UNDERGROUND ARTICLES Training Modalities: Bodyweight and Weightlifting By Greg Mihovich Let's take a look at two training modalities: Bodyweight (BW) and Weightlifting (WL). For some reason, very often their respective proponents form camps of furious opposition, which state that their training is superior to that of the other camp's and that it is their way or the high way. Like always the truth lies somewhere in the middle - I believe that both modalities are pieces of one puzzle and both of them belong in the arsenal of a complete athlete. Let's take a look at both "combatants" one by one in order to get a better understanding of the picture. Bodyweight I put BW first because I firmly believe that any athlete should get a firm grasp of his body (but not mastery of his body because it will take a looong time, just look at Olympic champions in gymnastics) before attempting to operate an external load. You should realize, if you haven't yet, that any tool you pick up is just an extension of your body. They say the same thing in Combat Arts about using a weapon. Your training ideally should start with some joint mobility drills, followed by some basic bodyweight exercises that include all movement patterns in appropriate proportions, as well as some tumbling. I'm talking about the beginning of your training in general, not a training session, although it is a good start for it too. That will adequately prepare your body for operating light in the beginning and later (be patient here) heavier external loads. Even when you plug in some weightlifting exercises into your training you should continuously strive to your own bodyweight mastery by practicing more advanced and dynamic bodyweight movements that include breakfalling, jumping, climbing and various static holds. Another great feature of the BW modality is that it can be done virtually anywhere. Basic and advanced BW practice requires just some floor space. Although, of course if you are getting into it you will need more than that, but the basic premise remains the same: your practice goes whenever you go. That offers a lot of possibilities for somebody in the military, who travels a lot, training of large groups and any other circumstances when equipment is unavailable or limited. You do not need the latest product you saw in an infomercial to get a world class workout (not that you need it anyway). Some people believe that BW practice is only good for endurance development, but it cannot be further from the truth. Have you tried a One Arm Push Up, a One Arm Pull Up, a Pistol, a Muscle Up, or an Iron Cross? If you did or at least saw those movements you right away would realize that they require a great deal of strength and body control. In fact BW modality allows you to practice all three training methods including Maximum Effort, Repetitive Effort and Dynamic Effort. Just instead of pounds you will be manipulating your leverage (the less of it the more challenging is the movement), number of limbs involved (same story here - the less the more challenging it is) and speed of movement. Diligent BW practice maximizes your Relative Strength (RS), or in other words how strong you are per pound of bodyweight. For example, if John can do five One Legged Squats (Pistols) at 175 pounds of bodyweight and Mike can do the same amount at 200 pounds of bodyweight, Mike has higher Relative Strength than John does. Relative Strength is very important for athletes that operate within a certain weight class. A wrestler with a higher RS than his opponent's will have easier time attacking and defending. Overall, an athlete with a great deal of RS will have an easier time moving his body. One of the disadvantages of the pure BW practice is the limited number of movements with maximum strength focus that could be performed for the lower body. Pistols and Natural Glute Ham Raise are pretty much your only options. That is not to say that you cannot train your lower body effectively, it is just that you are limited in the exercise pool. Sometimes it can be an advantage though, as it allows you to focus on a handful of exercises and achieve great progress because of that. If you would like check out a great resource for Bodyweight practice that I put together for you, check out this link: Primal Conditioning Weightlifting You have been a weightlifter all your life already: you have lifted furniture, babies, groceries, opponents, pets and other "objects". Weightlifting as a science is about doing it right, or in other words with proper posture, leverage and breathing applications, as well as maximizing the ability of your body to withstand loads by strengthening it's cardiovascular system, muscles, bones and connective tissues, such as tendons and ligaments. The weightlifting (and bodyweight for that matter) approach that I teach at The Underground Gym and with my online clients worldwide concentrates primary on ground based, compound movements that involve your whole body and require your total concentration. The focus is on improving the quality of the movement, while strengthening the body with conservative progressions and weight increases. There is also a great deal of skill involved as opposed to the modern health club system where the fitness is "dumbed down" to single plane and single joint exercises that require little or no skill and personal trainers that are good only for counting the reps. The skill in my system actually progressively evolves from program to program. There are a few reasons for that. First, that is how the universe works: you either progress and evolve or die. You should continuously try to evolve your skills on all planes, including physical, mental and spiritual. The desire, will and concentration to grow, as well as the actual work performed put all of these planes together. Second, that skill evolution dramatically improves your athletic abilities and that is always a plus. And third, it makes and keeps your training fun and something to look forward to! One common misconception about weightlifting among general population and combat athletes is that weightlifting makes you "muscle bound" and unable to move. In fact, it is quite the opposite: weightlifting makes you move faster, produce more force and improves your coordination. Yes, if you perform isolation exercises, while lying down or if you perform your weight training using the selectorized machines your body's ability to move will reflect that - you perform just like you train, so you will "move great" while sitting down and that is about it. If, on the other hand you engage in movement oriented, compound and multiplane weightlifting, while standing up your movement ability will skyrocket. As a professional strength and conditioning coach I see it every day. Do not blame weightlifting, blame the incompetence. Another common myth is that weightlifting makes you stiff and inflexible. Do you know that Olympic weightlifters are some of the most flexible athletes in the world and are second in flexibility only to gymnasts?! Yet another point to combine gymnastics and weightlifting into one system. And one system it is - the science and the art of MOVEMENT. Just to perform some of the staple weightlifting exercises, like Overhead Squats for example, you might have to work very hard on your flexibility. Another thing is that flexibility without strength is actually dangerous: if you are in a position of extreme range of motion for you and you are not able to support yourself there with strength you will get hurt. Weightlifting performed through a full range of motion strengthens and stretches your throughout that range of motion and prevents such injuries from happening. The last myth that I am about to take down is the women's fear of bulking up or being "too strong" from weightlifting. First of all dear ladies (and gentlemen too), your motivation should come from within and not depend on somebody else's, and God forbid, public's opinion. Otherwise you are doomed to a vicious circle of following someone else's point of view, most often a pointless one, without much satisfaction and happiness all your life. The general public is a not too bright "creature" that selects their choices depending on current trends and what mass media shoves into its sedated brain in form of advertisement. Think for yourself and decide what the best is for you, is that not what America is all about? There are some true values that withstand the test of time. Healthy is beautiful. Strong is beautiful. Athletic movement is beautiful. The will and desire to evolve and change are beautiful. The sweaty athletic body engaged in something fun and productive is beautiful. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL if you are healthy, strong and athletic. Have you ever seen an ugly animal? Their beauty comes from the purity of the heart and their primal strength and athleticism. And it does not stop them from being a fine female if that is who they are. If you worry that being "too strong" you will not attract a guy into a relationship - a guy that avoids an athletic woman is weak and insecure himself - you do not need that kind of a guy anyway. Trust me, a confident fellow can handle and will admire a strong woman. Live strong. This is the way. Second, bulking up is not that easy. You just do not lift a weight and wake up an Incredible Hulk. Why do you think it is such an issue with the guys? If it would be easy everybody who goes to the gym would be huge, but it is clearly not the case. Guys have lots of testosterone and women have only some. Everybody has their "ideal" look and weight written somewhere in the genetic code and through following a sensible functional training program you will achieve that look. Moving too much above or below that "program" is unhealthy and could be only achieved with the help of pharmacology, harmful diets and exercise practices. Summary By now you should realize that both weightlifting and bodyweight practice are two parts of one complete picture and should be included into everybody's training programs. The "Bodyweight vs. Weightlifting" camps where formed by either people who are afraid to come out of their comfort zone and learn something new, so they decided to blame it instead or by people that wanted to create a brand name and to advertise against buying from their "opposition". Be smart: resistance is resistance and your body does not differentiate whether it is coming from a barbell of from lifting the body itself. Ultimately, what you practice is proper movement while maintaining proper posture (body alignment) and what you train is your body's systems, including nervous, cardiovascular, endocrine and lymphatic, as well as your muscles and connective tissues to support that movement. Greg Mihovich Performance Enhancement & Combat Arts Specialist www.UndergroundGym.com |
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