One common question I get asked is about the difference between bodyweight training and weight training. So let's unravel the distinctions between these two forms of exercise and understand how they might align with your personal fitness goals and preferences.
Bodyweight training:
As the name suggests, bodyweight training (or calisthenics) rely solely on your body's weight for resistance. These exercises leverage your own mass to create resistance against gravity. Examples include push ups, pull ups, squats, planks, and lunges. They offer several advantages such as requiring minimal equipment and are scalable to various fitness levels.
Weight Training:
Weight training involves using external weights to create resistance. This can be achieved using specialised equipment such as dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells or weight machines. Weight training allows you to progressively increase the resistance by small increments, target specific body parts more accurately, promote muscle and strength development and like bodyweight training is scalable to all fitness levels (arguably even more so!)
Here are the key differences:
Resistance Source:
Bodyweight Training: Resistance comes from your own mass and gravity.
Weight Training: Resistance is provided by external weights such as dumbbells.
Equipment Needs:
Bodyweight Training: With a few exceptions require minimal equipment making them convenient for home workouts or outdoor settings.
Weight Training: Involves equipment like barbells, dumbbells or resistance machines which come in huge range of prices from relatively affordable to very expensive.
Progression:
Bodyweight Training: Progression involves altering the angles and leverage of your body to increase resistance on the target muscle groups.
Weight Training: Progression involves steadily increasing the weight lifted over time with no change in the biomechanics of the exercise.
Safety:
Bodyweight Training: Outside of gymnastics, advanced calisthenics and high impact jumping most bodyweight exercises are relatively safe to perform with minimal risk of serious injury. Although, as with any exercise, proper technique is still important
Weight Training: It’s very important to learn proper exercise technique and start with lighter loads to stay safe and maximise results when lifting weights. Any combination of high risk exercises, bad technique and heavy loads can cause serious injury!
Choosing Your Approach:
The choice between bodyweight training and weight training depends on your personal preferences. Ultimately they both involve your muscles contracting against resistance.
Bodyweight exercises are excellent for developing functional fitness, improving mobility and providing a super-convenient workout solution. On the other hand, weight training is excellent for targeted muscle development, simple progression and maximising strength.
One is not better than the other.
Choose the path that is right for you!