Bodyweight training is an attempt to bring structured Gymnastics & Plyometrics more down to earth — “to the people!” — and is worth its own article because it has such a broad appeal.

You might call it “Gymnastics Light”: skip all the skill intensive elements from Gymnastics that take dedicated practice time, like inversions, rolls, swings, pirouettes, any highly leveraged position like levers or planche, and any dynamic or combined movements (A+B). Instead, the focus is on simple exercises that you can pick up in minutes, such as air squats, push-ups, pull-ups, burpees, step-ups, box jumps, lunges, maybe some bear crawls, sit-ups.

This has some pros and cons. Let’s focus on the pros first:

1. Accessibility & Portability – You can do most of these movements with low to no equipment in the comfort of your living room or patio, and even on vacation at an AirBnB or beach.
2. Learning Curve – You can understand and probably perform the skills well enough within minutes (maybe after watching a video first), assuming you find the right scaling level for you.
3. Balance – In theory there is enough variety present that you can build a balanced program that addresses all major muscle groups.
4. Function – These are the most common and probably essential movements to everyday life, so you will find great value in practicing them regularly for your own function and independence long-term.

Pretty straightforward pros here, and these 4 reasons are enough to make this the default program for a lot of people. Who needs a gym or a coach?

But there are some cons to this type of training, and it comes down to your current fitness state, your priorities, and what type of learner you are:

1. Being Overweight – It is perhaps obvious, but when you’re working with your bodyweight only, carrying more weight makes things harder. Some careful scaling is important, and in order to include the spectrum of movements listed above, some additional equipment will often be needed to scale appropriately, which starts to peel away the otherwise minimalist framework that defines the model. Most people who are starting exercise fall into this category to varying degrees, so setting the right expectations of what equipment you actually need to do this well is important.
   
2. Non-Linear Progress – This is a bit technical, but basically you can only get stronger and better adapted to a given movement and stimulus when the demands of the movement increase gradually over time, and just adding more repetitions won’t cut it.
   
   For example, if you are performing a scaled, incline push-up by elevating your hands on a bench, to progress the height of that bench must gradually decrease over time. This adds complexity to the daily or weekly setup, as now you have to keep track of your height of the bench you use for push-ups. From what I can see this is generally referenced as a good principle, but rarely mapped out in a program, probably to keep the presentation clean and because it varies so much with each person. Again we see some wrinkles in the otherwise minimalist intention.
   
3. Imbalance – Above I wrote about Balance as a pro, “in theory.” But the practice or reality is that unless the program is very structured and includes a fair amount of prehab and accessory work that pulls from other domains (like Gymnastics, Bodybuilding, Weightlifting, and Physical Therapy), there is a strong tendency to overemphasize muscle groups and movements in certain planes.
   
   For example, the push-up is so ubiquitous and accessible that horizontal pressing will tend to form the majority of all pressing, when in a true Gymnastics program it would be the minority (overhead is more important), and would be complemented with a lot of different pulling exercises to maintain balance.
   
   Similarly, the quad dominant Squat and Lunge are the main bodyweight staples, while posterior chain strength typically developed via a Deadlift or Natural Leg Curl will have to be addressed other ways, or simply gets missed. The list goes on. Most Bodyweight programs will need to borrow and hybridize from other domains to maintain true balance. This is what I do when writing programs for clients with a goal that skews towards bodyweight training.
   
4. Boredom – This is where mindset and your priorities become key. Are you the kind of person who likes routine, or the excitement of change and new challenges? Bodyweight training definitely favors the former, as the exercises are deliberately limited to things that you can learn quickly and won’t require much further skill development to progress. I find this to be a deal breaker when training most clients, as the bedrock of coaching and value from the perspective of a client or athlete is about regularly learning something new. “When you stop learning, you’re done.”
   
   As humans, our relentless curiosity is a powerful driver for innovation and personal growth. Imagine if your math education stopped at addition and subtraction, or perhaps at learning your times tables? Some people would give a delighted “yassss!” at the prospect of avoiding ever having to learn Algebra or *groan* Calculus. Others might feel short-changed.
   
   On the flipside, there are people for whom routine, even boring routine, is the best thing ever. Maybe you have a goal that’s strictly about moving everyday, the exact substance isn’t super important, and the apparent obstacle has been transportation, time, or anxiety about making decisions about your workout. Maybe exercise is simply a means to reinforce better food habits to control blood sugar, and getting something in is all that matters. 

We are all so unique in our histories and goals, there is room for many models to reach them. But ask yourself if the main appeal of bodyweight training — its simplicity — is the optimal way to get you to your goals, or just a desire for simplification of your complex story? It’s ok to be complex, there is beauty in it. Find the way forward that is truly the best fit for you.

Coach Mauricio