Love bodyweight exercises? These are 4 downsides that you must keep in mind

If there’s one thing we learnt in 2020, it was to take care of our bodies—no matter what. As gyms shut down due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown, we relied on bodyweight exercises to keep us fit and fabulous. Ever since then, there’s been a lot of buzz around these exercises. But are they worth it, or was it just a stopgap solution? 

Well, first things first, this form of resistance training does help to burn fat, build lean muscle, and improve strength. The intensity of the strength is dependent on the magnitude of resistance applied to the muscles, as well as the number of muscles that are stimulated. 

Just like everything, bodyweight exercises too have their pros and cons. And today, we are going to touch upon its downsides. So, are you ready to find out? Let’s go: 

1. The progress is non-linear

When you use barbells or dumb-bells, you can increase the weight, and accordingly, take charge of the intensity of the workout. This makes it simpler to do the desired reps, especially if you want to get stronger. Although, it seems like you can do the same with bodyweight exercises, it is far from reality. Progress is non-linear when it comes to bodyweight exercises, which means when you move from one stage to the other, the intensity can be much more than your current strength levels allow. 

2. Body dimensions can work against you

What happens is when you try advanced bodyweight poses, I subject your joints and muscles to disadvantageous positions. In some people, who have long levers, a reduction in biomechanical advantage makes some bodyweight progressions very difficult. This is not just particularly limited to bodyweight exercises, because even when lifting weights, different body types will face different challenges. 

3. It is harder to do these exercises if you are heavy

Of course, doing a pull-up or push-up, or even other exercises will be more tough to perform when you carry extra weight. Each exercise has an easier variation, but the problem is they might not be as effective, and will take time to show results. That’s why it might be better for heavy individuals to go for a different form of resistance training in the beginning, and once they shed some weight, they can move to bodyweight exercises.

4. Inability to stimulate posterior chain and thigh muscles properly

If you are only performing bodyweight exercises, then this is a big problem that could arise. When you need to strengthen the posterior chain, there’s nothing that can come before barbells and dumb-bells. That’s why you should do a combination of exercises, and not just rely on your bodyweight in this case. 

The same applies to leg exercises, which is why they are better with dumb-bells and barbells. 

So ladies, if you are relying only on bodyweight exercises, you must keep these in mind, before you jump in!