A Guide for Understanding the Difference Bodybuilding and Calisthenics

A Guide for Understanding the Difference Bodybuilding and Calisthenics
A Guide for Understanding the Difference Bodybuilding and Calisthenics

Are you going into the world of fitness? Are you already in the fitness world? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, you might know about Calisthenics and bodybuilding. There are two types of people in fitness, the ones who believe in building strength and body weight lifting, and the second ones are those who believe calisthenics are best for fitness.   Though both bodybuilding and calisthenics are part of fitness strength training, the main difference is associated with resistance. However, often people confuse these two and consider one better than the other. Both can help you achieve your fitness goal, this article will help you understand both, Calisthenics Vs weights, and what makes them best. 

What are Bodybuilding and its Benefits?

Bodybuilding as the name suggests is a form of strength and muscle-building training with the help of equipment. It can benefit you in many ways as follows: 

Strength: The most basic need and reason why bodybuilding is used is strength. It’s an excellent form of strength training that can stimulate your muscles. You can achieve as much strength as you desire according to your fitness goal with equipment. However, you require a guide to gym equipment for achieving your goal. 

Improve Mental Health: Bodybuilding can immensely contribute to improving your mental health. Weight training helps reduce anxiety, depression, and stress. Bodybuilding, weight lifting, or aerobic exercises boost the release of endorphins in our body, a chemical that influences emotions. 

Improve the Quality of Life: Bodybuilding improves your look, strength, and your health. Your bone, joint health become better, your confidence increases as you look better. All these factors contribute to improving quality of life. Moreover, you start eating healthy as bodybuilding nutrition goes hand in hand. 

Improve Aging: As you grow old, your muscle tissues lose or are not used, your body starts to degenerate the tissues which add to fat accumulation. If you want to look better, feel better, and stay healthy, you need to work on your bodybuilding and weight training in your 20s and 30s. 

What are Calisthenics and their Benefits?  

Calisthenics helps you use your body weight instead of additional equipment for exercising. It is a form of strength training that uses your own body weight for gaining muscles. Without using any equipment, you can reach your fitness goal easily. Calisthenics offers various benefits as follows: 

Little or No Equipment: One of the biggest advantages of using Calisthenics training, is you don’t need to relay or weightlifting equipment such as dumbbells, barbells, etc. for exercise. If you choose to get equipment,  you can buy gym products online at comparatively affordable rates and in installments. 

You do Calisthenics Anywhere Anytime: There’s no time constraint or place a restriction for this form of training, you can do it anywhere at home, hotel, park, or even in your office as you don’t require much space. Moreover, you can do it anytime during your lunch break, in the morning, or at night whenever you have time. 

Maximized Exercise Efficiency: Calisthenics is highly useful for busy professionals as you don’t require much space or have any time constraints. Moreover, they are easy to perform exercises that will not take much of your time from moving from one exercise to another as less or no equipment is involved. 

You can Build Muscles and Strength: you can achieve as much strength as you require with Calisthenics, it alone can help you gain muscles. Moreover, it helps you reduce weight as all are compound exercises. You will be able to achieve your fitness goal. 

Easy to Modify: The best part about bodybuilding in Calisthenics vs weights for bodybuilding is you can easily modify your exercise. If you have body awareness, and enough practice, you can modify your bodybuilding workout. 

What is the Main Difference Between Calisthenics and Weightlifting? 

Different forms of training help you build a different body. Both Calisthenics and weightlifting or bodybuilding are forms of strength training. What makes them different from each other is the type of resistance. 

Calisthenics workout includes exercises that require less or no additional equipment, exercises are generally performed by body weight. Bodybuilding on the other hand needs certain equipment to perform exercises that use external forms of resistance. Calisthenics Vs weights have the main difference of using equipment and external/internal resistance. 

Calisthenics workout exercises include Pull-ups, burpees, push-ups, jumping jacks, planks, lunges, jump squats, sit-ups, etc. While bodybuilding includes deadlifts, skull crushers, dumbbell raises, bench presses, barbell squats, overhead presses, bent-over rows, etc. 

Bodybuilding VS Calisthenics Bodies

There’s variation in bodybuilding bodies and Calisthenics bodies. Calisthenics is used to build defined and lean bodies. They are more functional and athletic. Bodybuilding bodies on the other hand are huge, postural sound, and symmetrical. 

If you want to lose weight, Calisthenics exercises are better than they can help you burn calories, which in turn would help you reduce fat in your body. Calisthenics use more body moments and require more energy, so they help you burn calories more than better. If you want to build strength, bodybuilding and weightlifting is a better option as it works more effectively. The use of external resistance makes it easier to stimulate muscle tissue. However, it doesn’t mean You cannot gain strength with Calisthenics or lose weight with weightlifting, but they offer more benefits and work better in their respective area. 

Can you Combine Both Bodybuilding and Calisthenics? 

If you want to enjoy both forms of training, you can combine Calisthenics and bodybuilding. Decide your way, you can try both on the same day or both on alternate days. Both Calisthenics and bodybuilding test your muscles’ resistance, used to build strength. If you are going to do both, do not overdo it. 

Conclusion:

Calisthenics and bodybuilding both are forms of strength training so depending on a fitness goal, you can choose either or both of them. However, two important things that you need to keep in mind – take proper guidance if you are not aware of exercises and their impact, do not overdo anything.