The truth is, you can get in amazing shape using just your body weight.
But don't take it from us. Hear it from the folks at Harvard Medical School.
According to Harvard Health, calisthenics (professional term for body weight exercises) can firm up your muscles and make you look thinner.
In other words, they help you develop strength, lose weight and slim down. They can also help you burn calories too!
Here is a chart of popular body weight exercises with their estimated calories burned.
Not too shabby for gym equipment free workouts, right?
How does body weight exercises compare to other forms of resistance training such as free weights, gym machines and resistance bands?
When most women consider trying out bodyweight workouts, they often ask this question: Does bodyweight training measure up to weight training?
What's the point of performing body weight workouts other than they are convenient?
Mark Sisson, a former elite endurance athlete from Mark's Daily Apple stated on his reputable site that body weight exercises require activation of more muscles. He further explained "the reason for this multi-muscle engagement is in its closed chain kinetic movement."
What it means is, with bodyweight exercises, you are moving your whole body toward or away from the ground as in the case of pushups and pull-ups.
Dumbbell exercises (weight training) on the other hand require you to move the object (i.g. a pair of dumbbells) toward or away from your body as in the case of dumbbell bench press.
The difference is not only how much weight you end up working with (your whole body weight v.s. the weight of your dumbbells) but also how much of your body is fully involved in supporting the movement.
When you perform a push-up, your base of support is limited to your hands and feet and everything from your core to back, chest to arms, glutes to thighs is engaged to maintain the posture and support the movement.
Dumbbell bench press on the other hand is a different story.
Firstly, your core is supported by the bench and your legs are hardly involved. Your base of support is much more stable and secured, and it does not involve as many muscle groups to support the movement.
What's apparent from the comparison of bodyweight training and weight training is that calisthenics force your body to recruit nearly all of your muscles that form the kinetic chain and provide more complete muscle stimulation.
Point taken, there may be slight difference in muscle stimulation depending on exercises, it is generally the case for bodyweight workouts.
Another expert, Dr. Eric Hegedus, founding chair of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Department at High Point University in North Carolina also exclaims the functionality and effectiveness of body weight workouts.
He points out that closed chain exercises are more functional as they closely mimic movements that you would use in daily life.
Squat exercise for example is a poster child of functional bodyweight workout as it imitates the movement of sitting down or squatting down to tie your shoelaces or pick up an object, a movement you repeatedly perform in your everyday life.
He also explains that because the load is shared with other nearby muscles when performing calisthenics exercises, it is super effective at targeting core muscles.
You can read more about close chain or open chain exercises here.
Whether you want to lose weight, burn calories or get back in shape after pregnancy, body-weight workout is a simple and convenient way to hit your goal.
Contrary to popular belief, there are countless ways to ease, advance and challenge these equipment free exercises, making them even more attractive for women at all fitness levels without gym access, busy schedule and/or frequent traveling.
The reason bodyweight training can easily the best way to train for weight loss, strength, calorie burn or even endurance is because it is still a form of resistance training.
It's just so that your resistance is coming solely from your own bodyweight and gravity, according to TRX, the only two resistance types you need even for the military grade training.
Although difficulty level of calisthenics vary and can be easily adjusted, they are generally suitable for all fitness levels and safe for beginners.
If you are new to working out, definitely start with bodyweight exercises.
Here are 4 other reasons why you want to start your own body weight workout routines to achieve your goal.
#1: No Set Up = Faster Workout
Since there’s no exercise machines involved, transitioning from one exercise to another is a breath with body weight workouts.