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In the ever-evolving landscape of fitness, "Pure Calisthenics for Beginners" stands as a beacon of comprehensive guidance and transformative potential. This book is not just a manual; it's a comprehensive roadmap designed to transform your body and revolutionize your approach to exercise.
This book is more than a collection of workouts; it's a comprehensive manual that covers every aspect of calisthenics. From foundational movements to advanced techniques, Nolan breaks down each exercise with clear instructions and detailed illustrations. Additionally, he offers guidance on structuring workouts and creating routines.
Whether you're a fitness novice intrigued by the idea of using your own body as a tool for transformation or an experienced athlete looking to take your training to new heights, "Pure Calisthenics for Beginners: The Essential Guide to Your Fitness Journey" is your indispensable companion. Bruce Nolan’s expertise, passion, and dedication shine through in every chapter, making this book a must-read for anyone ready to embrace the incredible potential of calisthenics and unlock their true strength.
Embark on a transformative fitness odyssey with "Pure Calisthenics for Beginners." Let Bruce Nolan be your guide as you unlock your body's potential, redefine your limits, and embrace the extraordinary world of calisthenics. Your journey to strength, agility, and a newfound sense of empowerment starts here.
Don’t wait any longer; hit the BUY-NOW button to take the first step towards a stronger you and embark on a transformative fitness journey.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023
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Pure Calisthenics
for Beginners
The Essential Guide to Your Fitness Journey
Bruce Nolan
Copyright
Pure Calisthenics for Beginners
Copyright © 2023 Bruce Nolan
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.
Disclaimer
This book is geared towards providing information in regards to the topic and issue covered. The publication is sold with the idea that the publisher is not required to render accounting, officially permitted, or otherwise, qualified services. If advice is necessary. Legal or health professional, a practiced individual in the profession should be ordered.
Printed on acid-free paper.
Table of Content
Introduction
Some Misconceptions About Calisthenics
Benefits of Calisthenics
Drawbacks in Calisthenics
CHAPTER ONE
BASICS OF CALISTHENICS
Stretches
Static Stretches
Dynamic Stretches
The Concept of Rest
Effective Pre-Workout Rituals
What are Reps and Sets?
Slow reps Vs Fast reps
Common Muscle-Building Mistake
CHAPTER TWO
BEGINNER’S CALISTHENICS CATEGORIES
Push Exercises
Pull Exercises
Core Exercise
Squat Exercises
CHAPTER THREE
WORKOUT PROGRAM AND NUTRITION
Full Body vs Split Training
Tips for Effective Workout Program
Diet Plan
CHAPTER FOUR
INJURY PREVENTION AND RECOVERY
Relieve Muscle Soreness
Injuring Prevention
Treating Injuries
Training with Injury
CHAPTER FIVE
CALISTHENICS EQUIPMENT
Pull-Up Bar
Dips Bars
Parallettes
Resistance Bands
Gymnastic Rings
Massage Gun
Workout Mat
Chalk
Push-up Bars
Gloves
Jumping Rope
About the Author
Introduction
Calisthenics are exercises that make use of the body’s weight as a form of resistance. And, just like any other form of resistance training, the goal of calisthenics is to promote muscle growth and strength. Originating from the Greek words “kalo”, which means beauty, and “sthenos,” which means strength, calisthenics rose into prominence in the 19th century under the father of gymnastics, Freidrich Ludwig Jahn, and fittingly enough, nothing is really a better embodiment of beauty and strength than gymnastics. Since calisthenics uses your body’s weight as resistance, it is also known as Bodyweight Exercises. And the big question about bodyweight exercises is how effective they are for building muscle and strength. or if it is as effective as lifting weights. To get a clear understanding of this, we need to know how muscles grow and get stronger.
Muscular and strength adaptation occurs when a stimulus or resistance is applied to a corresponding muscle at a high enough intensity to invoke muscular overload. In simpler terms, the more weight you move with your muscles, the more your muscles adapt and become bigger and stronger. However, this doesn’t automatically mean that any type of weight movement will work. For instance, although jogging can be very demanding on the heart muscles and promote cardiac muscle growth, it will not promote much skeletal growth, not even in the legs. The issue here is that the stimulus is not strong enough to target all the leg’s muscle fibers. The body system has three different muscle fiber types, one of which is used for endurance (Type 1), and the other two are used to provide a great deal of force (Type 2). Since running doesn’t require a large amount of force from your legs, Type 2 fibers are hardly fatigued, and not a lot of muscle growth occurs. For this reason, a lot of people don’t consider jogging a calisthenic exercise, even though it only utilizes your body’s weight.
But other calisthenics exercises do induce a high enough demand to hit those large muscle fibers. For example, people can hardly hit five pull-ups on average because the movement demands all fiber types to fire to the point of exhaustion, thus promoting muscle growth. Push-ups are another good example of a calisthenics exercise that can enhance muscle growth, especially for beginners who struggle to do even 10. But eventually, you will run into the problem of not having enough resistance. As tough as your first 10 push-ups may be, soon they will become an easy warmup. When you start hitting 20, 25, or 30 push-ups easily, then you run into the same problem as described in jogging. Of course, you might then have to modify the push-ups to make them tougher, i.e., by putting your feet on a platform. You are, however, not changing the amount of demand on the muscle groups involved in a standard push-up; instead, you begin shifting the muscles involved in the movement. With elevated push-ups, your anterior shoulders begin to take the brunt of the resistance instead of your chest. You might now be thinking “Why not add some weight to my back?”. Well, at this point, it is no longer calisthenics or bodyweight.
The great thing about calisthenics is that it is absolutely free. All you may need is the ground you walk on and areas with solid structures, i.e., a park with bars. The only time you might have to spend money is on things like suspension systems or gymnastic rings. For beginners, bodyweight exercises will provide all the compound movements that are usually found in a workout program and won't require you to motivate yourself to go to the gym.
Some Misconceptions About Calisthenics
The fitness industry has increasingly acknowledged the numerous advantages of calisthenics, a form of exercise that entails strengthening muscles using one's own body weight. People are beginning to realize that it is entirely feasible to engage in a workout regimen devoid of specialized equipment and still attain results comparable to those achieved through rigorous weightlifting routines.
However, a prevailing misconception persists among many individuals who believe that solely relying on bodyweight exercises is less strenuous and, consequently, less effective than traditional weight-based workouts. To dispel these misconceptions and help fitness enthusiasts recognize the substantial benefits of calisthenics, here are several clarifications:
Calisthenics are for beginners.
Many individuals think that bodyweight exercises are only appropriate for beginners since they should be used as a transition time before moving on to weightlifting, which is the real deal. This idea that lifting weights is more difficult than calisthenics is completely untrue. These two activities each have their own set of advantages and drawbacks. In fact, one should never stop performing bodyweight exercises, regardless of how much success they have in training. These are the motions that are useful in real-life situations. We don't lift as much weight as our bodies do.
Calisthenics won't help you build muscle.
Another prevalent misconception regarding calisthenics is that they are ineffective for muscular building. For this reason, a lot of people try to build up their bodies by lifting weights. This misconception developed because most individuals give up before their bodies are completely exhausted, which is when muscles grow. Mechanical strain and metabolic fatigue are two factors that lead to muscle gain. The first is taken care of through weightlifting. However, if your goal is to use bodyweight exercises to grow muscles, you should keep going until you are unable to complete another rep with proper form.
If you're not hurting, it's not efficient.
People have a propensity to equate discomfort with progress. They believe their efforts are useless if their muscles feel normal after working out. This 'no pain, no gain' philosophy is, however, completely nonsensical. There is currently no scientific proof that muscles cannot grow when they are not inflamed. The process of burning fat is an invisible one that often results from microtrauma (muscle overuse), which can happen both during bodyweight exercise and when lifting weights.
Calisthenics is meant for the short and slim.
Calisthenics demands that you work your muscles against your own weight. This has led to the notion that these workouts are exclusively beneficial for slim and short people. This is utterly false. While it is true that lighter individuals find it simpler to raise their own bodies during workouts like push-ups, dips, and planks, this does not imply that heavier individuals cannot. In truth, bodyweight exercises can help you slim down and remove stubborn fat. Similar to this, tall people might struggle with pull-ups and planks, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't attempt them.
There should be no days off
Giving yourself a day or two to recover from weight training is crucial because it puts undue strain on your muscles and hammers them into shape. Otherwise, your muscles won't be able to work to their maximum potential. People overlook the value of rests between bodyweight exercises because they view them as a less demanding kind of exercise. This is incorrect because your body's internal mechanisms should be the only factors determining whether or not you take a day off. After a challenging calisthenics workout, take a rest if you don't feel up to it because you won't be able to reap the benefits otherwise.
Calisthenics does not train your legs.
Weightlifting tones your legs more effectively than calisthenics do. This is because the extra weight of dumbbells, kettlebells, or barbells hammers the muscles of the lower body into shape significantly better than conventional squats and lunges. However, this in no way implies that these exercises using only your bodyweight are pointless. They do, albeit to a lesser extent, assist in strengthening the knee joints and expanding the hip range of motion. Additionally, many people find it difficult to perform some versions, such as the pistol squat and box jumps, which call for a higher level of flexibility and fitness.
Calisthenics may be a game changer for your fitness program, and don't trust anyone who tells you differently!
Benefits of Calisthenics
Accessibility: The fact that you can perform the majority of the exercises practically anywhere is one of the best things about calisthenics. Look at what you need to perform push-ups, planks, handstands, sit-ups, and one-legged squats—just the ground. All you need for pull-ups and chin-ups is a bar, and most of the time you will have access to one or a pull-up bar in some form. Effective training can be accomplished without joining a fitness center or lifting weights.
Cost: Engaging in calisthenics is often a cost-effective choice. While you may need to invest in some basic equipment like a pull-up bar, rings, or chalk, the overall expense remains relatively modest. In contrast, a gym membership can be quite pricey, compounded by the fact that it recurs monthly. Opting for calisthenics eliminates the need for a costly gym membership and spares you from purchasing expensive fitness equipment. Consequently, the initial investment in calisthenics is substantially lower.
Develops your Strength: Calisthenics has the remarkable ability to elevate your strength to an entirely new level. It enhances strength, which is not only impressive but also highly practical in daily life. The potential of calisthenics might be underestimated by some, as they are often perceived as inferior to gym-based training in terms of strength development. However, this notion is far from accurate.
Training Multiple Muscle Groups: In calisthenics, there are very few to no movements that will isolate your muscles. The majority of calisthenics routines are essentially compound movements that involve two or more muscular groups at the very least. This can greatly increase the effectiveness of your workouts and improve your overall strength.
Burns Fat: Calisthenics workouts can be beneficial not only for strengthening muscle and strength but also for fat loss. The fact that you will be working out at least a few different categories of muscles also implies that you will burn a lot of calories while performing calisthenics. This particular benefit of calisthenics will undoubtedly appeal to a large number of people.
Improved Flexibility: Whether you like it or not, calisthenics will help you become more flexible. There is simply no getting around this. This is just how bodyweight exercises and calisthenics work.
Improved Posture: Better posture comes with enhanced flexibility. One of the best methods to prevent the negative impacts of an office job is through overall fitness. Rounded shoulders? Hunched back? All of that can be fixed, and it does so through physical exercise. Calisthenics will help you develop your back, abdominal muscles, and erector spinae, which are crucial for good posture.
Versatility: There are calisthenics workouts for all skill levels and talents. Whether you happen to be a complete novice or a seasoned athlete, you will always find an activity that is appropriate for you. Additionally, bodyweight exercises are accessible practically anywhere. There are also numerous variations of bodyweight workouts, so you will never grow bored.
Mental Benefits: Improved sleep, cognitive function, and self-confidence Increases energy, mood, and happiness. Reduces stress.
Joints Friendly: It's no secret that many gym-goers often experience a multitude of injuries, which is one of the major drawbacks of traditional resistance training. These injuries typically result from the use of excessively heavy weightlifting equipment, including machines and barbells. When these tools are misused, they can exert excessive strain on tendons, joints, and other connective tissues. One of the standout advantages of calisthenics lies in its smoother progression, which prevents individuals from attempting exercises that are too demanding before they have acquired sufficient strength. Consequently, calisthenics pose fewer risks to joint health.
It is important to note, however, that while the risk of injury during calisthenics is significantly lower, it is not entirely eliminated. Additionally, calisthenic exercises fall under the category of closed kinetic exercises, indicating that at least one of your body's extremities, such as your hands or feet, remains in constant contact with a stable surface. This feature makes calisthenics highly suitable for physical therapy, as they closely mimic everyday movements. Physiotherapists often recommend calisthenic exercises to enhance joint stability.
Improved Mind-Body Connection: Improvements in the mind-body connection are among physical exercise's highest physical health advantages. There are neurological connections between the brain and the body. These connections serve as a conduit for various messages to move back and forth between the body and the brain. All daily activities carried out by your body are governed by these linkages. Physical exercise can encourage the formation of new synaptic connections and brain plasticity.
Improved Motivation and Mood: There is no doubt that exercise has been linked to higher moods and greater energy. There is, however, a more subdued psychological impact, and that is the simple fact that you will feel confident in yourself. Knowing that you can perform several muscle-ups or pull-ups will do a lot for your self-worth, just like somebody who can bench press 225 pounds will feel wonderful about themselves.
Quick Impact on Abs: Exercises like calisthenics can speed up the process of getting a flat stomach that reveals your sculpted abs. When you work out in the gym, you're more likely to work on your back, arms, and chest. Abs are only used as a supplement to the main exercises. Core training, on the other hand, is included in every single action during a calisthenic workout. Regardless of what bodyweight exercise you do, your abs are always engaged. If you still wish to target your core more effectively, there are numerous calisthenics workouts that will help you tone your abs.
Includes Strength and Cardio training: Calisthenics may provide a great cardio workout alongside strength training. Perform your routines in a circuit if you want to gain the benefits of strength and cardio exercise from calisthenics. Pick 5–6 calisthenic routines and do them one after the other, with rest periods of 35–45 seconds in between. When you use multiple muscle groups continuously with little rest, your heart rate rises quickly, significantly boosting your cardiovascular endurance.
Can be Done Anywhere and Anytime: Going to the gym is fantastic; going into an atmosphere dedicated to exercise can help you stay motivated. However, there are days when you don't feel like going to the gym or are too busy to stick to your gym plan. Calisthenics allows you to exercise anywhere, at any time, and for no cost. You can do it at home, in the park, or even at work. It removes a variety of obstacles to exercising. Calisthenics require very little gear and very little space. For the majority of the workouts, you already have the equipment—your body—with you.
Drawbacks in Calisthenics
Difficulty Isolating Muscle Groups: In calisthenics, compound motions make up the majority of the workouts. Two or more muscle groups are used in compound motions. For instance, when performing a pull-up, your back, forearms, traps, and biceps will all be involved. You cannot truly isolate a single one from the others. This causes a number of issues if you need to isolate a specific muscle for some reason. You may want to increase the size of your inner biceps, which have an inner and an outer head. Although you can experiment with your chin-ups' breadth grip, you cannot avoid the reality that you will be strengthening your back and other muscles as a result. It is much more challenging to concentrate and isolate the inner biceps.
Calluses: Say good-bye to those lovely and gentle hands. You will develop tough, battle-hardened hands using the rings, pull-up bar, and virtually everything else. You'll wind up with calluses anywhere you never thought it was possible to get them. The bars could be very warm in the summer and very frigid in the winter. Of course, using gloves might be an option, although it is not usually recommended.
The Exercises: The special exercises and movements are the only thing that sets calisthenics apart. However, they do have certain drawbacks. While some exercises, like the push-up, are fairly simple and accessible, others could be exceedingly challenging to perform correctly. Some calisthenics movements might be quite skill-intensive or call for a lot of strength and force. Some exercises, like the planche or even the muscle-up, can be so challenging that it may take a long period of training to master them. This would mean that you would divide these exercises into simpler auxiliary movements in order to perform them. By carrying them out, you'll be able to gradually build up your strength until you reach your goal.The drawback of this is that not everybody will be able to determine which movements and approaches are simpler. Compare this to weightlifting, where you can simply reduce some of the weights to make the activity simpler. There is no way to take off the weight when performing pull-ups.
It is Not Easier than Weightlifting: Many folks might think calisthenics are simpler. Or possibly that no prior knowledge is necessary to perform calisthenics. For instance, not everyone knows how to do push-ups correctly. Push-ups require knowledge and experience, much like a perfect bench press does. Bodyweight workouts can be harmful if done incorrectly, despite the absence of barbells and weights.
Leg Training: The issue with leg training is one of the greatest and most common complaints about calisthenics. In a human body, the muscles in the legs are among the largest. And to train them, you must apply more force or resistance. Your body can only do so much. You might be able to perform 20, 30, or even 50 bodyweight squats even if you have never worked out your legs. High reps can be beneficial, but only to a point. If you want to build muscle, of course, you need enough resistance to allow you to perform fewer squats. The pistol squat is among the best workouts, yet it is still insufficient.
Slower Progress: One notable drawback of calisthenics is its relatively slow rate of progress compared to weightlifting. In the case of weightlifting, you can often witness more rapid advancements in your strength. For example, you might find yourself able to perform dumbbell presses with 50 or even 55 pounds after just two weeks if you were already handling 45 pounds the previous week. This quicker rate of progress is tangible and motivating.
In contrast, calisthenics may require a longer period of time to build the necessary strength before you can truly feel a noticeable difference in your abilities. While progress is still achievable in calisthenics, it may not be as immediately evident as with weightlifting.
CHAPTER ONE
BASICS OF CALISTHENICS
Stretches
Stretching might not be the most thrilling aspect of exercising, but flexibility exercises are crucial to a well-rounded fitness program. Stretching exercises can help you increase your flexibility, relieve tension, and, ultimately, make your workouts—whether they're about strength or aerobic routines—more effective and secure.
During routine daily activity, tight muscles may put an excessive amount of tension on the nearby joints, or they may sustain injury themselves. As we get older, our muscles become shorter and less elastic. Therefore, in order to continue enjoying our abilities painlessly, we need to actively maintain and improve the length of our muscles.Your muscles will become imbalanced if you put a lot of effort into contracting (which shortens) them and never put any effort into stretching (which lengthens) them. Body imbalances raise your risk of injury because they may force some joints and muscles to overcompensate for others that are too tight to engage effectively. This causes discomfort and tension.That's where stretching becomes handy, whether it's about back stretches or leg stretches for upper-body stretches. Stretching and flexibility exercises can help a great deal wherever your muscles are tight.
It's a known fact that stretching is a crucial element of exercise, as it ensures your body is free and ready for the forthcoming action. Also, stretching enhances overall performance and helps you stay injury-free while participating in whatever workout you choose. However, knowing what type of stretching to do is best.Stretches are classified into two types: Static and Dynamic stretches.
Static Stretches
Static stretches include those whereby you stand, sit, or sleep still for an extended amount of time, up to 45 seconds.Static stretching involves stretching a muscle as far as it may stretch without hurting it, then holding that angle for 20 to 45 seconds. Static stretches should be repeated two to three times. This is an extremely effective method of increasing flexibility. It should be included in your cool-down routine to prevent injury. Static stretching as part of a maintenance stretching routine can also help lower your risk of injury.However, employing static stretching as a warm-up before an athletic competition may have a negative impact on your performance. This is due to the fact that static stretching may impair your body's capacity to react swiftly. In exercises such as vertical jumps, short sprints, balance, and reaction speeds, this condition can persist for up to two hours.
Below are common examples of static stretches:
Note: These stretches come in variations, some of which require you to take on a different position.
Posterior capsule stretch: Relax your shoulders, cross one arm over the other, holding it just above the elbow, and slowly draw it toward your body. This stretch targets the rear of the shoulder and will be great for athletes participating in throwing sports like football, baseball, and basketball.
Hamstring stretches: With your hips and feet pointed forward, place one of your legs on a low stool. Lean forward from your hips, keeping a flat back and your knee straight, until you feel a stretch in your thigh. Hamstring stretches help you avoid injuries when running.
Quadriceps stretch: Grab one ankle from the same side with your hand. To keep your back from hunching, tighten the muscles in your stomach. Bring your ankle up toward your buttocks by extending your thigh rearward, bending your knee, and bringing your ankle up toward your buttocks. Make sure your ankle is parallel to your hip and not tilted outward or inward toward your torso to maintain proper knee-hip alignment. Your front thigh should feel stretched in this position. This stretch is good for the quadriceps muscles.
Dynamic Stretches
Dynamic stretches are slow, controlled motions that get your muscles, ligaments, and other soft tissues ready for action and safety.This type of stretching enhances acceleration, speed, and agility. During the stretch, you actively contract your muscles and rotate your joints through their complete range of motion. These practical and athletic movements aid in increasing muscle warmth and reducing stiffness. Dynamic stretches should be adopted as part of your warm-up regimen before any sporting event, competitive or not. A thorough sports warm-up should include 5 to 10 minutes of low- to moderate-intensity swimming, jogging, or cycling, followed by dynamic stretching.
Below are common examples of dynamic stretches:
Torso twist: Stand with your feet forward, as broad as your shoulders, and have your arms by your sides, 90 degrees bent at the elbows. Maintain the same alignment of your feet while slowly rotating your torso from side to side. Don't force the movement, and ensure you're moving through your trunk. This exercise promotes spine mobility and flexibility. Maintaining spine flexibility is specifically important for athletes who participate in throwing and striking sports such as baseball, football, hockey, tennis, and lacrosse.
Walking lunge: Standing with your arms akimbo, lunge forward while keeping your front knee parallel to your hip and ankle and lowering your back knee without bringing it into contact with the floor. Avoid letting your front knee cross your front toes. Step forward with the opposing leg, lunging in the same manner as with the rear leg. To prevent your back from arching, keep your abdominal muscles engaged throughout the exercise. All athletes can benefit from doing this, but specifically track and field athletes, soccer players, rugby players, and football players, since it helps to stretch the gluteus, hip flexor muscles, and hamstrings.
Leg swing: Standing on one leg, mindfully and slowly swing the opposite leg through its entire range of motion in front of and behind you. Keep your abdominal muscles engaged to keep your back from arching. This stretch gets the hip flexors and hamstrings ready for jogging.
The Concept of Rest
In building muscles, rest doesn't sound particularly exciting, and so it would rarely ever be the cover story of any fitness publication. The message most individuals want to hear is to "do more." After all, that's how you achieve your goals, right? Not really.Your body is worn out and exhausted. Strength development occurs only when you have the chance to recover. And it's not because your brain 'wants' to be stronger that this occurs. No, it doesn't. All it wants to do is adjust to the pressure it must sustain and the stress you subject it to while exercising.Although the human body is an amazing piece of machinery, it has limits. By ignoring rest, you'll quickly reach some of these limits. They are known as injuries.
Important of Rest for Calisthenics
Calisthenics puts a tremendous strain on regions of our bodies that, unless we grew up practicing gymnastics, are not acclimated to such high loads. The ligaments, tendons, and connective tissue that support the wrists, elbows, shoulders, and other joints will get hammered. Additionally, these tissues require significantly more time to heal and recover than muscular tissue.Anyone who is already into calisthenics and trains consistently will be able to describe their elbow ache or the nervy burning they felt in their forearms. The solution is often simple. Focused mobility exercises to loosen up tight tissue and a break from training the motions that initially led to the tissue overload are advised. In other words, take time to rest. These tissues will strengthen and adapt if you do this consistently on a weekly and monthly basis, allowing you to keep working out and getting better.If anything goes wrong, you might be compelled to cease practicing any upper body movements because it will be difficult to avoid putting loads on the injured area, which would impede its healing.
Reasons we often neglect rest
Reasons why we should rest
You will not lose strength in one week; rather, you will develop strength as a result of the adoption process that takes place when you rest. The same holds true for muscular size. Your body mass will be fine if you adjust your diet to meet your energy needs, i.e., consume less overall energy on non-training days or weeks.
By including organized rest into your program, you will actually progress more since your musculoskeletal and brain systems will heal and adapt to the strain you have been subjecting them to in recent times. This is known as supercompensation. Simply defined, the physiological reaction that makes you stronger than you were before
Addictions to exercise are harmful on a psychological and physical level. You need a break from training to allow your body to heal, gain shape, and maintain mental stability. When preparing for an activity or a sport, you must carefully arrange your training schedule and include adequate rest. If you ignore this, you'll dig yourself a hole that won't help on competition day or in the long run.
As a general rule, you'll need to schedule rest days and de-load weeks.
Rest Days
These are the days of the week when you don't train at all, and such days must be flexible. Can you, for example, get away with only one rest day and six training days each week for four weeks? Or is that level of recuperation insufficient? Consider when your rest days will be and what your 'work:rest' ratio will be. Two days on, one day off. One day on, one day off. It is entirely up to you, your schedule, lifestyle, energy levels, and ability to recuperate. But don't make it a firm decision just yet; it might need to change based on how you feel and how well you've recovered.
It's also important to realize that a regular bodybuilding plan may not be good for a calisthenics beginner due to the extra time required for the ligaments and tendons to recuperate. Longer rest periods between upper-body activities may be necessary to avoid niggles and injury.
De-Load Weeks
If you have been able to complete four or more sessions per week with a reasonable amount of intensity, you should consider the fourth week to be a deloading week. That doesn't imply you should stop training entirely; instead, cut back on a few sessions that week and reduce the volume (total reps) you do. The intensity should stay strong to ensure that you do not lose anything, but a smaller total quantity of work done indicates less stress. You can utilize this extra time to work on other things that will improve your long-term achievement. Mobility, flexibility, and skill practice are all viable possibilities, and the time you spend here will serve as a springboard for the following week.
Cool Down
Finish each workout with a 5-minute cool- down. This could involve stretching activities to calm your muscles and reduce your heart rate. Remember to keep perfect form throughout all of these workouts to avoid injury and maximize results. You can gradually increase the number of reps or sets for each exercise as your fitness level improves. For best results, complete this workout three times each week.
In conclusion, don't consider rest to be an enemy. It's a requirement and necessary for your advancement. Recovery and rest practices will vary from person to person. Your best bet is to plan those rest days and de-loading weeks ahead of time and then stick to them. That requires some self-control. If you can't quite reach that stage, just listen to your body. If your performance in training sessions is stagnant and you're feeling battered, take a deload week and recuperate well enough. This is not laziness or weakness. It is referred to as smart training. It's the same method employed to train great athletes.Their bodies can withstand more weight and stress than others, and most likely more than yours. De-load weeks are a permanent feature in their training schedule, and well, you need them in yours as well if you're training consistently and frequently.
Oscar Wilde once said, "Success is a science; if you create the conditions, you will get the result." One of those conditions in calisthenics is REST.
Effective Pre-Workout Rituals
While exercise is promoted as a crucial component of your daily routine, little is mentioned about how to do it properly. Many people focus more on activities than results. They exhaust themselves by attempting difficult actions and their variations while giving little consideration to the results. There is no evidence to suggest that a challenging routine will produce greater results.
In fact, there are occasions when performing easy exercises correctly and with complete focus is significantly more successful than attempting to get the more challenging ones right. Furthermore, you should always work intelligently rather than laboriously. You can take specific actions to improve your overall productivity and results. Include them in your pre-workout regimen and watch your results improve. Here are some pre-workout rituals for result optimization:
Get Enough Rest: Similar to eating well and exercising frequently, getting enough sleep is a crucial component of good health. But nowadays, many people tend to overlook it. Insomnia has become more common in the digital era, which has opened the door for a variety of other diseases to invade the body. This is because sleep strengthens your immune system and enables your muscles to repair the damage they sustained throughout the day. It refills your energy reserves and enables they have to carry out your everyday tasks as efficiently as possible. Get adequate rest before working out to improve your performance.
Timing Pre-Workout Meals: During an exercise, your body requires energy to operate at its peak efficiency. This energy source comes from eating. Feed yourself a nutritious lunch that contains complex carbohydrates or proteins that will help you burn calories rather than store them as negative fat. However, since it will need that much time to be digested, make sure you eat it at least two hours before your workout. On the other hand, it is detrimental to exercise while having a bloated stomach.
Hydrate Yourself: Water aids in the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to all of the cells in the body. It is what causes your muscles to work to their best potential as you exercise. Exercise won't be effective if your body is dehydrated because it won't have the energy to perform demanding activities. Even a two-percent decrease in your body's water level is thought to be able to noticeably affect your health and happiness throughout the day. Having said that, avoid consuming excess water before exercising so that you become immobile. Only consume what your body actually needs by taking little sips.
Lie Down in Shavasana: Shavasana is a simple yoga pose that requires lying on your back with your arms and legs relaxed and your palms facing up. While you're there, close your eyes and concentrate on each part of your body, from the toes to the head, one by one. Think positively about that area of your body, whether it be your knees or your navel, and notice how it feels right now. This is a fantastic technique to move energy from your body's overused areas to its unused ones. It helps ease tension and enhance focus.
Do Dynamic Stretches: Dynamic stretches are exercises that involve several joints. As a result, they help increase blood circulation throughout your body and encourage coordination between your body's parts, which is exactly what you want to achieve before working out.
What are Reps and Sets?
The term "rep" stands for repetition in the context of exercise. It is a single exercise that has been executed. For instance, performing one push-up counts as performing one "rep" of a push-up. You completed 10 chest presses if you completed 10 reps of a chest press.
Sets are just groups of reps. For a particular exercise, you could perform a single set of reps or many sets. The routine of executing many sets is more prevalent, particularly if you want to increase your muscular strength or endurance.
For instance, you might perform three sets of 10 chest presses if your goal is to develop your chest muscles. This implies that after performing 10 chest presses, you rest briefly. After doing another 10 reps, you take another brief break. Then you do your final 10 repetitions before taking a little rest and then proceeding to your next workout.
Slow reps Vs Fast reps
How fast should you exercise?
The conventional wisdom is to go at a moderate tempo. Some might say that speed doesn’t matter much, while others might say going slow is definitely better. There are a few reasons why people want to slow down their reps. One of the goals is to increase the amount of time your muscles are under load. In the bodybuilding realm, this is known as Time Under Tension (TUT). The belief in these circles is that increasing TUT has underlying properties that improve growth. Mechanically, it might make sense since placing your fibers under longer tension should elicit greater fatigue and, thus, greater growth.
Slower reps can also restrict blood flow through longer contraction times. Cutting off blood circulation increases metabolite buildup within the working muscle, creating a bigger pump, and the occlusion also creates greater lactic acid buildup, which has been linked to muscle growth. Furthermore, slow rep believers have emphasized the importance of slowing down the negative portion of an exercise. This touches base with more growth theories where this negative, eccentric portion is responsible for greater muscle growth and even strength adaptation. One of which deals with eccentric contractions being responsible for the muscle tears during movement—that sore feeling you get after working out. Eccentric also activates recovery-induced satellite cells, cells that are pivotal for growth. Eccentric contractions have also been linked to the release of phosphatidic acid, which has also been linked to muscle growth.
However, studies that look directly at TUT have shown that, unfortunately, it doesn't provide any significant benefits. This is mainly because greater TUT means you have to use lighter weights. There are two things that generally dictate muscle growth effectiveness: One is making sure that you take your sets and reps as close as possible to ‘Muscular Fatigue’ or ‘Muscular Failure’.
Studies have consistently shown the importance of volitional failure because failure means almost all muscle fibers are fully used. Slow and fast rep speeds will be able to achieve ‘failure’, but faster speeds have a small advantage. At a faster rep speed, you will not only be able to do a difficult workout but also simultaneously recruit more muscle fibers to exert a greater force. Slower reps also utilize mainly smaller Type 1 fibers, which don’t help with growth as much as bigger Type 2 fibers. But even with that mentioned, reaching fatigue is the primary goal and is more important than the speed at which you get there. Along with reaching muscular fatigue, the other dictating factor is an increase in total work volume. Total work volume is the product of the number of reps, the number of sets, and the volume of weight. Studies consistently show that total work volume means greater muscle growth.
The effectiveness of slow rep training might be held back by the fact that, although it eventually recruits all your muscle fibers, it does not recruit as much simultaneously as faster reps would, which is important to muscle growth stimulation and also important to increasing muscle strength. Secondly, slower reps ultimately mean lower weights. Lower weight means lower total volume, and lower total volume means lower gains.
This doesn’t mean slower reps are at all useless; as mentioned earlier, there are some merits to the hypothesis of eccentric contraction, but more importantly is the fact that, firstly, you are stronger during the eccentric, lowering phase of a movement, which adds more to your total work volume. An eccentric-focused set, commonly called ‘Negatives’ can serve as a finishing set to push your gains a bit farther. Another is that, by lifting a slower eccentric phase, you are ensuring that you are the one in control of your weight down instead of letting gravity do all the work, keeping more tension in your muscles. So, a generally slower rep scheme is good for beginners to work on form and prevent injury. Obviously, the faster you go, the less in control you are of the weight. By controlling your speed, you control the weight.
Rest between Sets
Some beginners ask the question, “How long do I wait before starting my next set?” According to the muscle growth research carried out by fitness expert Brad Schoenfeld, with more rest, you will be able to complete more reps, which is going to increase your total work volume. A higher total work volume will allow a higher dose-response for muscular and training adaptations.
Intensity is another factor to consider. If the program you are using doesn’t push you close to muscular failure or the intensity of your exercise is a lot lower, then short rest can work just fine. In fact, there are benefits to using shorter rests with a lower load and a higher rep scheme since there will be a greater metabolic buildup of lactate, hydrogen ions, and inorganic phosphate, which have been observed to increase muscle growth signaling. On top of that, shorter rest intervals mean less time for the muscle to recover before lifting again, which can heighten motor unit recruitment and promote the development of the muscle pump.
Additionally, it has also been observed that longer rest intervals benefit multi-compound movements the most. Being that such exercises employ a high degree of muscle groups, total body fatigue can accumulate much quicker, thus requiring more rest.
So, while longer rest is good, shorter rest intervals do have a place when it comes to muscle growth too.
The hypothetical graphic above gives credence to deploying both rest intervals. As seen above, shorter rest hypothetically benefits growth by maintaining high levels of metabolic stress. Longer rest, on the other hand, can hypothetically benefit from a greater deal of mechanical tension and muscle damage from utilizing greater volumes and intensities.
In conclusion, if your goal is to completely maximize muscle hypertrophy, then you are best off deploying an inter-set rest interval between 1-3 minutes. But bear in mind that the benefit isn’t all that substantial compared to using less rest, and you also need to consider that resting more will increase the total duration of your entire session. If you can only muster 45 minutes to an hour of workout time, then a shorter rest interval would be suitable for you. The researchers advise spending the first part of your session on multi-joint heavy movements, i.e., triceps dips, while using longer rests. After that, you can focus on isolation single-joint exercises, i.e., squats, with shorter rests.
Common Muscle-Building Mistake
Not Training Close to Failure
To build muscle, the goal is actually to activate and fatigue them in order to drive the mechanism of muscle hypertrophy adaptation. First, ensure that you are maximizing motor unit recruitment, where the size principle dictates that higher threshold muscle fibers, like Type 2 fibers, are only recruited once fatigue-resistant fibers, like Type 1, reach muscular fatigue.
In short, the best means to fatigue and activate all muscle fibers is to train with relatively high effort, often achieved by training close to failure. The only issue, however, is that people’s perception of failure is often a bit off. Or rather, many people think they are training close to failure when they actually have plenty left in their tank. In order to deal with this inaccuracy, occasionally train to actual failure, the point at which you cannot concentrically move your weight without sacrificing form.
Experiencing actual failure safely will help you understand when to stop short of failure in future workouts. In many programs, it is recommended to train to the point where you have about 1 to 2 reps in reserve (RIR). This simply means that had you continued your set, you would only muster 1 to 2 reps before reaching ‘failure’. As mentioned, reaching this point consistently will ensure that all muscle fibers are properly activated, giving your muscle the best stimulus for growth.
Mismanaging Progression and Volume
Progressing in volume is vital in your training, especially if your goal is to build muscle. According to studies, the best predictor of muscle hypertrophy is, in fact, volume, which is commonly measured as Reps x Sets x Load. However, this doesn’t mean that more and more volume will always produce more and more gains. As a matter of fact, too much volume is shown to have diminishing returns, to the point of curtailing adaptation. The big question that is still up for debate is: At what point is more volume no longer effective?’ A simple explanation of this is that it is a reactionary approach that gauges how one responds to volume progression. How you respond to a certain amount of volume and how it affects your gains, strength and effort level, recovery, and mood should then reflect your progression programming. If you are getting sufficient gains from something like 12 sets per muscle group and dialing that up to 15 sets doesn’t make things better or even worse, then simply maintaining 12 sets might be best.
This is not to disregard the place of volume in building muscle. The main takeaway is to progress your volume appropriately based on your actual results instead of trying to push more volume in order to see results. Results dictate progression, not progression.
Cutting When You Need to Build
A lot of people, ironically those with little to no workout experience, think that burning fat is the missing ingredient to their muscle aesthetic. The problem lies, however, when people overemphasize fat burning to the point where they start eating so little that the nutrients become insufficient to support continuous and optimal muscle growth. Even if burning fat is your main goal, preserving lean mass should still be a priority. That is best achieved with a slight calorie deficit paired with both cardio and resistance training.
For most people who are carrying an average amount of weight and fat, the better approach will be to stick to a decent training program, shoot for more protein and healthy whole food choices, and stay close to your calorie maintenance—the number of calories sufficient for you to sustain your current weight. It is amazing how just sticking to these fundamentals plus getting enough sleep would get people much closer to their aesthetic goals than just burning fat. Instead of reducing body fat percentage by reducing fat mass, increasing the lean mass to fat ratio is much more ideal. Again, it is important to stick to the fundamentals and let the result come to you. And finally, stay consistent.
CHAPTER TWO
BEGINNER’S CALISTHENICS CATEGORIES
When it has to do with calisthenics, irrespective of your fitness level, you should endeavor to learn the basics, also referred to as the fundamentals. These serve as the foundation for the growth of your strength. It may be broken down into several parts:
Push Exercises
Pushing exercises work a variety of body parts, including the arms, core, hips, legs, and chest. They come in a variety of forms, such as push-ups, squats, and shoulder presses. By implementing these into your training program, you will receive several benefits for your mental and physical health and overall quality of life.Pushing exercises can be used to strengthen your body and increase its functionality for everyday tasks. Pushups and other muscle-building activities help support the structure of your body, which enhances the health of your bones.Pushing exercises use a variety of muscles, which means your heart will have to work harder to circulate blood throughout your body. By accelerating your heart rate and working your aerobic system, these exercises can also help you lose weight. Below are some of the push exercises for beginners.
Push-Ups
Push-ups are one of the most fundamental bodyweight exercises and are very popular. The movement is simple, can be done everywhere, and is very effective because you are using a lot of muscles at the same time. The problem is that a lot of people concentrate on quantity instead of quality when doing push-ups. To avoid this, focus on these vital points to make your push-up perfect.
Body Position: A push-up is not only a triceps, chest, and shoulder movement. Most people neglect the tension in the abdominal muscles, the hips, and the legs. Often, they form an arched back and lack body tension. To avoid this, tilt your pelvis backward and keep your buttocks squeezed tight.
The movement gets a lot harder with this, but it is also much more effective.
Arm Position: The arm position doesn’t really matter in terms of perfect execution. A perfect push-up can be done with a wide or narrow hand placement.
But it is important to place your wrist in a nearly vertical line under your shoulder when you do the standard push-up.
Although this rule still has some exceptions, one of which is the pseudo-planche push-up, which puts the focus more on your shoulders.
Or when you are doing splinx push-ups, which are a triceps-dominant movement.
If you are working with standard push-ups and choose a wide grip, it involves the chest more than a close hand placement. And a hand placement sets the focus more on your triceps.
Range of Motion: This is quite simple; however, don’t cheat. Go all the way up and all the way down. And let your body straighten up. Don’t decrease the range of motion by bringing your head forward or your hips down.
Shoulder blade Movement: This is a very neglected point. When you are going down, your shoulder blades come together, and when you are going up, they go apart.
You should also focus on pushing them downward instead of upward. If you are too weak in the shoulder girdle, your shoulder blades come together because you are not able to hold your body against gravity. This can be especially seen at the top of the movement. When you are going down, always focus on the tension and an active shoulder blade; don’t let yourself fall into your structures.
Throughout the entire push-up, keep the core engaged. Taking a deep breath, carefully lower your chest toward the floor while keeping your elbows bent and tucked in rather than flaring out. 45 degrees is the ideal shoulder angle in reference to the torso. Continue going down until your triceps and elbows are parallel to the ground. Exhale when lifting your body off the ground. As you push back up through your hands to the starting posture, you will experience a contraction in your chest, shoulders, and triceps muscles. Before performing this motion again, make sure you have completed the range of motion by going all the way up and locking your arms out.
With these points listed, although it might be much harder to do and your maximum repetition will drop, that shouldn’t matter. Always focus on quality over quantity. And you will be rewarded with progress and a healthy body.
Common Errors to Avoid
Out-Flared Elbows: Keep your elbows from flaring out since doing so puts a lot of strain on your shoulders and can cause injury. According to studies, flared elbows result in less chest and triceps activation as well as decreased strength and power gains because of the restricted range of motion. The closer you place your arm to the body, the more your elbows point backward. The wider you place your arms, the more your elbows go away from your body, but they are still more backward than to the side.
To avoid this, use a little wider hand placement than a narrow hand placement and tuck your elbows in at a 45-degree angle instead of flaring them out.
No Body Tension: People frequently have arched backs and a lack of bodily tension. They adopt poor posture as a result, with their backs arching and their hips sagging. When the glutes and core are not fully engaged, it happens. To correct this, concentrate on keeping your lower back flat throughout this action by using your core and glutes simultaneously. This will help to strengthen your core and ensure proper form. When practicing this exercise, you can check your form by filming yourself or glancing in the mirror.
Knee push-up
The knee push-up is a bodyweight pushing exercise that will help you improve upper body strength in preparation for the complete push-up. You will get the same results from this form of regression exercise because it uses the same sets of muscles and follows the same motion as a regular push-up. Since you'll be kneeling, as the name implies, the action will be simpler, and the strain on your upper body muscles will be reduced.
Push-ups are a terrific strengthening activity to practice if you're new to them because they build your triceps muscles and chest.The knee push-up is an excellent workout for beginners who wish to strengthen their triceps and chest muscles. They are relatively easy because you are pushing less of your body weight while you are on your knees as opposed to your toes. Simply put, performing knee push-ups places less strain on the upper-body muscles.Knee push-ups are a fantastic alternative to standard push-ups for the purpose of developing shoulder, chest, and arm strength while also strengthening the core muscles.
Working Out
Start by dropping down on all fours and putting your hands shoulder-width apart on the ground. Your legs are joined and extended back, and your shoulders are piled precisely on top of your wrists. Engage your glutes and core to keep your body in a straight line. This is the starting position.
Inhale deeply as you push your chest downward until your elbows are roughly at a 90-degree angle. Instead of flaring out, your elbows are brought in towards your chest. Throughout the entire movement, keep your core engaged.
As you push yourself back up to your starting posture, exhale through your mouth. At the highest position, tighten your triceps, abs, and chest. To guarantee a broad range of motion, lock both arms fully out before repeating.
Wall Push Up
Push-ups against a wall work your shoulders, back, triceps, and chest. If you are unable to perform knee push-ups at this time, this exercise is an excellent place to start because it puts more of the weight on the feet than the upper body. The steps are as follows:
Stand tall, two feet away from a wall. You are standing with your arms straight out in front of you at shoulder width, and your shoulders are parallel to your hands. This is the
starting
posture.
Inhale and flex your elbows as you tilt as closely toward the wall as you can. Consider moving your feet closer to the wall if you feel like you're stretching too far.
Exhale and push yourself back to the starting posture.
To focus on various muscle groups and parts of the muscle, you might experiment with different hand placements. The shoulder-width grip works on your triceps and middle chest. The diamond grip will isolate the triceps and reduce chest involvement. The wide grip puts pressure on the back, shoulders, and outer chest.
Incline Push-Up
The incline push-up is a fantastic body-weight pushing exercise for the lower chest region. As your hands will be on something higher, there will be less strain on your upper body than with a regular push-up. In an incline position, the legs carry the majority of your weight. Men's Health recommends that if you want to improve at push-ups, you should perform incline push-ups rather than knee push-ups to develop true strength as you progress toward a full push-up. This is due to the fact that knee push-ups do not appropriately educate the core and glutes to stabilize the body.Incline push-ups are ideal for beginners since they help improve the endurance and strength needed for standard push-ups.
Begin by standing tall in front of an elevated surface, like a plyometric box or a bench. Place both hands shoulder-width apart on the edge of the bench. You have your feet together and your arms outstretched. Engage your core and glutes to keep your body upright. This is the startup position.
While performing incline push-ups, you can adjust your grip position to target various areas of the muscles being used. This would be more convenient than executing them on the floor. Diamond push-ups, for example, target the triceps, while broad push-ups target the outside chest.Exhale as you push yourself away from the platform to get back into your starting position. To guarantee a full range of motion, lock both arms out before repeating the rep.
Decline Push-Up
Decline push-ups are the opposite of uphill push-ups. It is done with your feet on an elevated surface and both hands on the ground, putting extra strain on the upper-body muscles. This version focuses on the upper chest and anterior deltoids. The steps are as follows:
Start off in a plank posture, with your feet on a raised surface, such as a bench or a plyometric box. Your hands are shoulder-width apart on the ground. Engage your core and glutes to keep your body in a straight line.
Inhale as you drop your chest to the ground, bringing your triceps parallel to the ground. Keep your body rigid and your core engaged.
Exhale as you lift yourself back up to your starting posture. For complete range of motion, completely lock out your arms.
Triceps Dip
The dip, commonly referred to as triceps dips, is an upper-body complex exercise that strengthens the triceps, shoulders, and chest. This is one of the essential calisthenics exercises that you should learn to master since it will improve your pushing strength, allowing you to perform more push-up repetitions, as well as your transitional strength for powerful maneuvers like the muscle-up.
Without using a gym membership or any expensive equipment, dips can provide you with superb chest and triceps exercises. Chair dips can be done in the comfort of your own home using chairs, and you can even increase the difficulty by performing dips on a straight bar or a parallel bar.Our triceps muscles allow us to extend our elbows, and they are also powerful forearm extenders. Pushing with the triceps is a common movement that is employed in daily tasks including opening doors, plugging things into outlets, and moving furniture across a room.
Dips can be done in three ways: bench dips, straight bar dips, and parallel bar dips. These methods include several variations, such as progressions, regressions, and grips, that focus on different muscle areas.
Bench Dips
Bench dips, commonly referred to as chair dips, are the easiest and most feasible form of dip exercise, with three progressions within this form alone. Keep in mind that performing this exercise will be simpler if the bench or chair is higher. To accomplish this, you must:
Place both hands on a bench or other raised surface. Your arms should be fully extended, and the tips of your fingertips should be facing
forward
. Fully extend your legs while maintaining a strong core. This is the starting posture.
Inhale while bending your elbows
until
your triceps are level
with
the ground and lowering your torso gradually. Maintain a strong core and straight legs.
Exhale as you extend both arms and push through your palms to return to the initial posture.
