Minimal Calisthenics: How big can you get with just a floor

[Lorcan]

The following is an imaginary scenario, I would like to know the best answer for this question in the imaginary not true to real life scenario given:

The broad question:

How big can you grow your muscles without the use of steroids can you get doing calisthenics with only access to an infinite flat plain on which to exercise. You can not exercise anywhere else.(No Walls, Nothing to hang from, just a big flat empty space). The goal for exercise is purely bodybuilding (hypertrophy). 

You have five years to train to develop your muscles the biggest you can the best you can.

Food is not a limiting factor. (You have all the food you need, brown rice, tuna, chicken, green beans, spinach, kale, apples, anything). You can gain as much weight as you want.

What is the best course of action? What is the best way to go about 

Specific questions:

1: Is only having an access to a floor to exercise on a limiting factor to getting to even close to your genetic max in muscle size?

2: Does this limitation slow down the speed at which you grow muscle compared to if you had access to firstly (a) A Calisthenics Gym(No Weights or Machines) and secondly (b) A Gym with weight and machines. If it does slow down the speed at which you can grow muscle compared to having access to a,  and b, by how much does the limitation slow you down.

2: What muscles suffer the hardest from this limitation and what muscles suffer the least?

3: Of the muscles that suffer the hardest from this limitation, how do you go about training those muscles to maximize their size. (eg. The Upper Back)

4: All the above questions(including the broad question) but regarding muscle strength instead of hypertrophy.

 

[AdamDiC]

@Lorcan

1. Yes a floor is very limiting.

2. Yes, calisthenics are not meant to build big bulky muscles. they are more meant to keep you fit, lean, and build endurance for sports or life. Wieghts shock your muscle, tear the fibres more intensely and therefore you gain more muscle faster. It doesn't mean calisthenics are bad, most body workouts are very functional and healthy and build a good foundation for wieghts. I know a lot of skinny dudes who could't get big with wieghts because they couldn't last long enough in the gym. But dependign on your goals you might have to have a balance.

3. With only a floor, you are stuck with only pushing motions. so you can work your legs, chest, triceps, abs, some neck. The muscles that will recieve the least training will be your back (Lats, traps, biceps). Like 0 training. Most of these require a pulling movement with wieghts or machines.

4. You can't train back with just a floor... sorry mr. minimalist.

5. Muscle strength is increased with heavy, very heavy wieght. Deadlifts, barbell squats, and benchpress. I love calisthenics and i prefer them because of their availability and ease. you can go to a park and do a full workout. or get a pullup bar mounted above your door so you can do a routine at home. but sometimes i like wieghts to, i used to lift 5 times a day when i had a gym membership and it felt amazing.

For you, thinking about working out doesn't solve anything. Just wake up tomorrow and start doing pushups, jump squats, jumping jacks, and sit ups. thats all you need for a basic workout and you just build on top of that.

Have fun!

P.S. Here's a cool website on calisthenics.

[Everyday]

https://www.youtube.com/user/Calisthenicmovement

 

 

https://athleanx.com/xero

[Lorcan]

3 hours ago, AdamDiC said:

@Lorcan

1. Yes a floor is very limiting.

2. Yes, calisthenics are not meant to build big bulky muscles. they are more meant to keep you fit, lean, and build endurance for sports or life. Wieghts shock your muscle, tear the fibres more intensely and therefore you gain more muscle faster. It doesn't mean calisthenics are bad, most body workouts are very functional and healthy and build a good foundation for wieghts. I know a lot of skinny dudes who could't get big with wieghts because they couldn't last long enough in the gym. But dependign on your goals you might have to have a balance.

3. With only a floor, you are stuck with only pushing motions. so you can work your legs, chest, triceps, abs, some neck. The muscles that will recieve the least training will be your back (Lats, traps, biceps). Like 0 training. Most of these require a pulling movement with wieghts or machines.

4. You can't train back with just a floor... sorry mr. minimalist.

5. Muscle strength is increased with heavy, very heavy wieght. Deadlifts, barbell squats, and benchpress. I love calisthenics and i prefer them because of their availability and ease. you can go to a park and do a full workout. or get a pullup bar mounted above your door so you can do a routine at home. but sometimes i like wieghts to, i used to lift 5 times a day when i had a gym membership and it felt amazing.

For you, thinking about working out doesn't solve anything. Just wake up tomorrow and start doing pushups, jump squats, jumping jacks, and sit ups. thats all you need for a basic workout and you just build on top of that.

Have fun!

P.S. Here's a cool website on calisthenics.

Is the weight just to low in calisthenics? What if you bulked up to 300lb whilst training with the limitation? Your muscles would your muscle not be forced to get bigger with the extra weight. Sure you would look fat, but, you would get bigger muscles. Then all you have to do is lose the weight back down to where you look aesthetic (150lb-200lb say). But then, if your shrink back down to that, you no longer are damaging your muscle fibres as much as when your were 300lbs so your muscles would shrink back down again and adapt to the lower weight right?

Is it a weight game? 

You said

 "calisthenics are not meant to build big bulky muscles"

But what if....

We have a 150lb man strap 110lb of weight distrubuted across his whole body.

So thats 150lb + 110lb = 260lb.      THEN we make him workout.     He surely should be able to get big bulky muscles right?

 

 

[AdamDiC]

@Lorcan yes it is a weight game. The more weight when lifting the bigger results. But bulking and calisthenics don’t really mix well. It’s like mixing cycling and arm wrestling. Idk.

Getting fat will just make you fat. Strapping weight to you defeats the purpose of minimal exercise. 

I see you theorizing a lot which is cool. But there’s not a lot to think about when working out. Get yourself started on a basic workout. See how your body responds. Take progress pictures every week. Add extra meals to your day. Weigh yourself. Then decide if calisthenics aren’t enough, to start adding weights.

[Michael569]

Oh boy, do I have a book for you, my friend. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Convict-Conditioning-Weakness-Using-Survival-Strength-ebook/dp/B004XIZN5M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529501950&sr=8-1&keywords=convict+conditioning this is UK amazon so not sure where you live, it might be harder to get. 

Find one place where you can do pull-ups once in a while and you are all set, no weights, no fancy equipment, 20 minute workout a day that is hard as f**k.   I have been doing this a lot in the past and got good improvements not only in strength but also flexibility. You will not grow as fast as with gym though but you will get really strong and agile. 

[Lorcan]

35 minutes ago, Michael569 said:

Oh boy, do I have a book for you, my friend. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Convict-Conditioning-Weakness-Using-Survival-Strength-ebook/dp/B004XIZN5M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1529501950&sr=8-1&keywords=convict+conditioning this is UK amazon so not sure where you live, it might be harder to get. 

Find one place where you can do pull-ups once in a while and you are all set, no weights, no fancy equipment, 20 minute workout a day that is hard as f**k.   I have been doing this a lot in the past and got good improvements not only in strength but also flexibility. You will not grow as fast as with gym though but you will get really strong and agile. 

Already have read it, and enjoyed it. I'll get back into a proper routine(been slacking off). He mentions early on in the book that there are other way to progress without having objects such as  a brick or rock on which to access some of the progressions (uneven pushups). But he never says what those other ways are, which I would really like to know. Its a good book.

Edited June 20, 2018 by Lorcan

[Lorcan]

2 hours ago, AdamDiC said:

@Lorcan yes it is a weight game. The more weight when lifting the bigger results. But bulking and calisthenics don’t really mix well. It’s like mixing cycling and arm wrestling. Idk.

Getting fat will just make you fat. Strapping weight to you defeats the purpose of minimal exercise. 

I see you theorizing a lot which is cool. But there’s not a lot to think about when working out. Get yourself started on a basic workout. See how your body responds. Take progress pictures every week. Add extra meals to your day. Weigh yourself. Then decide if calisthenics aren’t enough, to start adding weights.

What do you mean they do not mix well?

"yes it is a weight game. The more weight when lifting the bigger results"

So a 300lb man doing pushups will have bigger muscles than a 150lb man doing pushups because he is pushing more weight per rep. But I would assume, even though the 300lb guy has more muscle mass,he would not look as good as the 150lb guy who has much less body fat. Right? The higher the weight, the more the fat mass starts to take up more space than the muscle? Is that correct?

What would a 300lb man master level calisthenics dude look like. (Being able to do advanced calisthenic exercises for multiple reps, in the double digits even)

What would he look like? What does calisthenics do to your muscles at high weight? It would almost be as good as bodybuilding right? I cant imagine a 300lb man getting past then 8-12 hypertrophy rep range doing handstand pushups.

What would he look like? I see none of these on youtube, they are all  light weight/mid weight(the ones who arent on roids)

Edited June 20, 2018 by Lorcan

[Michael569]

@Lorcan seems you are way ahead of me then. I think there was also a second part of the series that he wrote. Well, you can add things like weighted vest, hand and arm weights to make the bodywork a bit harder or as you said, go into the nature lift logs and rocks. Get crazy and get creative. 

[AdamDiC]

@Lorcan I don't know man. Too much thoerizing for me.