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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Ratgeber
- Sprache: Englisch
Get strong and stay healthy with workouts you can do at home Calisthenics For Dummies will teach you how to become stronger and leaner, have more energy and less stress, and live longer, all while enjoying an exercise program that saves you time and money. With calisthenics and bodyweight exercise, you don't need any equipment--just a little space and the knowledge to train comprehensively. This book teaches you the basics, with workouts covering all the muscle groups and important advice on how to stay injury-free. You'll find suggestions for multi-week programs that you can ease into, taking the intimidation out of working out. Get motivated and get moving right away with this simple Dummies guide. * Get lean, lose weight, and build strength * Add an easy, quick workout routine to your self-care strategy * Exercise anywhere, any time--no gym membership or equipment needed * Improve your coordination, balance, and joint health This is book is great for anyone looking for a workout that they can do anytime and anywhere, without having to spend a fortune on equipment. Calisthenics For Dummies will give you the power to improve your health and stay fit.
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Seitenzahl: 367
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Calisthenics For Dummies®
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book Is Organized
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1: Total Fitness: No Limits
Chapter 1: Calisthenics: When Your Body Is Your Equipment
Calisthenics: For All Bodies and Abilities
Why Calisthenics Is Better than Any Other Workout
Getting the Results You Want
Getting Comfortable with Bodyweight Exercises
Discovering the Eight Abilities You'll Build Through Calisthenics
Rounding Up Your Gear for Home Workouts
Your Body Is Your Home
Chapter 2: You Were Made to Move
Fitness Equals Function
Locomotion: The Secret to Your Best Physique
Your Body Is a Tower
Focusing on Developmental Movements
Your Performance Pyramid
Living Pain Free
Putting the Building Blocks of Calisthenics in Place
Focusing on Attention and Breathing
Performance Leads to Efficiency
Chapter 3: Setting Goals and Staying Motivated
Knowing What You Want from a Calisthenics Program
Throwing Your Ego Out with the Weights
Finding and Keeping Your Motivation
Overcoming Obstacles
Facing Down Your Excuses
Part 2: The Exercises
Chapter 4: Getting Down with Floor Exercises
Gaining Big Improvements with Small Exercises
Back Lying Exercises
Crawling Exercises
Front Lying Exercises
Side Lying Exercises
Chapter 5: Lying to Standing Transitions (Developmental Movements)
The Role of Weight Shifting in Movement and Stability
Exercises for Coordinating Hip and Shoulder Functions
Chapter 6: Strength Training Exercises for Your Core
Mastering the Abdominal Exercises
Practicing the Lateral Stability Exercises
Learning the Lower Back Exercises
Chapter 7: Strength Training Exercises for Your Legs and Hips
Trying the Hip Hinging Exercises
Learning the Lunging Exercises
Practicing the Kneeling Transitions
Strengthening with Step-Ups
Chapter 8: Pushing to Strengthen Your Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps
Maintaining Ideal Alignment Under Stress
Practicing the Perpendicular Pushing Exercises
Trying the Inline Pushing Exercises
Chapter 9: Pulling Exercises to Strengthen Your Back, Biceps, and Forearms
Finding Tools for Pulling Exercises
Practicing Perpendicular Pulling Exercises
Trying Inline Pulling Exercises
Chapter 10: Exercises for Mobility
Enjoying the Benefits of Proper Positioning
Starting with the Spiderman Exercises
Doing the Inch Worm Exercises
Mastering the Quadruped Exercises
Trying the Starfish Exercises
Part 3: The Workouts
Chapter 11: Mixing and Matching Exercises for Your Goals
Choosing Your Workout Types
Focusing Your Training with Training Splits
Adapting Your Workouts for Long-Term Progress
Covering the Essentials to Avoid Injury
Chapter 12: Following a 13-Week Program
Creating a Tailored Routine
Introducing the Workouts
Block 1: Weeks 1-4
Block 2: Weeks 5-8
Block 3: Weeks 9-12
The Active Recovery Week
Part 4: Calisthenics for Special Circumstances
Chapter 13: Doing Calisthenics When You’re Pregnant
The Benefits of Exercise Before and After Baby
Taking Heed and Taking It Slow
Preparing for a Successful Pregnancy and Delivery
Chapter 14: Working Out with Limited Mobility
Getting the Essentials Right
Getting and Staying Prepared for Life
We’re the Only Mammals That Walk on Two Feet
Chapter 15: Starting Your Kids on Calisthenics
Keeping Your Kids Happy and Healthy with Movement
Overcoming Complaints about Exercising
Chapter 16: Nine-Minute Workouts
Athleticism Leads to Efficiency
Structuring Your Workouts
Starting with the Pushing Exercises
Trying Out the Pulling Exercises
Moving on to the Hip Hinging Exercises
Part 5: The Part of Tens
Chapter 17: Ten Tips for Success
Stay Consistent
Schedule Your Workouts
Listen to Your Body
Strengthen Your Weak Side First
Rest and Recuperate
Don’t Do Too Much
Show Up
Keep a Playful Mindset
Count Your Wins, Not Your Losses
Eat a Healthy Post-Workout Meal
Chapter 18: Ten Bodyweight Training Myths
Men and Women Should Train Differently
Women’s Muscles Will Get Too Big If You Do Strength Training
You Can Reshape a Muscle by Doing Isolation Exercises
You Need High Reps for Definition and Low Reps for Mass
Muscle Can Turn Into Fat
You Can’t Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time
Going Hungry Means Looking Healthy
Exercise Machines Were Built for You
Bodyweight Exercises Don’t Allow You to Adjust the Difficulty
Aerobics or “Cardio” Is the Only Way to Burn Calories
Index
About the Authors
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 16
TABLE 16-1: The Nine-Minute Exercise Matrix
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
FIGURE 1-1: Calisthenics involves simple body weight exercises you can do in yo...
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: The dead bugs exercise, starting position (a) and final position (b...
FIGURE 4-2: Starting position for glute hip-ups (a) and final position (b), whe...
FIGURE 4-3: The up and over is a great full-body exercise.
FIGURE 4-4: The windshield wipers exercise involves moving one leg at a time.
FIGURE 4-5: Starting position (a) and ending position (b) for dirty dogs.
FIGURE 4-6: Hip circles are great for overall hip mobility and the development ...
FIGURE 4-7: The pointers exercise improves spinal flexion and extension (front-...
FIGURE 4-8: Starting position (a) and ending position (b) of the straight wide ...
FIGURE 4-9: Hip twists help develop the front and sides of your midsection.
FIGURE 4-10: The moose antlers exercise helps your shoulder muscles.
FIGURE 4-11: The twist and reach can improve rotation of the thoracic spine and...
FIGURE 4-12: The y cuffs exercise improves your shoulder health and mobility.
FIGURE 4-13: Hip drop starting position (a) and ending position (b).
FIGURE 4-14: Get into a long straight side planking position with your top leg ...
FIGURE 4-15: Side crunch starting position (a) and ending position (b).
FIGURE 4-16: Starting position (a) and ending position (b) for the side leg lif...
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: The rolling exercise.
FIGURE 5-2: The lying to kneeling exercise.
FIGURE 5-3: Shift your weight onto your right hip and step forward into a singl...
FIGURE 5-4: The stork stance improves balance, posture, and hip mobility
Chapter 6
FIGURE 6-1: Get into a pillar position on your forearms (a) and then rock back ...
FIGURE 6-2: Start in a planking on your forearms (a) and then rock forward whil...
FIGURE 6-3: With the left arm, reach to your left side as far as possible. Then...
FIGURE 6-4: This exercise is great for your core.
FIGURE 6-5: Bring your right leg to your left and reset it to the starting posi...
FIGURE 6-6: Get into a high planking position (a) and run in place while keepin...
FIGURE 6-7: From a push-up position, bring your right knee to your left elbow, ...
FIGURE 6-8: From a plank, bring your right knee to your right shoulder.
FIGURE 6-9: Get to a kneeling position with your hands on something that can sl...
FIGURE 6-10: Bring your knees up to your chest while hanging from something stu...
FIGURE 6-11: Keep your legs straight for more difficulty.
FIGURE 6-12: The scorpion kick improves hip, spine, and shoulder mobility.
FIGURE 6-13: Perform a crunch and reach straight up with your arms.
FIGURE 6-14: Lower your arms to the Y position and extend one leg to the side.
FIGURE 6-15: Starting position (a) and ending position (b) for sit-ups.
FIGURE 6-16: V-ups strengthening your abs and hip flexors.
FIGURE 6-17: Take a long, straight starting position for jack knives.
FIGURE 6-18: Hold this static position, while making yourself long and straight...
FIGURE 6-19: The side v-up starting position (a) and ending position (b)...
FIGURE 6-20: The starting position (a) and ending position (b) for ITB Leg Lift...
FIGURE 6-21: ITB kickouts are advanced exercises for your thighs.
FIGURE 6-22: The starting position (a) and ending position (b) for reverse hype...
FIGURE 6-23: Raise the right leg and left arm and then switch.
FIGURE 6-24: Starting position (a) and ending position (b) for skydivers.
Chapter 7
FIGURE 7-1: Deadlifts are a bending exercise with your knees bent.
FIGURE 7-2: Stand on one leg with your arms overhead (a) and then push your hip...
FIGURE 7-3: Push your hips back and bend forward while keeping your legs and ba...
FIGURE 7-4: Bend forward while lifting your right leg behind.
FIGURE 7-5: Push your hips back and down as if sitting onto a chair.
FIGURE 7-6: Push your hips back and down while keeping your back straight.
FIGURE 7-7: Push your hips back and down while lifting your chest.
FIGURE 7-8: Squat down while keeping your arms extended overhead.
FIGURE 7-9: Straighten your legs, bend forward, and reach to the streamline pos...
FIGURE 7-10: Fully extend through your fingertips as if lightning bolts were co...
FIGURE 7-11: The one-legged squat starting position in front of a chair.
FIGURE 7-12: The squat thrust requires timing, strength, and flexibility.
FIGURE 7-13: For Bulgarian split squats, sink your hips back and down.
FIGURE 7-14: Starting position (a) and ending position (b) for dynamic squats.
FIGURE 7-15: Stand with your arms in the streamline position (a) and then step ...
FIGURE 7-16: Take a big forward step while maintaining an upright torso.
FIGURE 7-17: Push your hips back and lift your chest up.
FIGURE 7-18: You can make these easier by placing your back knee on the ground....
FIGURE 7-19: Step into a streamline back lunge (a) and then twist to the side o...
FIGURE 7-20: Try different arm positions to change the difficulty of this movem...
FIGURE 7-21: This exercise is a good way to improve controlled weight shifting....
FIGURE 7-22: Get into the bottom of a lunge (a), jump and switch legs (b), and ...
FIGURE 7-23: Be sure to keep your midsection tight and your torso vertical.
FIGURE 7-24: The extended double-kneeling exercise.
FIGURE 7-25: This exercise helps build hip mobility and lateral coordination.
FIGURE 7-26: Work on keeping all the other parts of your body still during this...
FIGURE 7-27: This exercise strengthens all the muscles of your legs and hips.
FIGURE 7-28: Stand with your arms in a T-arm position (a) and then lift your le...
FIGURE 7-29: This exercise builds on the stork stance with an external hip rota...
FIGURE 7-30: The cross step exercise builds on the stork stance by adding a ste...
FIGURE 7-31: Marching in place with good posture.
FIGURE 7-32: Running in place with high knees and a strong arm swing.
FIGURE 7-33: Skipping in place with high knees.
Chapter 8
FIGURE 8-1: Lie down on your stomach (a) and then push yourself all the way up ...
FIGURE 8-2: Elevate your hands to make push-ups easier.
FIGURE 8-3: Elevate your feet to make push-ups harder.
FIGURE 8-4: The starting position (a) and ending position (b) for staggered pus...
FIGURE 8-5: Lower yourself fully to the right side and then fully to the left s...
FIGURE 8-6: The contra press has many variations.
FIGURE 8-7: Bring your feet closer together to make this exercise a little easi...
FIGURE 8-8: The starting position (a) and ending position (b) for dips.
FIGURE 8-9: In the ending position, the upper arms are parallel to the ground.
FIGURE 8-10: An explosive push-up variation.
FIGURE 8-11: The semi-planche starting (a) and ending (b) position.
FIGURE 8-12: The one-arm push-up requires a tremendous amount of strength.
FIGURE 8-13: The military press stretches your hamstrings while working your sh...
FIGURE 8-14: Elevate your hands to make the exercise easier.
FIGURE 8-15: Elevate your feet to make the exercise harder.
FIGURE 8-16: The dive bomber starting (a) and ending (b) position.
FIGURE 8-17: This exercise combines the dive bomber and classic push-up.
FIGURE 8-18: The bear crawl — RAHH!!
Chapter 9
FIGURE 9-1: Find a sturdy door handle to anchor a hand towel for let-me-ins.
FIGURE 9-2: Position your feet just in front of your hands, and lean back with ...
FIGURE 9-3: At the top, ensure you have good posture by lifting your chest, fle...
FIGURE 9-4: With the one-armed version, keep yourself straight and symmetrical,...
FIGURE 9-5: While keeping a straight body position (a), pull yourself as high a...
FIGURE 9-6: Using a neutral grip more evenly distributes the work load.
FIGURE 9-7: You can use a variety of grips when doing let-me-ups on a desk or t...
FIGURE 9-8: Using an alternating grip makes it easier to hold on, especially wh...
FIGURE 9-9: You can make let-me-ups more difficult by elevating your feet to ab...
FIGURE 9-10: Use just one leg to support yourself to further challenge your pos...
FIGURE 9-11: Make yourself as long as possible in the starting position of a pu...
FIGURE 9-12: Pull yourself as high as you can while keeping a straight body pos...
FIGURE 9-13: Using a reverse grip is easier for most people.
FIGURE 9-14: Using an alternating grip makes it easier to hold on to the bar or...
FIGURE 9-15: Bands, suspension trainers, stools, or training partners can be us...
FIGURE 9-16: Using controlled “negatives” is a great strength training tool. Ch...
Chapter 10
FIGURE 10-1: Spiderman starting position.
FIGURE 10-2: Make horizontal circles with your entire body.
FIGURE 10-3: Keep your hips low and your forward knee pinned to your shoulder.
FIGURE 10-4: Arm circles improve spinal rotation and overall shoulder mobility....
FIGURE 10-5: Straighten the lead leg and pull your toes up (a) and then reset t...
FIGURE 10-6: For the Saxon tilt, stay in a low lunging position while tilting t...
FIGURE 10-7: Modified Saxon tilt position with knee on ground.
FIGURE 10-8: The bloomer exercise.
FIGURE 10-9: Be sure to keep your toes and knees pointing straight ahead when d...
FIGURE 10-10: The vertical twist builds full body strength and flexibility.
FIGURE 10-11: Place your knee on the ground to make the vertical twist easier.
FIGURE 10-12: The kneeling switch is a transition between a single kneeling and...
FIGURE 10-13: Quadruped position (a) to the kickout position (b).
FIGURE 10-14: The high kick produces a strong stretch in your hamstrings.
FIGURE 10-15: The side kick stretches the side of your body.
FIGURE 10-16: The table top is the result of the progression of the previous th...
FIGURE 10-17: Starfish twists help strengthen your external obliques.
FIGURE 10-18: The starfish hip drop builds on the starfish twist by adding late...
FIGURE 10-19: The starfish push-up builds on the starfish twist by adding a pus...
FIGURE 10-20: The purpose of dive bombers is to improve spinal extension and fr...
Chapter 12
FIGURE 12-1: Get into a straight planking position on your forearms (a) and the...
FIGURE 12-2: Raise your left arm and right leg (a) and then raise your right ar...
FIGURE 12-3: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointing straig...
FIGURE 12-4: Lie on your back with your feet close to your hips (a) and then ti...
FIGURE 12-5: Lie on your back with your knees directly over your hips (a) and t...
FIGURE 12-6: Place your left foot close to your hips and pull your right knee t...
FIGURE 12-7: Place your arms at the T position and raise your legs over your hi...
FIGURE 12-8: Make yourself long and straight with your arms at the T position (...
FIGURE 12-9: Stand tall with your hands behind your head (a) and then take a bi...
FIGURE 12-10: Get into a push-up position with your feet shoulder-width apart (...
FIGURE 12-11: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and arms overhead (a) and th...
FIGURE 12-12: Lie on your stomach with your arms in the Y position (a), then pl...
FIGURE 12-13: Get into a crawling position with your left knee slightly off the...
FIGURE 12-14: Get into a crawling position with your left knee slightly off the...
FIGURE 12-15: Get into a crawling position with your left leg fully extended (a...
FIGURE 12-16: Bring your left elbow to your right knee (a) and then fully exten...
FIGURE 12-17: With your knees above your hips, reach up as high as you can with...
FIGURE 12-18: Stand with your arms at the T position and your feet hip-width ap...
FIGURE 12-19: From a push-up position, switch to a side plank with your right a...
FIGURE 12-20: Lie on your stomach with your arms at your sides and your feet to...
FIGURE 12-21: From a push-up position, roll your heels to the right (a), and th...
FIGURE 12-22: Reach your right arm past your head and place your left thumb on ...
FIGURE 12-23: Reach under your body to the right with your left arm (a) and the...
FIGURE 12-24: Reach your arms to the Y position with your thumbs up (a) and the...
FIGURE 12-25: From a push-up position, push your hips up and your chest down (a...
FIGURE 12-26: Stand with your arms at the T position and your feet hip-width ap...
FIGURE 12-27: With your knees above your hips, reach up as high as you can with...
FIGURE 12-28: Stand with your feet hip-width apart and arms overhead (a) then p...
FIGURE 12-29: Lie on your back with your knees directly over your hips (a) and ...
FIGURE 12-30: Place your left foot close to your hips and pull your right knee ...
FIGURE 12-31: Place your arms at the T position and raise your legs over your h...
FIGURE 12-32: Make yourself long and straight with your arms at the T position ...
FIGURE 12-33: Place your left foot on the ground near your hips, and pull right...
FIGURE 12-34: Start in a push-up position with your feet hip-width apart (a) an...
FIGURE 12-35: From a push-up position, switch to a side plank with your right a...
FIGURE 12-36: Stand tall with your hands behind your head (a) and then take a b...
FIGURE 12-37: Get into a crawling position with your left knee slightly off the...
FIGURE 12-38: Get into a crawling position with your left knee slightly off the...
FIGURE 12-39: Get into a crawling position with your left leg fully extended (a...
FIGURE 12-40: Bring your left elbow to your right knee (a) and then fully exten...
FIGURE 12-41: Get into the starting position of a push-up (a). Then alternate b...
FIGURE 12-42: Stand tall with your arms extended to the front (a). Then take a ...
FIGURE 12-43: From a push-up position, pull your right knee to your chest (a), ...
FIGURE 12-44: Lie on your stomach with your arms lifted at the T position and y...
FIGURE 12-45: From a push-up position, roll your heels to the right (a) and the...
FIGURE 12-46: Reach your right arm past your head and place your left thumb on ...
FIGURE 12-47: Reach under your body to the right with your left arm (a) and the...
FIGURE 12-48: Reach your arms to the Y position with your thumbs up (a) and the...
FIGURE 12-49: Make yourself long with your arms and legs slightly off the groun...
FIGURE 12-50: Get into the bottom of a squat with your arms in front of you (a)...
FIGURE 12-51: Lie on your stomach with your arms lifted in the Y position and y...
FIGURE 12-52: Get into a quadruped position with your knees off the ground (a) ...
FIGURE 12-53: Lie on your back with your knees directly over your hips (a) and ...
FIGURE 12-54: Place your left foot close to your hips and pull your right knee ...
FIGURE 12-55: Place your arms at the T position and raise your legs over your h...
FIGURE 12-56: Make yourself long and straight with your arms at the T position ...
FIGURE 12-57: Get into the bottom of a push-up position with your hands under y...
FIGURE 12-58: Stand with your arms overhead at the streamline position (a). Aft...
FIGURE 12-59: From a push-up position, switch to a side plank on your left side...
FIGURE 12-60: From a standing position, bend forward until you’re in the bottom...
FIGURE 12-61: Get into a crawling position with your left knee slightly off the...
FIGURE 12-62: Get into a crawling position with your left knee slightly off the...
FIGURE 12-63: Get into a crawling position with your left leg fully extended (a...
FIGURE 12-64: Bring your left elbow to your right knee (a) and then fully exten...
FIGURE 12-65: Get into a straight planking position on your forearms (a) and th...
FIGURE 12-66: Stand with your arms overhead at the Streamline position (a). Aft...
FIGURE 12-67: Get into a quadruped position with your knees off the ground (a) ...
FIGURE 12-68: From a standing position, sit back into the bottom of a T-arm squ...
FIGURE 12-69: From a push-up position, roll your heels to the right (a) and the...
FIGURE 12-70: Reach your right arm past your head and place your left thumb on ...
FIGURE 12-71: Reach under your body to the right with your left arm (a) and the...
FIGURE 12-72: Reach your arms to the Y position with your thumbs up (a) and the...
FIGURE 12-73: Lie on your back with your knees directly over your hips (a) and ...
FIGURE 12-74: Place your left foot close to your hips and pull your right knee ...
FIGURE 12-75: Place your arms at the T position and raise your legs over your h...
FIGURE 12-76: Make yourself long and straight with your arms at the T position ...
FIGURE 12-77: Get into a crawling position with your left knee slightly off the...
FIGURE 12-78: Get into a crawling position with your left knee slightly off the...
FIGURE 12-79: Get into a crawling position with your left leg fully extended (a...
FIGURE 12-80: Bring your left elbow to your right knee (a). Then, fully extend ...
FIGURE 12-81: From a push-up position, roll your heels to the right (a), then r...
FIGURE 12-82: Reach the right arm past your head and place your left thumb on t...
FIGURE 12-83: Reach under your body to the right with your left arm (a) and rea...
FIGURE 12-84: Reach your arms to the Y position with your thumbs up (a), then p...
FIGURE 12-85: Lie on your back with your knees directly over your hips (a) and ...
FIGURE 12-86: Place your left foot close to your hips and pull your right knee ...
FIGURE 12-87: Place your arms at the T position and raise your legs over your h...
FIGURE 12-88: Make yourself long and straight with your arms at the T position ...
FIGURE 12-89: Get into a crawling position with your left knee slightly off the...
FIGURE 12-90: Get into a crawling position with your left knee slightly off the...
FIGURE 12-91: Get into a crawling position with your left leg fully extended (a...
FIGURE 12-92: Bring your left elbow to your right knee (a). Then fully extend y...
FIGURE 12-93: From a push-up position, roll your heels to the right (a) and the...
FIGURE 12-94: Reach your right arm past your head and place your left thumb on ...
FIGURE 12-95: Reach under your body to the right with your left arm (a) and the...
FIGURE 12-96: Reach your arms to the Y position with your thumbs up (a) and the...
Chapter 14
FIGURE 14-1: This simple rolling exercise helps tone your core.
FIGURE 14-2: Start in a front lying position with your hands under shoulders (a...
FIGURE 14-3: You move into a tall standing position, either with your arms out ...
FIGURE 14-4: The stork stance improves balance, posture, and hip mobility.
Chapter 16
FIGURE 16-1: Push-ups work the triceps, pectoral (chest) muscles, and shoulders...
FIGURE 16-2: Place your hands on the ground shoulder width apart and lower your...
FIGURE 16-3: This exercise adds to the classic push-up to evenly develop your c...
FIGURE 16-4: Pull your chest to your hands and squeeze your shoulder blades tog...
FIGURE 16-5: Let-me-ups have plenty of variations that allow you to scale the d...
FIGURE 16-6: Make yourself straight head to heels (a) and then pull yourself up...
FIGURE 16-7: Sink your hips back and down as far as you can while keeping your ...
FIGURE 16-8: Squatting with your arms out in front of you is slightly easier th...
FIGURE 16-9: Place your hands behind your head for a slightly easier variation ...
FIGURE 16-10: You can make lunges easier by placing your hands on your hips.
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Begin Reading
Index
About the Authors
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Calisthenics For Dummies®
Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2024 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
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Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2023949846
ISBN 978-1-394-19611-1 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-394-19613-5 (ePDF); ISBN 978-1-394-19612-8 (epub)
Introduction
Welcome to Calisthenics For Dummies, your guide on the journey to your best body through the most functional form of fitness.
About This Book
This book is intended to be one-stop fitness shopping. It can become the only equipment you ever need to work out your entire body again, quickly and effectively.
Whether you’re an elite athlete or someone who hasn’t exercised in decades, whether you’re 18 or 80, you’ll discover all you need to form your fitness foundation and build your peak physique in this book.
We teach you to rebrand athleticism by dissecting its secrets. We show you how calisthenics doesn’t train you for a specific sport — it trains you for life. Each workout helps prepare you for the muscular, joint, bone, and even mental stresses of life. That’s what real fitness does. The fitter you become, the more you can move through life with ease.
This book walks you step by step through a lifelong bodyweight exercise program and addresses some special needs people have, such as working out with limited mobility.
The most important takeaway from this book is proper joint alignment. You’ll find tips and techniques peppered throughout the book to help you achieve this, because it is the only way to reach your own personal pinnacle of fitness, safely, for now and for the rest of your life.
Conventions Used in This Book
We’ve established the following conventions to make it easier for you to navigate this book:
New terms are in
italics,
and we define them for you.
Bold
text highlights key words in bulleted lists and action parts in numbered lists.
Monofont
sets off web addresses.
Foolish Assumptions
In writing this book, we've made some assumptions about you:
You may be afraid that working out is going to be too tough, take up too much of your time, or be a drudgery (it’s not!).
Whether you consider yourself fit or not, there’s probably some key elements missing from your fitness foundation. Without a strong foundation, whatever body you build is going to be more fragile and prone to injury than it should be.
How This Book Is Organized
This book begins by helping you feel comfortable with calisthenics, and progresses into teaching you exactly what you need to reach your individual goals.
To make the content more accessible, we divided it into five parts:
Part 1: Total Fitness, No Limits includes three chapters that explain why calisthenics are the most effective and efficient method of exercise for everyone, the secrets to attaining your best body, and how to say motivated.
Part 2: The Exercises includes seven chapters of over one hundred exercises covering floor routines, developmental movements, and strength training exercises for your core, legs, chest, shoulders, triceps, back, biceps, and forearms.
Part 3: The Workouts includes two chapters designed to help you set goals, including and a 13-week program you can modify to your ends.
Part 4: Calisthenics for Special Circumstances includes four chapters covering nine-minute workouts, how to work out when you’re pregnant or have limited mobility, and also how to help your kids get excited about fitness.
Part 5: The Part of Tens includes two chapters that give you a buffet of tips to tone and tighten and how to be successful, as well as a chapter that debunks the top ten bodyweight training myths.
Icons Used in This Book
In the margins of almost every page of this book, you find icons, which are there to alert you to different types of information. Here’s what they mean:
This icon saves you time and energy by showing you a helpful method for doing something.
This icon points out important information you need to know as you develop your drawing skills.
This icon points out potential problems and positive solutions.
Beyond the Book
In addition to the book content, you can find valuable free material online. We provide you with a Cheat Sheet that serves as a quick checklist, including information about the performance pyramid, how to be successful, how to work on your technique and posture, and more. Check out this book’s online Cheat Sheet by searching www.dummies.com for Calisthenics for Dummies Cheat Sheet.
Where to Go from Here
Although everyone can gain something from every section of this book, Parts 1-3 contain the exercises you need for lifelong fitness success. It’s important to note that virtually everyone can benefit from not only the exercises and workouts themselves, but from understanding the secrets to moving through life like an athlete.
Feel free to skip over chapters in Part 4 if none of those special circumstances apply to you, although an unfortunate reality is that most of us will face limited mobility from a (hopefully minor) injury at some point. Part 5 is intended to help build your fitness wisdom. After all, it’s difficult to do something effectively without understanding why you’re doing it.
Part 1
Total Fitness: No Limits
IN THIS PART …
Discovering why calisthenics is the most effective and efficient method of exercise for all bodies and abilities.
Learning the secrets to attaining your best body and moving it through life with ease.
Setting specific goals, staying motivated, and overcoming obstacles that stand in the way of success.
Chapter 1
Calisthenics: When Your Body Is Your Equipment
IN THIS CHAPTER
Checking out the benefits of calisthenics for all bodies and abilities
Learning why calisthenics is better than any other workout
Getting results fit for an Olympian
Discovering eight abilities you’ll build through calisthenics
Congratulations! You’re now holding the only thing you need — other than your own body — to get into the best shape of your life.
We’ve already done the hard work for you: Distilling three decades of experience and a billion-dollars-worth of complex sports science down to a simple, lifelong program that takes less than 1 percent of your time each week.
The exercises in this book comprehensively and methodically cover all muscle groups, joint functions, and athletic skills. And they’re for people of all abilities. They can help you get and stay strong, lean, healthy, mobile, and injury free.
Calisthenics: For All Bodies and Abilities
With calisthenics and bodyweight exercises, you use the body you have to build the body you want. You don’t even need to use equipment or machines. You were born with world’s most advanced fitness machine: You.
What’s so great about this fitness machine is that it’s always there. It is the one and only thing you are never without. It’s no longer necessary to spend hours at a gym. In fact, you don’t have to go to a gym at all.
With these workouts you will not waste a single moment of your valued time using ineffective training methods. And no longer will you be able to use the #1 excuse for not training: “I don’t have the time.”
Because bodyweight movements are the safest and most functional exercises, they are for people of all athletic ability levels. The ones in this book are tailored to suit many needs and lifestyles. Clear, concise, and complete, we bring these exercises into your home, workplace, nearby park, or wherever you like.
The metric of your merit is not based on the amount of weight you can lift. Instead, it’s all about performance. Gauge your success by how properly you can perform an exercise. This is the most fundamental idea of calisthenics.
Posture and ideal joint alignment determine performance in all you do. Proper performance, as you’ll soon see, determines your athletic skills, and in turn, your appearance. At the end of the day, we all want to look good.
Why Calisthenics Is Better than Any Other Workout
This section outlines the top eight advantages that calisthenics has over working out with equipment. These are the reasons so many people who start a bodyweight program actually stick with it.
You save time
Let’s do some quick math. Say it takes you 25 minutes each way to get to and from the gym, and then another 45 minutes to use a bunch of machines. That’s one and a half hours per workout. Do that three times a week, and you’re at four and half hours. That’s over half of a work day. Who wants to sacrifice that amount of time?
With calisthenics, there’s no packing, traveling, parking, or changing at the gym, then doing it all in reverse to get back home.
Also, trying to work out your whole body by exercising muscle groups separately, with machines and dumbbells that isolate only certain muscles, is unfunctional and inefficient. It takes far less time to get a full body workout when you’re actually doing full body exercises.
You save money
Instead of fancy fitness contraptions, gym memberships, parking, and gallons of gas, for just the price of this book, you now have a lifelong fitness program.
You save space
You only need to temporarily create enough space to lie down in. And there’s no need to store whatever latest contraptions are gathering dust in your home.
You can do it anywhere
You can turn any area into your fitness center: Your bedroom, living room, garage, driveway, yard, office, park, playground, beach — you name it. And if you’re traveling, there’s no need to search for the nearest gym. You can turn your hotel room, just like almost any other place on Earth, into a full fitness center.
No gymbarrassment
Plenty of folks want to get in shape, but cringe at the thought of putting themselves on display at a fitness center. But with bodyweight exercises, you are the boss now: Crank those tunes up as loud as you please or watch whatever channel you want. No gym clothes required. (In fact, no clothes at all are required.)
It's always open
Early in the morning, late at night, Christmas, New Year’s, snowstorms — you name it. You can work out wherever and whenever it fits your busy schedule.
It's safer
Many people who try aerobics hurt themselves, even when it’s “low-impact.” By using motions that are natural for your body, these low impact bodyweight exercises help you avoid the myriad chronic and acute injuries like joint problems associated with weight lifting. Of course, you should always consult a qualified doctor before beginning any fitness program.
