Can Bodyweight Workout Replace Weight Training?
12/04/2020
Written By: Ryan Chan |
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You have been regularly working out in the gym but to certain limitations, you may not be able to visit the gym as frequent for a period of time. In this case, you turn to bodyweight exercises. But, can it replace your weight training?
The Answer: It depends on your workout goals.
Here’s a breakdown of workout goals and if weight lifting can be replaced by bodyweight workout. Do note that occasional weight lifting session is still highly beneficial to your long-term well-being and should be done whenever possible.
I want to lose weight – YES
I want to build muscles – NO
I want to get stronger – NO
I want to improve my stamina – YES
I want to improve my overall fitness level - YES
The Answer: It depends on your workout goals.
Here’s a breakdown of workout goals and if weight lifting can be replaced by bodyweight workout. Do note that occasional weight lifting session is still highly beneficial to your long-term well-being and should be done whenever possible.
I want to lose weight – YES
I want to build muscles – NO
I want to get stronger – NO
I want to improve my stamina – YES
I want to improve my overall fitness level - YES
I want to lose weight.
YES, you CAN replace weight training with bodyweight workout. When we look at weight management, we focus on calorie input vs output. Both bodyweight workouts and weight lifting workouts can burn a considerable amount of calories. And in fact, bodyweight workout can burn even more calories as you will be able to sustain a higher heart rate for a longer period of time. As you will be using lighter weights (your own body weight) as compared to regular weight training, you should be able to execute exercises at a higher volume with lesser rest time. This helps to keep your heart rate at a higher level for a longer period of time, resulting in more calories burnt. However, do note that the above scenario is only applicable to people who work out regularly and is exposed to resistance training for a period of time. If you are a beginner, you are may find doing bodyweight workouts is still as tough as weight training.
I want to build muscles.
NO, you CANNOT replace weight training with bodyweight workout (unless you are a beginner). The main factor required to build muscles is stimulant. Depending on what stimulants is given to your muscles, your muscles adapt in the same way. If you use to be doing 100kg bench presses and start overloading your muscles with 105kg, your muscles (and bones) will grow to adapt to the new weight by getting denser and bigger. That’s how you pack muscle mass (given sufficient nutrition). However, if you stop doing that 100kg bench press but instead switch to doing bodyweight push-ups (given you are a 70kg dude, the stress load of a bodyweight push-up will roughly be just 47kg), the loss in the weight stimulant will result in your body losing that muscle mass that was once needed to withstand a 100kg bench press.
People might argue that they are doing more repetitions to compensate for the loss in weight used, but the property of the stimulant is different. By doing more repetitions, you will now be training your body to adapt to more endurance work (eg. Lactic building, pain tolerance, aerobic efficiency etc). At this point, it is important to understand that the muscle fibers used for strength work (Type II) and endurance work (Type I) differs. The ability to pack on bigger and denser muscle mass much faster is to train the Type II muscle fibers. If a sacrifice is made to train the Type I muscle fiber instead, due to the size and growth rate of the fiber itself, you will never gain as much muscle mass as if you were to train the Type II fibers.
However, if you are a beginner, bodyweight exercises serve as a very good starting point to strength, building muscles to withstand your own bodyweight before proceeding to heavier load.
I want to get stronger.
NO, you CANNOT replace weight training with bodyweight workout (unless you are a beginner). Once again, we are talking about the kind of stimulant we are giving to our body. From the point mentioned above, we know that in order to get stronger, we have to give our body heavier load for it to grow in that direction. Unless you are a beginner in which you are having difficulties handling your own body weight, such as doing push-ups, pull-ups and bodyweight dips, you will need a heavier load that surpasses your own body weight in order for you to get stronger.
You can though, use bodyweight exercises to improve the strength of smaller muscle groups/stabilisers, to aid in creating a stronger and more stable force production when lifting heavier weight but for that, we’ll leave it to next time for more discussion.
The main takeaway is still – if you aren’t lifting as heavy as before, you’re probably going to get weaker over time (with professional athlete seeing a strength loss of up to 10% after 3 weeks).
I want to improve my stamina.
YES, you CAN replace weight training with bodyweight workout. If you are looking at improving your cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory fitness, switching over to bodyweight exercises in which you can perform at a lighter weight but higher volume with lesser rest time, can definitely help. This allows your heart rate to be kept elevated for a longer period of time, allowing your body to develop greater cardio fitness.
However, if you are a beginner, you might want to adjust your rest time and volume of workout to fit your fitness level.
I want to improve my overall fitness level.
YES, you CAN replace weight training with bodyweight workout. From general strength training, to cardio fitness, to flexibility and sports performance, you can train them all with just your bodyweight exercises. However, do make sure to progress into each exercise difficult safely as some bodyweight exercises can be rather complex and challenging.
You might ask, why do I even need the gym then? Weight lifting workout allows a more specific muscle group to be targeted for training. This helps to balance deficiency in strength, muscle tension, posture, etc. On top of that, it provides a structured way to progress in terms of muscular fitness. This will be discussed in the near future.
YES, you CAN replace weight training with bodyweight workout. When we look at weight management, we focus on calorie input vs output. Both bodyweight workouts and weight lifting workouts can burn a considerable amount of calories. And in fact, bodyweight workout can burn even more calories as you will be able to sustain a higher heart rate for a longer period of time. As you will be using lighter weights (your own body weight) as compared to regular weight training, you should be able to execute exercises at a higher volume with lesser rest time. This helps to keep your heart rate at a higher level for a longer period of time, resulting in more calories burnt. However, do note that the above scenario is only applicable to people who work out regularly and is exposed to resistance training for a period of time. If you are a beginner, you are may find doing bodyweight workouts is still as tough as weight training.
I want to build muscles.
NO, you CANNOT replace weight training with bodyweight workout (unless you are a beginner). The main factor required to build muscles is stimulant. Depending on what stimulants is given to your muscles, your muscles adapt in the same way. If you use to be doing 100kg bench presses and start overloading your muscles with 105kg, your muscles (and bones) will grow to adapt to the new weight by getting denser and bigger. That’s how you pack muscle mass (given sufficient nutrition). However, if you stop doing that 100kg bench press but instead switch to doing bodyweight push-ups (given you are a 70kg dude, the stress load of a bodyweight push-up will roughly be just 47kg), the loss in the weight stimulant will result in your body losing that muscle mass that was once needed to withstand a 100kg bench press.
People might argue that they are doing more repetitions to compensate for the loss in weight used, but the property of the stimulant is different. By doing more repetitions, you will now be training your body to adapt to more endurance work (eg. Lactic building, pain tolerance, aerobic efficiency etc). At this point, it is important to understand that the muscle fibers used for strength work (Type II) and endurance work (Type I) differs. The ability to pack on bigger and denser muscle mass much faster is to train the Type II muscle fibers. If a sacrifice is made to train the Type I muscle fiber instead, due to the size and growth rate of the fiber itself, you will never gain as much muscle mass as if you were to train the Type II fibers.
However, if you are a beginner, bodyweight exercises serve as a very good starting point to strength, building muscles to withstand your own bodyweight before proceeding to heavier load.
I want to get stronger.
NO, you CANNOT replace weight training with bodyweight workout (unless you are a beginner). Once again, we are talking about the kind of stimulant we are giving to our body. From the point mentioned above, we know that in order to get stronger, we have to give our body heavier load for it to grow in that direction. Unless you are a beginner in which you are having difficulties handling your own body weight, such as doing push-ups, pull-ups and bodyweight dips, you will need a heavier load that surpasses your own body weight in order for you to get stronger.
You can though, use bodyweight exercises to improve the strength of smaller muscle groups/stabilisers, to aid in creating a stronger and more stable force production when lifting heavier weight but for that, we’ll leave it to next time for more discussion.
The main takeaway is still – if you aren’t lifting as heavy as before, you’re probably going to get weaker over time (with professional athlete seeing a strength loss of up to 10% after 3 weeks).
I want to improve my stamina.
YES, you CAN replace weight training with bodyweight workout. If you are looking at improving your cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory fitness, switching over to bodyweight exercises in which you can perform at a lighter weight but higher volume with lesser rest time, can definitely help. This allows your heart rate to be kept elevated for a longer period of time, allowing your body to develop greater cardio fitness.
However, if you are a beginner, you might want to adjust your rest time and volume of workout to fit your fitness level.
I want to improve my overall fitness level.
YES, you CAN replace weight training with bodyweight workout. From general strength training, to cardio fitness, to flexibility and sports performance, you can train them all with just your bodyweight exercises. However, do make sure to progress into each exercise difficult safely as some bodyweight exercises can be rather complex and challenging.
You might ask, why do I even need the gym then? Weight lifting workout allows a more specific muscle group to be targeted for training. This helps to balance deficiency in strength, muscle tension, posture, etc. On top of that, it provides a structured way to progress in terms of muscular fitness. This will be discussed in the near future.
On a final note, it is definitely beneficial to be involved in some form of strength training workout be it bodyweight or weight lifting exercises. As we age past 30 years old, our body starts to lose muscle and bone mass at a rate of 3-5% per decade. This will result in a slower metabolism, weaker bone and joint health, and the higher risk of injuries. To prevent/slow down the process, strength training is a must. You should be engaged in some form of resisted workout at least twice a week.
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