Bodysculpting Workout
Bodyweight training - so many promises, but does it deliver. I'll be honest with you...and then we'll let you have your say.
Here's today's question...
Q: I am thinking about purchasing your TT bodyweight training manual. I work 11-12 hours per day, 5-6 days per week, and I have 4 month old twin girls at home. So, my time is very limited. I really don't have time to mess around with adjustable dumbbells and barbells, it just adds to my work out time.
My main goal is to improve my body composition (less fat more muscle). I'm currently 6'1", 200lbs, and approx 24% body fat. Do you think the bodyweight manual is the best choice for me? Also, I've heard that you can't add muscle with bodyweight exercises. Is that just a myth? Thanks for your time Craig. I look forward to hearing from you.
Answer:
It sounds like as time limits go, the TT bodyweight manual is your best bet. It is for men and women like you that I wrote the bodyweight workouts.
With today's hectic lifestyles, parents of young families have almost no time to workout. Heck, any parent that can find time to exercise is doing a great job in my opinion. And that's why I'm dedicated to making your short workouts efficient and effective.
I'll be honest with you, my bodyweight routines are not going to make you look like a bodybuilder. However, they can and will help you look better by building some muscle and burning lots of fat. You'll look better on the beach, at your wedding, or simply every day in your backyard.
Plus, you'll be healthier, and have more energy. Two of the biggest needs of your family right now - a happy, healthy, energetic parent.
There are quite a few exercises in the bodyweight manual that can actually help you gain muscle (chins, dips, some of the advanced pushups, and all the single leg exercises). But you will not put on muscle like you would with a dumbbell routine.
The amount of muscle you put on with the bodyweight exercises depend on how intense they are for you. A person that can do 25 chinups will not gain as much muscle from chinups as a person that struggles with 5 reps on the chins. The second lifter will gain more size in the arms and lats - but that actually describes a lot of TT readers.
The real benefit to bodyweight training is the ability to get lean, not huge. You'll lose fat and achieve extraordinary muscle definition with a bodyweight program.
Because of the interval-like nature of the bodyweight training, you will blast through your fat stores quickly, provided your diet is in place. After all, running and sprinting are nothing more than very fast bodyweight exercises - and they sure help to burn the fat, don't they? Given your stature, you would be looking at bcoming a lean 180-185 pounds in less than 16 weeks or so on the program.
The exercises are enough to keep your muscle mass, and more than enough to burn off fat, but again you need to eat properly.
Now for some feedback...
"Had my first bodyweight work out from your program last night, which I started at phase two, and I was totally caught off guard at the high level of energy and strength that is needed to complete these circuits. Im used to regular bodybuilding exercises and I assumed my strength there would compliment me in these circuits, but it turns out I was wrong, for the most part. By the second circuit I was already lowering my reps, as I wasn't strong enough nor did I have the necessary endurance to complete the circuit at the recommended reps. My body felt like it went through a 2 hour workout, when in fact I was done with in about 30 minutes. I particularly enjoy the fact that these can mostly all be done at home."
Brad Wittig
Bodyweight workouts + good eating = A great body,
CB
For more info on the bodyweight workouts, lunge, push or pull your way over HERE.
"Craig, I have, for the most part, had an attitude that BW training must be for the weak and untrained. Recently, the two leaders in the field in my mind (yourself and Cosgrove) have had much to say about BW training. Needing a change, and stuck not making any progress in improved leanness, I decided to give it a try. What a surprise. The workouts are tough. I'm enjoying them more than weights and intervals (still do a bit of intervals). And ... guess what, suddenly I'm seeing major changes in my leanness. Considerably more than I was getting conventionally! With the ways you have to make it tougher, even very strong athletes can experience great challenge. Functional fitness training it is. You are terrific. Keep up the great work."
David Odell, Toronto
No comments:
Post a Comment