It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what to go for when you are first entering the world of fitness, but calisthenics has been a staple discipline in the industry for a while now. In this article, we will present to you the ultimate full body calisthenics workout: a step-by-step process that will take you from absolute beginner to shred master.
But before we delve into the best calisthenics workout, let me share some invaluable insights gathered from training countless athletes over the years – wisdom that would’ve been gold when I started my calisthenics journey.
Let’s address a common pitfall: blindly choosing a workout routine. Many dive into random PDFs or online programs without considering their suitability. Sound familiar? Trust me, as someone who has guided numerous athletes through their fitness journeys, I’ve seen this scenario play out far too often.
Imagine someone attempting advanced moves without the foundational strength or others plateauing due to overly simplistic workouts. It’s a frustrating scenario, isn’t it?
Following a random plan? Expect two key issues: struggling with exercises beyond your current capabilities, risking injury, or facing ineffective workouts that fail to challenge you. It’s a dilemma many fitness enthusiasts encounter.
Generic, one-size-fits-all routines simply won’t suffice. While they may seem convenient, they often miss the mark when it comes to personalized progress. That’s where we come in.
We used to categorize workouts into beginner, intermediate, or advanced levels, but this approach often held back our athletes’ progress. We’ve discussed this topic extensively in our blog post, “The End of Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced – How Personalization is the Key to Maximizing Your Calisthenics Gains.”
The bottom line? Lack of personalization can hinder your progress significantly. Trying exercises that exceed your current abilities risks injury, while overly simplistic workouts fail to challenge your body adequately.
That’s why we’ve developed The Movement Athlete Academy: to provide fully personalized training programs tailored to your individual needs and goals. And guess what? You can kickstart your journey with our FREE assessment, which will provide you with a customized plan designed specifically for you.
Need more information? We’ll delve into how we craft effective workouts and outline what a successful calisthenics routine entails below.
But here’s the kicker – begin with our free assessment to receive a personalized plan tailored to your unique goals. Say goodbye to injury risks and workout guesswork. Trust me, it’s a game-changer.
Ok, enough talking, let’s dive in.
Why Choose Full Body Calisthenics Instead of Other Disciplines
Choosing calisthenics programs over more traditional gym programs is not just about the philosophy of fitness. In fact, it’s all about the movement — the gestures, if you will.
We at Body Weight Training Arena have developed a fantastic program that will help you find this freedom of movement everyone has been praising over the years. No more dumbbells and heavy machinery — only simple exercises that truly reshape your body in a natural way.
Traditional programs don’t lend themselves well to open environments, but a full body calisthenics workout does. It perfectly adapts to any type of situation, which really means that you could take these exercises and practice them anywhere around your city, home or even the nearest park.
All this flexibility is an added bonus that allows you to recreate exercises on your own, while also improving your fitness levels. No need to spend money on expensive training programs at the gym when you can simply use your phone and learn from a professional on the other end.
But the best thing about calisthenics isn’t the technicality of it. It’s exactly the opposite of that.
In fact, the universality of it means that calisthenics for women proves to be just as challenging and rewarding as calisthenics for men. And while a distinction between the two can be made, this is only noticeable in how the exercises are developed over time and how they are perceived on the person’s body.
That’s why calisthenics is so loved. It’s a liberating universal experience that doesn’t put stress on a person more than it should; in fact, most people refer to it as a pure fitness experience.
Let’s find out what the actual exercises are then and why they are so loved.
A Step-by-Step Calisthenics Full Body Workout Plan
As we previously said, calisthenics is a fantastic discipline that works on the premise of free movement and core muscle strength. If you think about it, creating a calisthenics full body workout plan might seem daunting in this case, since there are no machines involved, no dumbbells, nothing. In reality though, things become much simpler.
You just need a few bars and anything that you can find in your local park. Things like benches, walls, steps even playgrounds are really helpful.
Once you’ve found the perfect spot to start your full body calisthenics workout (again, look for spots with a lot of steps and other constructions), you can begin your calisthenics progression journey.
Start with these exercises and repeat them in cycles of three sets:
- Push-ups – 3 variations, one for each set
- Pull-ups – 3 variations, one for each set
- Squats – 50 repetitions for each set
- Dips – until failure
- Elevated pike push-ups – until failure
- Jumping lunges – 50 repetitions for each set
- Hanging leg raises – until failure
- Sprints – 15 seconds for each set
These are the main ingredients of a true full body calisthenics workout — one that really focuses on a wholesome experience, grasping the nature of this discipline.
The push-ups and pull-ups are fairly straightforward. You can do the former directly on the ground until you simply feel too tired to continue, and you can do the latter with a bar in a playground with the same rhythm.
The only thing that you have to pay attention to with these first two is the variation. You should switch between diamond – normal – wide with the push-ups and wide grip – normal – chin-ups with the pull-ups. These variations ensure a complete, full body workout.
Squats and dips are also fairly straightforward. Always keep your back straight while doing the former and lift your arms to balance yourself as you go down, working on the quadriceps. For the latter, find two bars that you can lift yourself from and do as many repetitions as you can.
Elevated pike push-ups are probably the exercises that you’ve heard of the least, but they are crucial to this full body calisthenics workout.
Basically, the exercise is called “elevated pike” because your feet are placed higher above the ground (on a step), with the tips of the toes barely touching the surface and the buttocks shooting straight into the air.
Place your hands on the floor, right in line with your shoulders (never behind them) and keep your back straight. This way, both your legs and back should form a fairly steep angle (the pike). Once you’ve done this, you can start going up and down with your arms and complete the push-up motion.
The last three exercises are also self-explanatory, with the only exception being the hanging leg raise. To do this one correctly, you should find a horizontal bar in the playground or the gym and start gently raising your legs straight in front of you. Repeat this motion for as long as you can.
The Ultimate Calisthenics Full Body Workout Routine
Finally, you now know what it means to ease your way into the world of calisthenics. In order to get things done in a better way though, we recommend using a personalized program such as The Movement Athlete.
This program is built to adapt to you with its comprehensive calisthenics full body workout routine. It’s a fantastic platform that showcases plenty of exercises, nutritional data, fitness information and other useful courses from trained instructors that know how to teach a full body calisthenics workout.
Try and compare this program with one of those that you will find in the application. You will immediately notice the difference, thanks to the useful trivia that will be displayed on your screen at all times.
Don’t waste any time — be stronger.
Resources:
Calisthenics Full Body Workout
[https://calisthenicz.com/workouts/calisthenics-full-body-workout/]
