15 articles
Calisthenics blog
From your first session to the front lever: technique, programming, nutrition, mindset and gear, written for people training at home.
01
Calisthenics 101
From basics to mastery: ten parts to read in order to understand calisthenics, move with good technique, plan your own training and work towards the hardest skills.
BasicsParts 1–4
- 6 min read
Part 1 · Basics
What is calisthenics, and why train it?
Where it comes from, the idea of using your body as the weight, and what a few months of steady training actually gets you.
Read - 7 min read
Part 2 · Basics
The fundamental movement patterns
Push, pull, squat, hinge and core: know the patterns so every session is balanced and no muscle group is left out.
Read - 9 min read
Part 3 · Basics
Starting from zero: your first session
Find out where you stand, warm up properly, pick moves that fit and know when to stop: everything for your first week.
Read - 8 min read
Part 4 · Basics
Core technique: hollow body, bracing and shoulder blade control
The small details that decide whether you progress or get hurt: the hollow position, bracing, shoulder blades, range of motion and tempo.
Read
IntermediateParts 5–7
- 9 min read
Part 5 · Intermediate
Progressive overload without adding weight
Leverage, range, slower tempo, single-limb work and double progression: the ways to make bodyweight training harder.
Read - 9 min read
Part 6 · Intermediate
Building your schedule: frequency, sets and rest
How many days a week, full-body or split, how many sets are enough, and why supersets keep sessions short without losing quality.
Read - 8 min read
Part 7 · Intermediate
Recovery, deloads and breaking through plateaus
Muscle gets stronger while you rest, not while you train. Sleep, deloads, telling soreness from pain that means stop, and how to get unstuck.
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AdvancedParts 8–10
- 9 min read
Part 8 · Advanced
Mastering the bar: from dead hang to pull-up and muscle-up
The full pulling path: hangs, scapular pulls, negatives, your first pull-up, then the muscle-up, plus how to prepare before you own a bar and how to set one up safely.
Read - 8 min read
Part 9 · Advanced
Balancing on your hands: crow, handstand and L-sit
Prepare your wrists, build shoulder strength and learn to balance: the road from crow pose to a freestanding handstand and L-sit, done safely.
Read - 12 min read
Part 10 · Advanced
The summit: front lever, planche and long-term planning
Straight-arm strength, slow-adapting tendons, the progressions of the front lever, planche and human flag, and how to plan years of training.
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02
Topics
The questions everyone runs into: how it compares with the gym, what to eat, how to stay consistent, what to buy.
Training
Gym vs calisthenics: how they differ and which to choose
An honest comparison of strength, muscle, skill, cost and convenience, and why many people end up doing both.
ReadNutrition
Eating for calisthenics
How much protein is enough, eating to lose fat or gain muscle, sample meals, and the few supplements worth paying for.
ReadMindset
Discipline: what really decides your calisthenics results
Motivation comes and goes; habits stay. How to build a routine that does not depend on mood, and how to come back after missed days.
ReadTraining
15 hard-won lessons from calisthenics
What long-time trainees wish they had known earlier, from filming your form and caring for your wrists to patience with pull-ups.
ReadGear
Calisthenics equipment: what you need and what to buy first
Start with the floor and a wall, then a pull-up bar, bands, parallettes and rings: what to buy in which order and how to choose safely.
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