The Battle Of Calisthenics Vs Weights | Which One Is Best For You?
If you’re looking to build muscle and get in shape, you’re probably wondering whether you should focus on calisthenics or weightlifting.
Both types of exercises can help you achieve your fitness goals, but they each have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Table of Contents
▶️ Calisthenics Vs Weights – Comparing The Benefits Of Both
Before you choose between calisthenics and weightlifting, you need to understand the benefits of each type of exercise so that you can make an informed decision.
✅ Muscle Growth and Strength
Science has demonstrated again and again the benefits of strength training.
✏️ Both calisthenics and weightlifting can help you build lean muscle mass and increase strength.
When comparing calisthenics and weightlifting for muscle growth and strength, it’s important to consider the mechanisms behind each.
✏️ Calisthenics relies on bodyweight resistance, promoting functional strength, muscular endurance, and the ability to control one’s body.
✏️ It’s excellent for building a solid foundation and to develop an athletic muscle tone and look.
✏️ Weightlifting, allows for precise resistance selection, making it easier to progressively overload muscles, a key factor in hypertrophy (muscle growth).
✏️ With weightlifting, you can achieve the look of a bodybuilder.
✅ Flexibility and Mobility
✏️ Calisthenics incorporates movements that enhance flexibility and mobility, as exercises like stretches and dynamic movements are part of the practice, which can reduce the risk of injury and improve your overall quality of life.
✏️ It promotes a broader range of motion and functional fitness, contributing to better joint health and general movement.
✏️ Weightlifting, which is focused more on strength and muscle building, may not inherently improve flexibility unless combined with specific stretching routines.
When done with proper form, it can enhance joint stability.
For optimal results, a balanced approach that includes both disciplines can lead to improved strength, flexibility, and mobility.
✅ Cost
✏️ One of the biggest benefits of calisthenics is its convenience and low cost.
✏️ You can perform calisthenics exercises anywhere, at any time, without the need for equipment or a gym membership.
This makes it an ideal form of exercise for people with busy schedules or limited resources.
✏️ Weightlifting, on the other hand, requires access to a gym or home gym equipment, which can be expensive and time-consuming to set up.
▶️ The Advantages Of Calisthenics
Calisthenics is a form of exercise that uses your own body weight as resistance. In this section, I will cover the fundamentals of calisthenics.
✅ Affordable And Convenient
Calisthenics stands out for its affordability and convenience, eliminating the need for costly gym memberships or equipment.
Its exercises, based on body weight, can be performed anywhere, from parks to your living room, making it a highly accessible form of fitness.
This flexibility allows you to practice a fitness regime without having to pay a gym membership, or without location limitations, offering a practical and effective solution for staying in shape.
✅ Bodyweight Exercises Are Easy To Modify
The foundation of calisthenics is bodyweight exercises.
These exercises include push-ups, squats, lunges, and pull-ups.
I created a full article on calisthenics exercises – The Ultimate Calisthenics Exercise List I Wish I Had (Beginner to Advanced)
Calisthenics exercises use your own bodyweight as resistance to build strength and endurance.
You can perform variations of the exercise to make them easier. For example, knee push-ups instead of full push-ups, assisted squats using a chair for balance, or incline pull-ups using a lower bar.
These adjustments help maintain proper form while building strength and confidence to progress to more challenging variations.
✅ Compound Exercises – Train Multiple Muscles At Once
Calisthenics emphasizes compound exercises, which engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously, leading to more efficient workouts that enhance coordination and functional strength.
This approach helps you get fiter as you also get practical skills that can be applied on your day to day activities.
✅ Improves Flexibility And Balance
Calisthenics naturally enhances flexibility and balance through dynamic movements and bodyweight exercises.
This form of training involves stretching and strength exercises that make use of your joints and muscle’s range of motion, improving your flexibility as a result.
You improve your balance as you perform exercises that require body control and stabilization, such as handstands, push-ups, and planks, improving the mind and body connection and overall coordination.
▶️ Benefits Of Weight Lifting Training
When it comes to weight training, there are a few key fundamentals that you should keep in mind.
In this section, I will cover the basics of free weights vs. machines, isolation vs. compound movements, and measuring progress.
Weightlifting involves lifting weights to build muscle mass and strength, exercises include bench presses, squats, deadlifts, and curls.
It can help you build muscle mass at faster compared to calisthenics.
It can also boost your metabolism, helping you burn more calories throughout the day.
Weightlifting requires access to equipment, such as dumbbells, barbells, and weight machines, and it can be more expensive than calisthenics.
Additionally, weightlifting can put more stress on your joints, increasing your risk of injury if not done correctly.
✅ Free Weights vs. Machines
One of the first decisions you’ll need to make if you decide to start a weight training program is if you want to use free weights or machines.
Free weights are typically barbells and dumbbells that allow for a greater range of motion and more natural movements.
Machines are a bit different; they are designed to isolate specific muscle groups and may be easier to use for beginners.
Both free weights and machines have their advantages and disadvantages, so it’s important to consider your goals and experience level when making a decision.
If you’re new to weight training, I recommend that you consider the machines because they may be a good place to start, as they can help you learn proper form and technique.
Once you gain more experience, you can then incorporate free weights into your workouts.
In my case, I have been working out since I was 15 years old, I do a mix of machine isolation exercises, free weights and calisthenics.
✅ Isolation vs. Compound Movements
Another important consideration when designing a weight training program is whether to focus on isolation or compound movements.
Isolation exercises target a specific muscle group, while compound exercises work multiple muscle groups at once.
Both types of exercises have their place in a well-rounded weight training program.
Isolation exercises can be useful for targeting specific areas of weakness or imbalance, while compound exercises are great for building overall strength and muscle mass.
✅ Measuring Progress
✏️ Finally, it’s important to have a way to measure your progress over time. This can help you stay motivated and ensure that you’re making progress towards your goals.
There are a few different ways to measure progress in weight training, including:
- Tracking your weight and body composition
- Keeping a workout log to track the weights and reps you’re using
- Using a one-rep max calculator to estimate your maximum strength
By keeping these fundamentals in mind and making informed decisions about your weight training program, you can build strength, and muscle mass.
▶️ What Is Common Between The Two Types Of Exercises?
✅ Progressive Overload
Progressive overload is the process of gradually increasing the difficulty of your exercises over time.
This can be done by increasing the number of reps, sets, or difficulty of the exercise.
For example, you can start with a basic push-up and gradually progress to a one-arm push-up.
This helps to ensure that your muscles are constantly challenged and that you continue to make progress.
Related article: Are You Not Using The Milo Of Croton Progressive Overload Method In Calisthenics?
✅ Skill Development
Calisthenics is not just about building strength and endurance.
It also involves developing skills such as balance, coordination, and flexibility.
Some common calisthenics skills include handstands, muscle-ups, and human flags.
These skills require a combination of strength, flexibility, and technique. By working on these skills, you can improve your overall fitness and athleticism.
In summary, calisthenics is a great way to build strength, flexibility, and endurance using your own body weight as resistance.
On the other hand, in bodybuilding you need to master weighted squats, deadlifts, and other weighted exercises.
✅ Deload Periods
Deload periods are super important in any workout program.
They allow for physical and mental recovery, helping prevent overtraining and injury.
By reducing workout intensity or volume, deloads give muscles, joints, and the nervous system time to recover and adapt, leading to improved performance and strength gains over time.
They also provide a mental break, keeping motivation and engagement high.
▶️ What About Combining Calisthenics And Weights?
Combining calisthenics and weightlifting it’s like mixing peanut butter with jelly – they complement each other perfectly!
✏️ Both calisthenics and weight lifting are forms of strength training, but they have their unique perks.
✏️ The main difference between calisthenics and weightlifting is how they apply resistance.
When debating calisthenics vs weightlifting, it’s not about which one is better than the other but how you can use both for a well-rounded strength training routine.
✏️ But why choose, right? Combine calisthenics and weightlifting to hit both the upper body and lower body, improve overall muscle strength, and keep your workouts fresh to keep you motivated.
You can use external weights to amp up your calisthenic exercises or use calisthenics movements to add variety to your workouts as a warm-up or cool-down in your weight exercises.
▶️ Tips To Do Both Techniques On The Same Day
- 1️⃣ Start with calisthenics for a full-body warm-up, focusing on mobility and core activation.
- 2️⃣ Integrate weights into your routine with compound lifts like squats or deadlifts for strength building.
- 3️⃣ Alternate between calisthenic exercises and weightlifting sets to maintain intensity and engagement.
- 4️⃣ Use calisthenics for high-rep, endurance-focused circuits to complement heavy weightlifting sessions.
- 5️⃣ End with calisthenics movements that focus on balance and flexibility, such as yoga-inspired poses or static holds.
▶️ Tips To Do Calisthenics And Weightlifting On Alternate Days
- 1️⃣ Choose specific days for each discipline to allow for targeted focus and recovery.
- 2️⃣ Use calisthenics days for skill development and endurance, emphasizing body control and movement quality.
- 3️⃣ On weightlifting days, prioritize strength and hypertrophy with progressively heavier loads.
- 4️⃣ Ensure adequate rest between sessions that target the same muscle groups to prevent overtraining.
- 5️⃣ Incorporate active recovery techniques on alternate days, like light stretching or yoga, to maintain flexibility and aid muscle recovery.
▶️ Considerations For Choosing A Training Style
When it comes to choosing a training style, there are a few important considerations to keep in mind. Here are some factors to consider when deciding between calisthenics and weight training:
✅ Personal Goals
Your personal fitness goals should be the primary factor in deciding which training style to pursue.
If you’re interested in building strength and muscle mass, weight training may be the better choice.
On the other hand, if your goals are focused on improving your overall fitness level and functional strength, calisthenics may be the way to go.
✅ Lifestyle And Preferences
Your lifestyle and personal preferences should also be taken into account.
If you prefer to work out at home or on the go, calisthenics may be more convenient since it requires little to no equipment.
On the other hand, if you enjoy going to the gym and using weights, weight training may be a better fit for you.
✅ Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation
If you have a history of injuries or are currently recovering from an injury, calisthenics may be a better choice since it places less stress on the joints and muscles.
However, weight training can also be beneficial for injury prevention and rehabilitation when done correctly with proper form and technique.
▶️ Conclusion
I am a big advocate of bodybuilding. How could I not be? I have been practicing bodybuilding for too long.
Ultimately, the decision to pursue calisthenics or weight training should be based on your personal goals, lifestyle, and injury history.
But there is no doubt that science confirms that strength training can get you healthier in general.
Both calisthenics and weightlifting offer unique benefits to your fitness journey.
I wrote a complete article dedicated to the benefits of calisthenics. Make sure you check it out!!!
Related article: Benefits Of Calisthenics | Why It Is Great And Why You Should Do It?
Calisthenics may not be as effective at building muscle mass as weightlifting, as your body weight may not provide enough resistance to challenge your muscles.
Related article: 10+ Calisthenics Disadvantages You Should Know | Is Bodyweight Training Right For You?
Combining both can provide a well-rounded approach to strength, flexibility, and overall fitness.
Remember, always consider professional advice to tailor a routine that’s safe and effective for you.
