The Student Room Group

Calisthenics

Ok, I'm relatively new to calisthenics, and have been following a beginners workout for the past couple of months. It consisted of;
8 chin ups
10 push ups
20 squats
10 bench dips
10 leg raises
10 elevated push ups

I did 3 round of this, with no rest in between each exercise, and a 90 second rest between rounds.

I feel that I have hit a dead end with these, in terms of not seeing any more improvement, and the exercises not being challenging enough.

I have come up with a more advanced workout to carry on with;

20 chin ups
8 push ups
90 second plank
20 incline push ups
20 squats
I do 3 rounds, with a 3 min rest between each round, and no rest between exercises.

Do you think this new workout is good, or are there any others you would recommend? Any useful advice would be appreciated :smile:
A bit more variety will stop plateaus. For no equipment workouts try Athlean Xero which is not free, I think it's $60-70 but includes a full workout program that can be done anywhere with nothing but your own body, comes with a nutrition plan and separate abs workouts. Includes muscle building and endurance and cardio workouts. If you don't want to spend any money get the Madbarz app for your phone or go to their site. Requires a pull-up or dip bar for some workouts and it doesn't tell you what days to do what workouts like Athlean Xero does. I think Athlean Xero is a better program but you might want to add some pull-ups and chin-ups to it. Hope it helps.
Reply 2
I'd look at adding weight at least- such as backpack with books- as well as more difficult progressions- google 'push up progressions'. Progression with justing adding more reps will not be as effective in training strength or trying to gain muscle- I'm assuming you're not going for endurance

switch bench dips for real dips- in the corner of the kitchen counter or at the park

Training legs is effectivly is difficult, body weight squats are pretty **** and you won't be able to add enough weight without a back. At a minimum you'll want to look at pistol squats
Reply 3
Original post by Bret_Clement
A bit more variety will stop plateaus. For no equipment workouts try Athlean Xero which is not free, I think it's $60-70 but includes a full workout program that can be done anywhere with nothing but your own body, comes with a nutrition plan and separate abs workouts. Includes muscle building and endurance and cardio workouts. If you don't want to spend any money get the Madbarz app for your phone or go to their site. Requires a pull-up or dip bar for some workouts and it doesn't tell you what days to do what workouts like Athlean Xero does. I think Athlean Xero is a better program but you might want to add some pull-ups and chin-ups to it. Hope it helps.


Ok, thanks!
Reply 4
Original post by BKS
I'd look at adding weight at least- such as backpack with books- as well as more difficult progressions- google 'push up progressions'. Progression with justing adding more reps will not be as effective in training strength or trying to gain muscle- I'm assuming you're not going for endurance

switch bench dips for real dips- in the corner of the kitchen counter or at the park

Training legs is effectivly is difficult, body weight squats are pretty **** and you won't be able to add enough weight without a back. At a minimum you'll want to look at pistol squats


Alright, thanks mate- what extra weight would you suggest starting of with- i.e how many books etc
Reply 5
Original post by Mysterious4
Alright, thanks mate- what extra weight would you suggest starting of with- i.e how many books etc


Impossible to say. Keep adding them til the last rep is a proper struggle, increase as need be
Reply 6
Original post by BKS
Impossible to say. Keep adding them til the last rep is a proper struggle, increase as need be


Ok thanks for your advice :smile:
Good work on staying with it for months. I think you need to add a bit of variety because as you have discovered if you keep doing the same thing you will plateau. There are hundreds of bodyweight only exercises that you can do. If you're prepared to spend a little money try Athlean Xero (I think it's $60-70 and you get it straight away because it's all online). I love that program and requires no equipment. If you want to use a chin-up bar still or don't want to spend money try Madbarz which can also be downloaded to your phone. It's a great program too but it isn't as structured as Athlean Xero and you have to decide which workout you want to do each day.

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