Are bodyweight exercises enough?

[indianguy81]

Hi all,

I am a beginner in this field; just started my program about 4 days ago.
I don't have access to gym as of now. One of the reasons for it is that I want to see if I can sustain my workout regimen for an extended period of time and then I will consider joining one.

I need to lose a lot of body fat and build muscle.

I do have a question; are bodyweight exercises (without any external weights) alone enough for beginners?

As of now, I am using a combination of varied bodyweight exercises like push ups, hindu squats, pull-ups, ab exercises (bodyweight only).

Thanks

[SuffolkPunch]

They are enough to make some progess with some movements. In particular you can get a long way with chin ups since they are hard.

However, if you can easily do more than 15 repetitions with a given exercise, it is not effective for stimulating muscle growth.

[BigNickel]

To add to the above, once you find yourself doing higher reps, you can add weight to make it more challenging.
Push Ups, Chin ups, Pull ups, Dips, etc are the basics but there are hundreds of other bodyweight exercises that will leave you breathless. You're on the right track!!

[indianguy81]

Thanks; well I will have to add chin-ups to my routine. I find pull-ups quite challenging as of now but will start with chin-ups soon.

They are enough to make some progess with some movements. In particular you can get a long way with chin ups since they are hard.

However, if you can easily do more than 15 repetitions with a given exercise, it is not effective for stimulating muscle growth.

[jgreystoke]

Unless you want the dreaded "chicken" legs, don't forget to squat.

Sit right down on your calves when inhaling, pause and power back up while exhaling. Work up to a hundred rep set. Since your legs have to carry you around all the time, they are used to the resistance of your bodyweight. But there will be a good training effect because of the increased range of motion. Just don't expect really massive legs from just squatting bodyweight alone. That's why we have barbells.

Pushups use only half bodyweight. You can increase the load by raising the feet on a step, low chair, table etc. When you can do handstand pushups, you'll be pretty good. One hand pushups are alpha as well.

Dips between trestles use bodyweight. So do chins. So unless you move around like an ape in the trees already, they will have a good training effect. Just look at the upper body development of male gymnasts.

[Botika]

You can always get some resistance bands to do some accessory work. They are pretty cheap (have a look on eBay).

[indianguy81]

@ BigNickel

Thanks for letting me know that I am on the right track.

[indianguy81]

@ Jgreystoke

I am doing just that - lots of hindu squats
It's the upper body strength that I really need to work on.

Thanks for your tips and recommendation.

[jgreystoke]

@ Jgreystoke

I am doing just that - lots of hindu squats
It's the upper body strength that I really need to work on.

Thanks for your tips and recommendation.

I believe that great Indian wrestlers of long ago built up huge and strong with high rep bodyweight squats, Hindu pushups etc. And what really made them so powerful was they also lifted, levered, and swung big stone and iron weights, massive clubs and maces etc.

The modern version of their weight training would be barbells, and strongman training.

Lift well and prosper