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Over the years I’ve constantly things up in my workouts in an attempt to create the most effective calisthenics workout routine I could.
And while I do have a few favorite go-to routines that I do more than others. I’ve found that there really isn’t a one size fits all approach when it comes to getting the most out of your workout.
See things often change. Be it your goals, how much time you have. Even your motivation can have a big impact on what you’re willing to put into the whole thing.
And with this comes a definite answer.
There’s no such thing as “The Best” calisthenics workout routine. Because what works for someone else might be completely wrong for you and vise versa.
So what you really need to focus on is creating a calisthenics workout routine that tailored specifically to you.
Now there’s plenty of ways to do this, but to keep things simple. I’ve found there are really only 4 basic rules you need to follow when building a routine that fits your needs.
Table of Contents
How To Build Your Calisthenics Workout Routine
Firstly, set a goal and decide exactly what you want to achieve.
Do you want to get stronger…?
…increase muscle mass.
…or learn specific calisthenics skills for a sport or activity.
You need to really think about what you want to get out of the whole experience here.
I remember years back I was watching one of the infamous Rocky training montages (I think it was Rocky 2). There was a point where Rocky was in the boxing ring hammering out one-arm pushups and I thought to myself.
“Wouldn’t it be awesome if I could do that”
So, it became my goal.
Over the next month or two, I made it my mission to be able to get at least 2 or 3 reps of the one-arm pushup.
I educated myself on correct progressions, worked hard and I made it happen.
You need to adopt this mindset if you want to get anywhere with calisthenics.
If you don’t, you’ll just end up going round in circles getting nowhere.
Make Calisthenics Challenging
Pretty self-explanatory. But if you’re not challenging yourself then your body has no reason to adapt and get better.
What you need is progressive overload.
Now in the weight room, increasing reps, sets, reducing rest periods are a few ways you can be constantly challenging yourself.
But with calisthenics, it goes way beyond that.
Strengthening certain muscles to progress towards specific (more advanced) calisthenics exercises takes a lot more mental focus than any type of traditional weight lifting workout.
Take a one-arm pull-up for instance. Because of the sudden increase in difficulty. It’s almost impossible to go from performing two-arm pull-ups…
…To performing one-arm pull-ups without some form of micro progressions along the way.
First, you need to work on your grip strength…
…Scapula strength
…Negative one-arm pullups.
Plus plenty more before you get anywhere near being able to attempt a one-arm pullup.
This is where a structured calisthenics program can come in handy. Because everything you need to progress is right there for you in black and white.
No more figuring out sets, reps, or progressions. Just follow along with a calisthenics workout that’s specific to your individual needs.
FREE VIDEO: How To QUICKLY Master The Planche, Muscle-Up, Human Flag, And Other Advanced Calisthenic Moves That Defy The Law Of Gravity
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Time Management
Equally as important is how much time you’ve got to work out.
We all have our own lives to live and sometimes things can take priority over working out.
Now, if you’ve got lots of free time on your hands then great. You’ll be able to put a lot more focus on your calisthenics workouts.
But if not, you’ve got to figure out a way to make things work on your own time scale.
You need to remember that no matter how busy you can always make time to do something if you’re smart about it.
Let me give you an example.
A few years back, the manufacturing company I used to work for had a huge increase in orders.
And because of this, I quickly went from working 40 hours a week to 60 hours a week over the next few months.
So as a lot of people do, I thought I had no time to work out…
…Or so I thought.
So here’s what I did.
Every morning I got up 30 minutes earlier than I needed to.
I threw on some gym shorts and went downstairs to the back of my house where I had a little pull-up and dip station where I usually did my workouts.
Once downstairs I’d walk up to the pullup station and I’d do…
…10 pullups
…Followed by 20 parallel bar dips
…Followed by 30 bodyweight squats.
I’d then pack my bag for the workday ahead.
Once my bag was packed, I’d go back to the pullup station and do…
…10 pullups
…20 parallel bar dips
…30 bodyweight squats.
After that, I’d make myself some breakfast cereal and put it in the microwave.
While it was heating up, I’d again go back to the pullup station and do…
…10 pullups
…20 parallel bar dips
…30 bodyweight squats
Long story short, every time I had a spare minute or two between getting ready for work. I’d quickly knock out another set of pullups, dips, and squats until I’d done at least 5 sets of each.
That’s 50 pullups, 100 dips, and 150 squats minimum for the day.
Just while I’m getting ready for work.
It’s not perfect by any means. But it’s proof that If you want to do something badly enough, you won’t let anything stand in your way…
…Even time.
FREE VIDEO: How To QUICKLY Master The Planche, Muscle-Up, Human Flag, And Other Advanced Calisthenic Moves That Defy The Law Of Gravity
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Enjoy The Ride
Last but not least you need to enjoy what you do.
The last thing you want to do is trudge through a workout that you don’t enjoy.
When I first started training (when I still lived with my parents), I used to lift weights.
Every evening without fail, I’d head up to the spare bedroom where my dad kept a bench with a barbell and a set of dumbbells…
…And I’d go through the same boring monotonous routine every single day for 3 months solid.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I got myself into awesome shape during those 3 months.
But after a while it got boring so I didn’t stick it out.
In my opinion, this is workout basics 101 and should apply to every aspect of your life. Not just exercise.
Enjoy what you do.
If you follow this simple piece of advice, you’ll be happier…
…More motivated
And you’ll be able to take on new challenges that used to seem impossible.
That’s why I do calisthenics.
Because I enjoy it, it keeps me focused, and it builds my confidence in a way that lifting weights never could.
What Makes An Effective Calisthenics Workout Routine?
Now when it comes to creating an effective workout routine your options are almost limitless.
But for you to get the full benefit of any workout. There are a handful of training concepts you should include to make wise use of your time and energy.
Workout Efficiently
Firstly, you need to make use of every single minute you have available to your advantage.
Basically, what I mean us that once you’re ready and warmed up…
…It’s go-time.
What I like to include in almost every calisthenics workout I do is both drop sets and supersets.
A drop set is where you start off with a more difficult exercise…
…And then move on to easier variations of the same exercise once you can’t perform another rep.
A superset is where you train two opposing muscle groups back to back.
So, for instance, pullups (Back exercise)…
…Followed immediately by pushups (Chest exercise)
This lets you train one muscle group while the other one rests.
Not only that, but you’ll end up cutting your workout time almost in half while increasing your calorie burn.
It’s a win-win.
Change Up Your Workout Routine
Another thing you should be doing constantly is changing things up.
Now I don’t mean completely revamping your workouts and performing some oddball combination of exercises.
In fact, your exercise selection shouldn’t really change at all.
Pullups, dips, pushups, squats. These are the core foundation of what a standard calisthenics workout routine should look like.
Combine this with a few core related exercises and skills training. And you’ve pretty much got your routine nailed.
What I mean is you should be working each muscle group from different angles, leveraging your body weight, and changing the tempo of your reps so you’re improving every aspect of your workout including your…
…Strength
…Endurance
…Explosiveness
…And cardiovascular fitness
Take pushups for instance…
If I wanted to work directly on strength. I’d focus my workout in the lower rep range and work on heavy-duty pushup variations such as one-arm pushups or weighted pushups.
For explosiveness, I’d add an explosive variation like a clapping pushup.
And for endurance and cardio. I’d focus on a high repetition circuit by doing some form of Tabata training.
Tabata is when you perform 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest for 8 rounds.
Make It Routine To Work The Whole Body
This is up for debate. But personally, I prefer working the body as a whole rather than targeting individual muscle groups every workout.
I find it helps my recovery between workouts and allows me to focus my other hobbies on my non-training days. Also, I don’t feel guilty if I miss a workout because I know I’ve covered all my bases in my previous training session.
The one drawback of full-body workouts is that it can sometimes affect my performance in certain exercises.
For instance, if I take two exercises that target similar muscle groups like pushups and dips. I find it my performance will suffer slightly in my second exercise.
So, if I were to do a pushup drop set followed almost immediately by a dip drop set. My pushing strength during my dips wouldn’t be 100% because I’ve already pre-exhausted my muscles during the pushups circuit.
The simple solution would be to change your order of exercises every week or two. Or even better, split the two exercises completely during your workout so you’re getting enough rest between the two.
A great example of splitting the workout could look something like this…
…Pullup Drop set x2 sets
…Parallel Bar Dips Drop set x2 sets
…Squats Drop set x2 sets
…10 Minutes of core work (L-Sits, Planks, etc…)
…Pushup Drop set x2 sets
See by splitting the pushups and dips between the squats and core work. I’m allowing my pushing muscles to almost fully recover before I attempt my pushups.
It’s not perfect, and you’re always going to fatigue slightly as you work through any calisthenics workout routine.
But it’s great for getting the most out of your workout. So have a play around with your exercise selection and find what works for you.
Calisthenics Workout Progression
The last thing on my list of what makes an effective calisthenics workout, and probably most important is progression.
See you’re only as good as your weakest link and when things start to stall. It’s usually because you’re no longer challenging your muscles in the way that you should.
Now in the weight room, it’s simply a matter of adding more weight to the bar. Increasing your rep range, or playing around with the tempo of your lifts.
But with calisthenics, it becomes a little more challenging.
And because you don’t have the luxury of barbells and dumbbells at your disposal. You have to start getting a little creative with your approach to calisthenics progressions.
To save time I’ve written a few blog posts in the past about a particular few of these progressions which you can check out below…
Related Blog Posts:
- Pullup Bar Workouts & Progressions – How To Quickly Master The Bar
- The Ultimate Pushup Progression Guide For Muscle Strength & Power
- Planche Progression – How To Quickly Master The Full Planche
And if you’re looking for a complete calisthenics workout routine that covers everything you’ll ever need to know about progressive calisthenics, I also recommend taking a look at the Bar Brothers 12-Week Transformation Program in the video below…
FREE VIDEO: How To QUICKLY Master The Planche, Muscle-Up, Human Flag, And Other Advanced Calisthenic Moves That Defy The Law Of Gravity
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But for the sake of simplicity, the way to make any calisthenics exercise harder always comes down to just one thing…
…Weight distribution
Now, when I say weight distribution. All I mean is that you’re placing more emphasis on a particular area of your body by shifting your weight to make a certain exercise harder.
Let me give you an example…
Close grip chin-ups are widely regarded as easier variation when using a pullup bar.
But if I was to hold my position at the top of a close grip chin-up, and then slowly release my grip with one hand.
What do you think would happen?
One side of my body would have to accommodate that shift in weight by not only taking more weight. But also increasing my grip on the bar with my dominant hand.
This is a classic example of distributing your weight to make an exercise harder.
And the great thing is that your options are literally unlimited when it comes to adopting this kind of training style.
It can be difficult at first. But if you learn the basics and follow along with a reputable CALISTHENICS PROGRAM then progressing becomes so much easier.
Quick Recap
It’s been a bit of a long-winded blog post but I hope I’ve covered everything you need to know to get you to where you want to be.
But to quickly recap on everything I’ve covered. Here are the basics things you need to follow to get the most out of your calisthenics workout…
…Make it challenging
…Use your time effectively
…Enjoy the experience
…Don’t be afraid to adapt and change up your routine so you’re working every muscle to its maximum efficiency
…Use simple progressive techniques by using weight distribution and leverage to your advantage.
If you follow these basic rules consistently. Then I’ve got no doubt that you’ll get everything you want out of your calisthenics workout routine, plus more.
Do you have an effective calisthenics workout routine you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments below…