Do programs from books like You Are Your Own Gym and Your Body Is Your Barbell work?

Question

I've been lifting for the past 6 months but my nutrition side has been mediocre. Mostly due to lack of time as a student and dangling from home to gym to school. Recently, I came across books on bodyweight exercises and they have been really impressive.

I respect calisthenics and I have done a lot of bodyweight exercises, and I look forward to it more because my joints feels really uncomfortable after working out with free weights- especially my shoulders.

So is anybody here who have followed a good bodyweight-based workout routine/program for at least 4 weeks and seen really good results? Like the programs offered by books mentioned in the title? (PS- assuming your nutrition and diet aspect are well under control)

Answer 1

I'ts merely always a trade-off. I am following YBIYG and I am quite happy with it, since it is quite great if you have little time and/or want to spend little money. YBIYG presents some example programs with 4-5 training days a week and 20-36 minutes of training a day, which I am following. My body has changed since I started the program, I am more defined and feel stronger, but you should note that the progress is a quite slow one, which - I think - is always the "problem" with BWE.

Admittedly I am not the muscular type and 20-36 mins is not that much, hence you might experience a quicker progress if you have another body type and/or increase the intensity/volume of the training.

At the end of the day I think - if it's done correctly - the training you choose is mostly a matter of preference and goals, but you should really watch your nutrition, because thats a crucial point. In my opinion the overall goal of a training program should be the functional fitness and health and you'll have a harder time achieving them without a proper nutrition.

Answer 2

I did not have good results after six weeks, but I feel my movement patterns have gotten better. Found a lot of little snaps and twinges that I got rid of. Identified some major stabilization issues with my right leg. Bodyweight is very functional training by its nature.