5.08.2007
Can Bodyweight Training Build Strength?
Here at the University of Michigan, deep down in the catacombs and tombs of forgotten lore lies the dream of every serious student of physical training -- the electronic database of the UM medical school,which contains the abstracts and results of every major study ever done involving human anatomy and physiology.
That's right, if you wanted to find out about anything and everything having to do with strength training, -- the effects of certain rep schemes, styles of training, frequencies, equipment, trained and untrained bodies.
...its all there.
And so after pouring through pages and pages of material going back well over a century in the search for the “perfect” workout, essentially, the only conclusion that can be reached is this:
"Strength" in whatever form you decide to measure it in, can only be
developed through progressive resistance exercise, combined with the
necessary amount of recovery and with all nutritional requirements
filled.
Of course, it also depends on what your definition of "Strength" happens to be.
All training can make you stronger, but you will need to perform a specific kind of training if you want to build a specific kind of strength.
The muscular system doesn't know, (or care) what form the resistance takes, just that theres a job to be done.
So, with this in mind, any form or progressive exercise will do.
And what constitutes progressive exercise? Pretty much anything can be done progressively, either in terms of the amount of actual "work,"or in terms of more "intense" work.
So yes, assuming all other physiological requirements are filled, all forms of training (including bodyweight training) can make you stronger.
Now, it should also be clearly understood that the style in which bodyweight training must be performed has its own necessities.
In traditional strength training, you simply add more weight to the bar if you want added resistance. With bodyweight training, you add reps, add sets or simply change your leverage in order to progress.
Simple in theory, now lets see you do it.
Train hard,
John Wood
P.S. The exercises that have been a part of my program for nearly ten years
now can be found right here: Combat Conditioning by Matt Furey
That's right, if you wanted to find out about anything and everything having to do with strength training, -- the effects of certain rep schemes, styles of training, frequencies, equipment, trained and untrained bodies.
...its all there.
And so after pouring through pages and pages of material going back well over a century in the search for the “perfect” workout, essentially, the only conclusion that can be reached is this:
"Strength" in whatever form you decide to measure it in, can only be
developed through progressive resistance exercise, combined with the
necessary amount of recovery and with all nutritional requirements
filled.
Of course, it also depends on what your definition of "Strength" happens to be.
All training can make you stronger, but you will need to perform a specific kind of training if you want to build a specific kind of strength.
The muscular system doesn't know, (or care) what form the resistance takes, just that theres a job to be done.
So, with this in mind, any form or progressive exercise will do.
And what constitutes progressive exercise? Pretty much anything can be done progressively, either in terms of the amount of actual "work,"or in terms of more "intense" work.
So yes, assuming all other physiological requirements are filled, all forms of training (including bodyweight training) can make you stronger.
Now, it should also be clearly understood that the style in which bodyweight training must be performed has its own necessities.
In traditional strength training, you simply add more weight to the bar if you want added resistance. With bodyweight training, you add reps, add sets or simply change your leverage in order to progress.
Simple in theory, now lets see you do it.
Train hard,
John Wood
P.S. The exercises that have been a part of my program for nearly ten years
now can be found right here: Combat Conditioning by Matt Furey
Labels: Bodyweight Training, Training Ideas, Training Thought
