It can be pretty tough to get out of the “lifting builds muscle” trope. But you know what? You don’t need to make that paradigm shift to build muscle. Turns out you don’t need to visit gyms to lift weights. And no, I’m not going to ask you buy your own weights or something like that. Let me, instead, introduce you to Calisthenics.
Your body is all the Gym equipment you need
Ok, that’s not completely true. You eventually do require equipment like Kettlebells and weight jackets to speed up your gains. But if you’re a weakling like I was when I first started with my fitness regime, and are scared of hurting yourself or others with weights, then Calisthenics can make it much easier to keep yourself in shape through. The best aspect Calisthenics has is that it is great for whether you want to lose weight or gain some pounds, as well as to add muscle mass and definition. With the right diet and rest, you can make your body attain a whole new level of fitness.
Beginning with Calisthenics
There aren’t as many trainers who specialise in Calisthenics, and so it can be hard to find proper guidance. That said, you can always make a start with some simple exercises you can pick up from YouTube, like Pushups, Squats and the like. And you can even take it a bit further with some modifications to keep yourself out of your comfort zone and build muscles. But more on that later.
You don’t need to buy a ton of equipment right now, or ever, if that’s something you’re bound with. The requirement to get some equipment is when you have exhausted all permutations and modifications to the exercise and it isn’t getting any tougher for you. What can i say, Calisthenics really asks you to get into beast mode!
How to get gains out of your workout
The easiest way to get your calisthenics workout to work for you is by making your routine tougher every little while. That, and being regular with it.
Working out gets your muscles developing because it causes wear and tear in your muscle tissues, which then prompts your body to repair and develop the tissues further to prevent discomfort in the same load in the future.
This makes your body used to working with weights that were once too much for you. So to get more and more gains, you need to work out more and more each day, and add a bigger load when you get used to the previous exercise. The other way to go is to add complexity instead of load.
The proper diet to pair with Calisthenics
When you’re working out, no matter what exercise or workout regime that is, or how many reps you do on your best weight bench, you need a diet with adequate carbohydrate and a good helping of protein to fuel your workouts and also make you recuperate. Check your BMI online. If you’re underweight, it is good to maintain a calorie surplus. If you’re overweight, a calorie deficit is advisable, although too big a deficit (generally over 500) can cause you to go into starvation mode, where your BMR slows down which makes it tougher to shed the pounds.
The great news about overweight people is that their heavy weight works in their favor in Calisthenics, since your body weight is what you’re working with. Eventually, everyone is recommended to get a few weights to work with.
But if you’re looking to get fit without lifting weights in the traditional way, Calisthenics could be a good option you can take.