Using your own bodyweight as your gym is a great way to get fit. The benefits of bodyweight training are numerous for sure but there are some very powerful reasons that will hopefully get you on board the workout wagon of millions around the world that practice calisthenics everyday. Keep reading for your workout philosophy to be overtaken by bodyweight exercises.
1. Efficiency-
Bodyweight training is super efficient. For starters it is a combined workout of strength and cardio which simplifies your workout routine. It also can be done is a much shorter time than any other type of workout. You can easily go smoothly from one bodyweight exercises to the next for shorter resting periods and a better calorie burn.
2. Convenience-
In reason number one we already discussed how time is one of the biggest benefits of bodyweight training. This also makes it super convenient. Many people are hard pressed to find the time to fit a two hour workout into a day but many can find time for a quick 30 minute workout. Also, you don't have to find a special place. Bodyweight exercises can be practically anywhere; at home, at the gym, in a hotel room for those on the road, even in a park to get some fresh air. Bodyweight exercises can even be modified for any fitness level. Have you injured your leg but still want to workout? There's a bodyweight exercise for that!
3. Yes, you can build mass with Calisthenics!
The bodybuilding mentality tells people heavy weight lifting is needed in order to go about building mass and bulk up muscles. No one ever considers using their own body to do this. Building mass through bodyweight will also allow you to create a range of motions with bodily exercises, bringing bulk and stability to your muscles which was never possible with the use of free weights or machines.
If you’re trying to build muscle size and strength using body weight training, you just need to go about it the right way - and progressive Calisthenics is the answer. That means you should employee progressive training strategies to basic moves to make them more difficult as you get stronger. For example, once standard push-ups are too easy, perform incline push-ups, then archer push-ups etc. This is what FitoMetrics training does when you move up through the 12 levels.
4. Improved flexibility and Injury prevention-
Since you are using your entire body for most bodyweight exercises, it is a great way to get your body ready to face any challenges you might encounter in life and prevent injury. Most bodyweight exercises mimic the moves we might make on a day to day challenge and strengthen the necessary joints and muscles that help us do these with ease. Another great benefits of bodyweight training is that is will increase your core strength and improve your posture. Your core is the main muscle group that helps to prevent back injury. You'll also see an improvement in your flexibility and balance because bodyweight exercises use a full range of motion to limber up your joints and force you to train your body to balance better.
5. It's fun-
Let's face it, most of us don't look forward to our workouts because it is monotonous and boring. Calisthenics are not boring. Performing a bodyweight circuit workout keeps your mind engaged because you are constantly changing things us. You can workout forever without having to do the same workout twice. Variety can make us more likely to stick to our workouts. And since bodyweight exercises are so versatile, they can be done inside or outside, alone or with friends. You can even make challenges and games to complete a workout.
6. Results-
You'd think with all the other facts; the convenience, the freedom, the way it helps your body; that it would be too good to be true if bodyweight exercises would be the most effective way to get fitness results. Well, its not. Calisthenics will transform your body without the extra time, money, or special equipment of other workouts and it will do it better. Because you have to use so many major muscle groups, and so much of your body is involved in making the workouts happen, you will see increased strength, better athletic performance, a quicker shedding of fat, more stamina, and a higher metabolism. No other workout can make all those claims.
I hope these benefits of bodyweight exercises have convinced you to try some FitoMetrics workouts and use your body to the full in your training.