Contents
You know the movement patterns, the technique and how to make exercises harder. The next question is how to fit it all into a week: how many days to train, how many exercises per session, how many sets, and how long to rest between them.
This is part 6 of Calisthenics 101. It covers the principles behind a training schedule — frequency, full-body versus splits, weekly sets per muscle, rep ranges, rest periods, supersets and exercise order — then gives sample weekly plans for 2, 3 and 4 days, plus how to add cardio. There's no single best schedule for everyone; the aim is to help you understand why a sensible plan is laid out the way it is.
How many days a week
For most people training at home, 2–4 sessions a week works well. A common guideline is to train each muscle group about twice a week; your total weekly volume matters more than how many sessions you split it into.
- 2 days: the minimum for steady progress; good for busy weeks.
- 3 days: the default for beginners and intermediates, and the rhythm of the app's program.
- 4 days: once you have trained consistently for a few months and want more volume or more time for skills.
The best number is the one you can keep up. Three sessions a week for six months beats six a week for two weeks and then quitting. If you're unsure, start with fewer sessions than you think you can manage — adding one is much easier than rebuilding a lost habit. The post on training discipline goes deeper on this.
As a beginner, leave at least one rest day between sessions that train the same muscles. Rest isn't laziness: muscles get stronger while you recover, the topic of part 7.
Full-body or split
There are two main types of schedule. Full-body: every session trains every movement group. Split: each session trains part of the body, for example upper body / lower body.
| Schedule | Best for | Pros | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-body | 2–3 days a week; beginners and intermediates | Each muscle trained 2–3 times a week; missing a session doesn't skip a muscle group | Sessions get long if you want many exercises |
| Upper / lower | 4 days a week | Shorter, focused sessions; each muscle still trained twice a week | Missing a session throws off the whole week |
| Push / pull / legs | 5–6 days a week; experienced trainees | Lots of volume per muscle group | Takes a lot of time; at 3 days a week each group is trained only once |
For most people training bodyweight at home, full-body three times a week is the most sensible starting point. It's also the structure of many popular programs, such as the r/bodyweightfitness Recommended Routine, and of the app's program.
How many sets a week
A useful way to think about volume is to count the hard sets each muscle group gets in a week — sets taken close to failure, with about 1–3 reps left in the tank. Warm-up sets and very easy sets don't count.
There's no exact number for everyone, but there are a few reference points:
- Beginners usually progress well on fairly low volume: about 6–10 sets per muscle group per week is enough to start.
- More experienced trainees usually need more; many popular guidelines use about 10–20 sets per muscle group per week.
- Build up gradually: add one set to an exercise when you recover well but progress has stalled — don't jump from 6 to 20 in one go.
The app's program raises volume by level. At Level 1 each main chain gets 2 sets per session, which over 3 sessions is 6 sets a week. Levels 2 and 3 use 3 sets per exercise and Level 4 uses 4. At Level 2, for example, the push exercise is in every session, so you do 9 sets of pushing a week.
Rep ranges and rest periods
Reps
Muscle can grow across a fairly wide range of reps, as long as sets are taken close to failure. In practice, each range has its strengths:
- About 5–8 reps: leans toward strength; suits hard exercises like the archer push-up or pistol squat.
- About 8–15 reps: a balance of strength and muscle growth where form is easy to keep; most exercises in the app live here.
- 15–20 and up: still useful, but sets get long and lean toward endurance. Once an exercise goes past about 20 reps, it's usually time for a harder one (part 5).
- Holds: about 15–45 seconds per set. Holding for more than a minute is usually worth less than moving to a harder variation.
The app uses 8–12 reps at Levels 1–2, 6–12 at Level 3 and 5–10 at Level 4: the harder the exercise, the lower the range. Balance skills such as the handstand are different — practise them in many short attempts while you're fresh, never to exhaustion (part 9).
Rest
Enough rest lets your next set be almost as strong as the last. For strength work, 1–3 minutes between sets of the same exercise is the usual range; the harder the exercise, the longer the rest. Endurance and conditioning work can use shorter rests, around 20–45 seconds.
In the app you rest 15–20 seconds between the two exercises of a pair and 60–75 seconds after each round. That sounds short, but thanks to the superset, each muscle group actually gets about 1.5–2 minutes before its next set.
Supersets and exercise order
A superset pairs two exercises done alternately: set 1 of exercise A, a short rest, set 1 of exercise B, rest, then back to A. When the two use different muscles, one group rests while the other works. You save time with almost no loss of quality.
Good pairs are exercises that don't compete for the same muscles, for example:
- Push + legs: push-up with reverse lunge.
- Back + hinge: prone Y-T-W with single-leg glute bridge.
- Trunk: side plank with dead bug.
Avoid pairing two exercises that hit the same muscles, such as push-ups with pike push-ups: both lean heavily on the shoulders and triceps, so the second one suffers.
Order within a session
- Warm-up: a few minutes to loosen your joints and raise your heart rate.
- Skill work (if any): balance or new technique, such as handstand practice, while your mind and muscles are fresh.
- Main strength work: the hardest exercises of the day, usually push, pull and legs.
- Accessory and trunk work: hinge, back, plank, hollow.
- Short cardio finisher: a few rounds that get your heart rate up.
- Cool-down: a few minutes of stretching to relax and bring your heart rate down.
Sessions in the app follow a similar frame: about 3 minutes of guided warm-up, three supersets (along the lines of push + legs, back + hinge, plank + hollow), a short cardio finisher from Level 2, then a cool-down. After the last set of each exercise you rate it Easy / OK / Hard so the next session adapts.
Sample plans for 2, 3 and 4 days
The three plans below use exercises from the exercise library. For each movement group, pick the variation that fits your level: sets should be challenging within about 8–12 reps. If you are just starting out, use 2 sets per exercise and the easier steps in each chain.
2 days a week
Two full-body sessions 2–3 days apart, 3 sets per exercise. With so few sessions, each one should cover every movement group.
| Day | Session |
|---|---|
| Monday | A: push-up + squat · Y-T-W + glute bridge · plank + dead bug |
| Thursday | B: reverse lunge + pike push-up · single-leg glute bridge + reverse snow angel · side plank + tuck hollow hold |
| Other days | Walk for 20–30 minutes or move lightly; rest completely when you need to |
3 days a week
This is the app's rhythm: three full-body sessions alternating A and B, with rest days in between. Week 1 is A – B – A, week 2 is B – A – B.
| Day | Week 1 | Week 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Session A | Session B |
| Tuesday | Rest or walk | Rest or walk |
| Wednesday | Session B | Session A |
| Thursday | Rest or walk | Rest or walk |
| Friday | Session A | Session B |
| Weekend | Rest, optional easy cardio | Rest, optional easy cardio |
Sessions A and B are as in the 2-day plan, plus 3–4 rounds of cardio at the end — for example 30 seconds of mountain climbers with 20 seconds of rest. It doesn't have to be Monday, Wednesday and Friday; what matters is a rest day in between.
4 days a week
Once you've trained consistently for a few months, you can split into upper and lower body. Each muscle is still trained twice a week, but sessions are shorter and more focused, which leaves room for 3–4 sets per exercise.
| Day | Session | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Upper | Diamond push-up + Y-T-W · pike push-up + reverse snow angel · plank shoulder tap |
| Tuesday | Lower + core | Split squat + single-leg glute bridge · Cossack squat + single-leg RDL · side plank + hollow rock |
| Wednesday | Rest | Walk or stretch lightly |
| Thursday | Upper | As Monday; you can swap variations, e.g. archer push-ups |
| Friday | Lower + core | As Tuesday, plus 4 rounds of cardio |
| Weekend | Rest | Light activity as you like |
If you have a pull-up bar, add pull-ups or an easier variation to the upper-body days — see part 8. Another way to train 4 days: keep three full-body sessions and add one short session for a skill such as crow pose, or for cardio.
Adding cardio
Strength training and cardio complement each other. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults do at least 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week (or 75–150 minutes of vigorous activity), plus muscle-strengthening on 2 or more days a week. Your calisthenics sessions cover the strength part; the rest can come from walking, cycling, easy running or jumping rope.
- Finishers: 3–4 short rounds at the end of a session, like the app's cardio finisher from Level 2 (high knees, mountain climbers, burpees). Short, but enough to get your heart rate well up.
- Easy cardio on rest days: a brisk 20–40-minute walk. It usually doesn't get in the way of recovery, and many people feel better for it.
- High-intensity cardio (sprints, intervals): limit it to 1–2 sessions a week and avoid doing it right before a leg session.
If strength and skills are your main goal, do your calisthenics while you're fresh and put hard cardio after the session or on a different day.
Key takeaways
- Train 2–4 days a week, each muscle group about twice; pick a number you can sustain.
- Full-body three times a week is a sensible starting point for most people training at home.
- Count hard sets per muscle group per week; beginners start low and build up gradually.
- About 8–15 reps is the main working range; past 20, move to a harder exercise.
- Supersets of non-competing exercises keep sessions short while each muscle still gets enough rest.
- Add cardio through walking, finishers or a few harder sessions, depending on your goals.
A schedule only works if your body recovers between sessions. Part 7 covers sleep, rest days, deloads and how to break through plateaus. If you'd rather not build your own schedule, the 4-level program has all of this laid out for you.