For anyone who has not started his or her fitness journey yet, it can be very confusing as to how to approach it. Weight training, cardio, pilates, yoga, functional training are just one of the many avenues to fitness and may sound intimidating to a newbie. However, one of the biggest dilemmas faced by even experienced athletes is whether to go for weight training or callisthenics. Let us shed some light on each so that you can decide for yourself.
Weight training and callisthenics have a lot in common: Both can help you get stronger because they target every muscle in your body and, more importantly, they’re excellent complements to one another. When you first begin strength training, though, you may find it difficult to determine which modality you require, or whether a combination of the two will be most beneficial to you.
Callisthenics is basically straining out your muscles to grow stronger by utilising your own bodyweight without any external weights. It includes compound exercises where you have to push or pull your own body with its full weight and involves a lot of movement.
Weight training utilises external weights like dumbbells, barbells and kettlebells. It includes isolated exercises which target specific muscle groups. When done regularly, weightlifting is best for building strength and muscle size. It can be safely said that weight training tends to add more muscle to your body than callisthenics although both tone the muscles and make you stronger.
Bodybuilders normally go for weight training while other athletes or sportsmen who do not need to put on a lot of mass opt for callisthenics.
Let us now see the pros of both one by one.
Pros of Callisthenics include
Callisthenics is more convenient and affordable as you do not require a gym or much equipment. You can pretty much do it anywhere. Exercises such as pull ups may require a hanging bar or a ledge though.
Exercises that use your bodyweight are easier to modify, provided you have the needed level of expertise. To know when it’s time to change your workout intensity, you’ll need to get a strong grasp of how your body moves. For example, place your knees on the floor to make pushups simpler. Pushups with one arm, on the other hand, are more difficult.
Callisthenics has a lot of compound workouts, which is a big plus. This means that it engages numerous muscle groups at the same time. As a result, there is less body fat and more muscle definition. It offers the body a sculpted, slender appearance with visible muscle tone.
Pros of weight training include
When compared to callisthenics, increasing your effort is easier in weight training. To make your workout more difficult, you can simply use a heavier dumbbell or add more weight plates to your bar
The biggest advantage of weight training is it isolates muscle groups. The isolated movements use just one primary muscle group, which works against resistance.
This concentrated load can make it easier to increase the size of specific muscle groups.
As you can see, both training methods have their own perks and to be honest, there is no one better training regime. Both make you stronger and add enough resistance to your muscles. However, If you have more muscle mass and want to look bigger, go for weight training and if you are a runner, a sportsman, or an athlete and want a chiselled lean look, callisthenics may be your best bet. The best training regimen would be if you included a bit of both in your workout.
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