Bodyweight Strength Philosophy – Part 1
For many years and still today there is a thought that bodyweight
training only builds endurance and doesn’t build any strength and
that you can’t build any size using your own bodyweight.
If using your own bodyweight will not build strength why does swinging
a 30lb kettle bell build strength? Weight is weight whether it’s your own
bodyweight a kettle bell a sand bag or traditional weights your body
doesn’t know.
The thought is that if you lift heavy you instantly become the most
physically fit man around, the fact is very few men that lift heavy weight’s
are not very physically fit. The problem is most men will tell you that
they are.
I would like some expert to tell me why bodyweight will not build strength?
Most people can’t even use their own bodyweight as resistance because
they are just too weak, go to the gym and lift heavy, do a one set of 5 reps
get up walk around after 3 minutes do another set.
Get down on the floor and start doing as many pushups as you can, as
you do them and start to breath heavy keep going until you get to almost
failure and now squeeze out a few more.
What’s the difference, doing 5 reps with max weight on the bench press
builds a little power, doing as many pushups as possible you will start to
breath heavy and as you get close to failure and you squeeze a few more
reps in how, is your body feeling?
Building strength and getting conditioned at the same time seems to
be the wrong way to become physically fit. Whether you are using your
own bodyweight or not you are still using resistance.
I hear it all the time that to build strength you need to lift this you need to
lift that it all depends on your goals. If you want to compete in power lifting
you need to power lift. If you want to become physically fit try some body
weight training.
Toughness Builds Winners
Let’s clarify a bit. Don’t think anyone is saying that bodyweight or swinging a 30 lb KB does not condition you. What they claims is this: BW builds endurance and heavy weights max both size and strength. Argument is that a weight so light that you can do more than ten or fifteen reps is not building strength and will not enlarge the muscles as effectively as heavy resistance that allows for less than ten reps. Different types of muscle fibers are at play.
Discussion should not include genetic outliers like pro football players who are naturally big.
It’s spooky how clever some ppl are. Thsnak!
That’s a posting full of insight!