Calisthenics VS Free Weights

So, should you use free weights or do bodyweight exercises? In this post I go over the various pros and cons of both forms of exercise. I also offer my suggestion on which one is best, and what you should be doing!

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Let’s start off with bodyweight exercises also known as calisthenics.

Calisthenics pros:

Low to no cost:

Those who use bodyweight exercises need little to no equipment to have a good workout. With calisthenics, the earth is your gym. Trees can be used for pull-ups, benches can be used for dips, the possibilities are endless.

Very functional:

Calisthenics is very functional as it forces you to use your whole body. The human body naturally has its muscles working in unison as a chain. You are only as strong as your weakest link and calisthenics addresses all the links.

Good for fat loss:

To make up for a lack of weight people generally do many reps when performing bodyweight exercises. Doing many reps quickly turns the workouts into H.I.I.T cardio sessions which are amazing for burning fat. This is assuming your diet is in check, you can’t out-train a bad diet.

Calisthenics Cons:

Hard to progress:

The difficulty of learning new movements can be a hindrance for progression during bodyweight exercises. Moving from pull-ups to muscle-ups might take some time, time that could have been used getting stronger. As on gets, more advanced new novel ways must be uncovered to progress.

Mediocre leg development:

You can do all the pistol squats and bodyweight lunges you want but they will never compare with barbell squats. Calisthenics is very upper body dominant, legs are often neglected.

Lagging muscles:

It can become difficult to isolate and target lagging muscles whilst doing calisthenics since most exercises are compound exercises.

Free Weights Pros:

Reach genetic limit:

Without added resistance, it is impossible to obtain our genetic limits. If you want to maximise your muscle and strength gains you will have to eventually start lifting free-weights. The sealing cap is much higher than that of bodyweight exercises.

Easy to progress and program:

With free weights, one can incrementally progress on their lifts. Many forms of resistance can be used from micro-plates to accommodating resistance bands. There has also been a large body of research done in exercise science and there are plenty of time-proven resources available for free.

Good for longevity:

Free weights will strengthen your connective tissue, tendons, and increase your bone density. These changes in the body will aid you in old age and increase your health and longevity.

Free Weight Cons:

Increased Cost:

Training with weights is a lot more expensive than training with bodyweight. Regardless of if you are planning on building a home gym or join a commercial gym you will have to fork out some money.

Increased risk of injury:

Due to the increased complexity of some movements and the increase in weight the rate of injury increases with free weight. This is a problem that isn’t prevalent in the bodyweight training world. People have died from lifting free weights.

Potential decreased mobility:

If you are not careful you can develop some muscular imbalances which can ultimately lead to a lack of mobility. Your muscles can stiffen up decreasing your real-world functionality.

So, which should you choose? Free Weight VS Bodyweight?

The answer is simple, both. If you have the funds to afford to train with weights, then do it! But don’t neglect the bodyweight exercises! If you can’t afford to train with weights, then utilise bodyweight training and become good at it. I also advise that you eventually move on to working with free weights. The plethora of benefits from both cannot be ignored.