Weight Training vs Calisthenics | One or the Other, or Both
It used to be when you wanted to build muscle or look leaner you’d pick up some dumbells and start curling. But nowadays calisthenics has been gaining popularity with the help of the pandemic and social media showing some of the superhuman movements you can do. It has naturally sparked the question of whether or not calisthenics is better than weightlifting. In this article, I will go over the cons and pros of weightlifting and calisthenics and what that means for you.
When the pandemic started back in 2020 many people had to stop going to the gym. And if you weren’t one of those lucky people who had a home gym you had to find an alternative to working out — calisthenics.
Calisthenics are bodyweight exercises you can do with little to no equipment. Unless your someone who literally sits on the couch all day, you’ve probably done calisthenics.
Weight training on the other hand requires the use of weights to build up a specific body part. There are many different exercises that you can do both compound and isolation.
Pros of Calisthenics
Let’s first start with the pros of calisthenics.
Calisthenics uses little to no equipment. Literally, the only essential thing you need besides your body weight is a pullup bar.
Calisthenics consists of mostly compound exercises so it’s easier to get a full-body workout in.
Calisthenics can be done anywhere. If you have a busy life and don’t have time to go to the gym no worries you can do pushups and pullups at your house, outside, maybe even at work if they let you.
Calisthenics puts less stress on the joints than weightlifting movements such as the deadlift.
Calisthenic is also better for functional movements than weightlifting. A bicep curl isn’t going to help you improve in a sport such as track and field while jumping squats can help you improve your vert and explosive power.
And one of the most important pros: calisthenics is free. A gym membership can cost anywhere between $480- 2,860 dollars annually at the most popular gym chains out there. If you are someone like me, who wasn’t born with a gym membership then it can be a hard choice to make.
Cons of Calisthenics
Calisthenics training is abundant in compound exercises, but calisthenics lacks a lot of isolation exercises. Meaning if you're looking to grow your calves or triceps, it might be best to focus on weight-lifting exercises such as weighted calf raises or tricep pulldowns.
Overtraining
Because of the ability to train calisthenics anywhere, it can be easy to over-train your body. If you are someone who is trying to learn a skill such as the one-arm pullup, but you know you are not strong enough, don’t do it. This is because intense strength movements like the one-arm pull-up put a lot of stress on your CNS and connective tissue. This can really hurt your progress in the long run. Connective tissue takes longer to develop than muscles do. So it’s important to be cautious with highly intense exercises such as the OAP.
Time-Consuming
Calisthenics is very time-consuming. Unlike weightlifting, it takes years upon years to learn exercises calisthenic exercises. For example, the HSPU may take you multiple years to learn because of the strength and balance component involved. Building strength can take a long time, and learning how to do a handstand can take you anywhere from a month to a few months to learn. Comparing that to the Arnold press, which can take a few minutes to learn the form correctly.
Leg Training
Lack of resistance for the lower body is also a big concern. Once you’ve learned how to do a pistol squat I would recommend incorporating some type of weight training for the legs.
Difficulty level
An issue that novices similarly have when starting out calisthenics is may be hard to perform some of the most basic exercises. So, it’s important to know what the lower progression exercises are for fundamental exercises such as pushups or dips. If you can’t do a pushup then do it on your knees. And if you can’t perform a dip do negatives or use a thin band to help.
Bulking
When performing any calisthenic movement your weight can dictate how well you're able to perform. If you were able to do a few reps of HSPU yesterday but today you are 5 pounds heavier due to bulking it can make it harder to perform the exercise.
If you are an overweight individual wanting to know whether calisthenics is for you let me assure you it is. You’re just going to have to make sure you work on exercises that fit your fitness level. But advanced exercises will be out of your reach unless you lose weight. That’s why you will never see an overweight person doing advanced calisthenic movements.
Pros of Weightlifting
Alright so now let's talk about the pros and cons of weightlifting.
Weightlifting has an abundance of both isolation and compound movements that you can do. It can be especially useful for the legs.
If you’re looking to build a lot of muscle weight lifting is a good choice because of the different isolation exercises you can do.
The learning curve for weightlifting is a lot easier than bodyweight training. I know most people are just looking to increase their muscle mass or lose some weight, so moves such as the handstand or front lever may not be appealing.
Cons of Weight-lifting
Cost
As I stated previously, the expense of a gym membership can be quite costly if don’t have the money or don’t want to spend the money then calisthenics may be a better option.
Time-Consuming/Limited Environment
In order for most people to weightlift they have to go the gym. This can cost gas and time versus going to your local park or working out at home.
Which One is Better?
So, which one is better? That all depends on your goals. If you are mostly focused on increasing your absolute strength or wanting to build muscle on a specific body part then weight training would be your best bet. But if you're looking to learn a few skills and get stronger, calisthenics would be your best option.
Hybrid training
Now you don’t just have to do one or the other. Why not do both? That way you can get the most bang for your buck. So, in order to incorporate both calisthenics and weightlifting into your workouts you have to follow these key steps:
- First, you need to decide what your goals are. Is it an absolute training focus? Meaning that you're going to want to increase your strength output on an object. Or will it be relative strength-focused? This means increasing your strength relative to your body weight. For example, if your goal is to get stronger on the bench press then that would mean it is the absolute strength-focused goal, while if your goal was to get stronger on the planche then that would make it a relative strength goal.
If your goal is more calisthenic-focused make sure you do those exercises before you do your weight lifting exercises because it’s a lot harder to do bodyweight exercises such as the pullup after you’ve done lat pulldowns.
2) Secondly, if you’re learning an isometric skill start out with that before your reps and sets work. For example, if you’re learning the handstand focus on that before rather than after the session because that’s when you're the freshest. Handstands require lots of balance, and balance takes energy that you won’t have if you decide to incorporate them after the session.
3)Make sure you superset your exercises. What that means is to add in both one exercise for calisthenic and one exercise for weight lifting per body part. For example, incorporating pull-ups with a lat pulldown machine.
Conclusion
Calisthenics and weightlifting have both their own pros and cons. While they're not perfect, they both can help you achieve your fitness goals. Calisthenics is more for those who are looking for better functional ability, while weight lifting helps you build a more aesthetically pleasing physique.
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