Some people are afraid of the weight, they’re afraid to take the strain, to have three hundred pounds over head that needs to come down to the chest and then be locked out overhead for a perfect rep. These people would rather push and pull their own bodies in various ways to achieve their fitness goals.
But for every person out there who is afraid to lift heavy weights there are those on the opposite end of the spectrum. There are those who see using their own body as an instrument to gain strength as burdensome, tiring and lacking in excitement.
The argument will rage on and many will criticize weight lifting for its steep learning curve and need for perfect technique to maintain safety. Is it important to know proper technique while weight lifting? The answer is yes but it also goes without saying that with bodyweight training that technique is important as well.
Not knowing the proper technique for some of the most basic exercises like a pull up or push up can result in a tweaked shoulders or other injuries.
An argument against bodyweight training is that you can’t develop maximum strength and hypertrophy doing it. Once again another misconception-- people perceive bodyweight training today as an endurance activity and are only familiar with push ups, pull ups, squats and crunches. People are blissfully unaware of all the variations of these exercises as well some of the more challenging isolation style exercises.
With each exercises there is a harder variation-- take for example the body weight squat. If a person can master the bodyweight squat the next step would be to move on to the one-legged variation called the pistol. Is 200-pound person weak if they can squat their own bodyweight with one leg? I think not which just goes to show that each system of strength training has its benefits.
What I am advocating as a strength enthusiast is a mixture of weight lifting and bodyweight exercises.
I admire the 300-pound strongmen like Brian Shaw and Zydrunas Savickas who can dead lift 800-pounds, lift stones that weigh more then they do and could crush my skull with their bare hands. However, I also admire gymnasts and their amazing ability to flip through the air, support their bodyweight in a handstand position and amazing conditioning.
At 170-pounds I am not going to be winning any strong man competitions and at my previous weight of 185-pounds I wasn’t going to either. I’m not even heavy enough to move a semi truck two inches. However, I am in a position to get massively strong and maintain my natural athletic ability.
Bodyweight exercises -- especially those that are used in gymnastics-- are an excellent way to compliment your weight lifting while maintaining athleticism. Bodyweight exercises like the handstand, human flag and L-sit are difficult and require a high level of muscular tension and strength. These exercises are perfect additions to the would be power lifter and bodybuilder.
Why? Well as far as power lifting goes the goal is to lift a maximum amount of weight. A power lifter relies heavily on creating muscular tension through out the entire body in order to get that burst of strength to lift the weight. This act of muscular tension is referred to by Pavel Tsatsouline as irradiation. Things like handstands, human flags and L-sits reinforce the concept of muscular tension and require a tremendous amount to maintain the feat.
For bodybuilding things like push ups, squats, pull ups and all their variations are not only going to build strength but will tone and create a physique that is to be admired. Gymnasts have some of the most defined bodies on the planet and rely almost exclusively on bodyweight techniques. Bodybuilders may want to take note of this and incorporate these exercises into their routines.
Finally, trying to build athleticism can be achieved using bodyweight exercises as well. Practicing things like cart wheels, back flips, hand springs and their variations can have a tremendous affect on developing coordination and explosiveness.
None of this I am sure is new information but it is relevant information and are great things to consider adding to any fitness routine. Remember however that it is important to learn these things from an experienced individual and in a proper training environment. Not all of these things can be accomplish on their first try and may require you to develop the skills to do them.
