Do You Have to Lift Weights to Get Buff?

Guys want to be buff; it's just a fact. Even when a guy says, "I'm not trying to get big" or "I'm not trying to put on mass," they're still working out because they want a lean, muscular physique, which I would define as "buff." So, the question is: Can you get buff just doing pull-ups and pushups, i.e., without lifting weights? The answer is: yes.

Convicts

Convicts are notoriously buff, and what you might not realize is many prisons and jails don't offer their inmates weights or proper gyms. The majority of convicts are doing pull-ups, pushups and other body weight exercise out in the courtyard each day.

The Military

This is another perfect example. Weight lifting is seldom done in the military. The men and women who serve in our armed forces are mostly doing body weight exercises, specifically, pushups and pull-ups.

Pushups

If you want to get buff from just doing pushups, you really have to make your pushups count, i.e., you have to make them as hard as possible. After you can do about 10 to 20 pushups, you're not really increasing your strength; you're just increasing your endurance. You can make pushups harder by repositioning your hands or by putting weight on your back. Placing your hand further apart, closer together, or closer to your hips will make pushups a lot harder.

Pull-ups

Pull-ups are already a heavy-lifting exercise, so there's not much need to make them harder. Every time you do a pull-up you're lifting your entire body weight. If you can do more than 10 pull-ups in a row, then you might want to increase the difficulty. You can do this by either wearing a weight vest or holding a dumbbell in between your legs.

Sources:

http://www.builtlean.com/2011/03/02/push-up-variations-exercise/

http://www.military.com/military-fitness/workouts/try-pushup-push-workout