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I don't have a personal trainer, a gym membership, or really any gym equipment (such as dumbbells), so for my daily workout/training (to gain muscle) I have resorted to using body weight exercises.

It mainly consists of push-ups (and their many variations), pull ups and plank. My biggest fear about pushing my limits is that I may someone causes permanent or somewhat significant damage - such as pulling or ripping/tearing a muscle. I'm quite young so I do not want to have problems that will continue to plague me for years to come.

Can you rip/tear muscles through body weight exercises such as pullups, push ups, and plank?

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    I'm quite young - looking around me, I see people around me at the same age that everytime they exercise they must wear a strap around their knee or elbow. Others have to go to the physio every week. I do not want the same thing to happen to me
    – Ben10
    Sep 28, 2018 at 7:36
  • I do not have anything that should make me susceptible to muscle tearing.
    – Ben10
    Sep 28, 2018 at 7:53
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    Is it possible? Yes. It's possible to injure muscles getting out of bed in the morning.
    – JohnP ♦
    Sep 28, 2018 at 13:16

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Certainly, it is possible. As @JohnP said in the comments,

it is possible to injure muscles getting out of bed in the morning.

As long as you keep your form as good as you can, and don't try to do an abrupt increase in work load - you should be fine.

For example, if you generally do 100 pushups per workout - don't try to do 500 in one session. Progressive loading will prepare your body for a larger volume and help prevent any strain injuries. So if you do 100 reps per workout - next time try to do 110, then 120, and so on. Also, dynamic warmup - will help to prepare your body for the workload.

Generally, muscle injuries, if treated correctly, don't end up plaguing your health for years to come. Joint and Ligament injuries are much worse.

Nevertheless, injures do sometime happen, even if you are careful. Don't get discouraged! Doesn't mean you failed, it means you only made a mistake.

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    Yes on your last points. When I ruptured my achilles, it was on a drill we teach to white belts that I had been doing for years. Anything can happen, but generally if you pay attention to things you will do fine.
    – JohnP ♦
    Sep 29, 2018 at 3:40

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