Bodyweight Training For Mass Building

This is your Bodyweight Training Arena resource for building mass with Bodyweight exercises.

The bodybuilding mentality tells people to pick up heavy objects which are of considerable weight in order to go about building mass and bulk up muscles to their highest points. No one ever considers using their own body to do this, which will also allow you to create a range of motions with bodily exercises, bringing bulk and stability to your muscles which was never possible with the use of free weights of machines when building mass.

Yes, you can build mass with calisthenics

When you think about it, it really wasn’t that long ago that the world’s strongest men didn’t have fancy gym equipment or access to free weights to build muscle size and strength. Instead, they relied on calisthenics, plyometrics, and body weight training to get bigger, faster, and stronger. Go back a generation and Charles Atlas was one of the most well-known bodybuilders in the world who relied exclusively on calisthenic-style workouts. And no one can dispute the impressive muscle size and physique of the legendary martial arts master Bruce Lee.

Low rep vs high rep

If you’re trying to build muscle size and strength using body weight training, you just need to go about it the right way. In a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers found that three sets of low-rep heavy-resistance training compared to three sets of high-rep low-resistance training over a 10-week period resulted in similar gains in muscle size. That means that even after you’ve mastered some of the most basic body weight moves like push-ups, pull-ups, and squats, increasing the number of reps you perform in each set can still help you build muscle size.

Progressive Calisthenic is the answer

While muscle size increased at a similar rate for high-rep and low-rep sets in the study, researchers found that muscle strength increased more for the heavy-resistance group. If you’re aiming to build muscle exclusively with body weight training, that means you should employee progressive training strategies to basic moves to make them more difficult as you get stronger. For example, once standard push-ups are too easy, perform incline push-ups by placing your feet on a couch or stool. You could make pull-ups more challenging by wearing a weighted belt or altering your grip. Adjust your workout at least every couple of weeks to keep your muscles guessing at what’s next to help them continue to grow in size and strength.

Your Diet is Important

In addition to progressive exercise techniques to keep challenging your muscles to grow, you can also increase muscle size and strength by following a high-protein diet. Aiming for about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight a day is a good goal to aim for if you’re working out and trying to build muscle. You can do this by eating foods like egg whites, nuts and seeds, lean meats and skinless poultry, and low-fat dairy products like milk and yoghurt. If you’re still having a hard time getting adequate protein after adjusting your diet, adding a protein shake as a snack or with meals a few times a day can help you get to that 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight mark. Read more on calisthenic diet here.

These are just 3 out of many rules you should follow while trying to build calisthenic mass

The Ten Commandments of Calisthenics Mass

Here are 3 most effective exercises for building muscles with bodyweight training:

An outdoor full body triceps dip.

Bodyweight variations of gym exercises can be used for building mass in a much more supportive way for your body. Some of these may be your ultimate resource for bodyweight mass building:

• – Muscle Ups
• – Full Body Triceps Dips
• – Dragonflies
• – Pistol Squats

Ok, Let’s Get down to Business

Access here 4 Week Muscle Mass Building Program

But is you want a personalised training program done for you then we strongly recommend that you check out The Movement Athlete Academy and their free calisthenics assessment. Nothing beats personalisation vs doing random programs that might be too hard or too easy for you. The best? It’s free!