Calisthenics Training and Beyond

A perfect handstand One of the main aims of many of those who come to bodyweight training is to learn how to do a handstand. Freestanding handstand is an impressive skill that demonstrates a high level of strength and control and it will require many hours of practice before you can hold the position for any length of time. There are many ways to do a handstand but the variation is discussed in this guide is the straight line handstand. It has many benefits over other variations such as Shoulders are open up Encourages a stronger, tighter core Strengthens the legs and butt Protects the back Think about if you had more flexible shoulders, a tighter core, stronger legs, butt, and back, your performance in almost every other exercise would improve! Straight handstand vs Arched handstand Preparation before Handstand practice Before jumping right into a handstand, it’s important to get your body ready for the work ahead. The two areas that will take the brunt of th

Choose one of the following variations as a starting point and perform 3 sets of between 4 and 8 repetitions with periods of between 1 and 2 min of rest between each set. When you can do 3 sets of 8, move on to the next exercise in the progression. All the necessary information about pull up can be find in my previous article  here . One arm Push up progression 1. Wall Push up Performed against a wall. To find the starting position, stand away from the wall and extend your arms in front of you till the tips of your fingers come in contact with the wall. If you find the exercise too hard, come a little closer to the wall. Wall Push up 2. Knee Push up Kneel on the floor with your feet together, and your palms flat on the ground in front of you. The arms should be straight, shoulder width apart, and in line with your chest. Using the knees as a pivot, bend at the shoulders and elbows until your chest is approximately touch the floor. Pause and press back to th

Leg raise is one of the best exercise for your core. It will help you develop not just a strong core, but functional too. Leg raise work the whole abdominals or "Abs" muscle and the obliques. Along with a appropriate diet program, you will get your sick-pack. Like other exercise in the series, you start by choosing one of the following variations as a starting point and perform 3 sets of between 4 and 8 repetitions with periods of between 1 and 2 min of rest between each set. When you can do 3 sets of 8, move on to the next exercise in the progression. 1. Knee tuck Knee tuck Sit on the edge of a chair or bench. Lean back a little, grip the edge of the seat with your hands, and straighten your legs. Your feet should be together with the heels raised a few inches from the floor.Then smoothly bring the knees up and in until they are approximately six to ten inches from your chest. Exhale as you draw the knees in. By the time the motion is complete, you should have

This is a beginner - intermediate training routine that allows you to build impressive strength with minimal equipment. All you need is the floor and a pull up bar for most exercises. Frequency Do this 3x a week, with at least one rest day in between workout days. So you could do it Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Or Wednesday, Friday, Sunday. Whatever fits your schedule. Don't purposely split the workout into separate days. It's meant to be a full body workout. Structure of this Routine 1. Warm Up (~ 5-10 minutes) Do some dynamic Stretches to get the joints nice and loose. If you're not feeling warmed up yet, do 10-20 burpees or squat jumps. 2. Skill Work (~ 5 - 10 minutes) For newbie, in this section, i strongly recommend you to practice Handstand.  Handstand Handstands are critical for the development of body proprioception and control. Progression in this skill signifies the level of ability of the user. Very

The training principle is same as the other exercises  Push up  and  Pull up Choose one of the following variations as a starting point and perform 3 sets of between 4 and 8 repetitions with periods of between 1 and 2 min of rest between each set. When you can do 3 sets of 8, move on to the next exercise in the progression. All the necessary information (Form, muscle targeted, etc) about Squat can be find in my previous article  here . 1. Assisted squats Stand up straight with the feet shoulder width apart, or slightly wider. Rest your hands on the back of a chair in front you. Lower yourself till your thighs are parallel with the floor, keeping your back as straight as possible. Pause for a moment, before pushing yourself up using mostly leg power.Try to keep the arms fairly straight. Your heels should remain flat on the floor throughout the exercise. Assisted squats  2. Deep assisted squats.  Same as above, but squat through the full range of motion. Deep assi

Choose one of the following variations as a starting point and perform 3 sets of between 4 and 8 repetitions with periods of between 1 and 2 min of rest between each set. When you can do 3 sets of 8, move on to the next exercise in the progression. All the necessary information about pull up can be find in my previous article  here . Pull ups progression to One arm Pull up 1. Australian Pull up / Horizonal Pull up Australian Pull up Find a horizontal base you can hold onto which will safely carry your bodyweight. It needs to be at least as high as your hips.  Get down so that your chest and lower body are underneath the bar. Ideally your hands should be shoulder width. Now pull yourself up so that your back is off the floor. Depending upon the height of the bar, your arms will probably have to be slightly bent for this. Keep your body tensed and locked straight, so that its weight goes only thorough your hands and heels. 2. Negative / Eccentrics Pull ups Jump up

What is GTG? Pavel Tsatsouline Greasing the groove is a strength training method popularized by Russian fitness author and coach,Pavel Tsatsouline, one of the world’s premier strength and conditioning coaches and former trainer of the Russian special forces. (For more information on Pavel and some of his unconventional training check out his books, The Naked Warrior or Power to the People). Contrary to the belief of most Western bodybuilders, who believe strength comes purely from larger muscles, the Russian philosophy is that in addition to strength being somewhat correlated to muscle size, strength is also a skill. Like with any other skill, the ‘skill of strength’ should be practiced, because as we all know, practice makes perfect. The principle of this training technique revolves around the simple equation Pavel came up with to explain the technique: Specificity + frequent practice = success To become a defter football player you have to practice football. To be

A dip is a compound, push-type exercise like Push up but it works the muscles with the different angles. While push up is a horizontal push exercise, Dips is a vertical push exercise. A bodyweight dip requires you to have a pretty good base level of strength throughout your body, because you’re going to be lifting up your whole body up and down. You do Dips by first raising yourself on two dip bars with straight arms. Lower your body until your shoulders are below your elbows. Push yourself up until your arms are straight again. Parallel bars dips Muscle targeted Dips works many muscle at the same time, include Triceps, Chest and Shoulder. There are two version of Dips which are focus more on Triceps or Chest. Tricep version To get into the starting position, hold your body at arm's length with your arms nearly locked above the bars. Now, inhale and slowly lower yourself downward. Your torso should remain upright and your elbows should stay close to your bo

Maybe I don't have to talk much here. Everyone should know about the Squats and  the two basics steps to do them. Sit down and Stand ups. That is it ! Bodyweight Squat Squat muscle targeted Muscle targeted Squats will work your entire lower body. They primarily target the muscles in your butt (gluteus maximus), the front of your legs (quadriceps) and the back of your legs (hamstrings). But they also engage some stabilizing muscles: your lower back (erector spinae), the outside of your thighs and bum (abductors), your inner thighs (adductors) and your calves (gastrocnemius and soleus). Tips for a proper squats Different depths of motion in squatting develop different muscles. A full range of motion develops all the muscles equally. For this reason, you should aim to master full squats. Some of the steps are half-movements, but they eXist only as stages in the process towards full squats. Half-movements must always be performed in conjunction with full movements.