Why Bodyweight Training Builds Stronger, More Durable Athletes Than Heavy Lifting Alone

Bodyweight training keeps getting criticised the same way: it won’t make you stronger. It’s true that at a certain point, you’ll need external loads to build more strength. But many lifters focus on the drawbacks of bodyweight training rather than its benefits, explains Brad Kolovich Jr. “If you can’t control your body, you don’t truly own your strength.” In his new book, Bodyweight Blueprint, strength coach Brad Kolovich Jr aims to dispel the myths surrounding bodyweight training and provide a blueprint for getting stronger anytime, anywhere. Kolovich, a lifelong athlete and strength coach, trains high-profile bodies like Tyler Perry, Cody Rhodes, Alicia Silverstone, Luke Evans, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II using bodyweight methods. If it works for them, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t work for you too.

Who is it, Brad Kolovich Jr?

Before coaching A-list celebrities, he was a nationally competitive tennis player who travelled the country competing in tournaments since the age of 10. His athletic background shaped how he views training: movement quality, durability, and repeatable performance matter more than chasing PRs.

Today, Colovich Jr owns and operates ColoFit Personal Training, based in Atlanta and Lake Oconee, GA, where he trains everyone from everyday professionals to elite athletes and A-list celebrities. His book outlines his system, which is based on taking control of your body weight.

It was difficult and painful for the coach-turned-athlete to understand the importance of bodyweight training. After years of intense, high-volume tennis training, he had knee surgery at the age of 14. He learnt that strength without control, balance, and form has consequences.

Then, later, as a coach, he began to notice patterns in his clients’ activities. They were getting stronger on paper, yet movement quality declined, injuries occurred and progress stalled.

That’s when the idea of ​​the lightbulb emerged. Kolovich Jr began to shift his focus from barbells to bodyweight work, such as perfecting push-ups, squats, lunges, holds, and tempo-based movements. Then something unexpected happened: everything improved. Strength improved, joints felt healthier and performance improved.

It then became clear to him that bodyweight training was not a regression. This is the foundation. But before we get into the specifics of bodyweight training, let’s dispel some myths.

Common Myths About Bodyweight Training

Some people think that bodyweight exercises are great as warmup moves, but that’s only an appetiser for the main course. Those who believe this have likely never performed single-arm push-ups, pistol squats, or front levers. As Colovich Jr points out, the information dispels the common myth that bodyweight training is for beginners. “In fact, mastery over real body weights is extremely challenging. Most strong lifters struggle when you introduce momentum, instability, full range of motion, and tight control.”

The second major misconception is that building muscle without weights is impossible. However, muscle growth and strength come from resistance and tension – not just iron. “Another myth is that you can’t build muscle without weights,” says Kolovich Jr. But when you understand leverage, time under tension, unilateral work, and density, bodyweight training becomes a powerful tool for hypertrophy, athleticism, and longevity.

He overlooks several bodyweight training myths here.

Myth: You need a gym for a perfect workout

Truth: Your body is a tool. Bodyweight training can target every major muscle group, including the chest, back, legs, and core; it can also include mobility, balance, and cardio conditioning in one session.

Myth: You’ll settle down soon

Truth: Plateaus arise from a lack of progress, not from the tools used. The Bodyweight Blueprint addresses this by incorporating exercise variations, rep tempo, low stability, and programming techniques (e.g., circuits, HIIT, and power-focused sessions) to ensure continuous adaptation.

Myth: Bodyweight training can’t improve athletic performance

Truth: Explosive bodyweight movements, such as jump squats, plyo pushups, sprints, and mobility drills, train power, agility, and coordination. These are important for athletic performance.

Keeping this in view, how does Kolovich Jr get Captain America to do push-ups?

How Kolovich Jr explains bodyweight training to his clients

Kolovich’s two gyms are filled with high-class equipment, so you can imagine a client’s surprise when he says bodyweight training is on the menu. “I tell them this,” says Kolovich. “If you can’t control your body, adding weight hides weaknesses.”

If Luke Evans disagrees with him and wants to hit the bench instead of doing tempo push-ups, he brings out the big guns. “Bodyweight training forces you to connect with your body,” explains Kolovich. “You’re not relying on external resistance to feel a movement. You’re learning how to engage the right muscles, strengthen your core, and capture every inch of the rep.”

Once their customers realise that mastering bodyweight movements improves their barbell lifts, reduces joint pain and increases their training duration, buy-in is immediate.

“I work with high-profile clients who need to look great, move well, and stay healthy under demanding schedules,” he says. “Bodyweight training plays an important role in his programmes.

“Whether it’s preparing Cody Rhodes for the WWE World Championship or helping Yahya stay camera-ready while preparing for the role of Emmy-winning Dr Manhattan, bodyweight work creates an athletic, flexible body without unnecessary wear and tear,” explains Kolovich.

bodyweight exercise progression

Kolovich emphasises that the principle of progressive overload still applies—even when your body is the only resistance. I give bodyweight exercises the same respect as heavy lifts. Everything is intentional and progressive. I manipulate tempo, range of motion, leverage, unilateral loading, volume, density, and rest periods.

Since you can’t add plates, Colovich Jr adjusts other variables, such as:

Repetition and speed manipulation: Increase reps for volume and slow down the speed, especially the eccentric phase, to increase the time under tension. Adding a 3- to 5-second pause at the most challenging part of the movement increases muscular endurance and strength.

Taking advantage of your body position: changing your body position relative to gravity changes the weight distribution – for example, moving push-ups from incline to decline. The bodyweight blueprint introduces leverage-based progressions, such as moving the hands or feet closer to the anchor point during suspension training to increase difficulty.

Reducing Stability: Unilateral and balance-challenging variations place increased demands on the core and joint stabilisers. For example:

Regular Squats → Split Squats → Bulgarian Split Squats

Push-ups → Archer Push-ups → One-arm Push-ups

Increasing Complexity: Kolovich has introduced neurologically demanding changes into his programming. Thinking:

Push-ups → Grasshopper Push-ups

Squats → skater squats

Using external devices: suspension trainers, sliders, and ab rollers increase instability, range of motion, and enhance core engagement. These devices make traditional activities harder without increasing weight.

The Wrap-up

Often, bodyweight training is treated as a fallback option when it should be the foundation. Master your movement, and everything else in your training will become faster, safer, and better for the long term. If you want to start doing this, shop around Bodyweight Blueprint.