Hi CT and other,
I’ll be 11 weeks away, where I won’t have access to a gym. I will using only BW, for progression I can only use the harder variations. I have plan use Waterbury´s PLP PLP: The 60-Day Challenge …is it fit for neurotype 1B ? Or do you have any idea how to use BW exercises for 1B, if the goal is gaining muscles ?
Thank you for every idea.
1B tend to do well on body weight exercises, especially of a higher skill level. Can you build muscle with body weight training yes, if the following conditions are met:
If you can load a muscle for 40-60 seconds per set on a body weight exercise and reach a point close to failure in that range, you can stimulate growth just as well as with lifting exercises.
If after 40-60 seconds under load you can still keep going, then you will not stimulate maximum growth.
With body weight exercise you can increase the difficulty by changing the leverage or
adding weight.
Limitations of body weight training
•More neurologically demanding (especially higher skills)
•Harder to isolate a specific muscle
•Require more motor skills
•Can be hard to overload for some people
If I go a circuit of four exercises (push, pull, squat, hinge) every other day, is it ok 4-6 sets for 40-60 seconds (close to failure) per exercise?
or for Push/Pull (6 exercises per workout) 3 sets for 40-60 sec. (close to failure) per exercise?
And thanks for quick answer.
Pali I have some experience (and preference) for bodyweight stuff. If you can get rings great, if not no problem.
Ideally you have a friend (or girlfriend) and can use their weight for weighted pushups (various angles). You can do handstand pushups (start with a towel for reduced ROM and cushion, eventually do it off two boxes/deficit).
You can use said friend/girlfriend and do high rep front squats. Or if you’re a killer do pistols (deadstop, one leg sit on a box or chair then explode up). And just rep/feel the contraction.
You can actually get quite massive. And then of course weighted chins and inverted rows.
Circuit of 4 exercises (weighted pushup, chin, squat, handstand pushup) done EMOM is fantastic. Then you can rep out to failure (one set/rest pause) towards the end.
Play around with pyramids (4-6-8-10 back down) for volume. Or 5/5/5/5/5 (assuming weighted). If not then hit a rep count like 50-100 in as few sets as possible.
You’ll get massive!
Have YOU ever been massive?
I’m not saying that your recommandations are not ok. But we must stay objective. A friend of mine was forced to do exactly what you did when he went to prison. And while he did stay muscular, he was smaller than when he lifted.
As I said, you CAN build muscle with bodyweight training. But except for genetic freaks who woould be massive playing darts, nobody gets massive with bodyweight training alone.
Even gymnasts who do 20+ hours of hardcore bodyweight work for YEARS are not massive. They have great arms, back and delts (emphasized by the fact that they are lean) but they are in the 135-155lbs range.
Words have power, chose them wisely.
haha fair enough sir
How often (how many training days per week) can I train this style of training? I like train very often, 4-6 days per week.
What I did for 3 weeks (on trip w/ gf) no steady gym was something like like a push/pull/legs (6x a week)
Every workout I started with 5-8 rep circuit of explosive jumps, chins, handstand pushup and pushups (3 rounds).
Then the “main” workout was: push day (girl on back in various positions) did a 10x5 pushups or so followed by a rest pause/myoreps. Then 50 or so handstand pushups
Pullups lots of chins and one arm (supported variations). Girl on back + inverted rows. Also ring work for arms etc.
Legs were girl on back pistol squats & the other day was sprints or running.
Really nice actually. Weight is important (if you can get a weights in a backpack will be great).
You can play with 10x3, 10x5 or 10x10, different ways of “layering” each workout
Push-up progression: regular pushups, close grip, one leg up in the air close grip, diamond, one leg in the air diamond, legs elevated, legs elevated diamond, one arm, plyo pushups. Clapping pushups, clapping behind back pushups
Squat progression: BW squats, close stance squats, one legged box squats, pistol squats
Pull-up progression: neutral, underhand, overhand, wide overhand, weighted, hand grabbing forearm one handed, one handed
Abs progression, trunk flexion focused: reverse crunches, lying leg raises, forearm supported bent knee raises, forearm supported straight leg raises, hanging bent knee raises, hanging leg raises (there’s an article on HLR by Al Kavadlo that outlines the proper form for HLR, and I guarantee it’s not the way you or most people you know have been doing them - pure torture and discipline)
Learning a planche through a tucked and full planche profrsssion is also super impressive.
Basically, as CT said, you must replace weight progression with leverage and proprioception progression.