Calisthenics - Am I delusional?

[EpicDonkeyPunch]

Hey peeps,

I'm a 6'1 and 150 pounds. Classic hardgainer. I'm a pretty fit fella; all of my hobbies keep me active as far as endurance goes but not so much strength. I have the curious infatuation with cardio. I love biking till my legs burn, I smash the elliptical trainer and I love skipping me some rope. I will never not do cardio. I don't give a shit if I'm built like a twig - I think a strong, healthy and efficient heart is a very good thing. Now, I really don't like the gym. Lifting weights aint my jive. I'm a pretty anti social person and a crowded gym makes me want to shoot myself. So now here is the question.

Do you think its possible to add mass with calisthenics even when you are a hard gainer? I'm gonna try to give a go anyhow. I would love to have that type of control over my body. Anyone have any input for me on this one? Any tips?

-EDP

 

[nopardaid]

Hardgainer=Lazy Eater

Just doing the cardio you listed, no, you won't be able to put on an appreciable amount of "mass".

If you wanted to do things like farmers carry, sled/car pushes or drags/ running stairs AND lifting weights then yes.

You should read the FAQ's or you can continue trying to look like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory

 

[Kiwi Tricker]

You'll only gain weight if your diet allows you to, and with your height and the amount of cardio you do, that means a lot of food.

 

[EpicDonkeyPunch]

Calories are my biggest hurdle without a doubt. Its an absolute curse but its getting better. My eating habits used to be nothing short of juvenile. Over the past year I changed all that shit around. I don't go as far as counting calories but I very much watch what I put in my body. I'm trying to find sneaky fixes to add calories when possible. I add hemp hearts to everything. I drink water with agave nectar and I even add chia seeds to that. To be honest with you; it was my change of diet that has inspired my craving for fitness. If push comes to shove I could always add a little GOMAD in there...

 

[Kiwi Tricker]

A few big macs would probavly help too.

 

[Queen B]

Do you think its possible to add mass with calisthenics even when you are a hard gainer? I'm gonna try to give a go anyhow. I would love to have that type of control over my body. Anyone have any input for me on this one? Any tips?

-EDP

This guy says you can get big and strong using bodyweight squats only. He was also a really good wrestler.

http://www.mattfurey.com/index.htm

Also has a book for MMA functional training, but I've never read it. Sounds absurd but who knows, hes probably strong as hell

 

[TheeFaulted]

Sounds like you're lazy and don't like hard work.

Good luck with that.

 

[Ayin]

Oh man, the Matt Furey adds! That's awesome.


To the original topic, you aren't likely to eat more, aren't going to put the work in, and want to know if you're going to get results?

 

[Reyesnuthugr]

I remember reading about a Scandinavian prison (I think it was in Norway) getting rid of weights for their prisoners and instead instituting calisthenics in its place. The idea was to keep them healthy while reducing their bulk and strength to a "more manageable level" (for obvious reasons, it being a prison full of violent inmates).

The study went on to say that the prisoners actually gained more muscle bulk (and presumably strength- can't remember that part) with the calisthenic program than when they had the weights

It certainly worked that way for myself, that's all I know, but YMMV

 

[nopardaid]

I remember reading about a Scandinavian prison (I think it was in Norway) getting rid of weights for their prisoners and instead instituting calisthenics in its place. The idea was to keep them healthy while reducing their bulk and strength to a "more manageable level" (for obvious reasons, it being a prison full of violent inmates).

The study went on to say that the prisoners actually gained more muscle bulk (and presumably strength- can't remember that part) with the calisthenic program than when they had the weights

It certainly worked that way for myself, that's all I know, but YMMV

Shit. *throws away weights, denounces power lifters all over the world*

 

[SteveX]

I'm trying to find sneaky fixes to add calories when possible. I add hemp hearts to everything. I drink water with agave nectar and I even add chia seeds to that.

Stop dicking around trying to be "sneaky." Add real calories to your diet.

Whole Milk
Peanut Butter
Oats
Rice
Potatoes

 

[magick]

I'm a 6'1 and 150 pounds. Classic hardgainer.

Hardgainers don't exist. It merely means that you don't know how to eat enough to gain weight.

I'm a pretty fit fella; all of my hobbies keep me active as far as endurance goes but not so much strength. I have the curious infatuation with cardio. I love biking till my legs burn, I smash the elliptical trainer and I love skipping me some rope. I will never not do cardio. I don't give a shit if I'm built like a twig - I think a strong, healthy and efficient heart is a very good thing.

Do you run? Cause, running is a lot better than any of those things.

Now, I really don't like the gym. Lifting weights aint my jive. I'm a pretty anti social person and a crowded gym makes me want to shoot myself. So now here is the question.

How do you live life if you don't enjoy crowded places?

Do you think its possible to add mass with calisthenics even when you are a hard gainer? I'm gonna try to give a go anyhow. I would love to have that type of control over my body. Anyone have any input for me on this one? Any tips?
-EDP

It is very possible to gain mass with calisthenics. You just eat more.

The issue is with getting stronger. You can get very strong with just calisthenics just fine. It's just difficult to make progressions.

Fundamentally, there's absolutely nothing different between doing calisthenics and barbell/dumbbell training. You're still using a certain weight to load the body-parts that you want to be worked. But with a barbell you can change that weight at will, you cannot do that with a push-up or a squat. Having a rank beginner go from doing body squats to pistols is not an easy feat; teaching him how to squat a bar and then moving onto 225lb is much easier.

I honestly think people who say "calisthenics are better!" are a little retarded.

 

[FlexLuthor]

Lift and eat.

 

[Kiwi Tricker]

This guy says you can get big and strong using bodyweight squats only. He was also a really good wrestler.

http://www.mattfurey.com/index.htm

Also has a book for MMA functional training, but I've never read it. Sounds absurd but who knows, hes probably strong as hell

[imghttp://screamingreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Matt-Furey-Combat-Conditioning-book-review.jpg[/img]

Oh my God, a real-life recommendation for Matt Furey! I thought these stopped years ago!

 

[JauntyAngle]

I think a strong, healthy and efficient heart is a very good thing.

Me too. Although having a healthy heart and some muscle mass aren't mutually exclusive. I am 40 years old and my Resting Heart Rate is in the 50s. That's not endurance athlete level, but it is excellent for the general population especially at my age. I can keep it there doing 2-3 conditioning sessions a week, and also lift 3-4 times a week.

And if you are 150lbs at 6' 1" you're not a "hard gainer". You just don't eat. You don't need to be mixing seeds and special kinds of water in with your other water. You need to be eating bread, potatoes, pasta, rice, along with proportional amounts of every other relevant food group. At least, if you want to develop some muscle.

 

[redaxe]

To add muscle mass you need at least these things:
A surplus of calories in your daily diet
Enough protein in your diet
Sufficient training stress to stimulate a growth adaptation.

How much is "enough" or "sufficient" is going to depend a lot on your genetics and hormones, the type of training you do, the quality of your nutrition and sleep, the degree of hypertrophy you've already gained, etc.

 

[Mike Hagger]

Do you think its possible to add mass with calisthenics even when you are a hard gainer? I'm gonna try to give a go anyhow. I would love to have that type of control over my body. Anyone have any input for me on this one? Any tips?

-EDP

Definietly you can.

You simply need to eat more. Typically skinny guys miss meals then claim they're "hard gainers". I agree, you will have a genetically predisposed more difficult time adding weight. However, this feat certainly possible. One benefit you have is you will not necessarily need to be picky about what foods you add to your diet.

For you I would not recommend the GOMAD diet. That's not a sustainable diet.

Finally, "I smash the elliptical trainer".

 

[JosephDredd]

I've been doing a lot of calisthenics for my upper body and enjoy them much more than weights. Deadlifts and squats for my lower body

Check out the books Convict Conditioning and Overcoming Gravity. Two amazing books on building strength and mass, but are written for the layperson. Coach Sommers books, for example, are so heavy in gymnastics jargon that a neophyte gets lost easily.

 

[JosephDredd]

Oh yeah: big lulz for the Matt Furey thing. I think the guy was serious.

"So I was just out setting a trap for muggers and using my mother-in-law as bait..."

 

[gspieler]

It is possible to gain lean mass and appreciably stronger doing only bw exercises(pullups, pistol squats, handstand pushups, etc) and having a caloric surplus. Or, you could invest in a basic Olympic bar and a few hundred pounds worth of plates.