Getting The Most Out of BW Exercises

[ryanflyer05]

So during the course of training, I've noticed that adding weight to and making progress bodyweight exercises is much harder than doing so with barbell exercises. I can do 15 unweighted dips and pull-ups pretty easily, but I'm finding that I can't do a 3x5 with more than about 15 additional pounds on either. So I'm wondering what the next step may be? I know they work wonders for barbell training, but is a 3x5 or 5x5 really the optimal way to make strength gains on bodyweight exercises? I was thinking about trying some other set-rep schemes, like perhaps 8x3, 6x4, or even 12x2. Or maybe I should go back to the drawing board and add minimal weight and keep doing sets to failure until I can get back to 15 reps, then add another few pounds?

What are your thoughts on maximizing BW exercises?

[holvoetn]

BW exercises are merely assisting for the main lifts.
Don't loose your sleep over it. If you do not progress, stay with that weight for a while.

You could try to go unweighted again for some time but then increase the volume big time (> 15 - 20 reps) . That might shock your muscles in such a way that you are able to break through the plateau once you go weighted again.

[ryanflyer05]

Well I've been doing 12x2 with short rest (about 75 seconds) between each set, and it seems to be working decently. I'll keep going with this until I need to try something else. Short-term goal is to get to about 25%-33% of my bodyweight, at least on the pull-up.