Calisthenics

“If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”

-Bruce Lee

Introduction:

What are calisthenics? Calisthenics exercises are movements designed to be performed with your body weight. They are movements designed to increase your body control & strength. As a beginner, calisthenics are a great option because they have regressions that can be performed by almost anyone, regardless of skill level. My favorite part about calisthenics is how convenient it is. You don’t need any fancy machinery or equipment to perform the exercises.

Here’s the catch with calisthenics… It’s easy to get started but difficult to progress & reach higher-level movements. For example, most people can do traditional bodyweight squats, but how many people can do a pistol squat comparatively? Not a lot. Most people can do push-ups, but what happens after they reach 20-30+ reps? Is it ideal to keep increasing repetition? And pull-ups… Most people can’t do any pull-ups. Essentially, no direct path can be prescribed to the average individual. A path that will allow them to master the fundamentals without the risk of injury. 

This confusion prevents most people from starting in the first place. I’m creating this post to add a bit more clarity to the fundamental calisthenics movement patterns & the variations required to master them. I will be integrating my own experiences, as well as the experiences & advice I’ve consolidated from other individuals that are further along in their calisthenics journeys.

I’m no expert at calisthenics, but I’m passionate about it & I’ve learned a thing or two on my journey.

If I had to start training calisthenics from scratch, this is how I would start.

Training Principles:

Before we get into the exercises & training, we need to establish some basic hygiene to avoid injuries. 

Principle 1: Don’t train through pain. If you’re experiencing any joint or muscle pain outside of general muscle soreness, please consult a PT. It’s important to push yourself, but not at the cost of longevity. 

Principle 2: Progressive Overload. If you’re a beginner and/or transitioning from a sedentary lifestyle, you need to start with the easiest variations of the exercise and build up. Over time, as your body adapts and exercises become easier, you’ll need to increase the stimulus so that you can switch over to more difficult variations. You need to keep challenging yourself if you want to see improvements. Initially, choose a variation that allows you to complete 8-12 reps with perfect technique. 

Principle 3: Sleep & Recovery. Ensure that you are getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night. I personally struggle with this quite a bit. There’s so much other work to do & life gets out of control sometimes. However, your body needs to rebuild & repair itself & it can’t really do that if your sleep schedule isn’t on point. Also, don’t forget to space your workouts apart to allow 48 hours of recovery for each muscle group. If you’re a beginner, start with 3 full-body days per week for best results. If you’re more advanced, you should aim to train each muscle group 2x per week (Push, Pull, & Legs split) for the best gains.

Principle 4: Diet. There's not much to say here except for the basics. Eat clean, whole foods. Consume 0.75-0.9g protein per lb bodyweight—caloric surplus to bulk & caloric deficit to cut. Just stay consistent, and you’ll see the results in due time. 

Principle 5: Always warm up. This is injury prevention 101: remember to always warm up your joints before beginning the workout. Completing some full range-of-motion circles for each joint and incorporating some dynamic stretches are great ways to warm up. The key here is to increase body temperature and blood circulation. Don’t neglect this… It’s the biggest mistake beginners make, and they almost suffer joint pain within a few weeks of getting started.   

Exercise Selection: 

I’ve broken this section into 3 parts: upper body, core, & lower body.

Note: You can find tutorials online for all of these exercises. Just search for the exercise name + tutorial on YouTube. Make sure to watch them to learn the correct technique. The variations for each exercise will be provided below. Make sure to choose a variation that is conducive to your goals.

Upper Body:

There are 5 primary upper-body movement patterns we can train with calisthenics. These 5 movements are the foundation for an aesthetic upper body. 

1. Dips

2. Push-ups

3. Pike push-ups

4. Pull-ups

5. Inverted Rows

(Pushing Movements) 

Dips:

Isometric dip hold (top & bottom positions) → banded dips → eccentric dips → dips 

Push-ups:

Knee push-ups → incline push-ups → push-ups → push-ups with tempo → diamond push-ups → pseudo planche pushups → explosive push-ups → archer push-ups → decline pushups

Pike Push-ups:

Pike position hold (extended position) → hands elevated pike push up → pike push-ups (move feet closer to increase difficulty) → legs elevated pike push-ups → handstand pushups

(Pulling Movements)

Pull-ups:

Dead-hangs → scapular shrugs → isometric holds→ eccentric pull-ups → banded pull-ups → pull-ups

Inverted Rows:

Horizontal dead hangs → horizontal scapular retractions → isometric row hold (top & bottom positions) → bent leg row → straight leg row

(increase bar height to decrease difficulty)

Lower Body:

Ahhh. Everyone’s favorite body part to train. I’ll be honest: Training legs with calisthenics is quite difficult due to the scarcity of exercises. However, that’s still not an excuse. Here are the 2 exercises you need to incorporate to hit your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. For the calves, I recommend jump-roping, as it will help you build springy tendons and strong calf musculature. 

1. Squat Movement

2. Hamstring Curl (floor)

Squat Movement:

Squats → lunges → single leg box step-ups → band/ wall assisted pistol squats → pistol squats

Hamstring Curl:

Floor hamstring curls (alternating)→ floor hamstring curl (both legs) → single-leg floor hamstring curls.

Core:

The core is important as it will stabilize your body when you start attempting difficult calisthenics skills, like the planche or front lever. The best exercise for core training is actually trying to master a skill. The L-sit challenges your core compression and will help you build those functional and aesthetic abs. 

L-sit:

Lying knee raises → lying leg raises → hanging knee raises → hanging leg raises → isometrics → L-sit

Closing:

The exercises above increased my strength by 10x—literally. When I started calisthenics, I could only do about 1 pull-up. Now, I can easily do 10+ reps without a warm-up (lol). 

We all have different genetic potentials, but I guarantee that if you stay consistent with the exercises mentioned above, you will build strength & increase muscular endurance.

Till next time, 

J.R.