Not everyone wants to powerlift or use strongman training.
Not everyone wants to throw heavy shit on their back or rip heavy shit off the ground.
Hey, I can understand that AND respect it. I KNOW strength can be achieved through bodyweight workouts only.
Working on all types of pull ups, push ups, jumps, animal movements, squats, lunges, sprints and more....
The body doesn't get banged up or beat down. The mind stays fresh. The body must stay lean in order to develop proficiency on the bodyweight drills. A fat, out of shape man might be able to deadlift or squat a heavy single, but, he can NOT climb a rope, sprint 400 meters, bang out 50 push ups, 40 dips or 20 pull ups.
Bodyweight training and a tight diet = agile, mobile and hostile.
Check these Navy SEAL Training Tips from ex Navy SEAL, Brad McLeod.
Click HERE to become a BadAss.
--Z--
6 Responses
Strong, lean and fast beats Strong, fat and slow every time!
He who lifts more is stronger! Their is no such thing as realitive strength or coefficents! If I lift more than you I am stronger than you-Period!
BUT!!!!
What good is it to be so strong if you can’t use it for anything but lifting big weights?! That is why I crank bodyweight exercises everyday!
Steve Justa was humilated by a 140# guy at a foundry where he worked when he had to fill in for the guy one day. Mr. Justa had all the strength in the world, but couldn’t keep up with the pace of a job that was both strength (150#-300#/piece) and the endurance.
I don’t care what people say pullups, and pushups should be a fundamental part of every body’s routine. Unless you walk around on your hands you need to work them.
I asked a Seal once when I was in the Navy why he didn’t lift big, and he made a great point-“That only makes me a bigger target!”
Well put! The only worth is to make you bigger and stronger, but not functional or applicable! I choose to be big, strong and functional.
Can’t let me boys beat me in pullups!
I agree with everything you are saying. Where as some put no real emphasis on the main lifts and brush them off, others only focus on the main lifts and ignore everything less.
Personal I will never go pure BW only (unless it is for a short time to give my body a break). If someone else does, that’s cool, to each his own.
But I can help but notice something; the majority of women (notice I did not say all) love cardio, conditioning, TRX, BW, XFit, etc., but very very few women like to lift heavy (like Powerlifting) or do anything close to Strongman. There is a reason; nothing is manlier then Strongman and Powerlifting. Sorry, but if you are a man you are doing one or the other or (hopefully) both, barring the fact they you may not be able to do it do to limitations or injuries. But I agree, you also better be able to functionally use your BW.
The other thing is Strongman and Powerlifting will make you look like a man (no one will mistake you for a chick lol), but I have seen guys who are body weight gurus and have the build of a girl. No thanks.
For me the true test (as I am not a competitive athlete) is when I go to the playground with my children. If I can not out do them in every way then I know I have got some training to do lol. In all reality I could do with loosing a few pounds, but it is funny to go to the park, looking a little chubby, and then running circles around the kids and teens, while the “thin” parents are sitting on the benches doing nothing. Haha!
Michael M – GOOD points, brutha.
BW only for a break, my DNA will NEVER allow me to stray from heavy lifts, even if I wanted to 🙁
Strength is critical, and, yes, I am tempted to say, Strength is KING
For a few months now I have been mostly training mostly body-weight, with the exception of doing some kettlebell work. The reason I switched from heavy weights towards more calisthenic type work was because my body was getting beat up. I feel the calisthenics paired with running, jumping, swimming and crawling, as well as some weight bearing movements such as various carries, and kettlebell swings will turn you into a beast.
Currently I break my workouts into circuits, which include two pull-up variations, two pushing variations, two leg exercises, two abdominal exercises, and two full body exercises. Between each of those circuits I will run 1/4 mile. Combine that with ruck marches and swimming I have become more athletic and able to do and withstand more.
To make things even harder you can wear a weight vest or backpack with a sandbag in it to increase the difficulty of the body-weight exercises. So it is not true body-weight only but it kicks your ass.
As for physique building you look more like the guys from 300 than a power lifter. I know one guy said that you look like a woman if you only do body weight but that is not true either, you just have to look at male gymnasts to disprove that. What people forget is that diet and rest is a major contributing factor to muscle growth and physique, not just lifting.
Great post Zach. Thanks for all the information.
Great post – actually I read it in my mail today. Well, I’m one of those girls that goes for powerlifting and strongman.
But after my last meet (last Sunday, State PL champs), where I lifted way beyond my expectations and ended up tired (more than I should), sore and upset, I decided to search my mailbox for “body weight” exercises. I remembered Zach had a number of posts on them.
I admit they’re not exciting nor fun nor “transcendent” – this is PL, SM, WL, you know, the religion of those who live to lift heavy things. But GPP must be a constant part of our conditioning, no way around it, I guess.
You don’t have to like it – you just have to do it…
The most embarrassing part is that I always recommended that, helped others with their workout plans hybridizing everything but failed with my own plan.
Shame.