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Since its inception, the fitness industry has evolved almost out of all recognition. Whereas, 50, 40 or even 20 years ago, the emphasis was on natural movements that replicated the physical challenges that most of us faced on a daily basis, many fitness industry experts now place a lot of focus on exercise technology. It’s true – while personal trainers are definitely more knowledgeable than ever before and have a greater understanding of exercise science, a great many are guilty of “throwing the baby out with the bath water” and are all too quick to dismiss the training methods of bygone years and label them as out of date and obsolete. This becomes even more apparent when you walk into any of the myriad of mega-gyms that crop up in just about every major city. These impressive-looking facilities provide exercise machines to hit just about every part of your body in comfort and, more often, while sitting down and with a great view of a widescreen TV! Sadly, while fitness technology and sports science have undoubtedly taken massive leaps forwards, many exercisers are missing out on one of the most effective forms of training there is simply because it is viewed as being old fashioned. That training method? Body weight exercise. Also known as calisthenics, body weight exercises are often thought of as suitable only for beginners or for anyone who wants to work on their muscular endurance while avoiding building big, bulky muscles. While it’s true, some body weight exercises are decidedly low intensity; they are not all easy and, with some guidance from your personal trainer, calisthenics can actually be very demanding. In itself, the term calisthenics is very interesting and, like so many fitness and medical terms, it originates from Greek and is based on two words – kali meaning beautiful and stenos meaning strength. Even before the advent of personal trainers, those ancient Greeks knew a thing or two about exercise and health so the very fact that calisthenics means beautiful strength should tell you that body weight training should not be so quickly dismissed. So why is body weight training such a useful exercise tool? Let’s review a few points... Body weight exercises can be performed virtually anywhere. All you need is some space, an exercise mat and maybe a pull-up bar. With nothing more than your body and some space you can exercise virtually every muscle in your body You can develop all fitness components with body weight exercises. Not just muscular endurance. Want power? Squat jumps and clap push-ups will get the job done. Want strength? Give one-armed push-ups, single-legged squats and pull ups a go. Need cardiovascular fitness? Burpees are a great solution. Your body is literally your gym! A good personal trainer should have no problem designing an effective full-body working using almost exclusively body weight exercises Body weight exercises are generally easy on your joints. As most body weight exercises use your muscles in a natural way, you are very unlikely to hurt yourself when performing body weight exercises. This is not the case with many machine exercises; especially if the machine does not fit you exactly right. In bodyweight exercises YOU dictate the movement path whereas in machine-based exercises tend to force you to follow a less natural movement path. This can lead to a) developing non-functional fitness and strength and b) short and long term injuries Body weight exercises generally involve moving your body through space whereas most machine and even free weight exercises involve your body staying still while your lift, push or pull a weight. Moving your body through space stimulates your nervous system which results in greater self-awareness, balance, coordination and proprioception; all of which have a very positive carryover to the activities of daily living as well as sports Body weight exercises are more often than not full-body. Take push-ups for example; the push-up is commonly thought of as a chest and arm exercise BUT the reality is you have to use virtually every muscle in your body when you do this seemingly simple exercise. From your toes to your neck and everything in between, your entire body gets involved in push-ups. In contrast, the seated chest press machine does all the supporting for you and isolates your arms and shoulders from the rest of your body which makes the exercise easier and less involving. In exercise, easier is definitely not better! Of course, body weight exercises aren’t without drawbacks; you also have to consider the lack of variable resistance, er, um, actually; that’s about it. And even then, a simple alteration of hand or foot position means you can make body weight exercises as easy or as hard as you want. No locking pins to move, no seats to adjust, no bars to load – you can make these changes all but instantly; even mid-way though an exercise if your personal trainer deems it necessary. Many personal trainers may have turned their backs on body weight exercises but I for one have not. I believe that, sometimes, the old ways are the best and certainly warrant inclusion in a program that uses other training methods. So, until you can do 50 push-ups, 15 pull-ups and 10 one-legged squats, don’t go saying that body weight exercises are “just for beginners” – it’s really just not true! Author Bio: Mark Darco is a professional personal trainer with more than 14 years experience and has worked with hundreds of clients. He has successfully completed multiple certifications and continues to provide top class fitness training to clients of all ages in the NYC area.
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