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First off, you are wrong if you think that bodyweight exercises cannot injure you. Even something as simple as doing pushups with bad form for too long can have

by jclos 9y ago

First off, you are wrong if you think that bodyweight exercises cannot injure you. Even something as simple as doing pushups with bad form for too long can have a detrimental effect on your posture and cause back issues. Also, that's a false comparison. Nobody said that you need to get off the couch and go straight to squat 500lbs to be in shape. You need a proper training plan with reasonable progression, and you need to start as low and as light as necessary, no matter the training stimulus (BW, barbells, dumbbell, kettlebells, bands, ...). The difference is that weights can provide an external force that can be scaled to your strength in many ways that BW training cannot, because in BW training the only weight is your body and you need to use leverages to modify your training stimulus. Finally, BW versus weights is a dumb debate. They complement each other, and a well-rounded athlete should do both.

Sawamara 9y ago
You are right though, this is not a fight for either, I should reiterate that I think that STARTING with BW first to help your body adjust, and when you have an initial, flexible and durable base to work with, you can go crazy with whatever next goal you set. That is what I would prefer for myself I could go back in time, anyway :P
- jclos 9y ago
  I kind of disagree and agree at the same time. I'd recommend that a new trainee start with simple bodyweight stuff* but for different reasons: it's an excellent teacher of proprioception, which is one of the things that couch-to-barbell people like myself tend to lack, and it's now starting to bite me in the ass now that my numbers have grown more respectable and that I can find myself squatting 450lbs with ease but having a hard time doing unweighted lunges. *to be fair, I'd recommend that a new trainee start with anything but barbell stuff. Simple bodyweight training 3-4 times a week, playing a real sport once-twice a week and doing some form of cardio twice a week should be the starting point of any athletic career, at least for 3-6 years. I started training with people who had an athletic past like this and they blew past me at an incredible speed progress-wise, and ended up stronger, healthier and in better shape than I ever was.

by jclos 9y ago

Sawamara 9y ago

You are right though, this is not a fight for either, I should reiterate that I think that STARTING with BW first to help your body adjust, and when you have an initial, flexible and durable base to work with, you can go crazy with whatever next goal you set. That is what I would prefer for myself I could go back in time, anyway :P

jclos 9y ago
I kind of disagree and agree at the same time. I'd recommend that a new trainee start with simple bodyweight stuff* but for different reasons: it's an excellent teacher of proprioception, which is one of the things that couch-to-barbell people like myself tend to lack, and it's now starting to bite me in the ass now that my numbers have grown more respectable and that I can find myself squatting 450lbs with ease but having a hard time doing unweighted lunges. *to be fair, I'd recommend that a new trainee start with anything but barbell stuff. Simple bodyweight training 3-4 times a week, playing a real sport once-twice a week and doing some form of cardio twice a week should be the starting point of any athletic career, at least for 3-6 years. I started training with people who had an athletic past like this and they blew past me at an incredible speed progress-wise, and ended up stronger, healthier and in better shape than I ever was.