tough A/B/C combos to failure.
The variation and gradually increasing intensity of this program will help you fight plateaus and ensure positive growth for the next 45 days!
2. Different Xero Options
Just about every bodyweight exercise has some form of modification to make it easier if you’re still building strength. But you also have to consider the endurance and conditioning factors.
A 45-minute workout with hundreds of reps won’t be too pleasant for untrained folks.
That’s where the Xero options of this program shine.
You can complete the survey to determine how well you already fare in the bodyweight exercise arena, selecting a program that matches your current level of fitness.
Get the program that works for you now, and bump the intensity up to the next level if you notice you’re crushing the workouts as they come.
You can also cycle through the Xero program again at a higher intensity on the next go-round.
3. No Equipment Necessary
Sure, it’s the entire purpose of a bodyweight program. But we really have to hand it to Jeff Cavaliere and Athlean-X—this program takes “equipment-free” to brand new extremes.
Just like Kinobody’s Movie Star Body program, you can do the workouts in your living room, garage, or basement.
But you also aren’t stuck doing the standard bodyweight exercises, like push-ups, crunches, and jumping jacks. The variety of exercises includes unique exercises like:
- Sprawling burpees
- Lateral push-ups
- Alligator walks
- Jack push-ups
- Long leg plank marches
Get the benefits of a detailed workout routine without investing in a gym membership or buying your own equipment!
4. Short Program
Athlean-X programs run the gamut when it comes to the length of their workouts programs, with some lasting as long as 12 weeks.
This program lasts a mere 45 days (or shorter with lower Xero options).
Ultimately, the shorter program length means you don’t have to stick to a program for several months just to be disappointed by the end.
Besides, it gives you the chance to cycle through more programs.
3 Negatives of the Athlean Xero Bodyweight Workout
1. No Refund Policy
The lack of a refund policy is always going to be the deal-breaker for many fitness enthusiasts. After all, there’s no way to figure out if a program is right for your needs until you try it, right?
Unfortunately, Athlean-X programs are a bit of a guessing game.
You’ll know ahead of time that this program doesn’t require equipment, is suitable for all skill levels, and may have you working out five times per week.
But whether it’s Breakout or Xero, everything else is still up in the air until you actually make the purchase.
2. No Wiggle Room on the Diet Front
The fact that this program comes with a diet plan means it already offers far more than many of the other more reputable programs out there.
But we did notice something about this program, as compared to other Athlean-X programs:
The diet plan is set.
There aren’t any options for ingredient swaps, cheat meals, or size/shred swaps like some of the other programs offer. This makes your chances of disliking some ingredients even higher.
Plus, if you have an allergy or intolerance, you have a choice to make.
3. Training to Failure Is Everywhere
Training to failure is one of those concepts that gym-goers either swear by or avoid like the plague. The idea that this program consistently has you training to failure isn’t exactly positive.
In actuality, it doesn’t provide much benefit.
With the Xero program, you may be performing dozens or even hundreds of extra reps with each workout to reach “failure” without seeing significantly better results.
You’ll leave each workout knowing you gave your all, but it may not show!
Wrapping Up This Athlean Xero Bodyweight Workout Review
The Athlean Xero Bodyweight Workout is a pretty decent workout routine if you’re low on equipment, just starting your fitness journey, or have both muscle gain and fat loss goals.
You can be sure that each workout is unique and interesting, choose a difficulty that matches your current fitness level, use no equipment, and finish this grueling program in just 6 weeks.
But it’s not all peaches and rainbows!
You won’t get your money back if you dislike the program on day one, there aren’t any substitutions in the diet plan, and you’ll be training to failure with nearly every workout.
It’s a good workout program if you appreciate bodyweight exercises.
However, you may want to opt for a more intense Athlean-X program that includes compound lifts and barbells if you want to see serious gains long-term.
Rating: 8.4/10
