Is anyone out there doing bodyweight training and gaining mass?
s3rialthrill3r
Posts: 49 Member
I see a lot of people around who are into barbell training, machines and whatnot. It makes me wonder if that is the only way to put on the mass.
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Replies
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There are a lot of jacked guys who only do bodyweight stuff. Have you ever seen some of those street gymnasts? Seriously, do some dips, pullups, HLRs, etc. on a set of rings and let me know how it goes. Never seen any with big legs though. Leg muscles just seem to require a lot more loading.4
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s3rialthrill3r wrote: »I see a lot of people around who are into barbell training, machines and whatnot. It makes me wonder if that is the only way to put on the mass.
No, it's not the only way to put on mass. Bodyweight training can indeed work.
Muscles respond to stimulus. If you can provide adequate stimulus AND you can increase that stimulus over the course of time and you provide the muscle with enough fuel, it will grow, basically.
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s3rialthrill3r wrote: »I see a lot of people around who are into barbell training, machines and whatnot. It makes me wonder if that is the only way to put on the mass.
No, it's not the only way to put on mass. Bodyweight training can indeed work.
Muscles respond to stimulus. If you can provide adequate stimulus AND you can increase that stimulus over the course of time and you provide the muscle with enough fuel, it will grow, basically.
Yup! But to take that point further, you'll have to consider the fact that bodyweight training is the least efficient way to put on mass over the long term. At some point doing pushups and bodyweight dips and pullups is going to give you diminishing returns!1 -
s3rialthrill3r wrote: »I see a lot of people around who are into barbell training, machines and whatnot. It makes me wonder if that is the only way to put on the mass.
No, it's not the only way to put on mass. Bodyweight training can indeed work.
Muscles respond to stimulus. If you can provide adequate stimulus AND you can increase that stimulus over the course of time and you provide the muscle with enough fuel, it will grow, basically.
Yup! But to take that point further, you'll have to consider the fact that bodyweight training is the least efficient way to put on mass over the long term. At some point doing pushups and bodyweight dips and pullups is going to give you diminishing returns!
At some point it might, but I think that point is probably further away than most people think it is at which point you may need to get creative and find ways to make training more efficient whether thats by using bands or some form of external resistance, or manipulating the exercise itself (progressing it).
I don't know that I'd agree that it's "least efficient" -- I would say that eventually it's less efficient in comparison to more traditional resistance training methods. But I don't mean to hammer on your word choices, I think I mostly agree with what you're saying.4 -
I started working only with body weight in pole fitness. It did wonders for me. But then I wanted to add more so I started lifting to and then the progress really began3
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Thanks for the responses so far everyone. It's very reassuring to hear that bodyweight training does work well too. I'm in a strange position right now since I'm lacking in strength and in some cases, flexibility. So, it's a pretty big jump to move on to harder variations.
If I can just go on a different tangent, it's really confusing as to what I should be doing. I changed my diet up by quite a bit about 6 months ago because I wasn't getting enough protein, or enough food in general. I actually used to have a thigh gap, but I lost it after gaining about 10kg. According to some old Cron-o-metre logs, I was having about 2400 calories a day. I was still pretty skinny though, since I didn't see much in the way of belly fat.
I've been at about 65kg since the change in diet. About 5 weeks ago, I've tried aiming for about 2000 calories and now I'm wondering about where I should go from there. How much of a surplus is enough for gaining muscle and at what point does it become too much?0 -
s3rialthrill3r wrote: »I see a lot of people around who are into barbell training, machines and whatnot. It makes me wonder if that is the only way to put on the mass.
No, it's not the only way to put on mass. Bodyweight training can indeed work.
Muscles respond to stimulus. If you can provide adequate stimulus AND you can increase that stimulus over the course of time and you provide the muscle with enough fuel, it will grow, basically.
Yup! But to take that point further, you'll have to consider the fact that bodyweight training is the least efficient way to put on mass over the long term. At some point doing pushups and bodyweight dips and pullups is going to give you diminishing returns!
At some point it might, but I think that point is probably further away than most people think it is at which point you may need to get creative and find ways to make training more efficient whether thats by using bands or some form of external resistance, or manipulating the exercise itself (progressing it).
I don't know that I'd agree that it's "least efficient" -- I would say that eventually it's less efficient in comparison to more traditional resistance training methods. But I don't mean to hammer on your word choices, I think I mostly agree with what you're saying.
Example:
Wall pushups
Knee pushups
Full (standard) pushups
Band/chain/weighted pushups
Decline pushups (feet elevated)
One-handed pushups
Band/chain/weighted one-handed pushups
By the time you get to the point where you can knock out multiple sets of weighted one-handed pushups, you should have made some noticeable gains in upper body mass and strength.
One could add in headstand pushups and one-handed headstand pushups to take the progression a bit further, but I guess then it could be said that you're working different muscle groups than pushups which are more or less done in the horizontal plane, no?2 -
s3rialthrill3r wrote: »If I can just go on a different tangent, it's really confusing as to what I should be doing. I changed my diet up by quite a bit about 6 months ago because I wasn't getting enough protein, or enough food in general. I actually used to have a thigh gap, but I lost it after gaining about 10kg. According to some old Cron-o-metre logs, I was having about 2400 calories a day. I was still pretty skinny though, since I didn't see much in the way of belly fat.
I've been at about 65kg since the change in diet. About 5 weeks ago, I've tried aiming for about 2000 calories and now I'm wondering about where I should go from there. How much of a surplus is enough for gaining muscle and at what point does it become too much?
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10226536/bulking-for-beginners/p10 -
s3rialthrill3r wrote: »I see a lot of people around who are into barbell training, machines and whatnot. It makes me wonder if that is the only way to put on the mass.
No, it's not the only way to put on mass. Bodyweight training can indeed work.
Muscles respond to stimulus. If you can provide adequate stimulus AND you can increase that stimulus over the course of time and you provide the muscle with enough fuel, it will grow, basically.
Yup! But to take that point further, you'll have to consider the fact that bodyweight training is the least efficient way to put on mass over the long term. At some point doing pushups and bodyweight dips and pullups is going to give you diminishing returns!
At some point it might, but I think that point is probably further away than most people think it is at which point you may need to get creative and find ways to make training more efficient whether thats by using bands or some form of external resistance, or manipulating the exercise itself (progressing it).
I don't know that I'd agree that it's "least efficient" -- I would say that eventually it's less efficient in comparison to more traditional resistance training methods. But I don't mean to hammer on your word choices, I think I mostly agree with what you're saying.
Example:
Wall pushups
Knee pushups
Full (standard) pushups
Band/chain/weighted pushups
Decline pushups (feet elevated)
One-handed pushups
Band/chain/weighted one-handed pushups
By the time you get to the point where you can knock out multiple sets of weighted one-handed pushups, you should have made some noticeable gains in upper body mass and strength.
One could add in headstand pushups and one-handed headstand pushups to take the progression a bit further, but I guess then it could be said that you're working different muscle groups than pushups which are more or less done in the horizontal plane, no?
You would definitely be working different muscles. Honestly, I'd say headstand pushups are probably the only acceptable bodyweight replacement for OHP, and who doesn't want the shoulder girdle that only overhead work can provide? If they weren't so damned challenging and demanding, I'd say that they should be included from the outset, along wiith standard pushups, just like 5/3/1 pairs bench and ohp.0 -
Don't leave out the speed of each rep and holding a position for various times. That can add a lot to a session.1
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Gallowmere1984 wrote: »s3rialthrill3r wrote: »I see a lot of people around who are into barbell training, machines and whatnot. It makes me wonder if that is the only way to put on the mass.
No, it's not the only way to put on mass. Bodyweight training can indeed work.
Muscles respond to stimulus. If you can provide adequate stimulus AND you can increase that stimulus over the course of time and you provide the muscle with enough fuel, it will grow, basically.
Yup! But to take that point further, you'll have to consider the fact that bodyweight training is the least efficient way to put on mass over the long term. At some point doing pushups and bodyweight dips and pullups is going to give you diminishing returns!
At some point it might, but I think that point is probably further away than most people think it is at which point you may need to get creative and find ways to make training more efficient whether thats by using bands or some form of external resistance, or manipulating the exercise itself (progressing it).
I don't know that I'd agree that it's "least efficient" -- I would say that eventually it's less efficient in comparison to more traditional resistance training methods. But I don't mean to hammer on your word choices, I think I mostly agree with what you're saying.
Example:
Wall pushups
Knee pushups
Full (standard) pushups
Band/chain/weighted pushups
Decline pushups (feet elevated)
One-handed pushups
Band/chain/weighted one-handed pushups
By the time you get to the point where you can knock out multiple sets of weighted one-handed pushups, you should have made some noticeable gains in upper body mass and strength.
One could add in headstand pushups and one-handed headstand pushups to take the progression a bit further, but I guess then it could be said that you're working different muscle groups than pushups which are more or less done in the horizontal plane, no?
You would definitely be working different muscles. Honestly, I'd say headstand pushups are probably the only acceptable bodyweight replacement for OHP, and who doesn't want the shoulder girdle that only overhead work can provide? If they weren't so damned challenging and demanding, I'd say that they should be included from the outset, along wiith standard pushups, just like 5/3/1 pairs bench and ohp.
Pike pushups or elevated Pike pushups work as a good supplement to OHP.
The larger concern I would have with body weight training to build muscle, is at some point, the time required to see continuous volume increases might be fairly extensive. But you can always switch by the point. My current program incorporates both barbell and some BW training.3 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »s3rialthrill3r wrote: »I see a lot of people around who are into barbell training, machines and whatnot. It makes me wonder if that is the only way to put on the mass.
No, it's not the only way to put on mass. Bodyweight training can indeed work.
Muscles respond to stimulus. If you can provide adequate stimulus AND you can increase that stimulus over the course of time and you provide the muscle with enough fuel, it will grow, basically.
Yup! But to take that point further, you'll have to consider the fact that bodyweight training is the least efficient way to put on mass over the long term. At some point doing pushups and bodyweight dips and pullups is going to give you diminishing returns!
At some point it might, but I think that point is probably further away than most people think it is at which point you may need to get creative and find ways to make training more efficient whether thats by using bands or some form of external resistance, or manipulating the exercise itself (progressing it).
I don't know that I'd agree that it's "least efficient" -- I would say that eventually it's less efficient in comparison to more traditional resistance training methods. But I don't mean to hammer on your word choices, I think I mostly agree with what you're saying.
Example:
Wall pushups
Knee pushups
Full (standard) pushups
Band/chain/weighted pushups
Decline pushups (feet elevated)
One-handed pushups
Band/chain/weighted one-handed pushups
By the time you get to the point where you can knock out multiple sets of weighted one-handed pushups, you should have made some noticeable gains in upper body mass and strength.
One could add in headstand pushups and one-handed headstand pushups to take the progression a bit further, but I guess then it could be said that you're working different muscle groups than pushups which are more or less done in the horizontal plane, no?
You would definitely be working different muscles. Honestly, I'd say headstand pushups are probably the only acceptable bodyweight replacement for OHP, and who doesn't want the shoulder girdle that only overhead work can provide? If they weren't so damned challenging and demanding, I'd say that they should be included from the outset, along wiith standard pushups, just like 5/3/1 pairs bench and ohp.
Pike pushups or elevated Pike pushups work as a good supplement to OHP.
The larger concern I would have with body weight training to build muscle, is at some point, the time required to see continuous volume increases might be fairly extensive. But you can always switch by the point. My current program incorporates both barbell and some BW training.
I lean both ways as well. About to start having to wear a weight vest for pullups and dips though. The reps are getting a bit out of hand these days.1 -
Check out the You Are Your Own Gym books.
https://www.marklauren.com/books.html
Particularly: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345528581/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0345528581&linkCode=as2&tag=mla019-201 -
Gallowmere1984 wrote: »There are a lot of jacked guys who only do bodyweight stuff.
Bodyweight can work, depending on your goals. I was weak and found that doing a little work with dumbbells helped build me up to do bodyweight better.
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s3rialthrill3r wrote: »I see a lot of people around who are into barbell training, machines and whatnot. It makes me wonder if that is the only way to put on the mass.
No, it's not the only way to put on mass. Bodyweight training can indeed work.
Muscles respond to stimulus. If you can provide adequate stimulus AND you can increase that stimulus over the course of time and you provide the muscle with enough fuel, it will grow, basically.
Yup! But to take that point further, you'll have to consider the fact that bodyweight training is the least efficient way to put on mass over the long term. At some point doing pushups and bodyweight dips and pullups is going to give you diminishing returns!
that is not correct.
it is the least STUDIED- and least PROMOTED.
But it is not the least effective.
Sigh- I'm sad waldo isn't here any more.
http://strengthunbound.com/
Waldo used to be biggest name here on body weight progression- he was living proof-especially as an aging man- it was still more than possible.
it is difficult- and barbell training is more accessible to the masses- but its' not impossible and it's not really inefficient if you're willing to do the work.2 -
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Gallowmere1984 wrote: »s3rialthrill3r wrote: »I see a lot of people around who are into barbell training, machines and whatnot. It makes me wonder if that is the only way to put on the mass.
No, it's not the only way to put on mass. Bodyweight training can indeed work.
Muscles respond to stimulus. If you can provide adequate stimulus AND you can increase that stimulus over the course of time and you provide the muscle with enough fuel, it will grow, basically.
Yup! But to take that point further, you'll have to consider the fact that bodyweight training is the least efficient way to put on mass over the long term. At some point doing pushups and bodyweight dips and pullups is going to give you diminishing returns!
At some point it might, but I think that point is probably further away than most people think it is at which point you may need to get creative and find ways to make training more efficient whether thats by using bands or some form of external resistance, or manipulating the exercise itself (progressing it).
I don't know that I'd agree that it's "least efficient" -- I would say that eventually it's less efficient in comparison to more traditional resistance training methods. But I don't mean to hammer on your word choices, I think I mostly agree with what you're saying.
Example:
Wall pushups
Knee pushups
Full (standard) pushups
Band/chain/weighted pushups
Decline pushups (feet elevated)
One-handed pushups
Band/chain/weighted one-handed pushups
By the time you get to the point where you can knock out multiple sets of weighted one-handed pushups, you should have made some noticeable gains in upper body mass and strength.
One could add in headstand pushups and one-handed headstand pushups to take the progression a bit further, but I guess then it could be said that you're working different muscle groups than pushups which are more or less done in the horizontal plane, no?
You would definitely be working different muscles. Honestly, I'd say headstand pushups are probably the only acceptable bodyweight replacement for OHP, and who doesn't want the shoulder girdle that only overhead work can provide? If they weren't so damned challenging and demanding, I'd say that they should be included from the outset, along wiith standard pushups, just like 5/3/1 pairs bench and ohp.
Monkey push ups- are the first step to OHP/hand stand push ups- and you can get a pretty good progression starting there and working your way up to a real hand stand push up.
I've found shoulders- and back are the hardest for me to work at home w/ no equipment.0 -
It's a great starting point if you're a newbie. I transitioned from bodyweights > home weights > gymnasium. You can also combine the two. We don't live in scarcity.0
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s3rialthrill3r wrote: »I see a lot of people around who are into barbell training, machines and whatnot. It makes me wonder if that is the only way to put on the mass.
No, it's not the only way to put on mass. Bodyweight training can indeed work.
Muscles respond to stimulus. If you can provide adequate stimulus AND you can increase that stimulus over the course of time and you provide the muscle with enough fuel, it will grow, basically.
Yup! But to take that point further, you'll have to consider the fact that bodyweight training is the least efficient way to put on mass over the long term. At some point doing pushups and bodyweight dips and pullups is going to give you diminishing returns!
that is not correct.
it is the least STUDIED- and least PROMOTED.
But it is not the least effective.
Sigh- I'm sad waldo isn't here any more.
http://strengthunbound.com/
Waldo used to be biggest name here on body weight progression- he was living proof-especially as an aging man- it was still more than possible.
it is difficult- and barbell training is more accessible to the masses- but its' not impossible and it's not really inefficient if you're willing to do the work.
I have been reading a lot of his posts recently, especially the one about bulking, which recommends a surplus of about 400-500 (!) calories for guys. I'd be pretty content with strength and a physique like Waldo's. I'll see how far I can take it with my tiny frame after increasing my intake for a while. I noticed that he stopped updating in 2014 and made an isolated Facebook post in 2015. What's he up to now?0 -
Master_Butcher wrote: »It's a great starting point if you're a newbie. I transitioned from bodyweights > home weights > gymnasium. You can also combine the two. We don't live in scarcity.
I was thinking of following a similar path and eventually combining the two. I don't think I'll be giving up bodyweight training entirely, given some of the crazier long-term goals I have (the planche).0
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