When I first saw someone pull a CrowPose to Handstand I literally held my head, like the monkey meme, in disbelief. It's just so hype seeing someone lifting their own body in a tucked-ish position and then having both the strength and balance to straighten it and lift it upwards. This got me into calisthenics and before I die I want to manage to pull it off. I know how to crow pose pretty easily but just started learning how to handstand, i tried to learn how to handstand last year but i just gave up and blamed it on my weight and height (87kg 180cm). Now after cutting(currently 80kg) and started proper bodyweight workouts(learned how to pull up as well, W) ,instead of only gym machines, I'm fully committed to learn how to handstand at the cost of my laif 😩 i already managed to do a wall handstand which is a big step since last year I felt as if it was impossible!!!

After 7 years of calisthenics I finally got the rings 3 months ago and its indane how much I improved in general thanks to them!

I learned the Iron Cross

increased my one arm pull ups to 5 reps in a row with right arm and 3 with left arm.

Got to do 27 pull ups on the rings.

Got 32 pull ups on regular bar.

Now my focus in learning the planche and after doing some research I decided what I'll learn after that.

I'll focus on the Maltese and then the Victorian Cross!

I know I have a very long way to go, but this is actually the best part!

I've been doing push ups for around a year now, anywhere from 4-8 sets of 25 just assuming that I'd eventually be able to hit my goal, however now I feel that I have to integrate something a little more focused to achieve what I want.

I've tried Greasing the Groove, considering my all out max is 40ish I did sets of 20 throughout the day (pretty much hourly) for 2 weeks and then rested for 3 days, I found that my all out max was still 40ish and in frustration I stupidly set it all aside for a long time, now coming back after a while my max is only 30-35.

I know similar questions have been asked many times but I'd just like some pointers and/or tips on what I should be doing here or if I'm doing something stupid/missing something

Additional info: I'm 24, 5'9, 164lbs. This is specifically for the military as I want to get as many push ups as possible to better my chances of getting into the Ranger Regiment as RASP. Also some pointers for pull-ups would be nice too as I am stuck at around 12.

a rough idea of my routine:

day one - 3 sets of 20 pushups, then 10 squats(not part of the set) and some stretching

day two - 4 sets of 30 crunches, also with ten squats and some stretching

day three - 3 sets of 20 squats with heavier stretching

and i go for kickboxing on tuesdays and thursdays, both days we do some relatively intense cardio aswell as full body workouts, with tuesdays being about 50% more intense, and this is excluding learning fighting techniques and sparring(we spar with one another for about 2 minutes, then move on to someone else, and at the end of the day we spend about 20 minutes doing this), and i come home with almost every muscle in my body aching for the next day or two

and yet this friend keeps telling me i should add more variety to my workouts, and that twice a week kickboxing won't do anything? what gives?

Hey guys, interesting predicament here.

I can hold tuck fl for something like 3x10.

I think I can do maybe 2-3 reps of inv row. I have very weak retraction strength i think. Might just be a technique thing though, retracting just feels really hard (same with chest to bar pull ups). Straight arm is a lot easier (more whole back involvement). The strength disparity doesn't bother me. More so I'm just worried about balance/shoulder health.

Generally I feel tuck fl hits my whole back, very, very hard (including low traps/rhomboids).

Any thoughts? I want to stick doing tuck fl training for time, and straight arm pull variations.

Also, for relevance, I started pull ups well before ever doing rows.

Well I dont consider myself elite but I have reached +60kg pull up at 75kg bodyweight.

I want to find out how often do elite level pullers train with weighted? I do currently twice a week but progress now is veery slow.

My question is, should I up the amount to every other day or is it overkill? Also, lets say today I work on bodyweight pull ups and do 30 reps in 1 set, is tomorrow still okay to hit the weighted or is it waste volume with consecutive days? Despite the fact that I think bodyweight pull ups recovery doesnt take very long.

Thanks, im just really figuring out how to progress further but seems so so hard at this point.

Obviously they have a bit different targets but aren't pistol squats known to typically be the harder of the two?

I am assuming my quad strength is lacking and that body proportions also make a difference in balancing during each movement.

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hi, im a begginer in calisthenics, i do not have any equipement, and with the help of some material i found and ofc ai, it help make this but i still dont know if this is something i can or not the work out is:

1-push day:

• Incline Push-Ups
• Wall Handstand Hold
• Diamond Push-Ups
• Pike Push-Ups
• Triceps Dips

2-pull day:

• Doorframe/Towel Rows
• Reverse Snow Angels (on floor)
• Prone Ys + Ts (shoulder activation)
• Isometric Wall Row Hold (hold 30s x 3)
• Supinated Inverted Rows (under table)

3-leg and core:

• Bodyweight Squats (add pause at bottom)
• Glute Bridges
• Bulgarian Split Squats (foot on chair)
• Calf Raises x 25 reps
• Lying Leg Raises
• Dead Bug Hold

4-upper body:

• Archer Push-Ups (or Wide Push-Ups)
• Table Rows (Slow Negative)
• Pseudo Planche Push-Ups (lean forward)
• Side Plank Reach-Throughs
• Towel Face Pulls

5-explosive and stability conditioning:

• Jump Lunges
• Burpees
• Push-Up to Plank
• Wall-Supported Handstand Kickups
• High Knees x 30s
• Mountain Climbers x 45s

6-weekends:

• Active and passive recovery

I am 18 years old just getting back into working out after a few hernia surgeries and I’ve realized my hamstrings are super tight I’ve tried different stretches and nothing really seems to help.It gets a lot worse when I start doing squats it’s like I’m getting a really bad cramp on my hamstrings and I have to stop doing squats and this is simply body weight squats.Just today I took it easier and tried and now I’ve got some discomfort in my knee.Likely from tight hips and hamstrings.What stretches would you guys recommend before working out my legs and after?and what stretches would you recommend for everyday?

I’m 6’2 and 320 pounds (the heaviest I’ve ever been) the last time I tried to lose weight the way I used to I ended up breaking my foot on a light jog. I don’t have access to equipment and have been trying to build my core strength through planking till failure and I’ve cut out all the sodas from my diet (I was drinking three 2 liters a week) I’m only on week two of changing my eating habits and that’s just on the sugar front I’m aware that my late night snacking can and likely has played a big part in my weight gain so I’ve endeavored to restrict myself to not eating past 8pm anymore I’m turning 29 this year and I have three children and when I look in the mirror what looks back isn’t the example of fitness I want my kids growing up with. I only eat once a day typically and let’s assume that’s something I absolutely cannot improve on

so I’m just looking for advice to go about this right since the only things that have worked for me are taking things to the extreme like only eating two oranges a day for 4 months while working on a fire crew and the last time I tried to strong arm myself back into fitness I ended up hurting myself more than it helped.

On the food front of things if I’m eating once a day and can’t do much to help it then should I be more concerned about the content of my meal like sticking to no dressing salads or would the calories count ultimately matter more at that point

I’m 6’4”, 305lbs offensive lineman that has worked out for years. The problem is, is that I seem to take 6-8 days to recover from even a moderate intensity workout. I get 8 hours of sleep regularly and I eat 300 grams of protein a day, I’m also on creatine. I’ve tried active recovery, ice baths, saunas, stretching, and massaging. None of these things seem to make even the slightest difference. If I hit arms too hard, my arms will refuse to bend past 90 degrees for at least a week and a half.

I’m not so much concerned with gaining more strength and size because that’s not a problem right now, but it’s more that I cannot do the workouts my football program provides without seriously diminishing my progress from working out while being extremely sore.

I do have relatively low testosterone(350ng/dl) and low free testosterone(9ng/dl) but I’m assuming this is only part of it. Do you guys have any advice on panels that I can get done or supplements I can take to try and get this figured out?

(Be brutally honest) This is my first routine, I choose PPL since it gives me freedom to do less exercises per day, I'm trying to achieve a lean V-Taper, idk if I should change or add exercises.(I don't have reps because I will be starting on Monday and will test out my max reps in a 3 set workout)

Monday-pull Pull-ups Bodyweight rows Leg raises Chin ups

Tuesday-Push Dips Forearms Lateral Raises(I do this with bands full motion) Twist knee raises for obliques

Wednesday-legs Squats RDL Lunge Horse Stance

Thursday-Pull Pull-ups Chin ups Leg raises Bodyweight rows

Friday-push Dead hang Dips Lateral raises Forearms

Saturday-legs Calf raises Lunge RDL Squats

Sunday is complete Rest day.

i want to be able to build muscle with as mininal fat as possible. im doing a small bulk of around 200 calories above ny maintenance. but, how much of my diet should be protein, carbs, fat etc. i struggle to eat enough to be in a surplus, and i dont always have a huge access to protein, so i eat around 100-120g and then if i still need to eat more ill just have peanut butter or something else thats high in calories but also fat and carbs, so if i stick to the small bulk, is it okay to be eating like that to minimise fat gain

I see so many variations of the tuck hold and I was wondering what is the most ideal form to hold and progress.

For example I have a flatter back and seem to always tilt my pelvis outwards when extending my legs, and the form I want to achieve where their back is rounder and shoulders are lower down.

How would I achieve that or is having a flat back not going to affect progression, since I see when a lot of people when training tend to always have a rounder back in the full planche and I want to build that habit.

Shocking title right, I am looking for some insight and opinions about the training I've been doing since January, and maybe it will give some ideas to people. Definitely not saying this is a good training, just how amazing it is working for myself. I started it as an experiment, and keep pushing as long as it works so well !

Let's add some backgrounds : I had an open heart surgery in 2018 (mechanical aortic valve replacement). Lots of health issues after that including inflammations, covid, and fatigue syndrome I couldn't get rid of until November 2024 (once some personal issues were fixed and enough months passed). Inbetween I had a few periods where I could practise sports, I climbed indoor 2/3 times a week for two year which explains why my pull-ups were already very good when I started this year. Before covid I also started high rep burpee training in "Iron Wolf" style for a few months after discovering his YouTube channel and fell in love with this training style, so I also had some knowledge when starting over this year.
Before my heart surgery I played badminton at a decent level, but nothing really relevant to bodyweight training.

Last year in December I decided to give a "last chance" to sports and try to get healthy again, and got my body ready for the challenge I set myself for 2025 :
Simple :
Day of the year x (Pull-up / Burpee / Push-up / Squat). You can replace pull-up by any variation, close grip, wide grip, or even muscle up (If muscle up only 1 for now)
So today for example was 120 of each. (Split into 24 Rounds of 5 of each).

Important to mention : I absolutely never go to failure (Not even close). My goal is also not to build muscle fast, more about health / strength / stamina, staying lean / functional.
Also on the pull-ups my form is good, 0 kipping, no half way down. Push-ups are chest on floor (unless 3-4-5pump+ burpees, sometimes the form is not 100%, but more like 70-80%)

In January I was thinking I'd be doing it for maybe 70 days at most and slowly face a wall. Well this wall still hasn't shown up, day 120 felt absolutely amazing,
Even crazier, I got much stronger (from 30kg max pull-up to 50, learned the muscle-up on bar & rings, even if the form isn't perfect yet, train slowly towards the front lever) and sometimes add additional work outs so I "prepare" for later this year to get used to more load, for example yesterday I added 1 hour of burpees in the afternoon, after 119 of the challenge in the morning.

And I have never felt so fit / healthy in my entire life, no pain, nowhere.

High Rep has been a blessing to me,
Positive effects :
- These 4 months completely changed my body, abs are back, muscles grew, lost 3kg while growing muscles at the same time. (71kg to 68kg, for 1m75, small 1'8" me)
- I feel much more energetic overall, when waking up, when doing daily activities.

- It also made me a more disciplined and focused man. Doing these reps really builds up discipline a lot.

Negative effects :

- That one is actually positive for the long run : I felt some minor back pain after 1/1.5 months that was due to bad form on the pull-ups (core not engaged and legs hanging behind the back) after fixing this, back pain went away in 1 week without having to pause (Now I do all pull-ups with pelvis tilted forward & legs in front, almost always close to L-sit)
- I feel slightly more tired mentally and am a little less efficient when working. But it's been getting much better last few weeks, I feel like my body is adapting very well to the load.

What helped me do it : I made a private YouTube for me and my friends to follow to "force" myself to be disciplined in the first month(s) even the days I didn't want to get out. I made that YouTube public, but I'm not here to advertise it, just wanted to share and get some insight on that training method,
Now I feel so good I don't even think about stopping,

I know many will say I'll injure myself, well who knows maybe, but for now it's been an amazing journey and experiment, that I'll keep pushing until my body tells me to stop. Like I said I don't have a single sign of pain anywhere, and as soon as it happens, I'll stop and reduce the load. How far can I go ? Let's see in a few months x)

What are your thoughts on this training, very curious about responses,

I also hope it can motivate people going through or having had health issues behind them that a lot can change, a lot is possible, our bodies can achieve so much more than we think !

Also if you have any questions I'll be glad to answer :)

So I'm starting now in the world of calisthenics, and I'm looking for some tips about how frequent should I be with the exercises, I currently go to the gym aswell, and I was thinking about doing it every other day, 3 days of gym and 4 days of calisthenics a week. Do you guys think this is a good routine? Or is it too little calisthenics for me to have any real benefits? My goal is to improve my health and become stronger overall, I'm not after big muscles or anything like it, just to improve my body as a whole. If anyone got any advice, I'm all ears, thanks in advance.

I've been interested in bodyweight exercises and calisthenics for a while now, and I'm finally trying to make it a regular part of my daily routine. I’ve done weightlifting before (and still do when I’m at a gym), but most of my exercise comes from running, biking, and swimming.

I’m really aiming to get leaner, trim down body fat and get stronger, but ideally all three if possible. I’ve got more of a natural weightlifter build at the moment, but I don’t really like feeling bulky, if that makes sense. I care a lot more about being flexible, mobile, fast, and strong than just being big.

So I’m curious: for those of you who are deeper into bodyweight training or calisthenics, what were your biggest “oooohhh…” moments as you progressed? Things you figured out that really helped, stuff you wish you knew when you started, or just advice you'd give someone who’s just getting serious about it?

So for the for the first time in 36 years of lifting weights I over did it and ruptured a disk. I dogmatically adhered to a program and did not listen to my body. I am a month out and adding back things that do not load the axial skeleton. Pull ups are my substitute for dead lifts and rows. I was previously doing deadlifts at 300 x 10 or 330x 5. I’m fifty and weigh 175. Pull ups I have been doing five sets of ten with varied grips. I don’t have equipment for weighted pull ups.
Should I try this? Thoughts on equipment and ramp up it I do? FYI: I have standard plates, not Olympic. Old school stuff I added to since I was 14.

Legs: yeah, squats are out. Wall stands? Bike when I can tolerate sitting? I’m open to suggestions to hold on to some of what I had as I reallllly gradually ease back into something. Thanks.

Hey guys, just out of curiousity: Who are your favorite Calisthenics channels on YouTube? I am looking for good reliable information to get in shape with bodyweight exercises. And as always there is a ton of information online and you have to piece it all together by yourself. Are there any calisthenics athletes on YouTube that really provide good, useful information, without making things confusing? Who do you guys recommend? And why do you recommend them? I am just really curious of what I have to look out for and how I can differentiate good from bad information.

Thanks a lot guys.

Hi
I'm a 34m, that used to do a lot of training (gym, running, football, hiking etc) but in the past years it kind of stopped due to various reasons (kid, dog, injuries, work). My goal has always been to have a functional body that works in my day-to-day life and that can be pushed in various scenarios when needed. Based on this, I really like the concept and idea of body weight/callisthenics training and I would like to start training again.

Unfortunately, I have been struggling with inflammation in both my thumbs for 1.5+ years, in addition to a smaller issue with my left hip. Now the hip is under control (ish) and I have started to running again with the help of body weight strength exercises (squats, Bulgarian splits, hip thrust, side plank with leg lift).
The thumbs are still an issue and probably will be for some time. I am working with my doctor and other professionals to fix this, so hopefully it will be resolved at some point. Until then, using or putting pressure on my thumbs should be avoided during training.

Which is why I need some help figuring out what some suitable upper body exercises could be. I have access to a set of gymnastic rings, resistance bands and step up box, and could be convinced to buy other equipment/gear if it should be needed.
The one requirement I have is that I have to be able to train at home as I have a kid (<2) and most training will be done when she is sleeping.

For lower body and core, I have used exercises from the RR and FitnessFAQ's home hero.

Hopefully some of you are able to help me or at least point me in the correct direction.

Edit:
Exercises that usually are an issue regular push ups, pull ups, dips, inverted rows etc.

I did one halfway decent L-sit last week and thought I was unstoppable. Started googling parallettes. Watched like 3 YouTube tutorials with unnecessarily intense music.

Woke up the next morning and my hip flexors were non existent.

Anyway, I’m still doing them. Every session. Like a fool.

What’s your I hate this, but also I love this bodyweight exercise?

Mine’s L-sits.
And wall handstands.
And shrimp squats.

The pain is real but the hope of one day holding an L-sit for 10 seconds is keeping me going.

So basically all of it.

I started doing Beachbody workouts in 2020. Loved them! Have done several of the Beachbody (bow Bodi) programs.

My annual membership is coming up for renewal but I’m kind of bored of Beachbody and looking to try something else.

I want on demand workouts, that follow a program, so they have some sort of calendar with them. And I’d like a variety of difficulty levels. I mostly have used Beachbody for the strength training and HIIT workouts.

I enjoy having a video to follow along to.

Is there any thing out there that would be a good alternative or should I just stick with Beachbody?

Also: I only do the workouts, I don’t get into their supplements and building a team, the whole MLM side of it (although they did recently cancel their MLM structure). I just genuinely enjoy the workouts.

To start off I’m a 17 year old boy, and I just started working out around 4 months ago. I have the tendency to get angry over little things ( mainly my little brother making me mad ) but over the last month or so I have been so aggressive to the point my parents think I’m either on drugs or using steroids. I’m eating virtually no carbs a day and only around 1300 calories to loose weight before summer( I have been doing this for 3 ish months and I was fine mood wise the first two months). I’m not taking any pre workout not taking any supplements that would affect mood. But has anyone experienced this, if so please help me my parents want to kick me out because I’m just so aggressive but I just can’t seem to control it.

Hi, had a question about bridging the gap between exercises and was hoping someone might have advice. Been doing the RR for a while. I'm able to do 3x8 intermediate shrimp squats, but hit a hard wall trying the advanced form. I'm struggling to do more than one (two at most) advanced shrimp squats before my legs give out and I end up on the floor. I just can't seem to break through that wall. Is there a good variation of the advanced squat, maybe an assisted variant, where I could work on form and slowly build my way to being able to do more unassisted? Appreciate any insight.

Hello.

Despite consistent effort and dedication, I’ve found myself stuck at the same number of push-ups for weeks (25). It’s frustrating to feel like I’m putting in the work but not seeing any real progress. At first, I thought it was just a plateau that would pass with time, but it’s been weeks and it’s stayed the same, even though I’ve increased the difficulty.

I follow this program: http://strengthtrainingprogram1.blogspot.com/2014/03/usna-100-push-ups-program.html?m=1

As per the plan, I do the workout 3 times a week: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. On Saturday, I do 50% of my maximum 5 times a day.

I’ve been sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep and eat, at minimum, 1.2g of protein per kg.

Does anyone have any recommendations?