What are the Benefits of Bodyweight workouts?
As you all know, I specialize in bodyweight workouts. That doesn’t mean I don’t lift weights, but I do prefer calisthenics over anything else.
But why? Is Calisthenics really “better” than lifting?
Short answer, no. However there are some major benefits to calisthenics. Here’s just a few.
- You get a better bang for your buck. What do I mean by this? If I were to hit chest and triceps in the gym, the majority of workouts would solely isolate my chest and triceps (bench, cable tricep extensions, flys etc.) Now if I hit chest and triceps doing bodyweight movements like push-ups and dips, I’m engaging more muscles at one time. Not only is my chest and triceps engaged, but my shoulders, core and even legs are engaged. Because of this, we learn to be way more in tune with our entire body as 1 whole unit.
- Your bodyweight never goals away. When you’re 80 years old, you’re going to want to get up and walk around with ease. You also can’t take off and add on weight as you please so by mastering the basic bodyweight movements, you’ll be very comfortable handling your own body weight and maneuvering in all types of ways. So get used to your own bodyweight!
- It’s safer! I see so many people benching, deadlift and squatting over 300lbs. That puts an immense amount of pressure on your joints and is simply not good for them. At least with calisthenics if you can’t do something, you simply fall. So many things can go wrong with weights and you’ll be way more injury prone.
- Calisthenics will help your lifts in every way. Mastering your bodyweight before learning to lift makes for a super easy transition. If you can learn good form with basic bodyweight movements, then you can apply it to absolutely any gym workout. Pull-ups are simply a harder version of lat pull downs. Benching is the same thing as a push-up upside down. Not only will your form translate, but strength too! If I ask someone who can deadlift 300 pounds to do 20 pull-ups in a row, there’s a good chance he can’t do it. However if i take someone who can do 20 pull-ups with ease, good chance he can deadlift close to 300 pounds without even really training it. Calisthenics helps your weight lifting, but weight lifting doesn’t help your bodyweight workouts.
These are just a few reasons why I prefer calisthenics over weight lifting. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy lifting weights to isolate specific muscles more. Do both, but understand the difference and benefits of each.
You Got This!
Never miss a post!
Subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to find out about new articles.
