The Age-old Debate: Free weights or Bodyweight?
As long as men have been on a quest to attain the perfect body there have been countless questions as to how exactly to go about it.
Well wait no longer, I’m going to put an end to this debate right now. Which is better for attaining the best body, weight lifting or bodyweight exercises?
The answer - neither one is necessarily better than the other. Truth be told there is no one perfect way to develop the ultimate physique, that’s why you have so many proponents of both methods. In the development of your fitness regime you have consider a lot of different factors:
1. What are your exact goals, what type of shape are you in right now and what type of body do you want to achieve
2. How much money can you invest or are you willing to invest in equipment for your home or gym/health club memberships
3. How much time do you have to invest in your fitness program
4. Will you have a training partner at your disposal should one be necessary
Inevitably what you will find after considering these and other factors is that a mix of weight training and bodyweight exercises will help you achieve your fitness goals in the shortest time possible.
If your new to working out, you may want to stick entirely with simple calesthenics at the beginning until you develop sufficient strength and coordination to tackle a more complete workout program.
Exercises like push-ups, bodyweight squats, dips, handstands and pull-ups will greatly improve your strength, balance, coordination and endurance and once these exercises become “easy” to perform you can begin adding weighted movements to your routine to (1) build areas these exercises don’t completely develop - like bicep curls; or (2) to increase body mass, if that’s your goal, with barbell squats or deadlifts.
A lot of what it takes to attain your goals in fitness, as well as other areas of your life, lies in the doing not in the search for too good to be true shortcuts.
One thing I can not stress enough - always, always, always consult your doctor before beginning a new workout program - even the best workout program in the world will do nothing for you if you injure yourself during the first session and can’t continue.
If you’re looking for quick workouts you can perform when your strapped for time or unable to make it to the gym, keep coming back. I’m going to try and put up some 15 minute maintenance workouts every week or so to keep your blood pumping when the clock’s not on your side.
workout program, bodyweight exercise, free weight exercise, choosing the best workout
April 5th, 2007 at 5:46 am
What about free weights vs machines? Is either better? I usually use the machines, I like the safety factor that goes along with it, and since I’ve started doing a HIT(High Intensity Training, i think thats the acronym), its a bonus for me.
March 8th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Folks….the “perfect” body exists only in your mind…..
Be damned if I’m going to spend any time in a gym simply to beef up….People like that had NO ENERGY when it came to anything else…like working. I work in a Boning Room in an abbatoir and I see people that have a truly difficult physical job every day…..they certainly don’t look like Gym goers, and they have more energy than most idiots that pump weights….
Face it….people only do this to win the bitches over, and it’s another manifestation of the same syndrome that girls themselves flap their gums about and endlessly diet for…SELF IMAGE…
For the record…i’m 194cm tall…..75 kilos weight (thats exactly what I should be for my height.)…I’ve never been near a gym, can lift more than most, and steriod abuse is something that has no place in my life….WHO WANTS a shrunken cock, raisin nuts and roid rage?
If you combine WORKING and exercise, you don’t need weights or a gym….only when you work in an office and sit on your ass all day are these things needed for your health….otherwise, it’s all just to impress WOMEN….SO WHAT? They make up their own damened minds about who they open their legs for, and from what the feminist lobby and magazines like CLEO tell them, there are a whole bunch of “leg opening issues” that have little or nothing to do with how well endowed your muscles are….
Lets not play the game….WOMEN are the ones with the weight obsessionand personal looks issues to flap their mouths about…
The FEMINIST BACKLASH IS ON….
Just be YOURSELVES….and STUFF WHAT THEY WANT