When most individuals decide they want to lose weight and get into shape, they immediately turn to bodybuilding. Bodybuilding has transformed into something just a handful ofdie hard fanatics used to do a few decades ago to being a common word to describe almost anyone who lifts weights or looks like they workout.
In fact, people call me a bodybuilder all the time, but I hate being called one. I don't even lift weights! But I do look like I lift weights. The only thing I lift is my own bodyweight. That's right, bodyweight training is the only form of training that I perform.
This article is going to help you decide which training method is right for you: bodybuilding or bodyweight training.
Steady State Cardio vs. Bodyweight Cardio
Bodybuilders typically perform hours of steady state cardio to lose fat. Bodyweight cardio refers to high intensity workouts organized as circuits or intervals which "feel" like cardio. Both methods burn fat, but steady state cardio is extremely time consuming and boring for the average person.
Bodyweight cardio on the other hand takes no more than 30 minutes and is extremely fun and challenging. In addition, steady state cardio does nothing for your metabolic rate. Your metabolic rate is a measure of how fast you burn calories, and is a crucial component to youroverall fat loss plan.
High intensity bodyweight training boosts your metabolic rate so that you need less training sessions in order to reach your fat loss goals. Overall, bodyweight cardio helps you lose fat with a shorter time commitment, and is ten times more fun than steady state cardio.
Isolation Movements vs. Compound Movements
Isolation movements are exercises that train just one muscle group at a time. Compound movements are exercises that train more than one muscle group at a time. Bodybuilding workouts usually have one compound movement, but then have 5-6 additional isolation movements.
When it comes to fat loss, compound movements outperform isolation movements. When you engage a lot of muscle at once, you release two hormones: human growth hormone and testosterone. Both of these hormones have been linked to increased fat loss.
And guess what? It's almost impossible to isolate a muscle group with bodyweight training. Hence, every single bodyweight exercise is a compound movement. So you're doing more exercises thatfocus on engaging a lot of muscle at once. Which means more hormone release and more fat loss.
Slow vs. Fast Training
Most bodybuilders lift weights at a very slow and steady pace. Bodyweight training can also be performed at a very slow pace. In fact, a very effective way to get stronger and bigger with bodyweight exercises is something known as isometric training.
Isometric training is where you pause at a particular point of the exercise. For example, for a pushup, you might pause at the top, the middle, and the bottom (one inch off the floor) position. This will increase stress on the muscle, making it bigger and stronger.
Both rep speeds are vital, but for different goals. For fat loss you should train as fast and explosively as possible. This is because fat loss workouts should be heart-pumping, not just muscle-pumping. If your heart rate isn't going crazy, you're not burning fat.
In conclusion...
I personally feel that bodyweight training is far superior for fat loss and overall health for the average person than bodybuilding methods. Bodyweight workouts are more convenient and save you time and money. In addition, they also follow some very basic fat burning principles that bodybuilding seems to ignore.
You know what, speaking of bodyweight exercises there's a great 3-phase fat loss system you need to check out called the Bodyweight Blueprint for Fat Loss. You can find out more information about this incredible bodyweight fat loss program on my site, WorkoutWithoutWeights.Net You have permission to publish this article in your web sites, ezines or electronic publication, as long as the piece is used in its entirety including the resource box, all hyperlinks (HTML clickable) and references and copyright info
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