Is Bodyweight Training Good Enough To Achieve Results?

With everything in the fitness industry we need to be very clear on the “what”. 

What results are you after? 

Is it fat-loss? Muscle building? Getting stronger? 

The tactics we use should be optimal for the outcome. But for many of you, the outcome is different from person to person 

You have your own unique translation for your own results. 

My View. 

Having witnessed peoples retraction from society in lockdown, home workouts are now the norm. 

People had to adapt and overcome to survive and keep their mental health in a good place.

For me, along with a bunch of merry men. Home workouts weren't an option. 

So at night, we snuck into the squadron gym and trained with the red light on. 

Until one of us got caught. 

After that we then gathered equipment and loaded a car up with plates, weights and bars and trained on a battle rig in the pissing rain. 

Most of you might be thinking, “idiots” 

But I can’t train at home, I need to be in a different environment and use weights.

That's not to say, you can’t get decent results with bodyweight workouts. 

Many of my clients use bodyweight workouts and get amazing results. 

There is a wave of calisthenics followers that look amazing. 

But for me, there will always be a ceiling in what you can achieve. 

Introducing Ogawa et al (2023)

Let’s jump into a research study. 

Ogawa et al conducted a study looking at the effects of free weight and body mass-based resistance training on thigh muscle size, strength, and intramuscular fat in healthy young and middle-aged individuals.

This study involved 37 men and women at the ages between 30-64, who hadn’t conducted physical activity for a year. 

Of this group size 21 people were designated to the free weight training group ( resistance training)  and 16 people to the body weight group.

Both groups were tested at the beginning for muscle mass and MVCT (maximum voluntary contraction torque) 

Both groups trained for 8 weeks, twice a week with strict guidelines to adhere to however as with all studies, there are always limitations.

The Outcome

Both study groups saw a similar increase in the cross-sectional area of muscle. 

However, surprisingly the bodyweight group saw a decrease in intramuscular fat mass. 

But there was a significant increase in MVCT in the resistance training group.

There are two limitations with this study. 

The groups were not assigned randomly and only the cross sectional area of the thigh was measured.

We need to remember that total volume is a precursor to hypertrophy .This fact wasn’t taken into consideration in this study. 

What does it mean to you? 

Remember! One study doesn't mean it's fact or gospel. You should always look for other studies to either disprove or balance another study

You can definitely get good results when it comes to fat-loss and muscle building with bodyweight exercises.

But if you are looking to maximize your strength, which is the maximum amount you can lift, you will probably need a barbell and some weights.

Also psychology plays a massive part in this. Are you able to push yourself as hard as possible with the kids and wifey running around? 

I am a big believer in compartmentalizing different areas in your life. Work/Home/play. 

By combining all three I believe that you run the risk of not being able to switch off.

But that being said, it’s down to the individual's preference.  

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Have an awesome day! 

Your Coach,

Carl