For years bodyweight-training gurus have espoused the superiority of their methods over weight training. At the same time, gym-rats have looked down on even the most functional bodyweight movements. Who was right? Perhaps neither...
There are plenty of people who will rally faithfully on one side or the other in the weight-training vs. bodyweight training argument. Both methods have their benefits when they are planned effectively, and both can be misused or misconstrued by inaccurate information. The fact of the matter is, resistance is resistance, your body doesn’t know the difference between a given resistance if it comes from an outside implement, such as a dumbbell, or from your own bodyweight. Developing an effective program depends on weighing the cost and benefits of each method against your current training situation, then adjusting your program accordingly. Bodyweight training is the most basic training method available. With the exception of a few key exercises (dips, pull-ups, muscle-ups) no equipment is required, so you can exercise anywhere. This aspect is important; because the less excuses you have, the more likely you are to stick with a program. Training with a variety of bodyweight exercises tends to tax your balance and coordination more than most weight training (especially with advanced exercises such as free-standing handstand push-ups and Planches), and it forces you to engage your core musculature to retain proper form. This is apparent when you compare push-ups to the bench press. In a push-up, you are forced to engage your abs and lower back as well as your hip flexors to retain the proper alignment throughout the movement, whereas lying on a bench negates this support aspect of your core, leading to decreased muscular recruitment and functionality for a similarly prescribed movement. Weight training, on the other hand, has been the gold standard for strength and conditioning for years now. Besides the obvious allure of lifting big chunks of iron over your head, it offers many benefits that can’t be met by bodyweight training. When working with weights you have an exact idea of the incremental improvements that you are making from day to day. When you add 5 pounds, it’s pretty cut and dry, the weight you add in your home gym is the same as any other in any gym in the world. There are a few weight exercises that don’t have a reasonable equivalent in bodyweight training, namely the Olympic lifts and similar movements that train the explosiveness of your posterior chain. Sure, back extensions work your hamstrings and spinal erectors, but not to the extent of the clean and jerk, and with nowhere near the muscle-recruitment pattern that this exercise displays. So, both methods have obvious benefits; the increased coordination, balance, and convenience of bodyweight training, and the easier manipulation of work-load increments, and increased muscle-recruitment patterns of weight training. With this in mind, I believe that a program that includes both methods is the most complete, taking the exercises that exemplify the benefits of both, and mixing them in such a way as to cover all the bases of fitness. When you take gymnastics bodyweight skills such as dips, pull-ups, push-ups, handstands etc., and mix them with the Olympic lifts and their derivatives like cleans, snatches, deadlifts and squats, you can create a program that capitalizes on the positive aspects of each method while avoiding the possible downsides associated with sticking to one or the other unnecessarily.
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