Body weight or heavy weights?

waycaster92
waycaster92 Posts: 1
in Fitness and Exercise
Howdy, I have been on MFP for a while but it has been an on off relationship. However I truly want to be healthier and fitter so I am doing everything I can to try and achieve these goals. (To prove my point this is my first time posting on a message board)I have seen how supportive a community this is, so I wanted to ask you all a question. I have seen in several places that body weight workouts coupled with interval training and dieting are the best or one of the best ways to achieve weight loss and build muscle. On the other hand I have seen that lifting heavy weights with moves like deadlifts, squats, and benchpresses with dieting are the best ways to lose weight and build muscle. So what I am asking is can somebody help me out by giving me some advice from personal experience about if either of these methods are true and if they work , also if you used either one how did you go about implementing them into your workouts? I appreciate your input and thanks.

Replies

  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Howdy, I have been on MFP for a while but it has been an on off relationship. However I truly want to be healthier and fitter so I am doing everything I can to try and achieve these goals. (To prove my point this is my first time posting on a message board)I have seen how supportive a community this is, so I wanted to ask you all a question. I have seen in several places that body weight workouts coupled with interval training and dieting are the best or one of the best ways to achieve weight loss and build muscle. On the other hand I have seen that lifting heavy weights with moves like deadlifts, squats, and benchpresses with dieting are the best ways to lose weight and build muscle. So what I am asking is can somebody help me out by giving me some advice from personal experience about if either of these methods are true and if they work , also if you used either one how did you go about implementing them into your workouts? I appreciate your input and thanks.

    Do whichever you like the most. That's the one you will actually do long-term. It also depends on your financial situation and access to proper equipment. If you can't afford a good gym membership or the equipment to do in your own home, your choices end up a lot more limited.

    Ideally, try both and make the decision for yourself. Hell, you can do both at the same time if you want. There is no "best", it all depends on your fitness goals and on your situation. Diet is 95% of weight loss anyway.
  • jamiek917
    jamiek917 Posts: 610 Member
    what is your actual goal? body weight exercises are great, especially when doing compound movements- pull/chin ups, push ups, squats, lunges- they can definitely help with stamina and endurance and theres less risk of injury. however, theres not much room for progression (minus things like advancing from a pull up to a muscle up). challenging yourself with weights will physically change the shape of the muscle, which is what most people want when they speak of a toned/muscular look. additionally, muscle takes up less space than fat and burns more calories :)

    in short, i would vote for heavy lifting, and supplement some BW exercises.
  • numejak
    numejak Posts: 43 Member
    I train 3-4x weekly doing Tabata with resistance bands and only 5 exercises: Squats and Deadlifts on Mondays, Sprints on Tuesdays and sometimes Thursdays, and Pull-ups and Dips on Wednesdays. I like it so far, I am seeing results and best of all it takes only 4 minutes of my day to complete. ymmv
  • dockholiday8234
    dockholiday8234 Posts: 43 Member
    Both are great work outs. An even better work out would be to choose one and do it consistantly without stopping. Thats 4 times per week. EVERY WEEK for at least 6 months. No specific training style comes even close to trumping "consistancy".

    But do what you enjoy more and can keep up as part of a lifestyle. Some people hate weights but love swinging around like a monkey on play ground equipment.. other guys just love lifting heavy weights. Do what you enjoy most.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
    Agreed - do the one you feel drawn to. you will be doing loads of it so do the one you will enjoy the most - or a combination of course.

    For bodyweight look at nerdfitness, You Are Your Own Gym and Convict Conditioning for some good ideas on where to start and how to put programs together.

    For an interesting angle on bodyweight (progressive calisthenics) - look up a guy called Al Kavadlo; loads of him on You Tube to start with and own website. Interesting guy and very positive.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    I think compound lifting is probably the simplest --most straightforward-- way if you have access to the equipment.

    But I think bodyweight exercises are more fun, personally :) Some of the moves are just badass to be able to do! Of course, that's also true for lifting heavy pounds, but I find that too abstract or something for my own motivation, lol.

    You can also add weight to many bodyweight moves, so the amount of pounds lifted can progress to a better extent than you might imagine at first.

    But I'd go with freeweights if you just want the results and enjoy it enough. It is enjoyable (just more boring to me, personally). I do both, depending on which suits my goals more for the actual lift/parts worked (and equipment).
  • ShibaEars
    ShibaEars Posts: 3,928 Member
    I do both. Most of my workouts on my own are bodyweight, or with 10-20lb dumbbells. My gym has a track and I'm usually up there to workout, so there isn't a lot of equipment in that area. Once a week I work with a trainer, and she has me do heavier lifting.

    I think both are important, especially if you're like me and get bored easily and need to change things up :) Body weight is probably easier for someone new to working out, since you don't have to worry about figuring out machines, over over-exerting yourself by using too-heavy weights. If you're new to heavy lifting, I would recommend working with someone who knows what they're doing, so you don't end up injuring yourself.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    2 roads, basically the same destination. I'm a bodyweight fan, but going with a solid free weight lifting plan can not be overlooked. I think a blend of both is about ideal. Don't be fooled that body weight stuff is too limiting.
  • Mr_Excitement
    Mr_Excitement Posts: 833 Member
    The best way to build muscle is progressive overload with weights-- but body weight routines are great for general conditioning. If your goal is to just put on a little muscle and get better conditioned in general, body weight exercises will do you just fine.

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