How to Start Calisthenics (The Ultimate Beginners Guide)

Summary

This video serves as a comprehensive beginner's guide to calisthenics, detailing the importance of warming up to prevent injuries and outlining foundational exercises for strength building. It emphasizes the significance of push-ups, dips, and pull-ups for developing upper body strength and introduces three key skills for beginners: the elbow lever, handstand, and L-sit. The guide also touches on leg exercises and the role of diet in achieving visible abs. It concludes with a suggested workout split and rep ranges based on fitness goals, encouraging viewers to find a routine that suits their lifestyle and progress at their own pace.

Takeaways

• 🏋️‍♂️ Start with the basics: The script emphasizes the importance of mastering foundational calisthenics exercises before moving on to more advanced skills.
• 🔥 Motivation and consistency: It highlights the need for motivation to begin a fitness journey and the importance of consistency in workouts.
• ⏰ Warm-up is crucial: The speaker stresses the necessity of warming up before exercising to prevent injuries and enhance performance.
• 💪 Push exercises: Push-ups, dips, and pike push-ups are fundamental for developing upper body strength, particularly in the chest, triceps, and shoulders.
• 🤸‍♂️ Pull exercises: Australian pull-ups and pull-ups are essential for strengthening the back, biceps, and forearms.
• 🧘‍♂️ Core strength: Core exercises like hollow body holds and leg raises are vital for stability and are often overlooked in calisthenics.
• 🤸‍♀️ Skill progression: The script introduces skills like the elbow lever and handstand, suggesting progressions for beginners to learn advanced moves.
• 🦵 Leg exercises: Despite a common misconception, leg strength can be developed through bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, and calf raises.
• 📅 Workout scheduling: A suggested routine includes a push-pull-leg split with rest days, tailored to individual goals and schedules.
• 🍽️ Diet for abs: The script clarifies that while core exercises strengthen the abdominals, diet is key to revealing visible abs by reducing body fat.
• 📈 Skill learning: It suggests learning a skill before the main workout to maximize progress, as lactic acid from a workout can hinder skill acquisition.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The main focus of the video script is to provide a beginner's guide to calisthenics, including warm-up routines, foundational exercises, and progressions for specific skills.

Why is warming up before calisthenics exercises important?

Warming up is crucial to enhance performance and prevent injuries, as it prepares the body for the physical activity and reduces the risk of strains or other injuries.

What are some warm-up exercises recommended for wrists in calisthenics?

Some recommended warm-up exercises for wrists include wrist circles, wrist rotations, and wrist circles against the ground with added pressure.

How does the script suggest one should approach push-up exercises for beginners?

The script suggests that beginners should perform push-ups with proper form, keeping the butt down, shoulders tucked in, and core tight, and at a controlled tempo.

What are some variations of push-up exercises mentioned in the script?

Some variations of push-up exercises mentioned include incline push-ups, weighted push-ups, and explosive push-ups.

What is the significance of dips in calisthenics, as per the script?

Dips are significant in calisthenics as they develop the triceps, chest, and shoulders, and can be modified with bent knee dips or bench dips for varying difficulty levels.

How does the script describe the pike push-up and its benefits?

The script describes the pike push-up as a foundational exercise for building shoulder strength, which is essential for more advanced calisthenic exercises.

What is the first pushing skill recommended for beginners to learn in the script?

The first pushing skill recommended for beginners to learn is the elbow lever, which helps build foundational strength for more advanced skills like the handstand.

What is the importance of Australian pull-ups in calisthenics, according to the script?

Australian pull-ups are important for strengthening the lats, biceps, and forearms, and can be modified with bent knee versions for beginners.

How does the script recommend learning new calisthenic skills?

The script recommends learning new skills by warming up specifically for the skill, practicing the skill first, and then doing the workout to avoid muscle fatigue that could hinder progress.

What is the suggested workout split for a beginner in calisthenics?

The suggested workout split is a push-pull-leg split, with rest days in between, focusing on pushing exercises one day, pulling exercises the next, and leg exercises on alternating days.

How does the script address the importance of leg exercises in calisthenics?

The script emphasizes that leg exercises are often overlooked but are essential for a well-rounded calisthenics routine, suggesting exercises like squats, lunges, and calf raises.

Outlines

00:00

💪 Getting Started with Calisthenics: The Basics

The video opens by addressing the viewer’s interest in calisthenics, noting how impressive it looks when influencers perform gravity-defying feats. However, starting out can be overwhelming, so the video provides a beginner's guide to calisthenics, breaking it down into manageable steps. The speaker emphasizes the importance of mastering foundational skills before advancing and highlights the various types of training: dynamic, balance, and weighted. They also stress the significance of warming up before workouts to avoid injuries and offer a range of warm-up exercises for wrists, arms, and legs to ensure safety and performance.

05:00

👐 Mastering Push Exercises for Upper Body Strength

The second paragraph focuses on building foundational push strength, starting with push-ups. The correct form is crucial—keeping the core tight, shoulders tucked, and performing the movement in a controlled tempo. For beginners, incline push-ups are suggested, while advanced variations include explosive push-ups and weighted push-ups. The speaker introduces other essential push exercises like dips and pike push-ups, with step-by-step instructions for performing them correctly. These exercises target the chest, triceps, shoulders, and back, laying the groundwork for more advanced movements. The section wraps up with the introduction of the elbow lever as a skill progression.

10:01

🏋️‍♂️ Essential Pull Exercises and Developing Core Strength

This paragraph covers pull exercises, beginning with the Australian pull-up to develop lats and biceps, providing variations for different skill levels. The pull-up, hailed as the 'father of all pull exercises,' is highlighted as crucial for building a strong back. Proper form is emphasized, and variations like chin-ups and wide-grip pull-ups are suggested for advanced training. The speaker also introduces the handstand as a challenging skill to develop upper body strength and balance. Calisthenics athletes are noted for their lean physiques, with a reminder that core exercises are essential for stabilizing the body and aiding other movements.

🦵 Don't Skip Leg Day: Calisthenics Leg Workouts

In response to the common misconception that calisthenics neglects leg training, the video outlines bodyweight exercises for developing leg strength. It suggests squats, lunges, and jumping squats for quads, with pistol squats for advanced users. Hamstrings can be trained with sliding hamstring curls and Nordic curls, which require control and strength. Calf raises are recommended for calf development, with one-legged variations for more intensity. For those wanting bulkier legs, weighted calisthenics or traditional weight exercises like barbell squats are mentioned. The speaker emphasizes that leg training in calisthenics can still be effective without weights.

📆 Structuring Your Workouts and Skill Training

The final paragraph provides advice on structuring calisthenics workouts using a push-pull-legs split. A sample weekly schedule is provided, and the speaker suggests prioritizing skill training (like handstands) before the workout to maximize progress. They also provide guidance on rep ranges based on different goals—strength, hypertrophy, or endurance. The paragraph encourages viewers to find challenging progressions to keep growing and emphasizes consistency in working out at least 3 to 6 times a week for the best results. The video concludes with an invitation to subscribe for more content and YouTube shorts.

Keywords

💡Calisthenics

Calisthenics refers to a form of exercise that consists of various movements, typically bodyweight exercises, with the goal of increasing physical strength, gaining body flexibility, and building muscle tone. In the context of the video, calisthenics is the central theme, with the speaker discussing how beginners can get started with this form of training and the various exercises and skills involved.

💡Dynamic Training

Dynamic training in calisthenics involves exercises that involve movement and are not static, focusing on building muscular strength and endurance through fluid motions. The video script mentions dynamic training as one of the types of calisthenic training methods, suggesting that it will be covered in more detail in future videos after establishing a foundation.

💡Balance Training

Balance training is a type of calisthenics that emphasizes the development of equilibrium and stability. It is crucial for many advanced calisthenic movements. The script alludes to balance training as one of the various training methods within calisthenics, though it is not the primary focus of the beginner's guide provided in the video.

💡Weighted Training

Weighted training in calisthenics involves adding external weight to bodyweight exercises to increase resistance and challenge the muscles further. The script mentions weighted training as an advanced method that comes after mastering the basics, suggesting that beginners should focus on foundational skills before progressing to weighted exercises.

💡Warm-up

A warm-up is a crucial part of any exercise routine, including calisthenics, designed to prepare the body for more intense activity and prevent injuries. The video emphasizes the importance of warming up, especially for the wrists, shoulders, and elbows, before engaging in calisthenic exercises.

💡Push-up

A push-up is a classic bodyweight exercise that primarily targets the chest, triceps, and shoulders. In the script, the push-up is highlighted as a foundational exercise for developing push strength in calisthenics, with variations such as incline push-ups for beginners and more advanced versions for those at a higher level.

💡Dips

Dips are an upper body exercise that works the triceps, chest, and shoulders. The video script describes dips as a beautiful push exercise for calisthenics, with variations like bench dips and bent-knee bench dips to accommodate different skill levels.

💡Pike Push-up

A pike push-up is a variation of the standard push-up that emphasizes shoulder strength and stability. The script explains that the pike push-up is a foundational exercise for building shoulder strength, which is essential for more advanced calisthenic movements.

💡Australian Pull-up

The Australian pull-up is a type of pull-up that targets the lats, biceps, and forearms. The video script introduces the Australian pull-up as a pool exercise to strengthen pulling muscles, with modifications like bent-knee Australian pull-ups for those who find the exercise challenging.

💡Pull-up

A pull-up is a fundamental exercise in calisthenics that focuses on developing a strong back. The script describes the pull-up as the 'father of all pull exercises' and provides tips for proper form and progressions to more advanced variations.

💡Handstand

A handstand is an advanced calisthenic skill that requires significant upper body strength and balance. The video script mentions the handstand as a skill that beginners can aim to learn once they have built a foundation with basic exercises like pike push-ups and regular push-ups.

💡L-Sit

An L-sit is a calisthenic exercise that primarily targets the core strength, requiring the individual to hold their body in an inverted L-shape. The script includes the L-sit as one of the skills beginners can learn, emphasizing its requirement for strong core and arm strength.

Highlights

Introduction to calisthenics for beginners and the importance of motivation

Different types of calisthenic training methods such as dynamic, balance, and weighted training

The necessity of warming up before starting calisthenics exercises to prevent injuries

Warming up routines for wrists, arms, and legs with examples like wrist circles and squats

The foundational importance of push-up exercises for developing chest, triceps, and shoulders

Proper form and technique for executing push-ups, including scapula protraction and retraction

Progression from incline push-ups to more advanced variations like weighted and explosive push-ups

Dips as an effective push exercise for triceps, chest, and shoulders with tips for proper form

Pike push-ups as a foundational exercise for shoulder strength and preparation for advanced skills

Elbow lever as the first skill to learn for pushing skills, with progressions to the 90-degree hold

Australian pull-up as a comprehensive pull exercise for strengthening lats, biceps, and forearms

Pull-up as the foundational exercise for building a strong back, with tips for perfect form

Handstand as the second skill to learn, requiring upper body strength and balance

Importance of core exercises in calisthenics for stability and strength, with examples like hollow body holds

L-sit as the third skill for beginners, focusing on core and hamstring strength

Calisthenics exercises for leg development, dispelling the myth that weights are necessary for leg growth

Quad exercises like squats, lunges, and pistol squats for leg development with progression tips

Hamstring exercises including sliding hamstring curls and Nordic hamstring curls for advanced strength

Calf exercises with calf raises and one-leg calf raises for leg balance and strength

A suggested workout split of push, pull, leg days with rest days for structured calisthenics training

Advice on integrating skill learning into workouts and the importance of proper warm-up for skill progression

Recommendations for rep ranges based on training goals: strength, hypertrophy, or endurance

Transcripts

POV this is you you've been seeing many

calisthenic influencers showboating

their skills practicing any human

straight Defying Gravity and impressing

other people you've always wanted to get

into shape but you never managed to find

the motivation to get started or get to

the gym so you took an interest into

calisthenics and decided to give it a

try but then you realize how the heck am

I supposed to start so that's where your

boy comes in with the calisthenics

beginner's guide

in this video I will show you the best

way to begin calisthenics I also put

time steps in the bottom if you want to

come back to the video and re-watch

something but I also added three skills

for beginners to learn in calisthenics

so make sure to stay to the end of the

video and see the skills you can start

to learn so there's actually different

types of calisthenic training methods

there is dynamic training balance

training weighted training Etc if you've

seen some of my YouTube shorts I might

be doing some static training and some

weighted training occasionally but later

on I will get into Dynamics but before

you get ahead of yourself you first need

to have the basic skills and strength

which is why I made this video when

beginning your workouts and counts next

it is extremely important to warm up

don't be like me when I first started I

would just jump straight into learning

skills without properly warming up

almost injuring myself several times I

will show you some warm-ups I could use

to start but if you're looking to do

more advanced skills be sure to look up

some warm-ups for that skill in order to

avoid yourself for example before I

trained for the plants I would always do

a warm-up routine I would warm up my

shoulders elbows and wrists every single

time and thanks to that I've never

gotten injured after three months of

training for the planche your wrists are

used and majority of calisthenics upper

body exercises and skills so it's

important to warm up and train your

wrists an example of some good warm-ups

for your wrists may be wrist circles

wrist rotations and you can do wrist

circles against the ground where you add

pressure and you should at least be able

to add pressure on your wrists at a 90

degree angle and if you can't and you

have some work to do for your arms you

can do arm circles elbow rotations

shoulder dislocations as scapula

push-ups against the wall some good

warm-ups for your legs might be some

simple squats leg pools toe touches and

Cossack squats if that's how you

pronounce it so set aside at least 10

minutes before you start your workout to

enhance your performance and prevent

injury there are too many warm-ups and

stretches to go over over so if you want

to do some extra research then I highly

recommend that you do so to start

building your chests your triceps your

shoulders traps you want to do push

exercises you've probably heard this

exercise hundreds of times but it's

extremely important in calisthenics to

develop your foundational push strength

this exercise is called the push-up

which will develop your chest triceps

and shoulders to do a proper push-up

keep your butt down your shoulders

tucked in and you keep your core tight

you don't want to be like that one kid

in middle school during the Pacer test

doing rapid push-ups you want to do your

push-ups at a controlled Tempo early on

when you do your push-ups you can

protract your scapula when you come up

from the push-up and retract it when you

go down this will help you develop your

back muscles and prepare you for more

advanced calisthenic exercises that

involve your scapula if you're not able

to do a push-up do not worry you can do

incline push-ups maybe against a couch

maybe against your bed just an elevated

surface so push-up is easier and you can

progress if the push-up is too easy then

there are hundreds and hundreds of

variations that are more difficult

there's weighted push-ups there's

explosive push-ups the list goes on we

also have dips a beautiful push

exercises which develops your triceps

chest and even your shoulders and lats

for a tip you want to find two elevated

surfaces it could be two chairs maybe a

bar at the park and for the dip you want

to lean forward slightly and if you want

you can bend your legs to stabilize your

body if you need to bend your arms at a

90 degree angle and push up at a

controlled speed if the tips are too

challenging then you could switch to

bench dips find a chair and then do some

bent knee bench tips the further you put

your legs out the more challenging the

exercise will be and the closer you put

your legs the easier and for another

push exercise which is my personal

favorite is the pike push-up this

exercise is one of the best foundational

calcium exercises to build your shoulder

strength for more advanced exercises you

first want to start in a push-up

position walk forward three to two steps

on your tippy toes keep your elbows

tucked in and pushed down in a forward

motion if you struggle with Pike

push-ups do not worry start in push-up

position and take one step at a time for

each push-up until you can put your legs

close to your hands just take one step

at a time and practice each step

thoroughly to progress further and build

more shoulder strength and once you

master the fundamental pushing exercises

you can go into more advanced pushing

exercises which I will go over in

different videos the first skill you can

start to learn for your pushing skills

is that elbow lever I would drop a quick

YouTube short in the description in

order to learn the progressions for the

elbow lever if you choose to do so but

the skill can be helped to build the

foundations to learn the 90 degree hold

and it can also really help you learn

the handstand to 90 degree hold which is

a more advanced calcium exercise now

your lats your upper back muscles your

biceps and your forearms are all pulling

muscles a great pool exercise to

strengthen your lats your biceps is

called the Australian pull-up you might

need to find two elevated surfaces maybe

you could use two chairs I personally

like to use my desk and if you can you

can use a bar at the park but use

whatever works for you if they are too

challenging then you can switch to Bent

knee Australian pull-ups which takes a

load off of your arms and your lats and

if this is still too challenging you can

use your legs to assist you to pull

yourself up you want to pull your chest

to the top of the bar or whatever you're

using and lower yourself with your arms

locked out at a controlled Tempo the

next pool exercise is the best pool

exercise known in calisthenics the

pull-up is the father of all pool

exercises and can give you a demon back

I will leave a YouTube short in the

description on the progressions to learn

your first pull-up once you get your

first pull-up you want to nail perfect

form for perfect form you want to

encrypt the bar slightly wider than your

shoulder width apart and you don't want

to Sag your shoulders you want to pull

down your shoulders and this will

effectively activate your lats it's like

basically puffing your chest and

squeezing your lats as you get your

first pull-up and it's too easy there

are several variations that will

challenge you so I recommend that you

look into different variations chin ups

and close grip pull-ups are more bicep

focused wider pull-ups are more lat

focused for whatever variation you do

you really want to control the movement

instead of trying to go for more reps as

you progress further into pool exercises

there are plenty of more advanced pool

exercises to learn your second skill you

can learn is called the handstand the

skill requires a decent amount of upper

body strength and a lot of balance so I

recommend you try to do this skill once

you are more comfortable with your Pike

push-ups and regular push-ups I will

link two short videos to help you with

the handstand in the description as you

can see many calisthenic athletes have

abs and the reason for this is because

many professional or more advanced

calisthenic athletes want to stay lean

year-round because it helps them do more

advanced exercises efficiently but if

you have more weights on you do not

worry calisthenics is for everyone and

it is beginner friendly you can always

develop your physique if you continue

with calisthenics and choose to have

visible Abs if you wish to do so however

I want to get one thing straight

everyone has abdominals however the

reason why most abs are not visible is

because they are covered with layers of

fats the best way to get abs is with

your diet although core exercises can

help you condition and strengthen your

abdominals so do not leave them out your

core is involved in other exercises like

even push-ups and pull-ups because your

core stabilizes your body as you do your

workout although some more advanced

calisthenic exercises do involve more

core strength and stability so I

recommended throwing an ab workout or

two after you finish your workout in

order to prepare yourself for more

advanced exercises some great core

exercises for beginner include some

hollow body holds some leg raises and

some more challenging core exercises

include hanging knee raises until you

can reach hanging leg raises and your

third skill you can learn as a

calisthenics beginner is known as the

l-sit this exercise requires a lot of

core strength it requires strength in

your arms to hold your body up and even

some strength in your hamstrings to keep

your legs off the ground I will link a

quick YouTube short in the description

on the progressions for the l-sit now

last but not least we have legs thanks

for watching just messing around all

these counseling haters be saying bro

you forgot legs bro skips leg day bro

grow there are no legs and calisthenics

oh my God you need weight to build your

legs you can develop your legs with your

body weight you might not be able to get

legs like Ronnie Coleman or sebum but if

you choose to do so there is weighted

calisthenics for a reason and you can

develop thicker and bulkier legs and of

course if you choose to do so you can do

barbell squats and you can do weighted

squats if you want to mix it in with

calisthenics but not everyone has the

option your legs primarily consist of

your quads your hamstrings and your

calves some great exercises for your

quads are squats lunges and jumping

squats and if these exercises are too

easy there are some more challenging

quad exercises known as pistol squats

and squats which these exercises

may be a little tough on your knees so I

only recommend you try these more

advanced ones if the squats and lunges

are too easy and not if you have weak

knees for your hamstrings there are

sliding hamstring curls you need a

slippery surface to perform these and

something to help you slide your legs

inward like you're curling your

hamstrings and if sliding hamstring

curls are too easy there are Nordic

hamstring curls now this exercise even

gives professional athletes trouble

because of the intensity so need

something heavy enough to hold your body

weight so I like to use my dresser and I

like to put a towel under my knees for

more comfort you want to try and lower

yourself controlled and slowly as

possible and let go when your body tells

you to let go because you don't want to

rip a hamstring and then once you reach

the bottom you just push yourself up and

then repeat for your calves you really

only need calf races a calf phrases are

too easy try one leg calf races and you

really want to try to add elevation so

you can have more range of motion and if

this is still too easy then I would

recommend maybe you add some weight onto

your calves kind of progression that

challenges you I recommend that you do a

push pull leg split so common schedule

might look like this Monday push Tuesday

pool Wednesday rest Thursday push Friday

pool Saturday legs Sunday rest for

example if it was Monday and I was on

push day I would do my warm-up and then

I would only do my push exercises

Tuesday will be pooling so you'll only

do like pull-ups or you'll do your

Australian pull-ups Saturday you do legs

Etc but depending on your ability find

progressions and variation that

challenge you so you are growing and

also depending on your schedule you

might be busy you might be in school

might be in college might have a job but

you at least want to work out three to

six times a week in order to see the

best results possible and if you want to

learn a skill this is how I would do it

so if I was doing the push-pooh leg

split and I was doing the handstand I

would throw into the push category

because the handstand primarily focuses

on your shoulders I would find a warm-up

specifically for the handstand and then

I would start learning the skill first

and then I would do my workout

afterwards because if you do your

workout first and you have a lot of

lactic acid in your muscles you won't

progress as fast into your skill so I

recommend that you do it for your

workouts and if you want to know the

right amount of Reps for each of your

workouts it all depends on the goal so

if you want to train for strength then

you would do four to eight reps three to

four sets if you want to train for

muscle growth then you would do 8 to 12

Reps for three to four sets which is

also known as hypertrophy and if you

want to do muscle endurance or you're

trying to lose weight then I would

recommend that you do 12 to 15 Reps for

three to five sets if you found this

video useful feel free to drop a sub and

check out some of my YouTube shorts