Weights or Bodyweight: The Showdown

Two of the most brutal workouts I have ever been through… One bodyweight, one weighted. Both you will see below.

But first, one of the questions I get asked most often is “Should I do weights or bodyweight workouts?”

Then comes my favorite question… “Or should I do both?”…

Ok, not my favorite question but one that has a 92% success rate for being asked after the first two…

I digress…

When it comes to choosing between weights and bodyweight workouts, we need to look into five main factors. What I call, the Ultimate Showdown.

1. Time.

The #1 excuse I hear for people not working out is, “I don’t have time.” So I am sure you can already guess what’s going to win category number one.

Weights: Unless you have a gym in your house (which I am very jealous of!), you have the task of driving to the gym to workout. For some, just the commute can take an hour especially if there is traffic.

That being said, there are ways around not going to the gym and still working out with weights. You can train with kettlebells, buy some cheap dumbbells for your house, a pull-up bar… and you’ll have a mini gym right at home.

Bodyweight: Being that I have had clients send me videos doing burpees in an airport, it’s safe to say that bodyweight can be done anytime, anywhere, no matter what.

If time is a factor for you, go with bodyweight. You can do it in the morning, on your lunch break, while watching TV, cooking dinner, etc.

And as you will see below, all you need is 9-minutes…

Bodyweight 1, Weights 0

2. Progression

Of course, progression is one of the key aspects to allowing your body to continue to transform. You can’t go into the gym everyday doing the same weight and exercises, and expect different results.

With bodyweight, the progressions are done through exercise variations. For example…

Split Squat => Bulgarian Split Squat => Assisted Pistol Squat => Pistol Squat

Weights on the other hand rely on progressive overload, which is achieved through adding small amounts of weight to exercises each time you do them.

Both bodyweight and weighted progressions are necessary. In my own experiences, I’ve found that the weighted progressions yield better results simple because you are putting more stress on the body.

I’ll give you an example…

Although doing 5 pistol squats in a row is impressive, it doesn’t compare to the strength and power your legs would have if you were able to squat 400 pounds for 5 reps.

Progressive overload is one of the best ways to continually get stronger, so for that reason… Category #2 goes to weights.

Bodyweight 1, Weights 1.

3. Variety

Every single week it happens… Someone who just started a new workout program asks what they should do next or if they can change up their routine.

Although I recommend sticking to a routine for at least 4-6 weeks, I do understand that variety is very important in your workouts.

Not only will it keep things interesting, it keeps your body guessing and growing as you are constantly throwing new aspects of training in.

When it comes to bodyweight, I have a document on my desktop with over 150 bodyweight exercises and variations. That’s enough to keep you busy wouldn’t you say?

For weights, the varieties are endless… There’s hundreds of progressions, regressions, variations, etc. that you can do with weights.

That said, I am a firm believer in keeping your weight training sessions simple by focusing on key compound movements like:

Deadlifts, squats (and variations), presses (bench, overhead, incline, …), pull (pull-ups, chin-ups, bent over rows, …).

These are the movements that ultimately help get you extremely lean. I’ve found that you don’t need to do all these crazy exercises in order to get super fit.

And for that reason alone, I am going to give the variation category to bodyweight.

With weights, your focus shouldn’t be so much on variety as it should on progressive overload. Focus on getting STRONG on your key lifts and you’ll be happy with your results.

Bodyweight 2, Weights 1.

4. Challenge

When it comes to a successful transformation, challenging your body is a must. Your workouts must be taken to the next level each and every week so that you can continue seeing positive changes.

As we talked about above, both bodyweight and weights offer great progressions and variety. But which one offers more of a challenge?

In most cases, unless you are a gymnast or highly skilled bodyweight ninja, doing challenging movements with just your bodyweight is difficult.

Things like pull-ups, one-armed pushups, pistol squats, etc. take time to really master.

With weights, you can learn to master some of the more difficult moves like squats, deadlifts, cleans, etc. in just a few weeks or even a few days time.

So in terms of challenging your body sooner without doing hundreds of reps on bodyweight exercises, weighted workouts takes this one.

Bodyweight 2, Weights 2.

5. Look-Gooded-Ness

We had to throw this one in because this is what everyone cares about… Yes, your workouts should help you get stronger, leaner, and more fit… But they should also help build the body YOU want.

Both weights and bodyweight workouts can get the job done in this aspect.

YET, it all comes back to what YOU prefer.

Both will help you build a great looking body. What it all comes down to though is preference.

If you are still having trouble deciding, take a look at the workouts below and see which one sounds more appealing to you.

These are two of the toughest leg workouts I have ever been through, one bodyweight and one with weights. Enjoy:

Century Sets: Barbell Squats

Choose Your Weight: If you have been barbell squatting for some time now, choose your own bodyweight for the weight you are using. For example, I am 205 pounds so I will use 205 pounds for the barbell weight.

Workout Goal: Your goal is to complete 100 reps on barbell squats in as little sets as possible. The only catch is that you cannot go passed 20 reps in a single set. So 5 sets of 20 reps would be your best score you can get.

And that’s your workout. Try it and see how it goes. I will warn you now… It’s BRUTAL!

Leg Punisher EXTREME

Perform 20-seconds on 10-seconds squat hold of the exercises below. Repeat two rounds (one-minute) on each exercise before moving to the next. Complete 4-minutes then rest 60-seconds before moving to the next circuit.

Circuit #1
Bodyweight Squats: 20 seconds
Squat Hold: 10 seconds
X2
Prisoner Squats: 20 seconds
Squat Hold: 10 seconds
X2
Squat to Toes: 20 seconds
Squat Hold: 10 seconds
X2
Squat Jumps: 20 seconds
Squat Hold: 10 seconds
X2

Rest 60-seconds then complete:

Circuit #2
Swing Through Lunges: 30 seconds each side
Plank: 30-seconds
Bulgarian Split Squat: 30 seconds each leg
Plank: 30 seconds
Jump Lunges: 60-seconds

DONE!

So what is your choice… Weights or Bodyweight?