Tips » Weight Training
I heard that calisthenics (bodyweight exerises) aren't good for gaining muscle — would you agree?
I completely disagree. I think calisthenics are terrific, because for general health, strength, and endurance, supporting your body's weight is key. This is why the military using heavy calisthenic programs, because they are not concerned with the vanity of muscle mass but the function of having muscle is that is efficient, which means strong and capable of endurance. Calisthenics are ideal for training for strength, endurance, and joint integrity.
Weights are a great form of training as well ... they will build muscle and build strength, but keep in mind that from a health perspective, other than the metabolic effect, the muscle does not necessarily mean "better" (unless you are simply worried about appearance).
In fact, there are some advanced calisthenics such as one-legged squats, King dead-lifts, etc, that I feel can be superior to some free weights because they promote joint stability, balance, and coordination in addition to strength and mass.
I don't think you can really consider one better than the other - it depends on your goals. If you want muscle mass, you'll probably need to pick up a weight. If your goal is health, strength, endurance, calisthenics are perfectly fine. In fact, that is exactly what I've been doing to keep in shape lately ... I knock out sets of pull-ups and dips on the dip station every hour, it is a high volume body-weight workout that definitely does a body good!