The common view amongst those who have done any sort of weight training, for a long period of time, is that lifting your own body weight is way too simple to be effective in building muscle. In fact, most think that they have to consistently lift up to three times their body weight before any training regime can be considered effective. However, I will let you in on a not-so-well-known secret – lifting no more than your own weight can actually be the fastest way to build muscle and burn fat at the same time.
This might be hard for some people to believe. I mean, how can benching and squatting only your body weight be more effective than heavy weightlifting when it comes to building muscle and burning fat? Well the fact is that, when it is done correctly, body weight exercises can be more challenging than weightlifting because all of the muscles in your body are being used simultaneously, whereas in weightlifting only certain muscles are used in each exercise, while others remain isolated.
With weight resistant exercises the reps are more demanding. How? Due to the numerous amount of muscles being used at once, you actually end up exerting as much effort as if you were lifting more than your own weight. The workout level is intensified and this is what enables you to build pure muscles and burn off excess fat.
Body weight training also allows you to be more flexible – you can go from one exercise to another quickly, and with ease, add variety to your workouts, change the level of difficulty to target even more muscle fibers and introduce cardio exercises to the program as well. It is this flexible combination that makes body weight training possibly the fastest way to build muscle.
In comparison, the main problem with lifting weights is that it restricts you to certain movements and positions. Variations to the speed at which you perform these movements and increasing the number of reps are about the only flexible options you have.
With the growing number of resistance training exercise programs now being devised, it is fast becoming the best way to build pure muscles, burn excess fat and keep your body lean and strong.