The Benefits of Calisthenics 8 Reasons to Do Bodyweight Workouts

Calisthenics has made its way into the popular fitness world, but they are the last thing from a new-age idea. This type of workout

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Calisthenics has made its way into the popular fitness world, but they are the last thing from a new-age idea. This type of workout has been around for ages, so when it comes to calisthenics, what are the biggest benefits that come along with this type of exercising?

There are so many different benefits to calisthenics, but the top 8 reasons to participate in body workouts include low cost, accessibility, effectiveness, fat-burning abilities, the use of HIIT, building core strength, its ability to challenge, and that anyone can participate. 

There are so many different types of workouts out there that can meet the needs of just about anyone at just about any age. The beauty of fitness is that it is possible, in some way, for just about everyone in the world to participate in. What then do you choose when it comes to how you exercise? Continue reading to see the different benefits of calisthenics and the 8 reasons why doing bodyweight workouts is such a good idea.

What Is Calisthenics?

Calisthenics is not your typical workout when you think of heading to the gym, getting on your favorite equipment, and setting yourself up to sweat it out with the aid of machines and heavy weights. This type of workout is one that uses what people have – their bodies. This may seem counterproductive to some, or even impossible, as your body has nothing that your local gym can offer. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Calisthenics is a form of exercise that uses what you can find right under your nose – your body. The goal is to build endurance, strength, flexibility, all through the means of what your body can do. Even more than this, each exercise is designed to be repeated, repeated, repeated. Repetition is the key to calisthenics and one of the biggest reasons they are so effective when it comes to increasing heart rate while also building endurance.

If you were to run 5 minutes every day at the same pace, how would you ever be able to build upon your work? If you were to only push yourself so far that you barely become winded and then stop, how do you allow your body to advance and break past that barrier that is restricting you from going just one step further?

Through the use of your body and the implementation of repetition, calisthenics give you so many reasons to make them a part of your workout routine.

© Image by Matan Ray Vizel from Pixabay

8 Reasons to do Bodyweight Workouts

It may seem like this concept of using bodyweight as a form of effective exercise is a bit fairytale-like. How would it be possible for someone to only use their body to achieve a good level of all-around fitness without ever having to worry about stepping into a gym? Although it may be a tad perplexing, bodyweight workouts are a sure way to get you into the shape you desire and keep you there with total access to your home gym right under your skin.

Reason 1: It Costs Nothing

One of the biggest deterrents for those who are just entering into the fitness world is the expense of gyms. If you want a gym with more equipment than you are able to find on your own off of hand-me-down websites, it is likely that you will be paying a decent amount to get to use what public and private (even more expensive) offer their members. For this reason alone, many people find themselves saying that their health is not a necessary expense.

However, your health is one of the most important things that you can ever invest in. Keeping that in mind though, it does not always have to mean that you are paying out a second mortgage in order to keep yourself in a good physical state. This is the beauty of bodyweight workouts – they are done from your home, they are done using your own body, and they cost nothing to you. When it comes to your physical health, you have an absolutely free option!

Reason 2: The Gym is Always Open

Another big problem for many individuals who want to maintain their physical health is the need to have to go somewhere to do it. This problem may seem minute to some, but if it takes you 25 minutes to get to your gym and 25 minutes to get back with your workout in between, that is a huge chunk of time that is stolen from your day. Even more, those with odd work schedules may have a hard time finding a place they like that will be open when they’re off.

The beauty of bodyweight workouts is that the gym is wherever you are. If you are in your home, that’s where your gym is also. If you are in the office on break, your gym is there as well. If you are at the park with your kids, the gym is right with you. Beyond your gym being wherever you go, it is also always available to you. You may not want to work out at 8:00 at night, but you have no excuse because you have everything you need right with you.

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Reason 3: The Workout is Quick, Yet Effective

One of the biggest problems when it comes to making working out something that can function as a part of your day-to-day is that it takes up too much time. People are busy – they have children, they have jobs, they have obligations, they need sleep! When it comes to making time for a workout that is going to take an hour and a half, for many, this is not even close to attainable, but with bodyweight workouts, it is.

By participating in bodyweight workouts, you are not committing to hours worth of workouts. You are first committing to what your body is capable of right now, then to workouts that are based around high-intensity segments followed by rest periods that last in total, around 25-30 minutes. For most people, 25-30 minutes a day is completely achievable, but this method is also extremely effective.

Reason 4: Bodyweight Workouts Use HIIT

What is HIIT you ask? HIIT stands for “High-intensity interval training.” Now, the term may be a bit intimidating at first, but the practice of this type of workout is one that is going to expand on the fact that bodyweight workouts are quick, yet effective. HIIT workouts consist of high-intensity periods of physical activity that are decreased to low-intensity periods and then ramped back up to high-intensity periods.

This type of workout helps to build endurance, create stamina, and get individuals’ heart rates up in a way that will lead to better inward health, but will also contribute to muscle building, flexibility, and weight loss as well. HIIT can be tailored to any person, whether they be beginners, in the middle of their journey, or old pros. This method of exercise is for every person for exactly where they are with their fitness and health journey.

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Reason 5: Fat Burning

Speaking of fat burning, through the use of bodyweight workouts and the implementation of various HIIT strategies, not only are people investing in their overall health, but they are able to see a big difference in the amount of fat that they were previously never able to burn. To burn fat, there must be an increase in your body’s metabolism.

Through the use of bodyweight training, the repetition and quick acceleration of different exercises help to boost metabolism and thus, leads to a higher amount of fat burned. Even more, the lasting effects of bodyweight training are seen much longer than other workouts due to the high-intensity of them. Once a vigorous exercise is completed, your metabolic rate can be increased for over 10 hours!

Reason 6: There is Always a Challenge

With bodyweight training, you have to get creative in order to reach the level of fitness you desire. This cannot be done through hours of walking on a treadmill, it won’t happen by simply lifting a few light-weights here and there, and it will never occur through minimal effort. The great thing about bodyweight training is that you are always going to be challenged, no matter what your level of fitness is or what your goals are.

If you are just starting out, it is likely that you will be a bit unsteady those first few weeks as your balance is not adapted and your core strength has not been focused on. Simple exercises are going to challenge you in a way more traditional workouts simply would not have. If you are more experienced, pushing yourself past your limits to really make those high-intensity spurts of exercise count will also push you in very obvious ways.

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Reason 7: Core Strength is Achieved

Speaking of balance and core strength, this is one of the biggest benefits of bodyweight training: your core strength will be dramatically improved. Through the use of your body, you will be performing all kinds of different exercises that require you to move your body in ways that require a solid core for proper posture and good stability. Your core muscles, for bodyweight workouts, are like the mortar for brick homes and its strength is essential.

By engaging your core so often, your exercises will become more concise and even more, your balance will also be dramatically improved. By focusing on the stability of your core, you are better able to control your own movements, which leads to much better balance. Core strength benefits go far beyond their effects on exercise, but can be seen in simple everyday tasks like carrying groceries, picking up heavy objects, and even just bending over.

Reason 8: Anyone Can Participate

In the workout world, there are so many workouts that have been adapted for a variety of different fitness groups. There are weightlifters, runners, swimmers, crossfitters – the list goes on and on. All of these different methods of exercising work for some people, but also can be rather exclusive in the type of body they are able to accommodate. If you are an older individual who struggles with terrible knee problems, running marathons isn’t for you.

On the flip side, if you are younger and can’t lift heavy weights until your growth plates close, weightlifting is also relatively useless. This is the great thing about bodyweight workouts – they are for any person, at any age, at any level of fitness. This style is effective no matter your stage in life and can be tailored to fit the needs of any person, no matter what. Bodyweight training gives anyone who wants to be physically fit, the chance to work towards that.

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