Is calisthenics better than weight training?

I’m pretty sure it is cultural knowledge at this point that Trader Joe’s employees are some of the friendliest, conversational and even flirtatious grocery store employees known to man. I almost exclusively shop at Trader Joe’s because not only do I prefer the experience, I have convinced myself that most of the food (excluding certain staple or baking items) is quite a bit cheaper than other stores such as Vons and Ralph’s.

While today I was brutalized by the price of eggs, thus blowing my poorly researched theory out of the water, I still was ensconced in and swept away by the general friendly and upbeat attitude of the Trader Joe’s employees. While standing in the check out line the woman in front of me was having a conversation with the cashier and checker and my ears perked up at hearing the topic….

The cashier was explaining to the checker that he didn’t actually need to lift weights or have a gym membership to see results. He could start out just by doing Calisthenics.

Calisthenics is a form of strength training that uses only your bodyweight as resistance while performing compound movements. (multi-muscle and multi-joint exercises).

He went on to say he knew exactly what he was talking about because he reads up a lot on all this stuff and if his friend followed his advice and some particular podcaster’s exercise prescriptions, he’d be crushing his goals and seeing major results in no time.

The woman who was paying for her groceries heartily agreed, even going on to say that not only are bodyweight exercises good for strength training but that weight training is completely unnecessary. She explained, totally sure of herself that “weight training is overrated. Lifting weights is dangerous and has no added benefit.”

Now while I didn’t expect the cashier, someone who has professed to be knowledgable and a source of educational information in regards to fitness and health to tell his customer that she was wrong (since of course the customer is ALWAYS RIGHT), I did hope for some amount of polite push back or at least a deflection via a lack of response. Instead he completely agreed, doubling down on her statement.

If I was feeling a little crazier and feister standing in the check out line I would’ve said something. But my self control regrettably or thankfully (depending on how chaotic of a person you are) won out.

SO… now in the comfort and solitude of my own private domicile let us examine these statements together:

1. You can start out by just performing Calisthenics

   Yes! This is completely and entirely true. When you are starting your fitness journey and are wanting to start getting stronger and feeling better your first task is to create a solid foundation. Performing bodyweight exercises is an excellent way to safely strengthen your muscles, gain better proprioception and body awareness as well as burn calories. The muscles actually turning on or muscular activation, mind-muscle connection or the brain knowing and feeling how and when those muscles turn on, proper form and learning how to push towards the edge of your limit are all parts of a strong foundation. I am a trained dancer of over twenty years and I still dance today. For a large part of my life bodyweight exercises were all that I ever did!
   
   Foundational core exercises like laying supine and holding your legs at a 90/90 position, dead bugs and bird dogs, foundation lower body exercises such as bridges and squats and upper body exercises such as prone superwomans and prone extensions are all integral to every single workout I program. These exercises are low impact and focus on strengthening major muscles and stabilizers that keep us in proper postural alignment as well as prevent falls, joint pain and more.
   
   As you get stronger, you can incorporate harder exercises like pull ups, push ups, handstands, V-ups, broad jumps and more. You can definitely go your entire life and only practice Calisthenics and with proper form, periodization and exercise selection feel and look amazing. But then… one day you go to get down that really really heavy box from the top cabinet in your garage. And suddenly you’re asking your body to lift quite a bit of weight very far away from the center of your mass. Next thing you know… your back twinges and it looks like you’re headed to the doctor for a perscription of muscle relaxers, rest and maybe some pain killers….

   And that brings us to our next statement to examine:
   

2. Weight training is overrated.
   I absolutely cannot disagree with this statement enough!!!!! Weight training is NOT overrated. It is freakin’ awesome! First off it feels absolutely awesome when you set down a barbell or trap bar after having lifted a weight that feels formidable or maybe even a bit nerve wracking. That feeling of DOING IT, of conquering the weights and that voice in your head that is saying or maybe even screaming at you You can’t do this, what the @#$% are you doing?! is a really amazing feeling. Not only does it make you feel accomplished in the moment but it strengthens your will power. There are always going to be obstacles in life and at the end of the day it is up to YOU to face them. Your life path is on YOU. And getting in the gym facing down the weights is one of the best ways to show yourself how strong and resilient you really are.

3. Lifting weights has no added benefit.
   OK let’s just get right into it:
   Lifting weights increases and helps maintain bone density. As we age our bones lose their calcium and run the risk of becoming brittle. This is especially true for women who are going through or passed through menopause. Muscular-skeletal pain, loss of range of motion, trouble twisting, standing and loss of height are all side effects of having weak bones. For seniors with weak bones and osteoporosis this can lead them to take on highly sedentary life styles. This in turn causes loss of balance and then major falls which can negatively alter the quality of their lives permanently.
   
   Lifting weights also increases your metabolism, burns calories extremely efficiently and novice weightlifters will see and feel results very quickly. When progressive overload is applied to the amount you lift, you are able to get in an amazing workout for your muscles, heart and lungs with fewer actual repetitions.
   

   Adding weight (whether its dumbbells, cable machines or stationary machines) is a wonderful way to increase intensity and keep you making progress when more complex bodyweight exercises are not accessible.
   
   There are other benefits to lifting weights but the final one I would like to bring up is that muscular pain is often a symptom of muscular weakness. That nagging pain in your shoulder does not need more stretching. It needs strengthening. You don’t just have back pain because you are over thirty. Your body doesn’t speak the same launguage as you. Pain signals are one of the ways it knows how to get your attention. The stronger your muscles are, the more flexible, resilient and cooperative they are.

Overall the BEST workout is going to include both calisthenics AND weight lifting. Bodyweight exercises are important because if we cannot control our own bodyweight, then how can we expect ourselves to function properly. But the world is full of chaotic things (children, heavy suitcases, awkwardly shaped LA street curbs and that one friend who keeps asking you to go hiking) and life requires us to bend, twist, reach and hinge under forces and weight. If we don’t train our bodies for the complexity of our lives then we will lose out on all the experiences that makes life worth living.

Now let’s touch on the final statement: Lifting weights is dangerous.

This can be true. Without a proper foundation, throwing around a bunch of weight can be dangerous at its worst and completely pointless and obnoxious at its most innocuous. You need to create stabilization and strength in your body as well as discipline and control in your mind to perform any exercise regime properly. Weight lifting is no exception. You also need proper form and a place to get science backed education and information. Google and youtube exist but the internet is full of contradictory opinions and everyone is an expert nowadays.
That is where someone with experience comes in! Find a friend that you know already loves hitting the gym and ask if you can tag along a few times. Most people who lift weights love it when they can inspire someone else to start living a healthier life style too. Better yet— this where a personal trainer comes in… Oh lucky you- I AM A PERSONAL TRAINER!
I work with some of my clients three to four times a week. Together we work through a plethora of bodyweight and weight lifting exercises tailored to their bodies and their goals. I also have other clients who work with me once a week and then head to the gym on their own, working through a program I’ve written out for them. I have spent my entire life studying how to move the human body. Even since I could walk I have always been interested in testing the limits and exploring this vessel that holds my spirit

It brings me a lot of joy and I am so passionate about helping other people safely and successfully do the same thing. Want to start working together? Check out what I’m offering on my BOOKING page. Don’t see something that fits for you? Book a free consult and together we can come up with a plan that will!