Calisthenics Versus Bodybuilders – Who’s Stronger

We commonly see people saying, “This question has gone on for decades.” If this is true, why hasn’t anyone answered it thoroughly? Well, that’s what we aim to get across to you in this article.

Training calisthenics gets you relatively stronger, whereas bodybuilding increases your absolute strength. This means calisthenics athletes have a better strength-to-weight ratio than bodybuilders; however, when mass isn’t considered, a bodybuilder is always stronger.

For example, a bodybuilder can pull a heavier barbell than a calisthenics athlete; but, they won’t be strong enough to mirror the bodyweight exercises, such as a planche, that a calisthenics athlete can do.

The summary? It depends on your definition of strength.

Does Bodybuilding Build More Muscle Than Calisthenics

For muscle gains, bodybuilding is superior to calisthenics.

While both have high rates of hypertrophy, it’s far easier to sustain in bodybuilding as lifting heavier only requires you to add extra weight. But, in calisthenics, you can’t lift more than your body weight – making it challenging to maintain long-term muscle hypertrophy.

The two explanations for this:

• Muscle Isolation is targeted in bodybuilding, allowing athletes to put each muscle under as much tension as they want to increase its mass e.g. bicep curls. On the other hand, calisthenics uses compound exercises, so you distribute the tension across a broad range of muscle groups, making it challenging to tear-and-repair specific muscles.
  
  
• Progressive Overload in bodybuilding is straightforward: add more weight to build more muscle. However, in calisthenics, as soon as you have mastered a movement/static, there isn’t a way to make it more muscle-demanding. Instead, you must learn a new exercise or rep until failure.
  

On a side note, while bodybuilding will build more muscle than calisthenics – muscle definition is far more toned in calisthenics.

Is Calisthenics Or Bodybuilding Better For Fighting

When it comes to fighting, a bodybuilder hits harder, but a calisthenics athlete will be faster and more agile. The winner isn’t dictated by their training method, but instead, their ability to use their body effectively during combat.

So, if you’re a fighter, which training method is best for you?

Calisthenics equips fighters with muscle endurance to run rings around their opponents, as well as the power to be fast with their punches. This makes fighters who are light on their feet, have fast head movement, and sharp, snappy punches.

On the other hand, bodybuilding gives fighters high absolute strength. This makes their swing as hard-hitting as possible so, they carry enough strength, weight, and momentum to knock someone else out in one punch.

However, there are disadvantages to both:

A fighter who exclusively trains calisthenics may be too light that their punches aren’t effective. This is because training will burn through so many calories that it sheds off a lot of their mass. This is a big threat in a street fight, boxing, or MMA – especially if the opponent is bigger.

A fighter who primarily focuses on bodybuilding is likely to be tight and run out of breath rapidly during the fight. This is because their mass is so great it becomes effortful to move around. As a result, they are most effective at the start of the fight but, in later rounds, may struggle.

We recommend all fighters to train in an element of calisthenics. It engages secondary muscles, so your body awareness is more focused. This improves the mind-muscle connection, enabling you to strike with better composure and balance. It’s then up to you if you want to add an element of bodybuilding for more strength when hitting.

Do Calisthenics Gains Last Longer Than Bodybuilding

It’s generally thought that your muscles stay with you for the same amount of time, regardless of how they’re obtained. While there’s logic behind this, and it is true to an extent, there are factors suggesting muscle gained from calisthenics stays with you longer than bodybuilding.

For example, let’s assume a bodybuilder and calisthenics athlete were to stop their training method for two weeks:

• Calisthenics movements are functional – many daily activities mimic the exercise. So, even if they don’t intend to train calisthenics, their muscles are still being trained and strengthened in a similar way.
  
  
• Bodybuilding uses isolation exercises and maximum overload. For example, bicep lifting an 85lb bar. This rarely occurs in a day-to-day situation. So, if they don’t practice it for a while, eventually, the muscle isn’t being used, so they lose their pump.

In addition, there is an argument that calisthenics has better longevity because it uses compound exercises to target secondary muscles. Therefore, when you stop exercising one muscle group, there are still other groups that are well-conditioned. However, as bodybuilding isolates muscle, once the pump has gone (7-11 days), they ‘feel‘ weaker.

At the end of the day, no matter your training method, you’ll go into sarcopenia at some stage in your life. The point at which you see symptoms won’t vary if you are a bodybuilder or calisthenics athlete. So, rather than debating the training method (as it’s all bro science), it’s best to focus on a healthy lifestyle with regular exercise.

Will A Bodybuilder Or Calisthenics Athlete Win An Arm Wrestle

Is the arm wrestle the best indicator of strength? No. But it is the most fun!

A bodybuilder has more absolute strength, so they’re far more likely to beat a calisthenics athlete in an arm wrestle. In addition to their strength, their weight makes it more challenging for a calisthenics athlete to resist their downward force.

The only way a calisthenics athlete will win is through technique! In saying this, if the absolute strength gap is notable, then the calisthenics athlete has no chance – regardless of how many tricks they have up their sleeve.

In fact, if the weight difference is significant, an arm wrestle could result in an injury, for example, a snaped arm. Even if it’s a lighthearted arm wrestle, make sure you’re safe.

Is Calisthenics Harder Than Bodybuilding

In regards to difficulty, both need an immense amount of hard work and to overcome adversity. You can’t scale if calisthenics is harder than bouldering (and vice versa) because they are equally as challenging but for their own reasons.

To be successful in calisthenics, you’re required to work hard for more muscle endurance, balance, and grip strength. Whereas bodybuilding is much more difficult in the sense that you need to gain high amounts of power to lift heavy weights. Both have their own element of difficulty.

It’s not the case of which training method is more complex, but instead, which you find to be more challenging. Everyone has their own strength and weaknesses, which works for or against them, depending on which training method they practice. Just because someone finds calisthenics easier than bodybuilding won’t mean you will, too.

Reasons why people find bodybuilding to be harder than calisthenics:

• Bodybuilders are more disciplined in their diet and nutritional intake.
• Bodybuilders must learn how to pose and contract their muscles on demand.
• Bodybuilders require a strict form to avoid injury.

Reasons why people find calisthenics harder than bouldering:

• Most calisthenics gyms are outdoors, which may include training in freezing conditions.
• Calisthenics demands you have full movement in your joints and exceptionally good flexibility.
• Calisthenics is fast-paced.

Is Calisthenics Or Bodybuilding Better For Losing Weight

Calisthenics is more energy-demanding and intense than bodybuilding; each movement is an explosive compound exercise! This makes it a far more efficient training method than bodybuilding for burning calories and losing weight.

A typical calisthenics athlete is ripped and has low body fat. Their raging six-pack isn’t a coincidence either – it’s a byproduct of calisthenics. The number of shredded athletes alone is enough to highlight its effectiveness for losing weight.

Does this mean bodybuilding is bad for losing weight? Well, kind of, yes. Bodybuilders intend to put on weight (albeit muscle mass) through a calorie surplus and overloading their muscles. So you end up in the opposite direction you want to be in!

Although bodybuilding burns calories, the main outcome is to increase strength. This doesn’t require much movement – you can sit on a bench and lift a single limb. So, when you compare it to calisthenics, which taps into your power, endurance, and mobility, it becomes clear why it won’t burn as many calories.

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