Bodyweight calisthenics and dumbbells: the perfect combination?

It’s no secret that exercise is something that should be a part of everyone’s lifestyle. The reasons or motives for exercising can be different for each person. Some want to lose weight and burn fat. Some want to build muscle. Some want to improve health and performance. But regardless of the reason for exercising, everyone wants the “best” exercise program.

This is where the problems begin. What is the “best” workout? And the fact is that there is no training program that is right for every person and every goal. So instead of trying to find the ultimate, absolute best workout… use the workout that’s best for you and your goals.

In my opinion, using free weights and bodyweight calisthenics is the best way to exercise for almost any goal. So, whatever exercise program you decide is right for you, it should include both bodyweight and dumbbell exercises. This is why…

Exercise is all about movement

Unfortunately, when people think of exercise, they think of muscles. “This exercise works this muscle.” This way of thinking originated and became popular among bodybuilders and is now mainstream. The problem is that most athletes are not bodybuilders.

The truth is, exercise is all about movement. It’s about being able to move your body efficiently. It’s also about being able to move around other objects, of a variety of weights. That’s why bodyweight calisthenics and dumbbells are great for training the body to move with or without weighted resistance.

Bodyweight calisthenics is perfect for training movements without weight

Many people have been trained to think of exercise as weight lifting and cardio. Use weight lifting to improve strength and build muscle. Everything else falls into the vague category of “cardio” and improves heart and lung function. This is the wrong way to think about it.

Just think of all the challenges of work, sports, and life that require the ability to move your own body. The real world is full of challenges that don’t fit into the cardio/weight training format. So, use bodyweight calisthenics to train your body to move the way it’s supposed to move… without added resistance.

Dumbbells are perfect for training heavy movements

The other type of challenges you will face in sports, work, and life require the movement of a heavy object. And most of the time, this movement will be done with both limbs in unison, one at a time or alternately. So, train yourself for these real world challenges using dumbbells as your weighted resistance.

The furthest from real world training you can get is using gym machines. Being strapped into these machines trains muscles, not movements, and only makes small improvements to real-world skills. You want to perform great outside of the gym, right?

As you can see, the combination of bodyweight calisthenics and dumbbells is perfect for training the body to move in both weightless and weightless situations. This will not only improve performance for real world challenges, but will also create great looking bodies. To better prepare you for the challenges of bodyweight and dumbbell training, your body will shed that ugly fat, build athletic muscle, and improve cardiorespiratory endurance. So, if you’re looking for the “best” workout, look no further than calisthenics and bodyweight dumbbells.