What is Calisthenics? A Beginner’s Guide

Calisthenics is an alternative method of bodybuilding primarily through bodyweight exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, parallel bar dips, leg raises, and others. The calisthenics movement has gained popularity over the years due to its no-equipment exercises.

Just like in gym bodybuilding, calisthenics exercises and workouts significantly differ for beginners and advanced-level athletes. The range varies depending on the progression level, strength, endurance, and flexibility.

Before going ahead into the movements that vary between beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level calthenics athletes, it is necessary to understand a few essential pointers that might come to mind while training.

5 Things to Consider While Beginning Calisthenics

Q1. Would You Need a Good Diet?

The simple answer is “Yes.” Without a good diet, you can’t build a desirable physique at the gym, and the same is true with calisthenics. Therefore, you must consult a dietician or build a diet plan that would accommodate your nutritional needs of protein, fibre, carbohydrates, and fats.

If you follow a good diet plan, it will assist you to progress faster with some movements and even boost stamina. Moreover, it would enhance your physical development, showcasing the results that you desire from non-equipment workouts.

A simple method for growing muscles is consuming two times of your bodyweight as protein and involving the same methods of training that you would do with gym workouts, such as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), progressive overload, etc.

Q2. Do You Need a Calisthenics Workout Plan?

The answer, once again, is “Yes.” The calisthenics workout program is similar to gym workout programs in many ways. It requires a comprehensive bodybuilding plan, meaning you have to dedicate days for arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest, and other areas that you want to build.

Moreover, the calisthenics workout plan should include a warm-up and cool down session, with exercises that shock the muscles so that they do without reach a plateau. You can hire a personal calisthenics trainer to get you a personalized workout or ask the trainer to provide personal training.

Alternatively, you can view daily calisthenics workout days on YouTube. It will give an option of follow-through calisthenics workouts with breaks of 30 seconds or more and help to achieve your goals.

Q3. What’s the Difference Between Calisthenics Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Programs?

As the name suggests, the calisthenics beginner workout program is for people who have an interest in learning the movements and workout plans. So, they are learning movements like push-ups, chin-ups, pull-ups, dips, etc.

On the other hand, people enrolling in an intermediate calisthenics program have mastered the basic exercises, movements, and workouts. They are progressing to learn handstands, one-arm push-ups, pistol squats, and other exercises.

Lastly, advanced calisthenics athletes are progressing to learn hand walk, human flag, dragon fly, shoulder tap handstand push-ups, etc. Some athletes mix cartwheel, handspring, and other gymnastic movements into calisthenics as they involve bodyweight.

Q4. Do I Need a Personal Trainer to Begin with Calisthenics?

A professional calisthenics trainer can prove beneficial in helping you focus on the movements or exercises and even assist in the progression. The trainer will ensure that you don’t overexert yourself and could even help with the meal plan, if the trainer is a trained dietitian. Otherwise, the trainer could suggest a known dietitian, or you can find yourself building a monthly meal plan.

But the choice of hiring a personal calisthenics trainer is completely yours, as you can even watch and learn from YouTube videos or begin practicing the movements at a local gym or park. Only you can decide whether hiring a full-time calisthenics trainer would prove beneficial.

However, learning yourself would also require pushing yourself to do movements, building a self-progression plan, staying motivated, sticking to the diet, and truthfully making remarks on your progress.

Q5. How Long Does it Take to Build a Good Physique with Calisthenics?

I have personally experienced that bodybuilding through calisthenics requires more effort and time than with gym workouts. It also depends on your bodyweight, your stamina, endurance, and other aspects, which are also considered during gym bodybuilding.

If you begin and continue from today until the next 30 days with a good calisthenics workout plan focusing on every body part, you might start seeing visible results from the second month. Also, you need to include cardio exercises like jogging, running, jumping, etc., to accelerate your results.

Keep in mind that the progress will become visible with a good diet, sleep, cardio, and workout plan. If you have a problem with building a workout plan, you can follow online or subscribe to a YouTube channel that has uploaded calisthenics workouts.

Conclusion

Calisthenics uses bodyweight exercises to build strength, endurance, and flexibility. While jumping into it for the first time, it is crucial to understand a few key aspects, such as the need for a good diet, workout plan, levels of calisthenics training, time required to build a physique, and the need for a personal trainer.

All these queries do come to mind when you begin your calisthenics progression journey. You can choose self-training; however, it is certainly less advantageous than personal training if you have a good trainer.

Similarly, you need to understand the movements or exercises to progress faster without getting injured. I hope this blog answers your queries. Feel free to comment on your thoughts or questions, and let me know if you would like a newsletter.