Hi guys.

Been wanting to start to get in shape. So I came across this calisthenic street workout kind of training and feel like want to try it.
Anyone here do calisthenic workout? Can share your experience here? How is it in terms of effectiveness in getting in shape?

Thanks!!

calisthenic is what? i normally do Hiit as it combines cardio + weighlifting in one go.

calisthenic more like endurance

Combined with a proper diet, I think calisthenics can provide results. Just youtube calisthenics workouts and you can see that those people are pretty lean (and strong as they are able to easily lift and hold their own bodyweight). Another plus of doing calisthenics is that it is free. Just go to the park/playground and use the equipments there

I've been doing calisthenics for almost two years. Most people who do calisthenics usually do the basics and mostly do it to get the fitness levels up. I'll tell you this; not many people have the knowledge to do advance calisthenics and the learning curve can be quite steep. I had to do lots of reading + trial and error to train in more advance moves.

Sure it's hard cause there isn't as much literature as there is on weightlifting but if you're willing to learn then it can be pretty rewarding.

Calisthenics is a big waste of time. Go gym can get same result 10x faster with simple progressive overload.

What kinda of results would that be? Strength? Mass? General fitness?

Endurance but they can't build bigger muscle without weights.

So you're saying that hypertrophy doesn't happen when you do calisthenics? Well if you train endurance in calisthenics obviously you won't grow big. BTW what's your definition of bigger muscles? A body builder like Arnold (when he was still Mr. Olympia that is not the Arnold now)?

Lol you didn't read my earlier post is it? Do you even know what progressive overload is?

LoL. So you're saying that you can't apply progressive overload to calisthenics?

You're really noob

Perhaps i am, but it would be nice of you to explain why hypertrophy doesn't happen in calisthenics. Please (i'm asking nicely )

LOL i just make it simple. Can you build chest with just push ups? Yes you can but you're building more endurance it means eventually your body will adapt to it.
So in order to build muscle or hypertrophy you need to load up the weights that's when you stimulate the muscle.

Terima kasih for your explanation though simple one, i can finally understand why you say that. From your statement you assume that by doing push up you won't get progressive overload a because as you say your body will adapt to it. The principle of strength of course that to be stronger you need to apply more resistance which is what you implied, which is true. Before i take things further lets explore the concepts of strength:

Strength can be defined as the ability to create force to counter act/overwhelm an opposing force or resistance. Simple. So to have more strength you would need to increase either; Intesity, volume or frequency. That's the basic concept of it... so lets try an experiment:

Hold out your fist straight out in front of you at shoulder height and hold it there (the concept of equilibrium) . Not to hard is it, so let's apply the principle of Intensity, volume & frequency. Grab a light dumbell say 4kgs... nothing to hard and hold it back out in front of you. Obviously it'll harder to hold then before. This shows that by adding volume this gets harder, as you say progressive overload.

Let's try something else; with the same dumbell take out the weights of one side and put attach it to one end. So the dumbell will have both 2kg plates on one side of the dumb bell then hold the dumb bell by the empty side and lift it up shoulder length again, you'll notice that the intensity has changed even though you're still holding the same 4kg weights. What has happened is that the leverage for the dumb bell has changed making it harder hence more strength is needed.

Now because of the nature of body weight training, where the weight of the trainee remain fixed the only way to increase intensity is to... LEVERAGE ON YOUR BODY! So obviously working the same move will not provide an increase of strength, as you said. So how does one make things harder? By leveraging your body to make things harder hence a progression. (Also, did you know there are harder variations of the push up? For example; diamond push ups, uneven push ups... )

I would love to explain more but i'm running late... hope it helps.

Wao really good explanation into the concept of body weight training. Thanks so much. Also thanks for @degraw1993 input.
Mr. @dharmabums, I have a question. For example me currently hardly even do one pull up. Im really down because of this.
Can you help suggest how to slowly train to be able to do pull up? Thanks very much

Hi degraw1993, not to be rude calling people noon here but before you understand anything well, don't jump into conclusion that what you know is the best option yet. Basically if you are telling me push up don't build mass in the chest and things are gotten into the endurance side of the story, then youre wrong and you so not have enough knowledge in this.

Calisthenics is somewhat basic from the surface but did you look into advance calisthenics? If you are talking about mass, calisthenics can give you mass depend on how you train it. Don't jump into your own theory saying that calisthenics = rep maniac. We do rep and set but at the same times we do skill works and body balance. Which is a whole body control kinda workout.

Maybe I should ask you a question, do you have any idea what is with the word "muscle"? How do you define muscle? So what you mean is Dwayne Johnson have muscle while Bruce Lee have no muscle? For your information, Bruce Lee don't lift weights and he perform only body weight training. His quote " be water" is not asking you to be water. Is asking you to adapt on whatever environment we put you in. So both Dwayne Johnson and bruce Lee have muscle but diff category. Yet if we back to the Rome era. The Greek. Do you think they have weight to make them get ripped like that?

So next time if you giving your 20 cent here, try to understand and read more before giving people your "final" answer.

Just for your readings...
http://ashotofadrenaline.net/the-5-irrefut...uscle-building/

Hi there, thanks for explaining things in such a detail write up. I like your explanation and I 100% agree on what you say. In conventional gym, people apply progressive overload vastly, if not overwhelmingly. So they don't get the idea of LEVERAGE OF BODYWEIGHT.

Maybe another example is by taking a skill works in calisthenics. Let's just take planche as an example. When we performing planche, we basically use up all our muscle and joint on our body. The progression is at first, we do the TUCK PLANCHE. Then after that we improve progression by leveraging the angle of the force of our joint and the gravity, we next move into STRADDLE PLANCHE, and finally we have the complete FULL PLANCHE. all this progression is what we refer to LEVERAGING OF BODY.

Just in case if someone else so not understand the theory. Search it out before flaming into bad conclusion. have a nice day and get fit dude!

Both can build muscle but calisthenics is slower and to certain limit.

Let's say barbell bench press, you start with empty bar and progress with better exercise form and weights. Almost anyone can do it. You simply add more weights to hit your chest.

As for calisthenics, there are stages. You have to learn a certain skill to get to the next one. Each and every stage hits different part of your body. Example normal push up - more on chest & diamond push up - more on triceps.

I love both of them, reason being :-
calisthenics - fun, skills, swag, but need lots of time to learn skill
weight lifting - boring but its easy and i can do it once a week

For calisthenics, the lighter you are, the easier it is to perform. Therefore they don't bother their weights. They do look very lean with good endurance.
Weight lifting is the opposite, they want to get bigger to move bigger weights.

This post has been edited by Amedion: Apr 15 2015, 05:54 PM

/thread

Lel so much noob again. Do you even read what he's asking? Do you know what i'm talking about? If not then stfu maybe you don't even lift and don't have any "muscle"

Next time you want to post something, learn your manners first. If you just feel like insulting others, you might as well don't post. kthxbye.

Learn your understanding first before you want to post or make any assumptions.

I would say that one of the hardest thing when it comes to doing a pull up for the first time is tha ability to just keep your body hanging up one the bar. As this is a body weight exercise which that need a person to support their entire body, over weight people may find it hard to hold on for long periods. There are a few steps that you may need to build on before progressing towards a proper pull up.

First of would be for you to build up strength in your biceps and shoulders. Google australian pull ups, its also known as horizontal pull ups. It will also help to do some dead hangs, as you need to get used to hold your weight on a bar. How long till you're able to do a pull up will depend on your fitness level. Everyone is different, remember that. Some people take a longer time to master the pull up, some incredibly fast. So don't worry about if your progression is slow.

There is a philosophy in calisthenics where trainees should be doing their progressions slowly this is because they're not just build strenght and muscles but also doing 'strength conditioning'. It's not just muscle fibres that are important but also your tendons and ligament. (Tendons connect your muscle to your bone, while ligaments conect bone to bone) these unfortunately don't heal as easily as muscle fibres. A lot ofcalisthenics moves usually start with static holds which build up your initial endurance as a prepatory step before leading to harder moves. Trust me, you do not want to tear off a tendon.

Another good way to to prepare yourself for a pull up is to do negatives. Jump up on the bar until your chin is above the bar, then let your self down slowly. The slower you go the harder it get.

Wow. You're so good man. In your earlier post you said you need weights to build muscle. Now u say don't need weights to get bigger.

degraw1993 If you are going to give advise give it correctly without insulting people, shouting down from the top of the mountain with your throne doesn't help.

If I see you insulting people again or report, ill be sending you to a nice vacation.

Hahaha.. before u post that video, why don't you look at the like and dislike vote for that video? see how majority disagree? LOL

Thanks MOD for that warning. I like to see that how he try to defend his own theory but at the same time breaking it.

Cheers.

1. Dude really knows his stuff, tracks his macros, eats in a surplus, gets his protein and all. He does things 99% right compared to the average eat clean bro split gym noob.

2. He did calisthenics for 2 years probably with very good nutrition due to point 1.

3. If you made a video saying Lazar Angelov takes steroids, Lazar Angelov training won't ever give you his body, and show people true genetic max and how much insane hard work (cooking, calorie tracking, programming) it takes....... how much dislikes the video will get?

+1000000 .SPOT. ON

Btw, "Likes" and "dislikes" doesn't conclude that the information delivered by the Youtuber is incorrect. It's just ignorant people who dislike facts that contradicts with their believes.

This post has been edited by kshen: Apr 16 2015, 10:36 PM

Anyone here is serious in this?

Do you know where I can get myself trained?

Haha, his calisthenics body is bigger than most guys lifting weights in gym that I've seen

Number of dislikes doesn't mean he's wrong though. He's a very experienced and skilled in calisthenics so.. I believe his words hold some water.

But that doesn't mean Calisthenics is bad. It's not bad in any way. It's great and I really respect those who do it very well. Their bodies are great in my opinion, lean. He's just saying that to build big muscles then weight lifting is the better option.

This post has been edited by khelben: Oct 2 2015, 05:01 PM

Unfortunately most guys DIY. Try google progressive calisthenics and learn about it. Protip: don't randomly pick a workout routine from the internet without understanding what you'll get from it and how it'll effect your goals.

I am losing weight faster doing calisthenics. I wonder whether I am losing muscle mass. I am eating more but my stomach cannot take much more than usual.

My workouts to press up, pull up, chin up, inverted rows, hanging leg raise, dragonfly, full bridge, dips, squats and pole climbs.

My target is to do a muscle up.

It'll be hard for anyone to judge what workout is right for you because we don't know what your fitness level. For each exercise that you listed down there are so many easier / harder variations, some working different sets of muscle too.

If you want to be able to perform a muscle up, Which method are you aiming for? explosive muscle ups (mostly seen in crossfit where they kip) or slow strict muscle ups?

Managed to improve but progress not as expected. Lots of balancing and stabilising of the body. Skills need time to master. Enjoying the moments now.

Honestly you guys if don't wanna go gym, just buy a pull-ups/dip station, dipping belt, and 60kg worth of weights.

Do weighted pull-ups and dips for 3 years and you'll be jacked as fuck.

Fck all this bodyweight calisthenics crap.

So you're now looking down on other form of sports and fitness workouts now?
Different people have different goals in fitness.
People who less prefer working out in a gym does not make them a lesser of an individual.

This post has been edited by Killerjeff88: Oct 20 2015, 10:31 AM

You must be a body builder doing weight lifting. It is alright that you take time to visit this thread and share your opinions. Please encourage your many other friends in BB threads to come in and share their opinion too. Sharing is caring. I like to learn from them too.


I don't need to spend any money to join a gym. I can do pull up/dips at most park. I extend my time under tension. Diet wise I choose a healthier diet of less meat and more vegetables.

Right now I am focusing on calisthenics as I find it useful to build skills and functional strength, flexibility, mobility and endurance to perform better in running and climbing events.

I am progressing to improve my pull ups first before attempting muscle up. My weakness is the pain in my fingers due to excessive bare hand gripping. I will be getting gloves.

i started few weeks back training for the L-Sit.
I think i got it at 80% now ... trying to prolong holding and fully straighten legs.
I'm targeting for planche and handstand next once i get this right.

I have followed your suggestion and extend my time under tension and increase the quantity of my workout. That had made my weight lost another 0.5 kg even though I have increase my food intake.

too much of negativity in your life bro....dont say bad about others when you cant do it bro.. just go and do 2 reps of muscle up, then only we start talk ok?

#respectpls

Told OP ditch bodyweight calisthenics and do weighted calisthenics..... = disrespectful.

That logic duh

Dude you seriously have issues. Calisthenics had always been bodyweight oriented workout. And you're calling it crap so yes you were being disrespectful. Grow a brain?

If one person thinks you are disrespectful, maybe not. But from the way you're getting slammed, ridiculed and criticized about your online behavior not just here but other threads, there is a strong element of truth in these gentlemen's posts.

You've adopted an elitist attitude. Comic books say that with great power comes great responsibility.

With great strength should come great humility.

Maybe you don't have humility because there is nothing to say about your strength and your physique?

Just sayin'.

With great physique comes great humility.... if it's true, then I might be able to be humble one day hahaha.

Yea my physique is pretty 'so-so' only. And I look like a skinny drug addict in shirt so don't doubt your judgement.

Weighted calisthenics can be done with +0kg. Start with bw. Common sense.

This post has been edited by Armesh: Oct 21 2015, 10:16 AM

Personally i dont think it's wrong to do weighted pull ups or dips, you don't have to go all nazi about it. If you think that weighted pull ups are better you could at least explain why it's so. I'm all open to discussions.

This post has been edited by dharmabums: Oct 21 2015, 11:20 AM

Progressive overload is the basic of all muscle growth. You need add weight/make a exercise harder to continue to grow. The rep range must be kept below ~15 reps/set for optimum muscle growth (around 8~12 is sweet spot).

This is why you cannot keep doing more and more push-ups to get a bigger and bigger chest. This is why you cannot keep curling your waterbottle 1000x and get big biceps.
This is why people do barbell squats instead of doing 9999 reps of body-weigh squats. This why people bench press instead of doing 9999 pushups.
This is why weighs and gyms exist.

This post has been edited by Armesh: Oct 21 2015, 12:08 PM

Is that all you have? For a moment there i thought you had something more profound to add on. Frankly, it seems you don't really know much about calisthenics apart from the basics of the basics. Still it's not surprising, there isn't much information about calisthenics around to properly educate people.

Not every sport is focused on building mass. Getting "in shape" doesn't mean building slabs of muscle to some trainees. Respect that.
Do you realize how disliked you are around here? I've been lurking and observing people's reaction and attitude towards you and your posts.

It's sad to see. The fact that you "may" have posted useful info in the past has been overshadowed by your mounting arrogance and elitist attitude which is alienating people towards you.

You came in with this:-

You're just rude. Period.

funny thread.
the TS asked "How is it in terms of effectiveness in getting in shape?"
not "How effective is it to become the hulk"

so lets get back on topic here

Then why are you still puny? I've seen people made better gains in half a year than you.

If you're new to pull ups, hurting fingers are normal. Your fingers aren't used to the holding up your bodyweight. Keep doing dead hangs aiming for a minute. once you're okay, keep dead hangs in your workouts routine, don't throw them out.

since you're aiming for a muscle up as a goal, do practice your pull ups with a false grip

This post has been edited by dharmabums: Oct 21 2015, 03:35 PM

LMAO! Ouch...

And srsly fuck you skinny to buff guy within 90 days. OP here just want advices and all you did was just troll ppl.

I..... I..... *snickers*........

brb......

Muahahhahahaha.......

Don't be so ...... *snickers*.... mean la....



This post has been edited by darklight79: Oct 23 2015, 02:14 AM

I tested myself with gloves and I can do dead hangs for more than a minute. It was the calluses that caused the discomfort.

I tried the false grip but could not exert a lot of force and it is something for me to work on in the near future.

hi. i want to seek an advise. for me my weight is over 100. what is the first exercise that i should look for?

do i have to do cardio and hiit all the way wait for weight go down first or i can try bodyweight training?

Cool! Keep working on the false grip, you'll be muscle upping in no time! Are you doing horizontal dips?

Depends on what your fitness levels are. If you've never worked out for years/have practically no strength then obviously you'll have to start light. It's the same if you're working with weights. If you can't and you're really out of shape don't worry cause not every one starts at the same point. There are harder variations of bodyweight exercises and there are easier variations, you just need to figure out where your starting point. Do an honest assessment of yourself, ask yourself question like these: can you run (how many long, how fast...), how strong you are (can you do basic bodyweight exercises like pushups & squats). This will help cause like i said if your weak no point asking you to do hard exercises, right?

As for cardio vs HIITs, it depends on what you want out of them. While they both will help you burn calories (of course DIET is still the key for losing weight) they are both in an opposite spectrum; cardio boost your fitness levels and endurance while HIITs will boost your speed and strength. Basic bodyweight training will give you more strength. If general fitness is part of your goal why not do all.

once calluses is formed, do you guys do something with it?
or just let it be?

thanks bro. that clear up a lot. i go sometimes to gym for cardio and off gym doing hiit. trying to avoid weight training as it disrupt my weight loss progress.

because i was thinking to cancel out my gym membership and do exercise by myself as there is parks and courts nearby my house newly build.

i will plan my exercise according to your advise then. Why not do all right?

Yes, doing horizontal dips.

I have been doing so much that I am suffering whole body fatigue.

If it doesn't hurt, ignore it. They say calluses are manly! LOL

Just remember to start slow and build up your strength especially when doing HIITs. Them HIITs can take a toll on your joints, tendons/ligaments if you're not ready for them especially on higher levels. Don't forget some rest time too.

BTW how does weight training disrupt your weight loss progress? It shouldn't...

not sure though. seems like after weight training, maybe got muscle gain, instead of going down, mine increased.

i ask my friend he says that muscle gives more mass than fat. deswai its like that. not sure either...

Sounds like you're on the right track on getting the muscle up.

As always don't forget to rest... Rest as much as you can till your ready to rock again. Nothing wrong in taking an extra day to recuperate so don't be too rigid with your schedule.

so much info just from reading here. its sound like a workout i would try. btw im not used to this kind of exersice. usually i went for hiking and normal push up. any suggestion for me?

Do push up, chip up, hanging leg raise, deep squats and bridge.

I find that the workouts are easier with a more flexible body as the body can balance and stabilise easier.

Yes. Rest is important. Some days I intended to practice the proper form and technique but the original intent drifted to full workout.

You called it calluses, I name it Trophy

It hurts when you spank the monkey

I will file most calluss and apply hand lotion.

It depends on your goal, everyone has different goals. Some people want to get fit, some do it to supplement their sport that they are interested in. Workouts should cater for what you want out from your goals and not just some random generic work out. Since you mentioned hiking, perhaps you'd like to do more endurance work? However at the end of the day, do start with the basics if you haven't done much. Get in some push ups, pull ups, mid section work and some squats into your workout first before thinking of exploring advance cals.

It's great that you can do push ups (you'd be actually surprise that there are people who actually can do the normal push up!) so you can start from there. While i don't know how many reps you can do and how often you do it, aim for a for 2 sets of 30. Even if you can do that already keep doing it for a few more weeks, build up on your endurance and strengthen them tendons and ligaments. There's no need to rush and start working on harder exercises, so keep at it till you feel comfortable with working on normal push ups, once ok then only add on diamond/close arm push ups into your work out.

For pulls ups, if you can't do any yet, work on just hanging onto the bar with dead hangs. It may seem stupid just hanging around on a bar but dead hangs builds endurance. The longer you can hang the more potential for you to do higher reps later on. While training on dead hangs do horizontal pull ups to build up your pulling strength. They're also called Australian pull ups or body weight rows.

Greetings to all.
I started doing bodyweight exercises/calisthenics around 2 months ago after i noticed my calf muscle became bigger due to running while my body is little bit skinny.

My current limits
10 pull ups
10 chin ups
25 push ups
8 dips.
10 legs raise
After that i start running around 3 or 6 km depend on my free times and redo all the exercises again after finishing the run. 2 or 3 times perweeks.
Sometimes at home practising how to do handstand without wall.
Learned from youtube channel thefotress but still far from what he suggest ( 25 pullups, 25 leg raises,70 pushups etc).

That's not too bad for 2 months work.

About the youtube channel thing,... is that per set or total reps?

Rome wasn't built in a day. Time, consistency, genetics, food = growth and improvement.
You're doing fine.

per set, if total reps i can do more than 25 btw.
this is the youtube video I mentioned but actually I never really follow the suggestion.
I never did squat/pistol squat. I think my running and occasional hiking is enuf for legs training.



Thanks,
For now I try my best to be consistent. I managed to lost my weight only by running without change my diet.
Actually during my teens and early twenty I was active as rugby player for school and college. Joined cadet and wataniah and never skip the training
Become lazy and heavy smoker after start working . I want to regain my long lost endurance and stamina.
Now already past 30, I can feel that my body not as good as before. recovery also become slow.

This post has been edited by joker_jr: Nov 3 2015, 02:06 PM

I don't know any beginner who can do 25 pull ups in a set straight away, which was why i asked. As i said, for two months work at 10 reps, it good but do note that those youtube vids aren't usually the best place to get a good program as they usually are for people who are close to an elite level and not for people who are new to bodyweight training. It's better to find a good program that is structured with good training progression especially if new to bodyweight training.

Thanks for the vid... will check it out when i have the time.

This post has been edited by dharmabums: Nov 3 2015, 02:30 PM

Haha
Sorry for not explain further, actually 25 pullups, 70 pushups and etc is target how much you can do after 1 year or before you can try advance calisthenics move and not straight away.

This post has been edited by joker_jr: Nov 3 2015, 02:50 PM

Yea, the aging process starts after 25 dude. Shit happens to your body then you'll see that those "young" looking people who abused their bodies with excessive alcohol and junk start looking horrible after 30.

But it's never too late. Never.

train hard hard bro, i believe u will eventually achieve ur goal~
i m also doing calisthenics , still a beginner

i find it really fun

This! so true. I'm in my 30s but how is it I am much much fitter than the average 22 year old female. I have about 8-10 years on them man. No one believes me when I tel them my age.

However I do realise it's probably coz I didn't abuse my body lah. Always ate right, walked wherever. Now more workouts, so I'm the fittest I have ever been (also no more twig arms )

Just wondering, what are your thoughts on 40 and above?

Amen sista!

It's never too late to start. =)

Hi,

Wanna ask,if weighted push ups is a worthy exercise as an alternative to bench press?I'm just started my calisthenic routine btw..looking for option to build strength..

thanks.

You won't need a weighted vest to add on to your push ups to build strength, well at least till you reach the one arm push up and can do it for reps. Till then learn more about advance push up variants like diamond push ups, level push ups and so on. It would also help if you learn about how leverage works in calisthenics too cause even for normal push up can be made harder or easier.

This post has been edited by dharmabums: Nov 9 2015, 11:42 AM

Not really the answer i was looking but better than no reply. Just wanted to get other people's experiences.

Almost 40 and still working out, That's down hill from my prime. I'm finding that recovery is getting slower Of course extra day of rest is always welcomed.

No harm to workout at any age imo. My dad is 56 this year. Still hitting it hard at the gym , he's my training partner lol.

oh,thanks..but how about muscle building..like chest?does the weighted push up helps effectively?i'm using a backpack only(stuffed with dumbbell plates,lol..)

That's cool. Do the both of you compete with each other?

If size is your goal your rep work out should be more similar to a bodybuilder which means rep range of somewhere between 6-18 per set. Stick to those ranges but keep in mind that you need to keep building on intensity too, so keep progressing to higher variants of push ups once you reach the rep limit. You could also consider doing this if chests are your priority: Wide arm push ups, when the get easier for you spread your arms wider, a few inches till it get easy for you (only spread further when you can reach the rep limit). Eventually, after a while of training like this, you arms will be almost like 'T' or a cross meaning that they will not having the full ROM as a normal push up because of this your triceps won't be getting much use. So do note that you'd still need to a normal progression to build up your triceps. Consider this form of push ups a supplement to your training.

Don't forget dips too. Horizontal dips are great but requires great amount of strength to do.

Yes.I'm trying not to hit the gym but still wanna be able to build muscle,endurance and strength effectively.What i've been doing so far :

- warm up.
- 1km running.
- pull ups (2-3 variants)
- a bit of dips and squats.
- core exercise (L-sit,V sit-up,planks and such)
- Push up variant (spiderman,typewriter,acher,wide,diamond and such)
- 1km running again.
- cool down.

2 days of exercise(1-2 hour each) and 2 days of rest..then hit the track again.is that okay?