Anybody gettin' swole off bodyweight exercise exclusively?

[BezO]

I've been doing pistols a couple months now and worked up from not being able to do 1 to do 4 sets of 5. My legs have definitely gotten bigger. I'm probably gonna try to put in some explosive sets. & Yea ankle flexibility might be an issue if you can't squat down without your heal coming off the ground. Balance is also a huge factor in doing pistols. My left leg is stronger than my right but I can do more with my right bc i have better balance with it.

I defintely can't do planches or levers yet, I'm just working my way up to them.

I haven't worked out consistently the past year so my results are stunted. At the start of the summer, I could do about 8 pullups & now I can do about 15 and i'm gonna start doing them weighted. I see definite growth in my biceps & my back is really starting to get cut up. I feel like i have the most growth in my traps & shoulders (from pushup variations). I'm getting a lot of people saying I'm looking good or asking if I'm working out if i haven't seen them in awhile.

You can easily get good results with a bodyweight only routine if you're consistent with it. I would suggest to only do an exercise to failure once in awhile. You'll be able to go hard nearly everyday and when you do actually go to failure, you'll see real results in what you can do.

Might be ankle flexibility. Tuesday is legs, so I'll look into it. Maybe have my lady record a set of squats to see how deep I'm getting.

Pull ups are definitely a weak spot for me. I can do about 6 clean reps. I need to add more sets. I do as much row & lower back exercises as pull ups. Obviously not enough pull ups. And I was doing only chin ups when I started because I could barely do pull ups.

I've been consistent, for 6 weeks any way. I even worked out during a Miami vacation, missing only one day.

How bad of an idea is to go to failure frequently. The last few sets for a muscle group get tough and I end up going to failure for those. Especially pull ups.

 

[BezO]

you have to make them difficult somehow. busting out >=35reps per set will get you nowhere (except for maybe with the bulgarians, that's pretty wicked).

Hit up some gymnastics sites for progressive calisthenics workouts. Gymnasts are a good example of what is possible with bodyweight exercises.

Great idea. I don't know how much leg work they do, but I'll definitely look into that for upper body stuff.

 

[BezO]

http://www.beastskills.com/

Sweet! Thanks. Book marked.

 

[You Win Perfect]

you need to get a dip belt to add weight for your dips and pull-ups.

I'm doing 115 on the dips and today I just upped my pull-up to 70.
Not adding weight just leads to muscle endurance thats it and you will reach a max if you don't add weights.

 

[jalamanta]

I'm 6 weeks into a bodyweight & cardio workout. I'm enjoying the practical strength & fitness I'm gaining.

But, with the exception of those bar dudes on youtube, I've not seen anyone with significan't muscle gain. Not having direct access to them, who knows what else they're doing, taking, etc.

My progress has been increased overall strength & endurance, fat loss & some noticeable muscle development in my quads & triceps.

My current routine...

Mon & Thu: Abs, Chest, Shoulders & Tricepts - 1.5 Mile Run
Tue & Fri: Abs, Legs & Glutes - Non-Running Cardio (Burpees, Mountain Climbers, etc)
Wed & Sat: Abs, Back & Biceps - 1.5 Mile Run

I eat 5 times a day & have upped my protien & calorie intake.

I don't want to axe the cardio as part of my goal is overall fitness.

But I know this workout is not ideal fore building mass.

Suggestions?

What exercises with your own weight are you doing on shoulders bruh? And what about lower back?

 

[BezO]

Any other recommended equipment?

In addition to the vest, I'm looking for rings to hang from my pull up bar

What exercises with your own weight are you doing on shoulders bruh? And what about lower back?

Shoulders - Chinese push ups, pike & dive push ups, decline push ups, dive bombers, military press push up (feet raised), handstand. Haven't gotten to handstand push ups yet.

Lower back - Hyper extenstions, swimmers, supermans. I do variations. For example, hyper extentions with hands out in front, hands at sides, hands behind my back. I also switch between reps & holding position. Definitely an area where I could use more exercises. If anyone has suggestions...

 

[BezO]

you need to get a dip belt to add weight for your dips and pull-ups.

I'm doing 115 on the dips and today I just upped my pull-up to 70.
Not adding weight just leads to muscle endurance thats it and you will reach a max if you don't add weights.

Any advantages of a belt over a vest for pull ups & dips? I figure a vest would be more versitle since I could also use it for push ups, squats, etc.

 

[Majestyx]

this guy says he got his size with just bodyweight shyt

 

[You Win Perfect]

Any advantages of a belt over a vest for pull ups & dips? I figure a vest would be more versitle since I could also use it for push ups, squats, etc.

well vests are used more for those exercises that are on the ground. Dip belt is typically used for dips or any hanging exercises. you would need to get both since you are not using any free weights.
a little 20lb weight vest isn't really going to require much more effort than normal if you can already bust out lets say 12 pull-ups or more with ease. 20lb will not feel like much at all.

I started at 25lbs and was able to get in 8 reps first time at the time I was able to do about 16 pull ups. I haven't gauged what my max is now since I've been doing the weights. I'm sure its >20 now.

Also belts are only like $30 and I'm not sure what the max weight is for these things but it's holding strong at 115 so far.

If the chain were to break well you can easily just go to home depot or something and get a stronger chain and put it on the belt.

 

[BezO]

I was looking at vest heavier than that. MiR has one that goes up to 140lbs. Expensive though.

A belt and weights would be cost effective & satisfactory for dips & pull ups. But I'd still need something for push ups, squats etc. and a light weight vest wont cut it.

 

[observe]

shyt..sometimes I'll just throw some heavy shyt in my back pack and hit pull ups or dips..you can do push ups with a back pack on also..