Anyone else have good results with bodyweight only workouts? I've been doing then for a few years, and get more out of them than weight-bearing exercise regimes.
I really "got into" bodyweight only stuff, because I love MMA. Many of the top fighters do intense calisthenics in addition to, or as stand-alone, workouts.
Jeff Sekerak
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Jeff Sekerak, former Alaskan Fisherman
Last edited by diamondpete : 07-02-2009 at 07:58 PM.
Reason: removed links to posters sites
Bodyweight workouts are great, but why bodyweight only for years on end? That's like saying kettlebells are all you need, or pilates etc...
Fedor, GSP, Machida, Silva, Couture etc... all lift and those guys are "pretty good" fighters. If you are training people then you should know the benefits of picking the right tool for the job.
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
I've had to learn about alot of bodyweight stuff due to a lack of equipment, but I certainly would use weights over most body weight exercises....some muscles are just harder to train if using strictly bodyweight.
As for "getting more" out of them, I'm not sure what that means? Your certainly not getting more maximal strength. What exactly are you getting? And why would you not be able to get that same thing with weights?
I do agree that bodyweight exercises are under appreciated by most people.
As for "getting more" out of them, I'm not sure what that means? Your certainly not getting more maximal strength. What exactly are you getting? And why would you not be able to get that same thing with weights?
I do agree that bodyweight exercises are under appreciated by most people.
I'm coming from a martial arts background so...
No sitting. No lying on benches waiting on the clock.
Cleans, squats, deadlifts, snatches etc along with push ups from horizontal to handstand, pull ups, dips, and many other bodyweight work that most don't think about because people get stuck at just the ones I listed above.
Here is an example of an exercise I've been doing since I was a teen. http://www.tmuscle.com/readArticle.do?id=459314 this is the kind of bodyweight work that taxes your entire body. By the way, for me, these do more for my arms and shoulders than most other exercises.
So a lot of these bodyweight exercises tax your core and stabilizers due to the balance required.
There is also a certain good feeling that comes from mastering your own body as it moves through space.
Of course all this is for shiite when it comes to powerlifting or bodybuilding.
No sitting. No lying on benches waiting on the clock.
Here is an example of an exercise I've been doing since I was a teen. http://www.tmuscle.com/readArticle.do?id=459314 this is the kind of bodyweight work that taxes your entire body. By the way, for me, these do more for my arms and shoulders than most other exercises.
So a lot of these bodyweight exercises tax your core and stabilizers due to the balance required.
There is also a certain good feeling that comes from mastering your own body as it moves through space.
Of course all this is for shiite when it comes to powerlifting or bodybuilding.
I guess it all depends on your goals. If your goals are strength-endurance then body weight is great. You can certainly get strength if you know what you're doing, and power. But all of these things can be done with weights, and in all cases (except endurance) you can achieve measurably greater results with free weights.
No one is talking about machines.
I'm not sure how "taxing" your body is something that bodyweight does better than the alternatives. I'm assuming that you're talking about fatigue? I mean what is unique about bodyweight exercises that causes more fatigue than other types? What about heavy deadlifts? What about shoveling snow? What about pushing a car?
I'm not sure how "taxing" your body is something that bodyweight does better than the alternatives.
I'm not a writer so I may have picked an inappropriate word. What I meant is that a bench press (for example) shuts down some stabilizing due to lying on the bench. Your core isn't as involved as is also the case with the scaps. Give push ups with chains or a weighted vest a try to see what I mean (enough to get you into the 5rm range). Or weighted push ups and pull ups on rings.
To the OP. Yes I agree. This kind of work yields advantages in mobility and strength in your core and joints. Not to mention the great feeling of mastering ones body in motion. Coupled with some big ticket lifts (deadlifts, squats, cleans) you can get a very well balanced training effect. I honestly can't remember the last time I did any curls.
Besides, at 54 this is the kind of work I need to keep my proprioception honed and joints pain free. Oh. Speaking of which, I have never had any knee or back issues in my life. And I attribute this to a bullet proof core (hips to shoulders).
For the record I agree with you about pushups versus bench press. It's the difference between open and closed chain, and supported versus unsupported.
I do most of my upper body work with body weight exercises. But, I do add external resistance....at which point I think of it as no longer being a "body weight only" exercise. Perhaps that is overly pedantic.
I have no problems with body weight exercises. I just think that saying that they are better than weighted exercises is going to require a little more evidence and a little less assertion on the part of the OP.
Absolutely. One should never say that one is better than the other because there are too many goals and disciplines requiring different approaches to make such a statement.
My experience has been that there is a noticeable absence of injuries and increased nimbleness that people who ALSO use calisthenics (bodyweight exercises) exhibit. The most obvious being shoulder health. I truly believe that there is an advantage to having good muscular endurance to go hand in hand with heavy lifting.
At any rate people would be well advised to have their toolbox filled with any and all big bang for the buck type work.
I love bodyweight training. But kettlebells are a good way to ramp up your training without straying too far from the bodyweight stuff. They add resistance to squats, lunges, etc. even if you don't swing, clean, etc. with the kettlebell.
Also moving into something like Building the Gymnastic Body gives the option of building more strength than endurance for bodyweight training. It's an eye-opener in more ways than one. If you don't have a copy, you should pick it up. It goes waaaay beyond calisthentics.
Bodyweight Exercise?
Linear Mode
