You won\u2019t find dumbbells or weight machines in the gym Sean Keogh runs. At Calisthenics Club Houston, it\u2019s all about training with body weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s all we do,\u201d Keogh said \u2014 but that\u2019s enough to keep new members coming through the doors, excited to learn moves like handstands and pullups.<\/p>\n
Keogh and his members have plenty of company. These days, content creators, independent gyms and megachains alike are promoting calisthenics, an age-old form of fitness<\/a> that uses little or no equipment and instead relies on body weight for resistance.<\/p>\n In July, President Donald Trump even reestablished the Presidential Fitness Test<\/a>, intending that youth across the country will again practice old-school exercises like situps, pushups and pullups.<\/p>\n It\u2019s little surprise that these no-frills moves are making a comeback in our over-scheduled society, said Anatolia Vick-Kregel, director of the Lifetime Physical Activity Program at Rice University. \u201cWe don\u2019t always have time to go to the gym,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is what you can do at home or in your office.\u201d <\/p>\n Another reason might be economic, said Michael Stack, an exercise physiologist and president of the Physical Activity Alliance, a coalition of groups that promote physical activity. With no equipment required, calisthenics-based programs are affordable for exercisers and profitable for gyms that offer them. Plus, people may have gotten used to exercising with few accoutrements during the pandemic.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis trend has been building,\u201d Stack said. \u201cThe pandemic definitely accelerated it.\u201d<\/p>\n This article is part of AP\u2019s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health. Read more Be Well.<\/a><\/p>\n How effective are calisthenics?<\/p>\n There\u2019s plenty of research to suggest that calisthenics can improve everything from muscle strength to aerobic conditioning, Vick-Kregel said. <\/p>\n \u201cBody weight is phenomenal,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n But there are limits to its effects, said John Raglin, a professor of kinesiology at the Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington. \u201cIt can be effective,\u201d Raglin said. \u201cBut I think the idea that it can or should replace the use of even simple equipment is wrong-headed.\u201d<\/p>\n Sometimes, Raglin said, using equipment can actually make exercises simpler or safer to perform. Many people, for example, do pushups with improper form.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re not strong enough or you have joint issues or arthritis, then lying on a bench and using small hand weights can actually be safer and more practical,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n It all depends what your goal is<\/p>\n Beyond safety, people looking to significantly increase their strength or muscle size will likely see more dramatic results if they use weights, Raglin said. Doing so \u201cutilizes more of your muscle and generates more force than you could otherwise,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n Lifting weights also damages muscle tissue<\/a> in a way that can be productive, as muscles grow larger through the body\u2019s repair process. Over time, though, it may take larger amounts of weight to keep seeing gains. Progress plateaus as the body gets used to exercises it\u2019s done before. <\/p>\n It\u2019s not impossible to grow muscle through calisthenics, Vick-Kregel said; it\u2019s just harder to continuously level up exercises for sustained progress without increasing external weight.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter you\u2019ve done a couple workouts of squatting with your body weight, your body\u2019s going to need external load to get stronger or to build muscle tissue,\u201d Stack agreed.<\/p>\n In other words, if you\u2019re after bulging biceps,<\/a> you may need more than calisthenics to get there. But if you\u2019re just looking to get moving and improve your health, your body is probably enough.<\/p>\n