The great debate: which is better? Bodyweight training or training with weights? The truth is both are great and both will
result in strength gains and body composition improvement….as long as you do
them correctly.
In order to make changes in your body you have to push
beyond what you can do comfortably. With
body weight training this could mean changing the way you do an exercise (ie
once you can significantly increase the number of pushups you can do from your
knees it’s time to start doing them from your toes).
With weight training this could mean increasing weights when
appropriate (ie you can do 15 plus reps without feeling fatigued).
Let’s take a closer look at both:
Bodyweight Training:
Anytime, anywhere! All you need is your body so you can do
bodyweight training anytime anywhere.
Clutter free: If you’re using bodyweight to train you
don’t need to worry about finding room to store any equipment.
Great for all
levels: Beginners are able to gently
start strengthening their muscles without adding any extra load. Squats and kneeling pushups are a great way
for a beginner to get started. For the
more advanced person, bodyweight exercises can be made tougher by changing position
slightly, adding plyometrics (think jump squats), adding holds and adding
pulses.
Real life moves: Bodyweight exercises mimic real life
moves so it basically strengthens your muscles to be able to move in ways they
need to in real life situations. For
instance, squatting down to pick something up or even just the act of sitting
and then getting back up.
Training With Weights:
Faster results: If putting on a lot of muscle mass is
your goal, heavy weights with fewer reps is key. Lifting weights that are heavy enough to
cause your muscles to fail after 6-8 reps will build muscle faster. This is not ideal for a beginner though. The risk of injury increases as you start to
lift heavier and if you don’t know proper form this is a recipe for
disaster. If you’re a beginner and you want
to start lifting heavy you need to work with a professional.
Easier to
progress: To progress with weight
training all you need to do is lift heavier weights. With body weight workouts you have to be a
bit more creative. There are other more
complicated weight training techniques for the more advanced lifter but by just
progressively overloading your muscles you’ll keep them challenged and keep
seeing results. Note: you have to keep challenging yourself. If you stay with the same weights even as you
get stronger you will plateau.
HUGE variety: With weight training you have a much
larger variety of exercises you can do for each muscle group. For instance you can work on your chest by
doing a bench press, an incline chest press, a decline chest press, an incline
chest fly and there are still others you can do for that one muscle group.
As you can see both options have great benefits and what you
choose will depend on your preferences, goals and access (or no access) to
equipment. Personally, I like to do a
bit of both. I like to change up my
routine regularly so I don’t get bored and I find by mixing it up my body feels
more balanced. Whatever you choose to do
make sure it’s safe and if you’re a beginner make sure you have someone who
knows what they’re doing to teach you how to do things properly so you avoid
injury and muscle imbalances.
No comments:
Post a Comment