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When I first wrote The Fundamentals of Bodyweight Strength Training article for eatmoveimprove.com, I never imaged it would be as popular as it has become. So here we are 20 months later with a whole book dedicated to this subject. I hope you enjoy.
Mastering your own body requires much hard work and persistence, but potential for overall results is astounding. Bodyweight exercises can be done almost anywhere with minimal equipment, are fun to do, and have an impressive visual appeal. Strength levels acquired from proper bodyweight training transfers over to all other forms of strength, including weight training. In these respects, bodyweight strength training is extremely rewarding.
In addition to the impressive levels of strength that can be attained, bodyweight strength training for the upper body requires excellent kinesthesia, proprioception, and control.
Force output of a muscle is based on cross sectional area of the muscle, angle of attack on the joint, individual limb length, and most importantly neural factors. Developing strength with focus on these neural factors in conjunction with muscle mass gains will provide for faster results. Since manipulating the body in space requires kinesthesia, proprioception, and control, there is a greater emphasis on these neural factors, which yields much faster results.
Nothing worthwhile comes without hard work and a fair share of frustration. Bodyweight strength training is no exception. Unlike with barbells there are very few gauges for progress. Trainees may become stuck on certain strength progressions for weeks or even months at a time with very little clue how to break through plateaus. Stagnation is a very real problem, but with good programming we can fight this tendency. Programming is all about planning, and good planning will help minimize the plateaus.
In most of the major sports such as track and field, football, basketball, swimming, etc. strength and conditioning has been constantly refined and modified. However, in the context of gymnastics and bodyweight training, there are very few people who know how to effectively implement progressions and programming in the context of bodyweight strength. Gymnastics gyms just do not have the monetary resources or consumer demand to hire strength and conditioning professionals to help refine the physical preparation that is required. Likewise, there are no requirements for coaches to know much about strength and conditioning.
Thus, there are very few sources of true bodyweight strength programming available. Most of the information is in the heads of high level gymnastics coaches who do not have the time or inclination to write down their thoughts. Similarly, knowing progressions for exercises alone does not necessarily mean that one has enough knowledge to implement effective programming.
This writing is an attempt to change that. The primary goal is to allow novice and intermediate trainees to delve into the world of bodyweight strength training and progress effectively and safely.
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