How to Fix Skinny Fat
The Skinny Fat body type is rampant in the modern, Western world. Here's how to fix it.
Today I want to answer one simple question:
“Why should you train with calisthenics (aka bodyweight fitness)?”
It’s a completely reasonable question to ask for a few reasons:
- The world’s best bodybuilders don’t train with calisthenics
- Most people with muscles and a six pack go to gyms with weights
- The vast majority of fitness content you see online uses weights
Hell, walk into the fitness section of Target or Walmart and you’ll see plenty of dumbbells and weights.
So…why calisthenics?
I’m going to break this down into 4 reasons with an easy to remember acronym: S.A.F.E.
Safe
This is a hard pill to swallow for some of you, mostly guys.
But the reality is the vast majority of adults today have done little to no exercise since playing organized sports in school when their team name was a color.
Guess what? Your body isn’t ready for intense exercise, let alone heavy weights!
Just take this anecdote from a physician and educator who works in Silicon Valley.
“In these Silicon Valley companies where I go […] a lot of these individuals have never even grown up doing organized sports. They don’t have any infrastructure of balance or stability and then they’ll join some sort of corporate bootcamp class and I’ve seen achilles tendons get ruptured, I’ve seen rhabdomyolysis, and I’ve talked to HR about the fact that these individuals are not ready for this.” -Dr. Ronesh Sinha
Let me be perfectly clear: the average untrained person is completely unprepared for physical activity.
Your tendons and ligaments don’t get strong overnight!
Best case scenario? You don’t injure yourself.
Worst case scenario? You seriously injure yourself, you’re bedridden for weeks, and you have a new medical bill to pay off.
That doesn’t even account for how hard it will be to get your good habits back on track after you’ve recovered.
Takeaway: Calisthenics is the safest way to train and strengthen your body.
Accessible
The next benefit of calisthenics can be viewed as either a blessing or curse.
Calisthenics is more accessible than any other form of strength training.
It’s there and ready for you wherever you go.
I know guys who will walk into a gym and if there isn’t a squat rack, they walk out because they “can’t get a good workout in without it”.
Do they know they’re lying to themselves or do actually believe their own bullshit?
But seriously, if your training is married to a specific tool you’ll always have a built-in excuse not to train.
Either your equipment isn’t available wherever you happen to be or the startup costs to exercise are too high for you to justify.
“I can’t afford a set of dumbbells, a bench, and a squat rack!”
Takeaway: Calisthenics is the most accessible and reliable way to train because it’s with you wherever you go.
Functional
Calisthenics is also a functional form of exercise.
As surprising as it may be, accidental injury is one of the leading causes of death in the developed world.
Even if an injury itself isn’t the reason for death, it’s associated with the onset and progression of other health concerns.
Think about it. Do you really think the people who injured themselves in a corporate bootcamp are motivated to optimize every other part of their health while they’re hurt? No! They’re too depressed and beat down from their injury! They use food to manage their emotions while burning next to zero calories lying in bed all day.
Calisthenics allows you to strengthen your body with practical, full-body movements.
You improve your balance, coordination, and range of motion using your own body which is exactly how you live your life.
With calisthenics, you become more aware of your body and its limits while increasing your body’s potential at the same time.
Takeaway: Calisthenics is the most functional way to train since most people aren’t trying to be world class bodybuilders or athletes.
Effective
Finally, calisthenics is an undeniably effective form of exercise.
At one extreme, we have Olympic level gymnasts who have the physiques of Greek Gods.
At a personal level, I was able to completely transform my own body so I know for a fact it works.
So much for, “It only works if you’ve been training since you were 6 and are good enough to compete in the Olympics.”
I’m just a normal dude who never even hit the gym until years after I finished college.
But to keep things practical, simple bodyweight movement is the difference between suffering for life and a high quality of life.
I’ve read countless stories online from people who work at assisted living communities for seniors.
The difference between the elderly who need assistance walking, getting out of bed, going up and down stairs and those who don’t?
Basic, bodyweight movement. Primarily walking.
Some have even said they can tell who regularly goes on walks and who doesn’t just by the way they move!
The old cliche is true: motion is lotion!
Takeaway: Calisthenics is the most effective way to train since it’s safe, accessible, functional, and help to preserve our quality of life as we age.
Ready to get started with calisthenics?
Good news, I already have your first week planned out for you!
It’s my 6 Day Calisthenics Crash Course!
3 days of full body workouts.
3 days of cardio.
30-45 minutes per day.
Stop waiting and start moving.
