Calisthenics

Let God Arise

Let God Arise

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I'm starting a thread about calisthenics, especially for those on a budget, older with weaker joints, or simply living in a city apartment with limited space.

Personally, I'm an older guy in my mid-50s, no longer as flexible in the joints as I used to be. I also did martial for years when I was younger, so perhaps calisthenics and the max 50kg weights I have in my little apartment are enough for now. Hanging rings from the ceiling are not an option for me, but I do have Lebert bars.

Feel free to share your tips, techniques, etc.
 
I got off weights years ago and I do calisthenics, although not frequently enough but I haven't lost muscle mass or fitness levels. I found I was always able to do every exercise I wanted and there were always ways to increase resistance if I got stronger. Also never injured myself working out doing bodyweight stuff. Only equipment I ever needed was a pullup bar which has worked nicely.
 
if you cant do a pullup bar and you have a sturdy enough door, TRXs are decent. Anything to dip or do chins/pullups is great. If you have study enough chairs you can put a bar over two of them and do inverted rows in lieu of pullups for the time being.
 
QvisVtDevs said:
if you cant do a pullup bar and you have a sturdy enough door, TRXs are decent. Anything to dip or do chins/pullups is great. If you have study enough chairs you can put a bar over two of them and do inverted rows in lieu of pullups for the time being.
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Solid folding chairs work for dips
 
I recommend having a look at the Convict Conditioning series of books. It covers a good range of important body motions and gives you a sound template for progression. Ostensibly written by a guy who did time in prison and developed these exercises in there, but take that with a grain of salt.

Example images from the book:

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Convict conditioning is great, so is RR from reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness.

If you don't have anywhere to hang rings from that can be a little limiting, perhaps go to a park. If you have a wall space you can clear for working on handstands that's going to be a huge help too. Using a trainer in the beginning will be ideal.

I know many of you are running around East Europe & the balkans. Calisthenics/gymnastics is pretty much a part of the culture over there and if you need to know where workout spots are in Kiev, Odessa, Zagreb, Belgrade, Rostov or Moscow, all these places have strong calistenics scenes with bar parks that fill up at sunset with guys doing some serious stuff & you'll have access to world class trainers at excellent prices, stuff that can be very difficult to find in the US, let me know if you need exact locations. It's an excellent way to meet local friends too.
 
I'm also a fan of Convict Conditioning, as well as Al Kavadlo.

As far as calisthenics and getting older, it's not that simple. Calisthenics can be harder on the joints than free weights, particularly if one is trying to follow a plan of progressive overload rather than simply increasing the volume: With calisthenics, the way to achieve progressive overload (per Convict Conditioning) is via leverage, increasingly challenging angles and focusing on unilateral movements, such as pistol squats, archer chin-ups, etc. Some of those can be absolute hell on the joints. In the alternative, increasing the volume while doing the same movement, such as a traditional chin-up, can also take a toll on the joints. My view is that a combination of calisthenics and free weights is best. Another good thing about calisthenics is they always provide a good benchmark as far as whether you are overweight: The ability to move one's own body is either happening or it isn't.

Another great resource and very inspiring guy is Ross Enamait. He has endless ideas and variations on how to work out and with what. He promotes a good mix of calisthenics, free weights and functional training (sledgehammers, etc.).

He doesn't post much anymore but his training and boxing sites have a lot of good material in the archives as does his YT channel.

 
Almost every serious fighter I met in MMA, BJJ, and Muay, was doing some sort of calisthenics. During fights, you absolutely need this kind of strength.
Currently, I'm out of reach of any gym, so I am doing at least push-ups and pull-ups daily on branches and in the abandoned kid's playground.
If you guys have access to a BJJ gym, try it at any age; you will gain muscle power quickly, and there are not so many injuries as in the punching business.
Keeping core and back strong is a must for every man.
 
Jeremiah Branch said:
I'm also a fan of Convict Conditioning, as well as Al Kavadlo.

As far as calisthenics and getting older, it's not that simple. Calisthenics can be harder on the joints than free weights, particularly if one is trying to follow a plan of progressive overload rather than simply increasing the volume: With calisthenics, the way to achieve progressive overload (per Convict Conditioning) is via leverage, increasingly challenging angles and focusing on unilateral movements, such as pistol squats, archer chin-ups, etc. Some of those can be absolute hell on the joints. In the alternative, increasing the volume while doing the same movement, such as a traditional chin-up, can also take a toll on the joints. My view is that a combination of calisthenics and free weights is best. Another good thing about calisthenics is they always provide a good benchmark as far as whether you are overweight: The ability to move one's own body is either happening or it isn't.

Another great resource and very inspiring guy is Ross Enamait. He has endless ideas and variations on how to work out and with what. He promotes a good mix of calisthenics, free weights and functional training (sledgehammers, etc.).

He doesn't post much anymore but his training and boxing sites have a lot of good material in the archives as does his YT channel.
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That's why you progressively overload, taking your time to master an exercise before you "ego-lift" to something more challenging. Coach Sommers from gymnasticbodies also mentions this, how Americans tend to go too hard too fast and never develop the strength and conditioning in their connective tissue. So if an exercise is hell on your joints it means you're doing it wrong, you went too fast because strength is about more than muscles, but tendons and ligaments which take much longer to strengthen.[/url]
 
Jeremiah Branch said:
As far as calisthenics and getting older, it's not that simple. Calisthenics can be harder on the joints than free weights, particularly if one is trying to follow a plan of progressive overload rather than simply increasing the volume: With calisthenics, the way to achieve progressive overload (per Convict Conditioning) is via leverage, increasingly challenging angles and focusing on unilateral movements, such as pistol squats, archer chin-ups, etc. Some of those can be absolute hell on the joints. In the alternative, increasing the volume while doing the same movement, such as a traditional chin-up, can also take a toll on the joints. My view is that a combination of calisthenics and free weights is best. Another good thing about calisthenics is they always provide a good benchmark as far as whether you are overweight: The ability to move one's own body is either happening or it isn't.
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I'm an older guy but have quite a bit of years under my belt with it. Just so you know, I know many people above 40 yrs old, myself included, who can do stuff like front levers, human flags, etc. It's 100% possible.

I agree the amount of info can be overwhelming at first. If you don't have a lot of time & more importantly a nerd like/technical interest in spending many hours watching youtube videos it's best to get a competent trainer. It's not easy finding competent calisthenics trainers & the most practical thing for most is to go to a children's gymnastics gym & try to ask around there. Unfortunately gymnast trainers in the US often want 100+ USD p/hr for on the side training. If you're in an urban setting people in barparks are generally going to be friendly and helpful also & if people see you doing something wrong they'll help. But yeah, unfortunately getting started on your own isn't that easy.
 
Christos_NIKA said:
I'm starting a thread about calisthenics, especially for those on a budget, older with weaker joints, or simply living in a city apartment with limited space.

Personally, I'm an older guy in my mid-50s, no longer as flexible in the joints as I used to be. I also did martial for years when I was younger, so perhaps calisthenics and the max 50kg weights I have in my little apartment are enough for now. Hanging rings from the ceiling are not an option for me, but I do have Lebert bars.

Feel free to share your tips, techniques, etc.
Click to expand...

A good guy to check out for all round basic fitness would be K Boges on youtube.

He does pullups, pushups, and squats every day. I believe he rotates dips, lunges, and rows in there too.

Two of his abbreviated programs that I really like are.

Daily 1 set to failure of push, pull, and leg exercise.

Other routine

Push one day, pull one day, squat one day. 6 days a week. 5 sets to failure.

It is not all that I do, but it is nice to keep in your back pocket for when you are too busy to do longer workouts or youre on the road. Doorway pullup handles are very easy to make and pushups and lunges can be performed anywhere.

Lately my backbone program is grease the groove dips and chins. I'm just going to hammer these for probably a year until I can do 20 to 30 reps of each. Highest I ever got for chins was 12 in a set at a fat 220 lbs. Dips, maybe 7?
 
Mr Freedom said:
Whats a good home exercise for your back that does not involve a pull up bar?
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Rows off a sturdy table or a door. Rope climbs off a tree, but for whatever reason, a good jute climbing rope got expensive. Crab walks for time kind of stimulate the back.

Allegedly, if you train handstands, handstand pushups etc hard enough, it indirectly hits lats. I have not tested this as I have always done pulls.

There are also these, they are cheap and easy to make and you can do pullups with them. I have a couple sets for traveling and when I get bored at work.


 
What earbuds would you guys recommend for listening to music while working out? I've been trying to find recommendations online but I suspect that everything I'm finding is heavily astroturfed.
 
Hannibal said:
Rows off a sturdy table or a door. Rope climbs off a tree, but for whatever reason, a good jute climbing rope got expensive. Crab walks for time kind of stimulate the back.

Allegedly, if you train handstands, handstand pushups etc hard enough, it indirectly hits lats. I have not tested this as I have always done pulls.

There are also these, they are cheap and easy to make and you can do pullups with them. I have a couple sets for traveling and when I get bored at work.


Click to expand...


This would rip my door right off the hinges. You need a very sturdy door to do this.
 
Hannibal said:
Rows off a sturdy table or a door. Rope climbs off a tree, but for whatever reason, a good jute climbing rope got expensive. Crab walks for time kind of stimulate the back.

Allegedly, if you train handstands, handstand pushups etc hard enough, it indirectly hits lats. I have not tested this as I have always done pulls.

There are also these, they are cheap and easy to make and you can do pullups with them. I have a couple sets for traveling and when I get bored at work.


Click to expand...

I would think the cheap hollow core doors that are used now would not hold up with those pullup handles. A lot of these doors are more or less made of cardboard. If you've ever seen one that got broken, you'll know there's nothing to them. I'd avoid damaging the doors in a rental property or hotel where you could be charged for the damage.

I have a similar problem with pullup bars. They make an indentation where they press against the wood trim around the doorway opening. I've tried using wash clothes between the bar and the door trim and this helps, but it's a bit fussy to get the bar hung in the door opening and then get wash cloths between the bar and the contact points on the door frame.
 
Thomas More said:
I would think the cheap hollow core doors that are used now would not hold up with those pullup handles. A lot of these doors are more or less made of cardboard. If you've ever seen one that got broken, you'll know there's nothing to them. I'd avoid damaging the doors in a rental property or hotel where you could be charged for the damage.

I have a similar problem with pullup bars. They make an indentation where they press against the wood trim around the doorway opening. I've tried using wash clothes between the bar and the door trim and this helps, but it's a bit fussy to get the bar hung in the door opening and then get wash cloths between the bar and the contact points on the door frame.
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100%.

A $30 set of loop resistance bands can be used for upper body pulls, that's what I'd recommend for people who live in any modern weak construction. I made a set of resistance band handles out of pvc, but even a set of sturdy gloves work fine for pulls, just put the bands under your feet and row.

With the right setup, a bar and a sturdy band platform, you can do most barbell exercises.

I use something like this for traveling or when I'm too lazy to go to the gym. I might have posted it before.






Edit : I just realized that this is the calisthenics thread, not the lifter's lounge.


Yeah, without a reliable way to do pullups, rows, or rope climb, it is very difficult to train back with just bodyweight exercises.
 
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Jeremiah Branch said:
I'm also a fan of Convict Conditioning, as well as Al Kavadlo.


Another great resource and very inspiring guy is Ross Enamait. He has endless ideas and variations on how to work out and with what. He promotes a good mix of calisthenics, free weights and functional training (sledgehammers, etc.).

He doesn't post much anymore but his training and boxing sites have a lot of good material in the archives as does his YT channel.

Click to expand...
Great to hear Ross mentioned. One of the originals in this field and the Kavadlo brothers as well are recommended and I'm a big fan of.

I always recommend Never Gymless to those starting out. This book is available for $1 at his website.

Best dollar you'll ever spend. https://rosstraining.com/blog/never-gymless/
 
For you guys out there who are pretty decent at pull-ups (20-ish range), I have a fun challenge for you to try. A great way to get some serious reps in, during a single workout.

Think of a pyramid. First set is just 1 pull-up. Next set is 2. Next set is 3. Then 4. And so on. Keep working your way up, adding 1 until you reach a set of 10. Then work your way back down, doing 9, 8, 7, etc until you reach 1.

Keep rest between sets fairly brief, 30 seconds for the easy ones at the beginning, and no longer than 2 minutes once they start getting a bit more challenging.

So it's like this:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Sounds easy enough, right? Maxing out at 10 reps, no big deal right. If you can complete that, you'll have done 100 pullups.

You can make the pyramid bigger or smaller to match your ability.
 
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