I have dedicated immense amounts of time to improving my fitness level. Nevertheless, I still occasionally bite the hook baited by lying headlines. In this particular case, the irresistible article promised a full circuit workout using only body weight.
Like most folks, I like to stroll around the web. Every day, I notice a headline or two that prompts me to click, even though I know it will be nonsense. Today’s clickbait was from Men’s Health: “The All-New Pushup Circuit That Builds Strong, Massive Shoulders.” That promise sounded great. I’d love to find a bodyweight training program that would build and maintain lean muscle tissue. It would be gratifying to deliver that program to you.
The circuit works like this: Do each exercise—the pushup, the side pushup to your right, and the side pushup to your left—for 30 seconds, and then move on to the next one. Rest 15 seconds between each exercise. That’s one round. Rest one minute, and repeat.
If this pushup circuit makes me look like Vernon Davis, I’ll do that shit twice a day. The concept is accompanied by a video of a dude doing traditional pushups, followed by pushups with his weight shifted to each side. Groundbreaking.
Workouts don’t need to be advanced to be effective. I’ve often told you that the best workout is one you will do consistently. But this one promised me huge shoulders, dammit, and I won’t be getting them by doing bodyweight pushups. Here’s why, from travelstrong.net:
Unfortunately, a lot of people associate bodyweight training with high reps and therefore believe there’s no way they could get seriously strong with bodyweight training alone. And they’d be right: simply adding more reps won’t create a significant enough overload to continually build muscle.
Exactly. This is disappointing. In a perfect world, we’d all train with our own bodyweight. There would be no equipment to buy and no gym memberships needed. I’ve been searching for science that suggests there is an alternative to heavy weight training for building lean tissue.
A man or woman venturing into the training world for the first time will likely build some mass no matter what. What I need is a program for an experienced weight lifter. You might have noticed that I’ve been somewhat dissatisfied with the 5×5 for a while. I’ve done it for years, and it’s becoming monotonous. My body’s signals are suggesting that I temporarily try a new program. Unfortunately, most of what I’m stumbling upon is poppycock.
There is some promising information out there. From the same article:
To build muscle without weights, you need to continually challenge your muscles by doing increasingly difficult bodyweight exercises – just as you would use heavier weights in the gym.
Working towards advanced exercises such as the one-armed push-up, one-armed chin-up, pistol squat, planche, l-sit and front lever will ensure that you are constantly challenged. These advanced bodyweight exercises demand high levels of full body tension that lead to huge strength gains.
While I’m crazy skeptical that anything apart from incrementally adding weight will achieve the results I desire, I’m prepared to research this further. If you see me at the park with an arm behind my back busting out pull-ups, expect a post. I’ll make sure to include pictures with that one.
Kap
Scott says
Kap,
Again with the mind reading, its creepy… I am your age with zero lifting experience. I have never had any interest in going to a gym, and had always hoped my 1x/ week hockey game would carry my fitness level forever. Well age was not as kind as I hoped and all things went to crap.
So, I have been doing suspension strap exercises 2-3x/ week for a month or so. This along with cycling 2-3x/week.
My question has been, and you touched on it today, if I only use body weight exercises and cardio will I quickly plateau??? A plateau is still better than the bottom, but now that I have been doing something I am curious where it will take me.
Thanks as always for your work.
Cheers,
Scott
Gabe Kapler says
Scott,
Thanks for reaching out. There are so many variables here. Stay tuned and I’ll try to touch on this in an upcoming post. Keep working hard, brother.
Kap
Richie says
You had my attention at Vernon Davis shoulders..lol! Great post my brother!
Gabe Kapler says
Ha, thanks, Richie.
marcgoldy35@hotmail.com says
Gabe,
Have you ever read Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 program? It is based upon principals of making progress on four main lifts (Squat, Deadlift, Bench, Military Press) and choosing your “assistance” exercises and conditioning depending upon your goals.
The progressions are easy to follow and there are programmed “deload” weeks where you let your body rest to build toward your next cycle.
This program set me on a great path when my old workouts got stale. Its well worth the read.
Thank you for the great information on this site.
Marc
Marc says
Gabe,
Have you ever read Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 program? It is based upon principals of making progress on four main lifts (Squat, Deadlift, Bench, Military Press) and choosing your “assistance” exercises and conditioning depending upon your goals.
The progressions are easy to follow and there are programmed “deload” weeks where you let your body rest to build toward your next cycle.
This program set me on a great path when my old workouts got stale. Its well worth the read.
Thank you for the great information on this site.
Marc
Gabe Kapler says
Really appreciate that, Marc. Thanks for the suggestion.
Tony says
As I was reading this article I immediately thought of Wendler’s 531 program as well. I was introduced to it last winter, and had some very positive results. I plan to go back to it in about a month when I start up this winter’s lifting schedule. Definitely worth the read.
billstraehl says
Kap, you struck on an issue I often run up against. In both nutrition and fitness (and I’m sure many other areas) articles are written and presented as if they apply to everyone. They seem misleading, but it depends on where you’re coming from. They probably are accurate if they made a more defined reference to who they are aimed at, but then that might reduce clicks. On a slightly different topic, I have a question about an exercise style that I haven’t heard much about, and have been able to find much information on it-Isometrics. Way back in my high school days, when our ‘weight room’ consisted of some coffee cans filled with cement with broom handles in them down in the boiler room, our wrestling workouts consisted of a LOT of calisthenics, rope climbing, chin-ups, peg board, stairs (too much snow in Upstate NY to run outside), and two-man body weight exercises. Our coach then introduced us to a whole bunch of isometric exercises, plus about 50 different things you could do with a jump rope. Just wondering why I never stumble across any isometric moves these days. Thanks.
Gabe Kapler says
It’s still out there, Bill.
http://breakingmuscle.com/strength-conditioning/isometric-training-what-it-is-and-how-to-do-it-correctly
Enjoy,
Kap
Duane says
The last part of the article that you reference makes a very good point. I currently change my pull up grip to make it harder without being weighted. I have not increased muscle size visually that much but have notice I’m getting stronger and able to do more pull ups. I feel a mix of weights and body weight exercises may be a good mix. Just a thought. Excellent post Kap. Thank you for all you research.
Gabe Kapler says
Always appreciate you, Duane. Thanks.
Bryan says
Kap, it all depends on what your goals are. From reading this blog from the first post to today, I don’t believe you to be a man of vanity, so a bodybuilder I have yet to take you as. That being said, are you looking for sustained lifelong strength or the ability to move large loads of weight at one single moment a la powerlifting?
I’m no stranger to weight training; I played two years of college football and have been under the 225# rep test more times than I have fingers. After the conclusion of my football days, lifting turned to running and my strength quickly dwindled. Over the past 15 months, I’ve been CrossFitting with no real bench pressing routine, maybe pushing iron once a month. Simply the pushups, core work/trunk stability, and endless burpees (I might also attribute pull ups as well), has actually improved my bench 1 rep max to what I was putting up when I was 50# heavier. Now there are plenty of variables that may fall into place, but a large majority of my chest work has been from bodyweight movement.
Just my personal experience, and since I am no longer staring down 300# defensive linemen, I’m happy with the weight I can put up without regularly sliding under that barbell.
Gabe Kapler says
Brother, I can only ask for your personal experience. Thanks for sharing it.
kbeyazdancer says
Those ads can be so distracting and yet very tempting. Some scream bull shit the very first line while others require more research. I will state the obvious: I am not a weight lifter, or athlete but I follow this blog because I desire to live the healthiest life I can and that involves challenging myself. I’ve been working on changing my current workout to improve my overall strength. It’s nice to know other faces those same issues even someone in as great as shape as Kap.
Keep us posted on this one.
Thanks for always keeping it 100 with us
Kelebek
Gabe Kapler says
Keep pushing, Kelebek. You have our support.
Michelle says
You know what builds those shoulder kaps…I mean caps? Genetics…then to a lesser extent training and lots of protein. I’ve been around the bodybuilding world for 15 years and unfortunately, there’s only so much one can do (naturally) with what they are born with (see my small calves). But I’m always up for new things as long as they aren’t ridiculous. Variety is life.
Now I’m off to do some pinkie push-ups on a bosu ball with leg weights around my calves and a bag of sand on my neck
Peter S. says
Michelle, I would love to see a video of that exercise!
Michelle says
You got it…next time I’m at the beach for the sand, I’ll record it and post it for you
Gabe Kapler says
Y’all don’t need a third voice. You’ve got this one covered.
#BeatWarEagle (@HutchBeav) says
I’m curious what your thoughts are on Hershell Walker. I’ve always heard he only did/does bodyweight exercises.
Gabe Kapler says
Walker was shredded. I heard the same thing about his training.
Ryan O. says
Walker IS* shredded! Simply genetics pertaining to his physique he was blessed with.
Gabe Kapler says
He’s 52 and still shredded, Ryan? Crazy.
Ryan O. says
Yes sir. A well managed machine. Keep the oil changed and can run forever…
Steve says
You can totally gain mass and strength primarily through bodyweight training, but better yet you can enjoy both! Check out Zach Even-Esh and his bodyweight bodybuilding (http://zacheven-esh.com/bodyweight-bodybuilding-qna/). He combines 5×5 followed by bodyweight circuits and we have found it to be excellent! Marc above mentioned Jim Wendler and the 5,3,1 program and I have found that to be optimum for strength specifically so I use that in place of the 5×5 and then right in to bodyweight circuits which offer nearly unlimited combinations. When you finish heavy benches followed by muscle-ups, chin-ups, wall walks, and handstand push UPS you know you kicked it.
Gabe Kapler says
Love this, Steve. Grateful.
Matthew D. says
I’ve been battling a while with some of this. I have been doing the 5×5 religiously for 10 weeks now and have finally started to plateau across the board. I’m struggling with sticking with it or moving on. I’m not lifting nearly the weight you are (or even as much as I have in the past), but still feel I’ve hit a wall–and I’m getting a little bored. I have a buddy that teaches TRX and I’ve considered maybe dropping the 5×5 for a few weeks. My instinct says stick with 5×5 until Gabe comes up with something else (thought you had it here), but a switch is tempting. Advice?
Cheers,
Matthew D.
Gabe Kapler says
Matthew, if it’s only been ten weeks, I’d stick with it. I saw my biggest jumps after about six months. If I was in your shoes, I’d practice some trial and error with nutrition and rest to break through. Please keep us posted.
Kap
Will Owen says
Hey Kap!
Thanks so much for the shout out (I’m the author of Travel Strong). If you ever want any more info on building muscle with bodyweight exercises I’d be happy to help! Like Steve, I highly recommend Zach Even-Esh’s bodyweight bodybuilding (his new book, The Encyclopedia of Underground Strength and Conditioning is a fantastic resource for alternative/old school methods too).
I’ve only just discovered your blog, but love what you’re doing. Keep up the great work!
Will Owen
Gabe Kapler says
Thanks, Will. Really happy that you stopped by. I’ll definitely be in touch.
Kap