Best Calisthenics Workout

I know you’re really keen to read about the calisthenics workout. We’ll get to that in a sec, but before that: if you’re looking for a training program that’ll help you set up every one of your workouts for optimal muscle growth (gym or no gym), I’ve got just the thing for you. Every BWS program takes you through a step-by-step, science-based process that’ll get you to your dream physique – FAST.

What’s A Suitable Rep Scheme For The Calisthenics Workout?

For the majority of the exercises we go over in this calisthenics workout plan, you are going to perform 3 sets for each exercise. For the first 2 sets, you’re going to use what’s known as “RPE” to monitor reps performed.

RPE is a form of self-regulation, where you judge how hard an exercise is for you by using an “intensity scale”. Many studies have shown RPE to be an effective intensity measurement during a resistance program.

The real scale of RPE goes from 6 to 20:

• 6: No effort
• 20: 100% max

Obviously, going by a scale of 6-20 is mega confusing. So, for the sake of this calisthenics workout plan, we’re going to use 0-10 instead:

• 0: Nothing
• 10: I’m dead

Best Calisthenics Workout. For all your sets within the following calisthenics workout plan, you want to be around a 7-8 on the RPE scale. Meaning? Well, here’s something you can reference. If you can do 10 push-ups max, then an RPE of 7-8 would translate into you actually doing 7 or 8 push-ups. It’s as easy as that.

However, the last set is where we’re going to do things a little differently. You’re going to bring it to momentary failure. Many bodyweight exercises are high-rep simply because they don’t use any load. However, it has been shown that you can get similar gains with low-load movements to high-load ones – so long as you bring it to failure.

What Every Training Program Needs For Maximum Growth

Here’s something you need to know. An effective workout program – calisthenics workout (i.e., without the gym) or not (i.e., with the gym) – should take into account all major movement patterns. Why? Well, that’s because doing so is the only way you can ensure that no muscle goes overlooked.

And there are 7 movement patterns that’ll hit every muscle in the body. We’ll use them to design our calisthenics workout program:

• Horizontal & vertical pushing: Works the chest, shoulders, and triceps
• Horizontal pulling & vertical pulling: Works the back and biceps
• Squats & lunges: Works the lower body (mainly the quads)
• Hinges: Works the lower body, but mainly the “backside” muscles (i.e., hamstrings, glutes, and lower back)

For each of these movement patterns, we’ll try to identify 1-2 of the best exercises to include in our calisthenics workout plan. That said, only having the basic version of these exercises won’t cut it. As you get stronger, your body will need harder variations to continue building muscle and getting stronger. Progressive overloading is easy to do at the gym since you can do more weight. But, imaginable, becomes much more challenging to do with a calisthenics routine – since you’re only using your body weight.

But don’t worry, because I’ll show you how you can still continue challenging your muscles by using 3 levels of increasing difficulty for each exercise in your program. Let’s dive into our horizontal pushing movements.

Horizontal Pushing

It has been repeatedly shown that muscle activation with the bench press and push-ups are nearly identical. In fact, with the right progressions in place, research has also shown that you can increase both muscle size and strength with push-ups – just as much as you would with a bench press in the gym.

This makes it a great choice as the main horizontal pushing movement in our calisthenics workout plan. And will mainly focus on the chest.

Level 1 (Standard Pushup)

Level 1 for this movement will be the standard push-up. But there’s something you need to be mindful of. Make sure that your hands are positioned just outside your shoulders and elbows – making a 45-degree angle. Doing so helps you maximally activate your chest on every rep.

Vertical Pushing

During pushing movements, stress is taken away from the chest and transferred to the shoulders as the arms move closer toward your head. We’ll apply this finding to our first exercise to focus on the vertical pushing category; to really focus on developing the shoulders. An additional note before you start. You should realize that it’s not just your weight being transferred to your shoulders as your feet rise. But, you’ll also be lifting a significantly higher percentage of your body weight.

Level 1 (Parallel Incline Push-Up)

Start by placing your feet on an object such that your head and feet are at an equal level. Meaning? You should be parallel to the floor. Be mindful of your core. One of the most common mistakes people make with this exercise is allowing their hips to sag more so on these compared to regular push-ups.

Level 2 (Feet Higher Than Head)

Level 2 will now increase 2 things:

• Demand placed on your shoulders AND
• The percentage of your body weight

To perform this exercise, all you need to do is elevate your feet on an object, such that they are now higher than your head.

Level 3 (Elevate Higher!)

And again! To up the difficulty once more, you’ll want to find an object higher than you used with level 2. You can continue doing this until you’re almost vertical. The higher you go, the more tension will be placed on the shoulder muscles. And the harder the exercise will become.

How Long Should You Recover After A Calisthenics Workout?

Each of these workouts can be performed up to four times per week on non-consecutive days. Three to four workouts per week is enough. For example, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. You can also combine them, performing the At-Home workout one day, the Intermediate on another, and the Advanced (if you dare!) on a third day. If you feel extra sore or run down on a day you had planned to train, take another day’s rest before your next workout (or perform light exercise or aerobic activity, such as walking/jogging, cycling, yoga, mobility work, etc.).

Calisthenics Vs. Weight Training

The term calisthenics refers to training that uses primarily bodyweight exercises to develop strength, endurance, mobility, and coordination. It’s the kind of exercise that gymnasts and martial artists have done for eons using their own body weight, and while it develops muscle mass too, that’s more of a byproduct. You can expect to get very strong relative to your bodyweight when you do calisthenics training, and master your control of your body in various positions and movements. I.e., you’ll become stable and athletic.

Weight training uses external loads—free weights, cables, machines—to strengthen the body, and while it can develop the same qualities that calisthenics can, it’s better-suited for those who want to build maximum muscle mass, power, and absolute strength. This makes it a potentially better choice for athletes in sports like football, baseball, and track and field. A gymnast will usually be able to do more pullups and pushups than a bodybuilder or powerlifter, but the one who lifts heavy weights can probably move more overall load and will look bigger and stronger. Neither kind of training is superior to the other— both have their advantages, depending on your goals.

For the best, most well-rounded results, include both calisthenics, cardio and weight training in your regimen. You can alternate the styles, spending a few weeks working on one and then switch to another, or you can combine them in the same workout. For instance, you can start with weight training exercises to peak your power and strength, and then finish your routine with bodyweight training that works more on endurance and movement skills.

How To Stretch For A Calisthenics Circuit Workout

Follow the video below for a routine to warm up your entire body before the calisthenics workouts offered here. For more tips on mobility and stretching, follow Onnit-certified Durability Coach Brian Butz.

The Best Calisthenics Routine to Build Strength

When working out at a gym, the easiest way to progressively overload the muscle is to move the pin on the stack or add a plate to the bar. When your body is your barbell, this isn’t an option. So how do you increase strength without using more weight? These workouts incorporate negatives, isometric holds, and single-sided exercises to maximize the load on each muscle group in your body.

All you need is a pull-up bar and a wall, and you’ll have everything you need to build total-body strength. A jump rope for a warm-up is always a good idea, too. On your off days, do some sprints for conditioning.

Strength coach Paul Carter’s full program Jacked at Home: Bodyweight Muscle-Building Workouts ups the reps and intensity even further, matching up three full-body workouts per week with sprints on active rest days and outdoor walking every day. This combo is perfect for creating surprising results once (or maybe if) you hit the weight room again. Think lunges and push-ups are easy? You’ll think differently soon enough.

Best Calisthenics Routine to Build Strength

Day 1: Chest, Back

Master bodyweight strength with this calisthenics routine! Perform push-ups, chin-ups, rows, and more to failure in 3 intense sets for ultimate gains

Day 2: Legs, Shoulders

“Boost lower body and upper body strength with this intense workout! Includes lunges, wall sits, box squats, hip thrusts, and advanced push-up variations. Perfect for building balance, endurance, and power!”

Day 3: Active Rest, Abs

“Strengthen your core with this killer ab routine! Includes hanging windshield wipers, hollow-body holds, and elbow planks for ultimate stability and endurance.”

Best Calisthenics Routine to Lose Weight

You don’t have to be an athlete to want to look and move like one. These two interval and superset workouts from the program Lean at Home: No-Equipment Weight-Loss Workouts will push your heartrate through the roof and burn serious calories, but they’re fun and athletic, too. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?

Doing this workout at home? Consider a yoga mat to help keep your back and knees comfortable during the ab superset.

In the full Lean at Home program, these two workouts get a systematic upgrade by being placed strategically in a progressive plan with other follow-along video workouts, a complete cardio protocol, and a leanness-focused nutrition and supplement plan. Expect to sweat, and expect to love it.

Hard Working Sets

When talking in gym lingo and muscle building you will often hear people talk about hard working sets. A hard working set can have 4 reps, 12 reps or even 20 reps. What is important is that it is hard, meaning you only have very few reps left in the tank at the end of each hard working set. If you for example perform a set of chin ups, you do 5 reps knowing you can do 6 or 7 but not 14 this would be a hard working set. If you would do band assisted chin ups and you stop after 15 knowing you can do probably 17 this would also be a hard working set but if you stopped after than with the band you would not consider this a hard working set since you had 7 reps left in the tank. 

How many sets per week

If you simply want to hold the muscle that you currently have because you are focusing on other disciplines or maybe you are on a vacation the research suggests that 3 weekly hard working sets per muscle group are already enough. Meaning 3 sets of bench or push ups excluding the warm up sets will be enough to maintain your current muscle mass assuming these 3 sets are close to failure.

If you go to the gym and actually want to get stronger you will need at least about 7 hard working sets per body part per week. 

Finally, if you want to maximize growth and get bigger and stronger as fast as possible you will need 10-12 hard working sets per body part per week. More than this might not add more benefits to your growth or could potentially even stop you from getting even bigger.

12 hard sets per workout?

The lower the rep count, the higher the intensity of your set and the longer you have to rest in between sets. Hitting the suggested weekly set volume can become more difficult if all sets are performed at a very high intensity. Training will take a very long time leaving you physically and mentally drained.

7 hard working sets in 1 session are quite possible. Performing 10-12 is rather unlikely especially as after 4-6 sets this body part is tired and you will not be able to push as hard anymore making the sets less efficient.