Calisthenics Benefits: Why Use Your Own Body Weight vs Going to the Gym?

The average reader of our blog will need no convincing to start following our work out advice.

However, it has recently been brought to our attention that a few of our readers are still on the fence on wether this whole calisthenics things is just a fad, or if it is a real movement in fitness that is here to stay.

Because of that, we’ve decided to dedicate a whole article on this subject.

Our thesis is that regardless of fitness fads, calisthenics is the most efficient and balanced way to work out for the average person.

Here’s why:

Reason #1: Long-term health of muscles and joints

Throughout the years, we have found that a lot of calisthenics practitioners come from a background in weight-lifting and going to the gym.

The reason for pivoting to calisthenics is usually one of two: They either got seriously injured, or they got tired of aimlessly doing the same exercises. Doing calisthenics solves both of these issues, but let’s focus on the injury problem first.

A recent study found that after 1000 hours of weight lifting, the average person will have 2 to 3 injuries. This means that the average long-term weight lifter has a very high chance of getting injured seriously.

Why?

Because weight lifting is inherently risky. Trying to repeatedly lift weights heavier than you above your head is not a good idea, specially when done by amateur. Despite that, some people do this over and over again, until they get injured.

So what’s the alternative?

Well, as you might have guessed, we recommend calisthenics. By using your own weight and focusing on natural movements, the risk of injury decreases.

Furthermore, calisthenics introduces an element that is not present in weight lifting: flexibility. And that is where the key to longevity lies: Having flexible muscles reduces soreness and injury risk.

Reason #2: More fun, easier to motivate

Calisthenics training can really be an umbrella term for any type of body weight training.

Which begs the question:

– Is rock climbing calisthenics? How about parkour?

The answer is, who cares? These are all complementary sports that you can do if you get bored of the “classic” calisthenics exercises, which are already pretty cool in our opinion.

Additionally, you can choose different paths in calisthenics and mix them up if you get tired of one or another.

You can go the street workout route (show below):

Or, you can go the static exercise route, which is closer to yoga, as seen below:

Regardless of the path, calisthenics is all about staying active and doing exercise without fancy equipment. It’s a philosophy that doesn’t require expensive gym plans and gear and is way more fun than convencional training.

Reason #3: More affordable

The average gym subscription costs around 50$/month. This means that excluding any money spent on gear, you’ll spent at least 600$ a year getting fit.

Well with calisthenics you can literally spend 0$.

We recommend going with a calisthenics course, which even in the high end will cost you under $100.

Reason #4: Time Efficiency

Here at calisthenics gear, we advocate for 30 to 45 minutes workouts. If you’re doing exercises that are sufficiently challenging, i.e- of which you can do 6 to 8 maximum repetitions, this is the optimal level to build muscle without burning out completely.

Also, these workouts can be done in any room of your house, or at a nearby park. This saves you time in traffic, changing clothes, etc. You can simply choose to do the exercises whenever and wherever you want.

So all in all, you spend less time in 2 ways: No commute, and shorter workouts. This, in turn, makes the workout program easier to follow.

Final Thoughts

We hoped we’ve convinced you to give calisthenics a go.

There are pretty much no disadvantages and there’s a whole lot of advantages.

If you don’t know where to begin, feel free to check out our 30 minute beginner workout.

As always, we welcome your feedback in the comment section below.