Bodyweight exercises could increase strength as much as weight training
Sometimes, you just don't feel like incorporating strength training into your gym workouts. Yes, you want to build muscle and increase bone density, but the thought of huffing and straining through those last reps just doesn't sound like your idea of a good time (and we don't blame you!) But, according to new evidence, providing you include certain lower body bodyweight moves, you won't be missing out on strength improvements at all.
The new research, published in Scientific Reports, set out to compare the effects of progressive bodyweight training and barbell back squats on muscle strength, muscular hypertrophy, and body-fat percentage in sedentary participants. Over six weeks, the participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups:
Group 1: Barbell back squat training, six sets of five reps to maximal effort, at least squatting to parallel depth
Group 2: Bodyweight training, six sets of eight-12 reps consisting of lunges, Bulgarian split squats and skater squats.
They also had an initial period of two weeks to learn the exercise techniques. Each twice-weekly session lasted 60 minutes and was separated by at least 48 hours. The sessions included a 15-minute warm up consisting of 10 activities, followed by 30 minutes of squat exercises. There was a 15-minute cool down consisting of eight exercises. The warm-up and cool-down exercises were the same for both experimental groups.
Both groups used the RPE scale to measure exertion and total training volume was calculated. The researchers measured strength, hypertrophy and body-fat levels before and after the intervention. They measured muscle growth in the quads, glutes and calves and total-body strength gain.
The results
Good new - the researchers found no differences in muscular strength and size between the groups. Participants in the barbell back squat group experienced a reduction in body fat percentage without a change in body weight — which was accounted for by their higher body fat percentage starting point.
While it has a small sample size and the participants were sedentary before the intervention, the research is fairly robust and in line with previous studies supporting that lower loads will elicit similar muscle growth to higher loads when programmed effectively.
The evidence means that if you are substituting heavy-weight sessions for bodyweight sessions this summer, you might not lose out strength increases. Providing you focus on pushing close to failure, and pursuing high intensity and volume within those bodyweight training sets, you may see just as much progress from your workouts.
Read now: 5 things to consider before getting a bob haircut
Related links
How many calories do you burn running? All the expert advice
A new study just linked flexibility with living longer. Here's the connection
New study finds 'lengthened supersets' can lead to 43.3% more muscle growth
Cut through the noise and get practical, expert advice, home workouts, easy nutrition and more direct to your inbox. Sign up to the WOMEN'S HEALTH NEWSLETTER
You Might Also Like
