Interesting thing about bodyweight workouts vs weights...

I know gymnasts work hard in put in a chunk of hours, but I find it interesting how they don't need to obsess over sets and reps like those who work out in a gym.

They get their builds by simply going through the motions and NOT making a science out of it all. I think that's the real beauty when comparing the two.

Like most gym guys, I had certain sets and reps in mind, etc. I'm doing bodyweight exercises without overthinking that stuff and I'm seeing better results.

A year ago I remember talking with my wife's cousin who was a 19 year old kid (I'm 42). He did gymnastics for a few years and got quite a build. I asked him how much weight work he did in the gym. He said very little. He said basically all his working out was doing gymnastics. Then I started to think of the builds on the gymnasts on TV. That's when it all hit me. Some months after that I started doing push-ups etc. Just incorporated rings (hang them form my pull up bar) a few weeks ago. I am seeing the difference compared to my older days of weight training.

Anyway, very interesting when you think about it all. Reading up on it though does make it all logical. I've read that bodyweight exercises bring more muscle fibers into play, etc.

Anyway, what's everyone's thoughts on this?

I think there's a little bit of obsessing over sets and reps going on...

I have to laugh a little at this.  It's almost like a convention of engineers sometimes....

Bipocni said:

I think there's a little bit of obsessing over sets and reps going on...

I'm confused by both replies to my post...lol

HockeyPlayer NYC, I have to say as an older beginner in your age group, the Foundation and Handstand programs have been worth every penny.   I hesitated a bit at first, but the progressions are so thoughtfully put together, it is amazing.      I think there is a great deal of science put into it.

They get their builds by simply going through the motions and NOT making a science out of it all.

 

I'm completely obsessed with sets / reps / sec. It's what foundation does to you !

But I agree it would be nice to get to a level where it just looks like you are playing around .

Looks can be deceiving the more advanced or better at something the easier it looks and they can make it look like they are not working too hard and just playing around to the untrained eye .

Hi Jennifer,

I don't have the means right now to purchase the program but will when I can for sure.

I knew I didn't use the correct wording, or at least not in the context I meant. I guess what I was trying to say in a nutshell, is that people who go to a gym and work out with weights (as I did for many years) are very focused on sets, reps, and so on. Gymnasts, on the other hand, do not focus on sets and reps in the manner that bodybuilders do. The nature of their training seems to do the trick in terms of building up their physique. Gymnasts certainly don't overthink which muscles are working which may not be a good combination, etc. In the gym, most people do chest, triceps, & shoulders one day and then back & biceps another. With gymnasts, they're doing exercises that are both push and pull exercises. Anyway, I'm rambling on now. Am I making more sense? lol

Maybe you are romanticizing gymnastics training a bit.   It seems to me that thoughtful and intelligent programming is highly prescriptive.

Not much

No matter the form of training, to make constant progress you must either build more volume (more reps/set, more sets) or add intensity.(add weight/decrease leverage).

Gymnastics doesn't aim isolating muscles, instead the focus is on movements. There are splits in gymnastics similar to body building, fundamental principles of the split are just different. 

If you wanted to say that gymnasts get huge even though they don't specifically train according to some body builder ideas, that's certainly true. Big reason for that is that they are very diligent in their training and the amount of strength required for stuff they do just forces the muscles to grow like balloons at some point

Proper programming (sets, reps, time between breaks, rest times, cycling) are all extremely important in gymnastics just like powerlifting, olympic lifting, etc.

I'd actually say bodybuilder's knowledge of programming are actually significantly inferior.

One reason that it may seem like competitive gymnasts don't obsess over sets/reps/splits/periodization etc is that they have coaches that do that for them.  

Flameous said:

 

 

"If you wanted to say that gymnasts get huge even though they don't specifically train according to some body builder ideas, that's certainly true. Big reason for that is that they are very diligent in their training and the amount of strength required for stuff they do just forces the muscles to grow like balloons at some point :D"

 

Yes, that's more like what I was trying to say. Thanks!

hockeyplayer9 said:

Hi Jennifer,

 

I don't have the means right now to purchase the program but will when I can for sure.

 

I knew I didn't use the correct wording, or at least not in the context I meant. I guess what I was trying to say in a nutshell, is that people who go to a gym and work out with weights (as I did for many years) are very focused on sets, reps, and so on. Gymnasts, on the other hand, do not focus on sets and reps in the manner that bodybuilders do. The nature of their training seems to do the trick in terms of building up their physique. Gymnasts certainly don't overthink which muscles are working which may not be a good combination, etc. In the gym, most people do chest, triceps, & shoulders one day and then back & biceps another. With gymnasts, they're doing exercises that are both push and pull exercises. Anyway, I'm rambling on now. Am I making more sense? lol

Yes, the gymnastic body conditioning workout routines aren't about aesthetic appeal but rather developing the needed muscular strength and joint health to meet the demands of a developed apparatus routine. However there is a great deal of going through a range of motion for reps and sets in mind.

Granted the most of the body conditioning workout routine uses the weight of our body plus any clothing. Using some "free weight" training isn't disregarded entirely and maybe utilized when it is needed.

GoldenEagle said:

Yes, the gymnastic body conditioning workout routines aren't about aesthetic appeal...

To clarify: they are about the aesthetic appeal of the movement itself, not the person producing it.