Anyone just do pure bodyweight exercises?

[andrewwkdude]

I was thinking of switching to just pure bodyweight exercises. Figure it be a fun change for a while and get me motivated again. Anyone else try this?

[iLiRaM]

It's always a good thing to switch up your routine to something completely different every now and then. It tricks your muscles. A great example would be having a chest day with all kinds of pushups.

[beazy22]

go for it, change in routine is nice sometimes. trying different things keeps it fresh.

traveling for work i have different hotel gyms all the time. sometimes they have nothing worthwhile, sometimes they rock. this weeks hotel is awesome, the gym is as big as the gym i work out in at home. tons of free weights, tons of machines, some stuff i don't usually have access to. i'm definitely taking advantage of stuff i don't usually have access to.

[HrdWrk313]

Yes! I have been trying to find out athletes who just do pure body-weight exercises because I'm doing kind of a study of my own to see if weight are as important as we think. I know of some professional athelets who did just pure bodywieght exercises but all of those men were genetic freaks. I am trying to see if there are any athletes that you guys know of who just do straight body-weight exercises.

If anyone would like to take a break from the weights and help me with this study of mine I would be greatly appreciated. I will set up a basic routine that consists of all body-weight exercises and after the 4 week period see if there is change in body-weight, squat max, bench max, and vertical jump. Assuming you keep the same diet. PM if you want to partake in it.

[SFT]

Yes! I have been trying to find out athletes who just do pure body-weight exercises because I'm doing kind of a study of my own to see if weight are as important as we think. I know of some professional athelets who did just pure bodywieght exercises but all of those men were genetic freaks. I am trying to see if there are any athletes that you guys know of who just do straight body-weight exercises.

If anyone would like to take a break from the weights and help me with this study of mine I would be greatly appreciated. I will set up a basic routine that consists of all body-weight exercises and after the 4 week period see if there is change in body-weight, squat max, bench max, and vertical jump. Assuming you keep the same diet. PM if you want to partake in it.

I have used all bodyweight exercises in addition to some use of bands for the last 5-6 weeks of break. This was not by choice and mainly as a result of not wanting to pay $60 to join a gym for a few weeks. The problem that arises with strictly using bodyweight exercises is loading. Eventually, you will reach a point where pushups with your bodyweight will not be enough loading. This comes much earlier for squats. So, the next logical progression is either external loading (weights/bands/etc) or increasing the intensity of the exercise (progressions such as raising feet in the pushup, 1 leg squats, etc.).

The real question is whether or not these one-leg squats and other variations are actually going to stress the prime movers more, or just initially stress the stabilising muscles. For example, we start off 1-leg squats and can't do them well. After a few months, we are banging out pistol squats. Are we actually becoming stronger and causing hypertrophy in the prime movers, or are we just getting better at the specific movements and increasing strength/hypertrophy of the stabilisers.

I don't know the answer to that, but even with pistols, sooner or later they aren't enough loading. At that point there isn't much else you can do other than load the exercise externally.

So I guess it comes down what are you trying to achieve. High performance in sport? Bodyweight exercises alone will likely not do it. However, if you are just trying to stay in stay in shape and maybe get a little bigger, bodyweight exercises may work well for you.
Also, bodyweight exercises can be a great addition to your regular workouts on off days for recovery, or done exclusively for short periods of time to give yourself a break from lifting heavy loads.

[txapn]

So I guess it comes down what are you trying to achieve. High performance in sport? Bodyweight exercises alone will likely not do it. However, if you are just trying to stay in stay in shape and maybe get a little bigger, bodyweight exercises may work well for you.
Also, bodyweight exercises can be a great addition to your regular workouts on off days for recovery, or done exclusively for short periods of time to give yourself a break from lifting heavy loads.

this is exactly true! i dont know the exact scientific reasons but by personal experience ive seen the results!

one off season i did only body weight exercises and trained at an mma training facility trying to improve my reaction skills and footwork! but once the summer was over (after 4 months of this training) my max lifts when i got back into the weight room were dramaticaly lowered!
i think this would be a very interesting study. bc like what was said above is the strength being gained or is it that we are becoming better at the movements and strengthening the stabalizers?

[kbrown46]

I know at boot camp for any branch of military they do calenstinics exclusively and from what I have seen most people get much more toned throughout boot camp. This is also because they do to a lot of cardio. Calestinics are great, but if your goal is to get big then you need to add resistence.

[jgood]

Bodyweight exercises are great for gpp and cardio ...... I actually mix some in with my lifting (mostly lowerbody stuff) and they work well. Single leg squats are actually really good for preventing injuries and squat jumps for example are a good way to turn on a bunch of fibers.

Like said though .... if you want to get a good amount stronger, resistance training is the only way.

[BigJayNJ]

Yeah I was and I got injured, go figure.

I was prepping to go Marine Corps OCS route and I have what they think is a partial rupture of my lat dorsi tendon near the humeral insertion.

Prior to all this I frequently did:

Chin ups (5 sets of 12, almost every workout)
Dips (3 sets of 15, last two sets with PL chains)
Push ups (LOTS of them. God knows the Corps. loves their push ups)

It's not a bad way to round out a workout.

However, the last time i did chins, i got to the bottom on the 2nd rep, 2nd set and went to pull up and SNAP! In the back of my shoulder. Not a complete rupture. Enough to cause a ****load of pain though.

[pntbll687]

I use bodyweight exercises in my routine for 2 weeks every 4 weeks. I always seem to hit a wall moving weight with DB's and BB after about four weeks of training. I switch it up where I do my ME movement like bench or military press on upper body days, then do 100 total pull ups with various grips then 100 dips.

Lower body days I do a ME movement of squat or deads, then usually do 100 split squats each leg then wall sits for however long I think I need.

I always find I feel more athletic after these two weeks.

[Smokes]

I'm doing basically an all body weight routine right now. It's been really useful and I feel like I'm getting a lot out of it. The biggest thing is learning body control so the muscles function the same way every time when ou add weight. If you can't control our own body effectively, it's more difficult to make solid gains with a weight. It's also been helping my endurance and stamina because the higher levels of reps

[TheGryphon]

variations limited? things can get more intense:

planche pushups: look 'em up 90 degree pushups... seriously..
1 legged squat on step with hands on head
1 handed pushup, then 1 handed 1 leg pushup

all that's needed is a change in leverage, and things get harder

i understand what you are saying to an extent, there are a lot of muscle groups that can't be worked by just simply doing bodyweight exercises, but then again look at olympic gymnasts, there have been 14 year old gymnasts who have done 75lb weighted pull ups without ever lifting a weight in their lives. it can be done.

oh and this gymnast weighed 140lbs and also deadlifted 400lbs his first high school weightlifting class. he was 5'5"..

my 0.02.

[Eaglepride03]

I used to do a program based 100% off of bodyweight exercises. Pushups, sit-ups, bodyweight squats, sprints, and pull-ups. And I just increased the number I did every day.

[gatovolador]

I do a lot of bodyweight stuff to fight muscular imbalances (too much running and biking) for my lower body. For upper body I swim and switch between lifting and not not lifting depending on if I'm trying to get lighter for competitions or not.

[adarqui]

I was thinking of switching to just pure bodyweight exercises. Figure it be a fun change for a while and get me motivated again. Anyone else try this?

yes, but for athletic enhancement, it most often won't work for the vast majority of the population. People who are "naturally weak", need significant loads to develop mass in the muscles needed for sport, which just doesn't happen easily on a bodyweight only training system. The upper body can respond well to bodyweight training, but it is much harder to get the lower body to respond (in strength & hypertrophy).

In order to develop the strength required to improve athletic performance, in the lower body, using only bodyweight movements, shock/plyo methods would have to be introduced, and that is much riskier than barbell lifting. Achieving mastery of shock/plyo movements (drops, bounds, rebounds) is risky all year round, and even more risky in the types of volumes needed on a bodyweight only training routine. These types of movements require much less volume when used in conjunction with a resistance training routine, because they both compliment each other perfectly. Resistance training improves maximal strength via hypertrophy and/or neural gains, then drops/bounds/rebounds improve the reactive strength & explosive strength abilities under that new and improved "maximal strength umbrella".

To considerably improve lower body maximal strength on a bodyweight only routine, a much higher volume of drops (supramaximal), bounds (double and single), rebounds (sprints/other reactive work) need to be incorporated, which increases risk.

One of the best hypertrophy/strength exercises on a bodyweight-only routine, is to be able to perform 8 x 100 total walking lunges, deep rom, 2-3x/week. Mastering natural ghr's, pistols, and long duration isometrics will help also.

peace

[prestochango]

body weight training is resistance training.

despite how they look, you are using resistance to train your body.

You can get very strong and have pronounced definition with only a chin up bar. Adding strength should not be hard, if you vary the program and include a lot of pull ups. Most likely your MASS gains will not be as large as with High Intensity Training. A lot of boxers never touch a weight, and they have pretty decent physiques..

[adarqui]

body weight training is resistance training.

despite how they look, you are using resistance to train your body.

You can get very strong and have pronounced definition with only a chin up bar. Adding strength should not be hard, if you vary the program and include a lot of pull ups. Most likely your MASS gains will not be as large as with High Intensity Training. A lot of boxers never touch a weight, and they have pretty decent physiques..

show me a boxer under 170 who can squat 405 for reps.

sure bodyweight training is 'resistance training', but so is bringing a beer to your mouth, what's your point? bodyweight training for the lowerbody is very limited unless you dive into the more advanced training concepts, which carry much more risk than barbells.

[RaptorFactor]

I'm currently on a more-or-less bodyweight-only workout plan. Granted, I only started 6 months ago, but I'm making decent progress. The book "Building the Gymnastic Body" is extremely useful if you're interested in focusing on gymnastics-based bodyweight feats. So is the BeastSkills website.

I do lift weights occasionally, but 99% of my training comes from either gymnastics or rock-climbing (along with a liberal amount of cardio -- sprinting, hiking, mountain biking, jump-rope, etc).

It depends what your goal is. You're unlikely to get huge doing bodyweight training, however I know quite a few climbers who are bodyweight-only 'purists' who have amazing power-to-weight ratios and are ripped. The CNS development you get when doing bodyweight training is useful for sports training where power-to-weight and full-body control is important.

[Ctrainer]

I had heard that Hershel Walker only used bodyweight exercises..

see link:

http://www.tryingfitness.com/herschel-walker-workout/

[imp4pdabest]

Body weight over weights all day.

[DoSLiAbLo]

show me a boxer under 170 who can squat 405 for reps.

sure bodyweight training is 'resistance training', but so is bringing a beer to your mouth, what's your point? bodyweight training for the lowerbody is very limited unless you dive into the more advanced training concepts, which carry much more risk than barbells.

Show me a boxer that gives two ****s about how much they squat

[bodyweightraini]

I was thinking of switching to just pure bodyweight exercises. Figure it be a fun change for a while and get me motivated again. Anyone else try this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBudoU9JekA

[changdamang]

Body weight over weights all day.

Amen.

[jalix]

I've been doing a lot of body weight training, I personally believe that body weight exercises develop functional strength, you might not look as big as a person who lifts crazy amounts, but you'll definitely be as strong, if not stronger

[Partyrocking]

I've been doing a lot of body weight training, I personally believe that body weight exercises develop functional strength, you might not look as big as a person who lifts crazy amounts, but you'll definitely be as strong, if not stronger

Lol at bumping a 6 year thread

Lol at functional strength

[JacobVR]

And if you’re vastly out of proportion it might just be easier to adjust the bar

[napson]

Doing a weight circuit is good enough to keep your body healthy apart from that you can try these exercises to get rid of the extra flab