Should I Do Calisthenics or Weight Lifting First?

Blended calisthenics and weight lifting routines are quite popular for people looking to lose weight and build muscle. If you choose to blend your workout, start with low intensity calisthenics before moving on to weights.

Can You Build Muscle With Only Calisthenics?

Yes, you can. All workouts, with weights or not, can build muscle. Using bodyweight as resistance is a great way to stimulate and fatigue your muscles leading to muscle growth.

Can You Lose Weight With Only Calisthenics?

Yes, you can. Bodyweight workouts will burn fat and help you build lean muscles. You can make bodyweight exercises harder by using higher impact progressions of exercises or incorporating them in a HIIT routine (high-intensity interval training) to help burn more calories during and after the workout.

Calisthenics Vs Weights Vs Machines - Which One Is Best?

This depends on your goals. If your end goal is to build strength, coordination, mobility, flexibility, and overall body control, then calisthenics are for you. There are even more advanced calisthenic techniques that you can learn along the way to help with this. For better muscle growth and mass, weights could be the answer for you. Bodyweight exercises build strength and some lean muscle size while weights may help increase muscular size more so. In the case of weight machines, we can see that these are also good for muscle growth, but they go a step further as they help in muscle isolation. Isolation is good for targeting a specific area to increase strength and muscle mass.

Why Calisthenics Is More Beneficial Than Weights Or Weight Machines

Calisthenics is better than weights or weight machines because of how ‘ready to do’ they are. You do not need to spend money on equipment or a trainer to do a simple bodyweight routine. With a good internet connection, you can easily create a list of videos to stream for multiple calisthenics exercises to do in your living room.

Why Is Calisthenics Harder Than Gym?

Calisthenics isn’t necessarily harder than gym/weight lifting. If you are trying some moves and they seem quite hard, chances are that your muscles/joints aren’t used to it yet – probably because you haven’t used them before. Work on the moves, try easier variations and they will be easier to do.