Calisthenics training is enjoying an enormous amount of fame. Popular bar athletes like Lazar Novovic, Hannibal For King, Adam Raw and LittleBeastM are considered Gods among men and receive a steady veneration on sites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and especially Instagram. Their followers aspire to develop similar bodies by having fun on the bars too.
Cool, but it’s not that easy.
The refusal to think logically has once again created a false perception. Many muscle hungry people believe that a man can become a shredded 190lbs monster by taking over the playgrounds and hanging off of monkey bars. Please, allow me to explain why this does not make any sense whatsoever.
CALISTHENICS RELY ON YOU BEING SMALL
source: http://pixabay.com/en/users/StockSnap-894430/
The lighter you are, the easier it is to do advanced bodyweight exercises. I am not talking only about extra body fat. Additional muscle mass is also counter productive.
Imagine that you are 145lbs and relative lean at 10-12% body fat when you begin your bodyweight training. Do you think that working on your planche will make you massive? Of course, not. You may gain a few pounds around your shoulder area, but for the most part, you will remain the same.
The video below shows a boy that has spent over 20 months training the planche specifically. Why isn’t he as massive as the calisthenics gangsters? Why isn’t he 180-190lbs with striated triceps? Because he is natural and has a small frame. That’s why.
You can do your dips, push-ups, pull-ups and muscle-ups, but if you are not adding weight, the body has zero reasons to grow after a certain threshold. Of course, if you are terribly untrained, bodyweight exercises alone will do wonders for your upper body, but once you have built a decent base, it’s game over, and the only way to continue is to add weight. Obviously, a push-up with 100lbs added to you requires more muscle mass than the classic version.
However, even that will not make you a shredded 180-200lbs monster like some of the popular bar athletes who supposedly rely only on bodyweight exercises. Those numbers are out of reach when you are natural unless you are tall. Therefore, it’s completely illogical for “heavyweight” calisthenics to exist in the first place.
CALISTHENICS DO NOT COME WITH MUSCLE BUILDING MAGIC
Many unaware trainees believe that bodyweight training comes with unique muscle building capabilities. Nothing could be further from the truth. Bodyweight training does not promote faster muscle growth than weightlifting regardless of what the brainwashed members of gymnastic cults are telling you. There is neither evidence nor logic behind such beliefs. You cannot break the natural limits regardless of how advanced your bodyweight training is. You will certainly become very strong in the upper body but massive will never be a word describing your physique as long as you remain natural.
THE BAR ATHLETES ARE ABOUT AS NATURAL AS BODYBUILDERS
Could anyone explain why people like Hannibal For King and other “heavyweight” calisthenics athletes have gynecomastia? How do you get it at over 35 years of age?
There is zero logic for a naturally big and muscular person to have gynecomastia.
Gynecomastia represents growth of female breasts due to high levels of estrogen. Bodybuilders using drugs get it because anabolic steroids shut down your natural testosterone production and convert into estrogen. As a result, the estrogen levels take over and give you “bitch tits”.
If you are a true natural bodybuilder, you should have high testosterone levels by default. This would render gynecomastia extremely unlikely to occur, especially past your teenage years.
The truth is that many bar athletes are not natural and take anabolic steroids. However, the naive crowd wants to believe the impossible and thinks that just because somebody is not in a gym he is a “pure brah”. Wake up, people! It’s a business, not a game.
HOW BAD DO YOU WANT IT?
One of the main reasons why people get caught in the net and refuse to think rationally is that their emotional state is manipulated and attacked through dramatic video clips. There are hundreds of motivational videos exercising a significant impact on your perception of reality. Like an action movie, they make you believe that the impossible is possible and kill all logic.
The motivational speeches in the background contain a powerful psychological effect which alters your state of mind. Once you are captivated, you are more likely to accept a subliminal message.
Do you really think that those guys are working that hard? Seriously. How difficult is it to go to the park and do pull-ups, dips, and muscle-ups? How hard is it to train with bodyweight exercises a few hours a week? It’s not like you are working 18-hour shifts in a medical facility or a factory. You are just doing muscle-ups.
In conclusion
You can develop a pretty decent upper body with bodyweight training, but the limitations of natural bodybuilding will remain in front of you. You ain’t breaking the natural limits just because a mainstream drama clip containing naked shots of muscle elixir drinkers says so.
Natty or not be like Donald trump fake natty these guys smh
FUCK OFF WITH THESE BULLSHIT ARTICLES. It’s always stupid bro science pricks like you that try to downgrade these exercises. Been doing calisthenics for years and look way better than a lot of dudes that lift. And for the record I’m 6″1 and weigh 209.
Nice. Pics?
still waiting!
Well most people that lift aren’t actually that big and most likely quite small
Bro ure just so stupid to think that calisthenics doesn’t shape the body. I did the experiment my self. First of all I was 75 kg and the became too fat like 110kg then start calisthenics till getting 82kg and for time in my life I go the six pack. So don’t come here to say that doesn’t work.
He’s saying natural limitation you fuckhead . No dout calisthenics ppl are so dumb all they can do is muscle up
“The lighter you are, the easier it is to do advanced bodyweight exercises.”
correction: the leaner you are, the easier it is to do advanced bodyweight exercises. I have a younger cousin who never works out and it shows, but I weigh more than him. who can actually do a L-sit? me. More muscle can be a detriment, but I can guarantee it’s at an extreme level. Calisthenics rely on mobility, balance, corridination, and other fluffy gymnastic stuff, so as long as I have those under my belt, I’m good with whatever muscle mass I have. Look at Kali Muscle; roided to the bone, but can do some sort of muscle-up and a little bit of planche.
“The video below shows a boy that has spent over 20 months training the planche specifically. Why isn’t he as massive as the calisthenics gangsters? Why isn’t he 180-190lbs with striated triceps? Because he is natural and has a small frame. That’s why.”
I don’t think it’s a great idea to assume the boy had plans of bulking when trying to master that skill.
“You can do your dips, push-ups, pull-ups and muscle-ups, but if you are not adding weight, the body has zero reasons to grow after a certain threshold.”
When writing this article, you must’ve forgotten about leverage and plyometrics. A handstand push-up would do the shoulders mighty good, as well as a one-arm push-up would get the triceps nicely jacked. The key component of bodyweight progression is leverage and plyometrics, which focuses on fast twitch muscles, which are the best for muscle growth.
“Could anyone explain why people like Hannibal For King and other “heavyweight” calisthenics athletes have gynecomastia? How do you get it at over 35 years of age?”
are you shocked that a bodyweight person could develop a rippling set of pecs?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6iQnGq55po
for anyone looking to see the man in action. looks perfectly normal to me.
“Do you really think that those guys are working that hard? Seriously. How difficult is it to go to the park and do pull-ups, dips, and muscle-ups? How hard is it to train with bodyweight exercises a few hours a week? It’s not like you are working 18-hour shifts in a medical facility or a factory. You are just doing muscle-ups.”
how hard is it to just go to a gym and deadlift? I mean, you’re just deadlifting x lbs how hard can that be? Not like you’re a police officer saving someone’s life or something.
This is a garbage argument and should’ve never made this article.
“You can develop a pretty decent upper body with bodyweight training, but the limitations of natural bodybuilding will remain in front of you. You ain’t breaking the natural limits just because a mainstream drama clip containing naked shots of muscle elixir drinkers says so.”
You won’t break natural limits with any sort of training either, because those are your limits lol. With bodyweight training, you’ll develop an amazing physique, and those that want to get bigger with calisthenics can through proper dieting (caloric surplus and focusing on protein), and shocking the muscles at every turn.
Some things that can’t be argued however, is how easy it is to progress with weights and how unbeatable heavy lifting is (especially for legs). other than that, bodyweight training is amazing for what it works, and the fact that it is F R E E.
This article is old, but in case anyone sees this, knows very little about calisthenics and takes the author at face value, a few comments.
It’s obvious this article is not impartial, nor seeks pure fact-finding. The way calisthenics is described, as being easy and simply a matter of taking over a playground, doing some easy pull-ups and muscle ups, is laughable.
The greeks developed their strength and physiques largely from calisthenics. It can definitely impart some size, definition and athleticism, the key word being athleticism.
Personally, I began my fitness journey at 15 doing a form of calisthenics. It was a workout I happened to see in a magazine, offered by a navy seal. Pyramid style. Level 1 is 1 pull-up, 3 pushups, five sit-ups. Level 2 is 2 pull-ups, 6 pushups, and 10 situps. The amount of pull-ups, pushups and situps increases by 1, 3 and 5 respectively for each level. No breaks. You go as high as you can until you fail, then work your way down sequentially. If you can get to level 10, you end up doing 100 pull-ups, 300 push-ups and 500 situps in around 30 minutes non-stop.
You would end feeling almost sick. The amount of muscle endurance and mental toughness I developed set a fitness foundation for life. I was incredibly lean and ripped, 5’11, 155 lbs. Side note, I did eventually replace sit-ups with crunches, since sit-ups are now largely recognized to be fairly ineffective compared to other abdominal exercises. I began lifting weights mostly for the next 10 years once I turned 18-19. I gained a lot of size once my ultra fast metabolism slowed down. It looked impressive, but personally, I never felt as athletic as I did being lighter and faster.
Fast forward to 35 years old. I began doing strictly calisthenics 2 years ago, incorporating gymnastics rings work into my routine. Part of this was driven by a desire to eliminate non-functional muscle, or muscle that didn’t help me perform at my chosen sports. This includes Ironman triathlons, ultramarathons, climbing, alpinism, etc. Calisthenics are fantastic for these outdoor sports. The balance, coordination, core strength, and overall strength and muscle endurance are invaluable.
I say all this to point out that my physique looks pretty incredible, with some decent mass, very low body fat and extremely defined musculature and core. I do not take steroids or any other performance enhancing drugs. I do, however, add weight to pull-ups and dips to overcome plateaus and learn things like one arm pull-ups.
Everyone has different goals. If you’re a linebacker, or looking for straight strength or mass, weights are your game. For an outdoor or endurance athlete who wants to maximize balance, coordination, muscle strength, size and endurance, while keeping off non-functional muscle mass, calisthenics is a great option, and can be extremely difficult and challenging, unlike the description given here. For those seeking a better physique, you better believe calisthenics can deliver with the right workouts and proper nutrition. The type of physique you can achieve will of course always depend on your genetics to some extent.
Beware of the brofessors. We need more evidence-based answers to fill internet forums, not more drivel to confuse the masses.
Weight doesn’t build muscle the only thing that builds muscle is the time under tension. Adding weight to your workouts only increases your one rep max strength as long as you training to failure you build muscle. It is simple as that. Check out this study and stop being a dumb lifter: (cant copy past here on phone, search that pmid number in pubmed: 25853914)
“It puts the lotion on the skin!”
For the most part this blog states the truth.
Of course the juiced guys will defend their selfs.
Their excuses are always the same though including :
I do it for X years
I have perfect diet
I use X training(calisthenics etc)
Truth is there are limitations and you can pretty much achieve a natural plateau in about 3 years.It doesnt matter if you train for 3 or 20 years.
So many steroid dudes use another notorious excuse.IM NOT BIG.Just because you are not mr Olympia size stuffed on HGH doesnt mean shit though.
Lets not forget that you dont have to be big.Its the muscle to fat ratio that gives up these people right away.Full muscles , giant traps and lats , 7-8% body fat.
Not to mention others claiming they got huge in prison etc. these are absolute clowns.
Last but not least if the average gym guy uses roids are you people that stupid to believe that professionals that make money out of your stupidity and views are naturals ?
Theres no athlete that doesnt use peds from cycling to rock climbing to fucking ping pong.
People are so damn naive.Unfortunately most believers are beginners with ridiculous expectations.The rest are the ones like me that has years of experience in sports.Last is the ones that actually do roids and defend the clowns