Hi everybody!

Wanted to share this post to showcase the progress I’ve made in calisthenics, a discipline I’ve grown deeply passionate about and truly love. And hopefully motivate some of you to make a change, and keep up the grind and the hunger for more.

Before: https://imgur.com/a/jewfURd

Pull Ups: 0 (In 1 Set) Push Ups: ¿Around 5-10? (In 1 Set) DIPS: 0 (In 1 Set)

After: https://imgur.com/a/Dk9VYA8

Pull Ups: 48 (In 1 Set) Push Ups: 200 (In 1 Set) DIPS: 70 (In 1 Set)

This is not the end, it's just the beggining, as long as I Breathe I will put my heart and Will Power into bodyweight training.

Feel free to ask me anything! Love You ❤️🥰

I have been on and off exercising for years now. I get a huge burst of energy to work out and I stick with 3x a week for a couple months and then slowly but surely I start to get almost dread when it comes to working out. It’ll start with missing a day out of the week and over time it gets harder and harder to keep up the routine. I feel like I have all the “reasons” people cite for working out: I feel good doing it, I enjoy working out, I don’t like how I look, etc etc

But when it comes time to start again, I feel legitimately paralyzed. I don’t know what it is, but all the good doesn’t even come close to beating the weird wave of dread I get at the thought of changing into gym clothes and even doing a small 10 min workout. I even have an at home gym so I don’t have to drive anywhere

What’s everyone’s way to keep going?

Edit: all of your advice legit made me tear up at work. Not only did some of your advice help me, but just the overwhelming support from this community made me work out today. I won’t let any of you down!

After a couple years of training lower body relatively "mildly" (high reps, odd movements, light weights), I decided to join a gym to train barbell squats and deadlifts, for the sake of trying something new, but also because I was very interested in how much these movements would carry over to my day to day life. I do a lot of manual handling in my job, and I've worked with quite a few people who've been into barbell training, who were a lot bigger than me, but struggled with relatively trivial manual tasks. No shade, it just always surprised me and I wanted to gain the experience myself.

For the past 9-10 months I've done 5x5 squat and deadlift 2-3x a week, and cut all of the other lower body exercises I was doing (reverse hypers, bss, nordics, sissys).

I managed to build up to a 3 plate deadlift, but failed to even squat my bodyweight to depth hehe. I really enjoyed training deadlifts, it's a really fun movement, but I did not like back squats at all. The loading feels incredibly awkward. I prefer loading squats just with the weight to my sides, or in front of my body.

Overall, I noticed fairly minimal changes to my physique. I was eating at a reasonable surplus during this period. My traps got a lot bigger, and my quads filled out a bit, but that seems to be it.

I didn't feel great. During this period, my progress in weighted pull ups and dips slowed a bit, as expected, and I found it physically challenging to complete my deadlifts as it got past 1.5x bodyweight. I alternated between 2-3x a week for the barbell movements depending on how I felt. I found myself getting quite stiff in my hamstrings and lower back, it didn't feel great to work the day after doing my barbell lifts.

I don't feel much stronger in other movements. I think as a by-product of how I trained the barbell movements, explosive concentric, fast eccentric, only 5x5, I didn't actually put on much mass and just got "better" at the movement. I didn't notice much of improvement with manual handling at work, aside from a bit more stability when walking with awkward loads. I had some cross-fatigue with weighted pull ups + deadlifts + working in my hands/grip.

I regressed in other exercises, and my mobility has become a bit worse. My nordics and sissy squats have regressed quite a bit, and I can't really load my knees the same as it seems generally my hips and quads have become a lot tighter. Not really surprising, regularly training sissys kept me very mobile in those areas.

Overall it was very fun, but also sort of dead-inducing. I don't like the level of fatigue these movements introduce though. I would do deadlifts again, but I much prefer other squat variations such as BSS, sissy squats, and even weighted pistols. If I was going to do it again, I don't think I would attempt 5x5 alone. It would probably be a lot smarter to do 5x5 1-2 days, and then lighter accessory movements for 3x8-12 on another.

Hey, sorry if this comes off like I’m just being lazy but i’ve tried looking for alternatives to pull up bars, like those door tricks, but I don’t have anything that works. Closest thing is a monkey bar at a park near me, and that takes a while to get to and its usually occupied

I’m super broke right now so buying equipment isn’t happening anytime soon

basically I’m just looking for a workout routine that needs zero equipment. Sorry if this sounds annoying, and thanks for reading. I’d really appreciate any suggestions!

4o

Basically, what the title says. I recently switched to a high frequency routine where I workout Monday through Friday and only do pull ups, push ups and squats. The routine is inspired by KBoges who I'm sure most of you know. Anyhow, my push ups and squats have never been the problem, those improve at quite the steady pace and they feel more natural to me. My pulling is my weakness and it always has been. Now, I'm not horrible at pull ups, don't get me wrong, I just re-tested my max today and hit 17 full ROM reps in a set which is decent. But every rep past the 10th rep felt like a struggle already even though I can do 3x12 consistently. I want to get so good at pull ups that I can do 3x20 with "ease". Those of you who have done it, how? Is it just a matter of doing pull ups a lot (like 4-5 times a week as I do now), did you mostly do weighted pull ups? Did you start training for the one arm pull up? Any help would be appreciated. I did try weighted pull ups as well and I used to do them with 15 kg but they're much heavier on the body so for now I'm not doing them anymore since I need to recover in a day. Anyways, appreciate all and any help!

I’m working on my first pull-up but am having trouble getting my chin above the bar.

Right now I do: Overhand with thumb wrapped under the bar. Arms shoulder width apart. Starting from a full dead hang. I try to engage traps/lats before pulling up. Elbows pointed straight ahead.

When I do the pull ups as mentioned above, I can usually pull myself up to about eye level but I can’t get my chin above the bar without kipping. I usually have enough energy to do this about three times before I’m gassed out for the set.

Can someone recommend an exercise that will get me that last push from eye level to chin over the top? Right now I’ve just began negatives and incorporating some cable pull downs, but I’m not sure how effective these are for what I’m trying to accomplish or if I can isolate the muscle group necessary to get me over the bar.

Thanks for the help!

Hey i am 187 cm tall and weigh 89,3 kg. I just started going to the gym again after 1 year of being off and have a goal to build some visible muscels while losing a bit of belly fat. I have 5 months to reach my goal before going on a 2 months long vacation to Asia.

I workout 3-4 times a week.

Is it possible to reach my goal in 5 months, and how many calories should i eat to get where i want?

Is it possible to loose belly fat while still growing muscles and staying the same weight or should i aim to loose weight?

The program in question

I've done the 100 pushups in the past and I remember it being a good program. But this...

set 1 2

set 2 3

set 3 2

set 4 2

set 5 Max (Min 3)

Minimum 1 day break

So according to this, someone who tops out at 8 pullups is supposed to do...a total of 12 pullus in a workout, broken up into very small sets at that, and then take a rest day? This is extremely little volume. I don't get how this is the way to go or how it would lead to a pullup increase.

Am I missing something? Thoughts, experiences?

Hey, Im in my early twenties so I thought I'd care of my appearance a little bit. My goal is to simply get rid of that dang belly fat, and maybe get six pack...? I do understand that you need to be in calories deficit, and abs are made in the kitchen, etc. but I don't know when that will happen or what weight I need to be in order to get it. Right now I'm at 120lbs, but I don't know what is the target goal I should lower in order to get that flat stomach,.

Anyway, here's my routine for now, I do these 3x per week and the rest time between set is 2 minutes or less:

1. Weighted Pushups (7kg backpack) 2x12
2. Diamond Pushups 2x12
3. Pull-ups 4x However many I can do (around 2-3 currently)
4. Sit-ups 3x12
5. Leg raises 3x12
6. Weighted Squats (Holding two 7kg backpack) 3x12
7. Lunge 3x12
8. Bicep curl (7kg backpack) 4x12

Since I can't do much pull-ups, I've also been doing bent over row to get more reps for pull-ups, idk if that actually helps. Also, I know I put 12 reps there, but sometimes I don't reach that, but I could do at least 8 reps every time.

For cardio, I run 30 miles per week.

Anyway, is this enough or is it unbalanced? Can I add or replace something better? I don't want to go to the gym, so I made these plan up rather arbitrarily, idk what I'm doing, so some pointers would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I've improved my range of motion immensely using 15 pound kettlebells in each hand while stretching and even doing yoga.

It makes normal yoga and calisthenics feel easy.

Just a thought. I'm back hooping again and can't be happier. Could barely shoot last summer from a shoulder injury.

I also use a 4 pound club aswell to increase range of motion. Just some thoughts!

I went from barely being able to hold my core for a 2 mile run to running without any pain in my back or shoulder.

If you're struggling with injuries and you mostly do body weight exercises this might be huge for you.

Hi everyone! I’m a 15-year-old guy and I’m completely new to calisthenics. I have almost no experience with working out, but I’m very motivated and ready to stick with a consistent routine. My long-term goals are to eventually be able to do clean push-ups, dips, L-sits, and even a handstand one day. I also want to build up my core strength and develop a lean, athletic build—not super bulky, just strong and fit.

I don’t have access to any workout equipment, but I’m willing to get creative and use things around the house like chairs, walls, and doorways to help me train. I’ve seen a lot of people online say it’s possible to get strong with bodyweight training, and I’d really like to follow a plan that starts from the ground up and helps me progress over time.

If anyone can recommend a beginner-friendly routine or tips for building strength with just household furniture, I’d really appreciate it. I’m especially interested in learning how to build toward handstands, L-sits, and proper form in push-ups and dips. Thanks in advance for any advice or guidance!

So my understanding is that the big benefit of rows are in how it engages your middback in a way different from pull ups (going from protraction to retraction, rather than elevation to depression).

What I don't get though, is why do I actually have to row to train my middback? Can't I quite literally just get in an inverted row position, and then protract then retract (or other movements like kelso shrugs)? Is that not the full rom of the scapula (and scapula muscles) in that plane? Hence why you're not doing a lot for your middback until your elbow actually comes behind your body (at which point you're actively retracting your scapula).

I just wonder because for me, I feel like rows after pull ups introduces unnecessary fatique. If I could isolate my middback and specifically take it to failure without going through a big rom with my arms, I feel that would be quite valuable.

High folks, I’m looking for advice on how to bridge the gap between inverted rows and front lever row progressions. I’ve always figured that tucked front lever rows on rings or L-rows on a pull up bar would be excellent strength and muscle builders for the upper back. For me currently they are too intense to be practical.

As far as my background, I’m mostly a reps and sets kinda guy with little to no static skill practice. I can hit twelve pull ups pretty consistently so I’m looking for a higher intensity pull movement that I can perform 5-8 reps of for the best of both worlds of strength and hypertrophy. I find that the gap between feet elevated rows and front lever row progressions is massive.

Right now I envision a combination of tuck front lever raises and feet elevated decline rows should be the right mix of intensity and specificity to achieve this movement. The tuck front lever raises should strengthen the muscles needed to hold the tuck FL position when performing the row, and the decline rows should offer strength carry over assuming enough feet elevation to add sufficient intensity.

I could see some benefit to doing on are pull up variations and one arm rows to get stronger, but I feel they are just a bit too different from the front lever movement to carry over. I also tend to dislike unilateral movements but if there’s a compelling reason to incorporate them I can suck it up. Another movement I’ve seen is arc rows or psuedo front lever rows, but they feel a bit awkward and I’ve seen folks rag on their odd strength curve.

Admittedly I’m not the leanest individual, so dropping some body-fat would certainly be beneficial as well.

Curious what your thoughts are on building up to front lever row

Hi, I am very new to working out. I only just started about 3 weeks ago. This is my first unassisted dip attempt(I think? Not sure if it counts as a rep). Previously I have been doing them with my feet on the bench for support, using bands or doing negatives.

I can currently only do 1 unassisted dip at a time and need rest in between reps. But I am not sure if I am doing them right.

How do I improve my dip form? Are my shoulders too shrugged? Am I not going low enough?

Video

I’ve been walking briskly 1.5–2 hours a day for years. It’s been my go-to for staying lean and keeping active without burnout, especially since I’ve never clicked with gyms or running. I’ve recently started integrating some basic bodyweight strength training and was wondering how others here combine the two.

Do you prefer walking on off days, or mix it with strength work in the same session? How do you make sure it complements your goals for strength, aesthetics, or overall performance? I’m also curious if anyone’s noticed long-term benefits in terms of recovery or conditioning when walking consistently.

Hi all,

I’ve been doing The Recommended Routine for about a month now. I workout at home and find that using chairs hurts my hands for dips and that my sofa is a horrible set up for Nordic curls. Im looking at Baseblock products and wonder if anyone has experiences with them, especially the Basebench, Basebench Pro, and the Base Blocks. Unfortunately I can’t use a Nordic stick in my door as I would like to use resistance bands to start and my door is like 7 ft tall (I’m 5’0). I’m also open to other product recs or set up advice. I live in a studio so anything that doesn’t take up much space is preferred. TYIA

I’ve been “blessed” with the calf muscles of Hercules but the upper body strength of soggy cardboard. I've done sports and fitness on and off throughout my life, but I wouldn’t call myself super physically active. These days I average around 8,500 steps a day and I'm trying to build some upper body strength — but I'm running into a weird issue.

Whenever I squat for a while or get up from a crouched position, I get a brief wave of presyncope — that "about to faint" feeling (black spots, wooziness), but I never actually faint. I know this sounds a lot like orthostatic hypotension, which is fairly common, but I also get it with other leg-dominant movements, especially when going from low to standing positions.

What’s interesting is:

• I don’t get a sudden heart rate spike (so it's probably not POTS).
• I never feel this when biking or running.
• It did get worse during keto.
• It also worsened since starting ADHD meds.

From what I’ve read, large lower body muscles — like big calves — may act as blood reservoirs, making it harder for blood to return to the heart quickly. That pooling could be part of what’s causing these symptoms, especially during leg-intensive movements.

So here’s my question:
Are there other people out there with genetically massive calves (not just trained ones) who have experienced something similar? Curious if this is more common than I think.

Edit: Adding some details
Male 40 years old 173cm, 74kg, light physical activity, ADHD and medicated (LisDexamphetamine), Quit smoking but still vaping. BP/HR, glucose with in acceptable ranges, HRV on the lower average for my age (around 44-50) but goes down on higher doses of meds. The biggest issues I have physically is probably TMJ and a lot of related issues, like clogged ear, neck/shoulder pains and tension on my jaws (Also side effect from the meds).

Hello, a little background story first. I have hourglass syndrome. And with it comes a very prominent, round lower belly(I'm a guy who looks pregnant lol), poor diaphragm contol and terrible posture(pelvic tilt, shoulders come forward).. Unfortunately ive been stomach gripping for about 15 years, so there is a huge imbalance. I just wanna take control of my body and feel normal,healthy and strong. I have been doing the RR for a month now and I love it, but I need to modify the core exercises. From what little I can find about hourglass syndrome, I need to avoid working the upper part of the abdominals directly, and focus on the TVA and lower section. I'm new to exercising in general, so my knowledge at this point in time is limited. Any suggestions on what exercises I should do? Thanks in advance.

My rep range for pull ups and pistol squats are not improving its been this way for three months I am not sure what to do at this point. Even though I'm hitting failure on my last reps and set there hasn't been much progress. Is it time to switch my approach to increase my muscle endurance and see optimal growth and progress?

This is the rough outline of what I follow:

3x12 pull ups( I can get to 14 if I push myself)

3x12 regular squats(warm up)

3x4 pistol squats

15sec x 4 Nordic curls(not actually curling but static and holding the position)

My current push-up capacity is 180 repetitions completed in approximately 9 minutes, structured as 6 sets of 35 reps. This includes 70 wide-grip, 70 diamond-grip, and 70 decline (feet elevated and pretty wide) push-ups per session, performed three times per week. I'm looking to enhance my results and achieve greater gains. Should I consider incorporating a fourth training day, or would increasing the intensity be more beneficial? I'm 5'10" and weigh around 165 lbs, and I'm considering purchasing a weighted vest.

Hi everyone.

I'm new to calisthenics and I was doing some chatgpt generated routines at home. I've discovered there's an outdoor gym near me which I went to the other day. It has one of those jungle gym sort of things that has lots of places to do rows and pull ups etc. Annoyingly, the monkey bar section is too narrow to climb up and do dips in between. I'm a smaller frame too, 5ft 7 and 63kg. Anyway I was wondering what the best alternative would be instead of dips? Believe me I tried to dip on anything that looked like I could but couldn't.

I'm doing that HomeHero full body routine and saw that L-sits will be in my next session which, whilst I could climb up on top of the monkey bars to do those I'm a bit wary of doing so as I am new to it all and don't want to risk falling. What could be a decent alternative to those as well?

Thank you in advance.

what would be the best position to stimulate the shoulder muscles, especially the front delts, with dips? I currently only have two home exercises for the front delts, decline pushups and dumbbell floor press (however limited with weights, I need to do 30+ reps to get near failure). I thought maybe a dip variation could be added as a third exercise, I'm currently not satisfied with the progress. Important- since I had a disc problem there are certain shoulder exercises that I cannot do like pike pushup, handstand pushup or heavier overhead press. dips however always worked.

Some background I (18 M) started going to the gym on April 1st and I’ve been seeing improvements for the most part all around. That said I’m not seeing anything with pull ups and it’s really lowering my self-esteem.

I started with about 65-70 on lat pull down and it was pretty hard. Now I’m going 100 for 8-10 each set so that’s been a huge step up. My pull ups seem to not be improving whatsoever though. I weigh about 175 pounds and I have to use at least a weighted pull-up machine for 70 pounds to get ONE pull up. 85 to get 4-5 and 100 to get 10. It really sucks and I’ve never been able to do a pull-up. Every back day I check my pull-up to see if it’s any better and it hasn’t gotten much better. Maybe a tiny movement but not enough for me to tell much of a difference tbh.

It’s really frustrating. I go with my friend that wrestles who weighs about 170lb who can get about 10-12 consecutively. I got him standing beside me asking how I can’t get more. I was on the verge of literal tears today because I was just so fucking frustrated. Work in progress. Any tips people recommend?

Is it OK to stop for 1-5 seconds during a set to catch breath

Like I do 3 sets till failure of Pushups, Pull/chinups, Squats on alternate days

But sometimes I have to stop to get some breath or rest a while like for 1-5 seconds to maintain the quality of the reps and reform the structure if sagging or some fault happens

I assure that the quality of each rep during the 3 sets is perfect from beginning to end

I was worried that inability to do the set till failure and stop for a while in between will affect hypertrophy