Although the world of functional training has been encouraging hundreds of repetitive squats, burpees, and lunges for the past six weeks, this may be doing more harm than good. It really is not a functional technique and creates an addiction to cortisol . Power drops during bodyweight circuits, though it looks fun on a Zoom call with a live class. Plus, it creates poor movement offsets and you have 1,000 depth reps.
So while 200 strides on time could create a “sweaty workout” that many people seem to crave, there are five main reasons to avoid workout routines like squats, push-ups, lunges, and burpees “on time”:
- They do not create sustainable results.
- They reduce immunity and resistance.
- They lead to poor movement patterns and offsets.
- They are not functional.
- They create cortisol addicts and exercise misbehaviors.
Why shouldn’t you do so many repetitions?
There are safe and effective ways to schedule bodyweight workouts that can create long-term progress. It is possible if you follow the fundamental principles of routine design. For example, this could be a more effective way to use bodyweight movements than four rounds on time:
- Set a maximum of clap push-ups. Rest 60 seconds.
- 20 jump squats. Rest 60 seconds.
- 60-second inverted table. Rest 60 seconds.
Repeat four times.
Why is this a better approach? Basically, because it maintains the principles of bodyweight training.
The dose-response of bodyweight training
To create effective bodyweight training, you must understand “dose-response,” that is, the stimulus or outcome of each training session. This comes down to three things:
- Intention: What is the objective of this program and what works?
- Modality: What kind of movements are you doing?
- Each person is individual : What are your individual abilities, skill level, limitations, training age?
When you understand who (your ability), what (modality), and why (intention), you can control the dose-response and, ultimately, the adaptation and results that occur.
The limitations of bodyweight training
Before setting up a bodyweight program, you should also understand your limitations.
These limitations primarily involve closed-chain activities with relative strength, which means strength against body weight, as well as strength endurance, which means the ability to perform repetitions with submaximal loads.
They also have relatively low variability due to lack of access to novel equipment and means to perform movement patterns.
That is why many trainers prefer to recommend many repetitions of very similar types of muscle contractions, but it can become a problem for most because poor movement patterns repeat for a large volume of repetitions.
Additionally, bodyweight workouts effectively lack intensity, at least in terms of maximal effort, because you don’t have access to external loading. For stronger and fitter people, this means that strength endurance efforts sometimes turn into metabolic efforts that become glycolytic. In other words, they begin to use the anaerobic lactic energy system, which is a great way to lower immunity and create negative metabolic adaptations, as it promotes the use of sugars for fuel.
How to design an effective body weight routine?
Once you understand the above, you can begin to consider how to effectively schedule bodyweight workouts.
I recommend programming your entire body resistance, which includes upper body and lower body movements, as well as core movements.
Create a progressive routine
Like any effective routine, be it a strength or endurance program, a body weight training program should be progressive over time, with each week developing from the previous one. Three ways to do this include:
- Increase the volume over time, adding repetitions every session and every week.
- Increases the speed of contractions over time, from motor control to resistance to force and dynamic movements.
- Adjusts the tempo and increases the eccentric or descending phase of an exercise.
Divide the days
Ideally, for most people, follow a simple training program that focuses on consistency and alternates between days of full-body resistance training and days of aerobic training.
Consider long term
Bottom line, make sure you have a good understanding of physical abilities, goals, and intention, and then design workouts that are within your capabilities.
