Getting strong and building muscle is always linked to weight training.
After all, it is the most common and effective way to get big and strong.
Lift something heavy enough times and your body is going to repair itself to be better suited to doing it again next time.
A solid weightlifting program and clean diet in a calorie surplus and just like that you’re building muscle.
But as I assume you know, lifting weights isn’t the only way to get big and strong.
Take gymnastics, for example, you have to be crazy strong to perform most of those movements.
And the physiques of gymnasts show that they’re building muscle as well, Not so much in the legs.
But it is a very upper body dominant sport.
Bodyweight training has also proven to be very effective in building size and strength and this is where we get to calisthenics.
For the last little while, calisthenics has been building fast in popularity.
Calisthenics in a nutshell is zero equipment training.
A lot of gymnastic movements, a lot of movement on the pull-up bar, parallel bars, and just the floor.
I still find it funny though that in certain circles there is almost an us vs them mindset with calisthenics and weight training.
But the thing for me is why can’t we do both?
I’ve been bringing in more and more calisthenics into my training without going right down the rabbit hole and completely immersing myself in it.
From the outside looking in, I can see all the benefits of this style of training.
Getting ripped and strong while learning some pretty impressive movements.
But it does look like it’s limited with your lower body.
That’s not to say you can’t train your lower body without equipment. But your legs have some big muscle groups in them.
And while bodyweight movements for your upper body are very challenging, the same can’t always be said for the lower body.
That is why for me and my training I mainly do bodyweight only for my upper body.
I can get a crazy core workout in while working on various pull-up variations.
The aim of a handstand pushup is to drive a lot of my training with my upper body also.
And I really need to clean up my muscle-ups.
But when it comes to my legs, I love doing deadlifts and sled push.
I also do a lot of my lower body with kettlebells, I love the added dynamic they bring and how much you can bring your core in with a kettlebell.
Now maybe there is not as big of a rivalry there as I think there is.
But I definitely think we can all make room for both forms of training in our routine.
Especially now with how much more time we are spending at home.
Because of that, being able to train whereever we want is so important now.
So I’ve added in a link for you to get your free copy of my E-Book ‘Train Wherever The F*ck You Want‘.
All about training with a resistance band. The perfect minimal equipment tool for training where you want.
Benefits Of Bodyweight Exercises
Inexpensive
I can’t think of a cheaper way to exercise.
Hell if you really wanted to you don’t even need to buy clothes!
But maybe keep those workouts for home.
Convenient
One thing people struggle with once they get a new workout routine is when they have to travel.
In a new city just for a few days trying to find somewhere to work out.
Well, when it’s bodyweight only you can do it anywhere!
Time saver
When you’re only using yourself you don’t have to walk to the next machine or even change weight.
You can flow from one exercise to the other.
Which lead us into…
Added Cardio
When you transition from movement to movement you keep your heart rate higher for longer.
And if we were to do a bit of a circuit, going from one exercise to another in quick concession you’ll be working strength and cardio all without a piece of equipment.
Benefits of Kettlebell Training
First off, are Kettlebells better than Dumbbells?
Comparing things is so tricky these days, since we got the internet everyone’s opinion got stronger and their voices got louder.
Now, this isn’t necessarily bad but it does make it hard to do research.
But in my opinion, No, Kettlebells are not better than dumbbells, but neither are they worse.
It really depends on your goals, and what you want to get out of your workout.
With the weight being below the handle on a kettlebell it changes the dynamic of most movements.
Especially when doing any twisting movements or single arm.
Kettlebells will also give you a better cardio workout, simply because a lot of the exercises involve more movement and swinging.
They will also improve your grip strength and functional strength, they are more practical than dumbbells for improving lower back strength which leads to helping with lower back pain.
Here’s an easy-to-do workout with a kettlebell I posted a while back.
And finally, kettlebells can also offer more options for improving core strength and stability.
You can swap in and out between dumbbells and kettlebells for most movements if you need to.
But you can’t replicate what makes them different from each other.
Sure you can do curls and presses with kettlebells but the dynamic of the movement can be very different.
As I mentioned earlier the weight distribution alone really separates the two from each other.
I will quite often do a single-arm overhead press with a kettlebell in bottoms ups.
And the overhead press is just as it sounds, pressing a weight from your shoulders above your head.
Holding a kettlebell bottoms up, upside down balancing the bell over your hand.
This is quite difficult to do and brings your core stability in like you wouldn’t believe!
Finding and exercise routine that works for you in one thing, and getting your diet right is another.
But if you don’t build the right habits, you’ll never have the discipline to stick to it long term.
That why I created The Grizzly Method, I put all 3 together along with the accountability you need to achieve the body and lifestyle you want.
Book your FREE consultation call here!
If you liked this article I have another one here you might be interested in also about Resistance Bands Vs Weights.