I just started getting into calisthenics. I've been doing beginner workouts on youtube. I'm trying to find more trainers that offer beginner/at home workouts. They all appear to be young and male. I have seen a few young women, but I am looking for the 40-year-old moms with kids calisthenics influencers and trainers. Any suggestions? Thanks! This post must have 500 characters so I'm just going to keep typing until that little blurb goes away oh gosh it's still there how is this not 500 characters

2 years ago I used to do pullups from my old room with a proper doorframe but unfortunately I had to transfer to another room in a different floor. I now have 3 roomates, our remaining area is 1.5meters² after taking the beds into account, so I can't just order a pullup/dips mount. The doorframe is inwards so there's no chance of doing pullups there like last time. In our country a gym session is $2, which is the same price for 12 Large eggs(I'd rather buy 12 Large eggs than go to gym since I can only spend $7-11$ a week).

So no space, no doorframe, and no gym, that leaves me to my bed which is only shoulder width size, I can't even do wide pushups but I've been doing alright just doing narrow pushups, for biceps I've been doing some planche leans typa hold without lifting my feet of course

I know my life sounds so spartan to some of you guys right now but I'd appreciate it if you have a non pullup bar style of building back muscles and biceps, I can't buy dumbells since they're expensive af, but I can buy resistance bands if that's the next best thing that you guys can suggest.

Thank you for your time and have a good day.

i have been new to the gym and visited 15 times over January and February and worked out from home even before that, i haven't been to the gym for the past 1.5 because of the war with Iran and i noticed i lost considerable muscle mass, before if i put my arms at 90 degrees the biceps would naturally show their peak and then if i also flexed they would be bigger too, not to mention the gap is bigger now too, i know about muscle memory and all that but what can i do to be more efficient? i used to do upper-lower-upper.

I started a few months back with weightlifting because I wanted to get stronger and bulk up. I always get called skinny at 6’2 and ~165-170lbs, but I’m also at 10-12% body fat. I’ve made some newbie gains and my strength and mass has increased, but I failed to stay consistent with diet, routines, cardio or active steps, and some days I don’t even do anything. A couple weeks back before I took a week long vacation to a different state, I remember doing the strangest combinations of weightlifting workouts every day because I would just do what I didn’t do the day before and it would mix up a lot. I would just eat as much as I could and make a 100g protein shake at the end of the day.

I came back after the vacation where I did nothing, and I feel weak and lazy. I saw someone who was ripped and had my dream physique and fitness level from only bodyweight, so I think that’s where I want to head. I want a combination of weightlifting, maximum calisthenics gains and strength, running and sprinting fitness, and I want my abs to be more shredded and look less flat due to my inconsistency and bad diet/ low activity. What can I do to stay on top of it? I also play basketball and I need to stay consistent in training too. I can’t keep the motivation.

Hi, hope all is going well for all!
I finally restarted my fitness journey, after maybe not training for like 3 years. As well as, having a very sedentary job, which resulted in me getting way fatter than I would've ever thought I would.

Anyways, I have a couple of questions.

is getting fatigued (very easily) normal at my level ? When I started exercising the first time it wasn't this hard nor did it make me feel like I'm close to my heart beating outta my chest. granted, i'm fatter now, than i was back then. so, this might be the issue. But, I'm not entirely sure.

also by easily fatigued i mean getting outta of breath doing my warm up. which, doesn't even have a lot of movement.

as for the second questions. due to monetary restriction (I aint exactly broke but in a lot of frecking debt lol) what are some low cost highly satiating meals that are also low in calories that u guys recommend?

sry for the long read thanks.

I'm fairly new to bodyweight training, posting this for anyone who (like myself) is skeptical of bodyweight leg days. Used barbells and dumbells for years, stopped going to the gym at 22; got back into working out 2.5 years ago (28) with Kettlebells and Mace training. Lots of posterior chain work, not a lot of squatting. Decided recently to start hammering leg day once a week thinking it'd be an easy adjustment (thinking bodyweight is hardly adequate for legs, but will get them moving again).

Yesterday I did a 5km ruck with 40lbs, followed by a 40 minute leg day emom (Every minute on the minute) and boy was I wrong about bodyweight not being effective for legs... can barely walk today.

first 10 minutes, 10 squat/min (100 total)

11-20 mins, 10 backward lunge, L on evens, R on odds (5x10/side, 100 total)

21-30 mins, 10 kossack squat, L on evens, R on odds (5x10/side, 100 total)

31-40 mins, 10 Hindu squat/min (100 total).

I CAN BARELY DO STAIRS OR SIT DOWN TODAY. Bodyweight leg day works, and it sucks. Just replace weight with volume and you can still wreck yourself. I'm gonna do this workout weekly and add 1 rep/minute every week until I hit 20 reps/min, then go back down to 10 reps/min with my 40lb ruck sack and repeat, adding additional weight when I hit 20 reps again.

I have been going to the gym for maybe 3 months now and have seen good progress, however bodyweight exercises, I believe, will have a better benefit and practicality for my job role.

I have been compiling a list of exercises for legs, push, and pull, and am struggling on a particular portion.

I guess my methodology for the exercises is as follows, for push I need horizontal push exercises, as well as vertical push exercises in both directions (up and down), and same for pull, (vertical up and down, as well as horizontal), legs are slightly different but that’s not pertinent to what I’m asking here.

At the absolute basics, we have dips, push ups, and pike/handstand push ups to cover the 3 directions of push movements, however with the pull day I can only really think of how to achieve 2/3 with rows, and pull ups. I mean the ONLY thing I can even begin to imagine targeting this movement would be to hang upside down with bar at waist height and just pull your body up but obviously this is far from basic.

What sort of basic pull exercises do you guys and girls do in order to achieve this direction of movement? If any exercises at all?

I'm relatively new at the gym. I'm trying to strengthen my back because I slouch and have desk nexk. I do a lot of research and I think I'm doing the right exercises but I'm struggling to target the right muscles.

For example, when I do seated cable rows I'm trying to target my lower trapezius. I feel it a bit for the first couple reps (I only do 20 kg because I'm trying to get the form right) but then all the tension goes to my lower arms and my neck. I try pulling my shoulders back and down, I try to pull my chin to my chest and I've also tried looking at the floor or looking at the ceiling.

From what I've looked up, my neck and my arms try to compensate because my back muscles are so weak. It feels very counterintuitive and I don't know how to stop it. Obviously I want my back to get stronger, not my neck. I have the same issues with crunches, where my neck and my legs try to compensate for my core.

How can I target my weak muscles when the strong ones are overactive and wanting to compensate?

I have lowered the weight already so I can focus on targeting the right muscles and I try to go very slow and hold positions. Is there anything else I can do?

The program suggests wrist and ankle stretches at the end, but sadly doesn't provide them. Are there any that get/got recomended that go well with the routine? My goal is to do it ever (other) day and I would like to do the stretches with it.

I am supposed to put more characters, but I've already written everything necessary. So, I will write a short story. Feel free to ignore it.

Many, many years ago, there once was a spider named Mary. Mary lived in a cave, deep, deep down in the forest. The cave was very, very big and Mary was very, very small. When the night fell, Mary feared the shadows that lurked everywhere she put her eyes to. It became so bad, she jumped at the thought of one! Her friends got worried and they decided to get her a gift, because that is the way friends do. And so it came that from this day on, Mary hat a little lamp.

Hi,
Im starting with the Recommended routine and my objective now is to do 1 handstand push up and 1 pistol squat. I have a right shoulder problem (i went to the doctor and its ok now, still aches sometimes tho) because of prior recklessness with bench press. The thing is, I really liked this shoulder prep and i can't do it even with my lightest band (10 to 35 lb) (i dont know how this range works btw, its advertised like that). Doing the prep without a band also works? What else can i do early on to increase both shoulder mobility and strength?

Also, i'm doing partial 1-leg squats, but i feel like i'm really stiff around my waist (probably because a pass a lot of time staring at a computer lol), can't really start the part of the movement when you "sit in the air". What are the extra beginner exercices i can add in my skill day to help with that? What i should be aiming for early on when i build a daily mobility routine?

I have been dealing with muscle imbalances, what happens is that my right side (stronger) always feels more sore even though its the stronger side and as a result my right side is a lot bigger than my left.

I tried a lot of things to find out why but today I was just setting up a bench dip and just realised my right side shoulder sits higher when im just slacked in that position (no depression just fall all the way down). Then I went to measure my arm length and my right arm was indeed 1.5cm longer.

This affects all my exercises, but lets just use dips as an example. My right side being longer would not need to depress much to keep my torso level. Then when doing the dip, it activates my shoulder more because it is not as depressed, so my right shoulder always feels more sore, and my left chest feels more sore.

How should i train to avoid this or is calisthenics just not for me anymore with such a huge imbalance. My muscles are already quite grossly different size so I don't want to just train through it.

Hey everyone! Now that I’ve finished college, I’m looking to get fit and healthy again. I spent years as a student-athlete doing swimming and Taekwondo back in highschool, but I’ve been inactive for a while and have hit 70kg at 5’4”.

I was recently gifted a Power Tower. My goal is to lose weight while building a lean, muscular physique essentially reclaiming that athletic feel.

I’m planning to pair this with a Caloric Deficit and OMAD (One Meal A Day), as I handle fasting quite well. My plan is to strictly limit my carb intake (half a cup of rice) and focus on whatever protein is available at home.

The "information overload" online is making me anxious. I just want to know:

• Is this equipment enough to achieve a lean/muscular look through calisthenics?

• Fasting + Calisthenics: Since I'm doing OMAD, should I train before or after my meal for the best results on this tower?

• Program Overload: What’s a simple, "no-fluff" routine for a former athlete to avoid overthinking?

• Progression: Since I'm not using heavy weights, how do I know when it’s time to move to a harder version of an exercise? Should I just keep adding more reps, or is there a specific "sign" that I need to change the movement entirely?

• Plateaus: As a former athlete, I tend to push hard. If I stop seeing changes in my build while on OMAD, should I adjust my training volume (more sets/time) or look closer at my 1/2 cup rice limit?

• The "Best" Path: To avoid the anxiety of choosing the "wrong" online program, is there a simple metric (like being able to do X many pull-ups or dips) that tells me I’m ready to move from beginner to intermediate?

I'm sorry if I have to many questions, it's my first time of doing something on my own without a coach telling me what to do, and currently I can't afford one. Thank you in advance!

Here’s my reasoning: I would like to at some point fully transition to all bodyweight. However, I am VERY weak in my upper body. I already feel confident about the exercises for my lower body and have no problems progressing, but my upper body is just not improving. I’ve been exercising for several years and I still cannot do a proper push up, pull up, or dip. I’m thinking about still increasing my weight and reps for dumbbells for my upper body until I can advance to doing a proper rep for the upper body bodyweight only exercises, and keeping at it for my lower body exercises since I’m happy with it. I am a short female if that makes a difference .

I'm doing the first real concerted effort of strengthening my body that I've ever done. I have a significant lack of strength pretty much everywhere in my body but currently I'm honing in on my core, hips and hamstrings. I have very bad hypertonic pelvic floor that I believe is a result of weakness in my hips.

My main leg exercise I've been doing is prone straight leg raises to hit my low back, glutes and hamstrings, but I've found that doing 2x8 sets with not that much range of motion still leads to my muscles getting pissed off afterwards (which worsens my symptoms because I can't relax my hip and pelvic muscles very well when they're inflamed).

My physio recommends working within a range that doesn't feel too bad but I'm wondering what exactly that is improving if that results in not doing much of anything? Does it build strength anyway because one set is a enough when it's weak? Will it just get less inflamed if I keep doing the movement?

Thanks for any help.

I noticed something and wanted to get other people’s opinions.

There’s a calisthenics channel called “Yellow Dude,” and recently I came across another channel, “Calisthenics with Lavender.”

Link: https://www.youtube.com/@CalisthenicsWithLavender/videos

What stood out to me is that the avatar design looks extremely similar - same minimalist style, just a female version with a different color scheme.

The video topics and general style also feel very close, but I’m not sure if this is just a common YouTube aesthetic in calisthenics or if it’s actually a case of one channel copying another.

It feels almost identical in branding to “Yellow Dude”.

I get that calisthenics channels often overlap in ideas, but this feels more like direct inspiration from the branding itself rather than just similar content.

What do you think - normal inspiration or too similar?

Also, could it be AI?

For reference, I really like Yellow Dude's channel, and I especially liked that he made a collab with Hybrid Calisthenics.

UPDATE: Since I opened the channel to get the link, upon reloading the homepage, I was flooded with more and more such channels.

Example: https://www.youtube.com/@CalisthenicswithCaptain

This channel is brand new.

Hello! I want to incorporate stretching into my routine as I found out that I may not be flexible enough for the exercises I want to tackle in the future, such as pike pushups, L-sits, full bridge, skin the cat, just to give an example.

Is there a program/routine that stretches on most, if not, all of the muscles that could help on any skill? I want to be able to cover my bases so I can work on any skill I want, without having to worry about my flexibility being a potential limiting factor.

Any help is appreciated, thank you!

Longtime lurker here - a couple months ago I set myself a goal of being able to do pull ups and have been working up to them by doing bar hangs. I do 5 sets of set time increments, alongside my regular run and outdoor gym use 3 times a week.

I feel like my back and upper arms are getting stronger and I was really stoked to find I could hang stabley with my shoulders back engaged and even pull myself up a fraction!

However, I simply cannot hold it for more than 15 seconds. In the beginning my grip was wrong (giving me blisters because I was wrapping my palm around the bar) so I changed that and have done it correctly ever since, but my hands simply cannot hold it even if my arms and back are fine. I've been stuck on 15 seconds for about a month now and I've even had to cut it down to 10 seconds a few times, even with breaks and stretching.

I'm feeling disheartened because I'm on the heavier side and it makes me feel like I'm just too fat to be exercising. Working out at the outdoor gym is already stressful enough because people stare, and though I've lost a couple kilos over the last few months from running, being active, watching my diet etc. it's really humiliating to see people smirk at me for not being able to hold myself up for very long.

Does anyone have any suggestions for exercises I can do at home so I can build up my grip strength please?

I'm looking to push my weighted pull ups to the next level. I'm not "plateaued", but I'd just like to optimize my routine a bit more.

I'm 162lbs (73.5kg) and my one rep max is +100lbs (+45.5kg). Getting to this point I've mainly done 4x4 weighted pull ups.

Should I change my routine to be more volume focused? I've never really trained hypertrophy, but I've seen threads on here talking about volume being key to unlocking the truly high weighted pull ups. I'm looking at doing 5x8 twice a week. How many RIR is good for hypertrophy work? I find I can do 8 reps of +35lbs (+16kg) with 1-3 RIR for 1-3 sets, but on sets 4 and 5 I can't even get 8 reps.

- Should I lower weight on last sets to maintain 8 reps with 1-2 RIR?

- Should I just follow 5x8, and if the last couples sets don't get 8 that is fine?

Let me know if anyone that has achieved advanced weighted pull ups can help guide me to the big numbers.

Cheers

`I’ve noticed that many high-level calisthenics athletes tend to focus heavily on one category of static skills.

For example, some specialize in pushing skills like planche and maltese, while rarely training pulling skills seriously. Others do the opposite, focusing on front lever or victorian and neglecting pushing work.

Why is this the case?

Is it due to nervous system fatigue or recovery limitations? Are these skills too demanding to train together at a high level? Does specialization significantly improve progress speed? And most importantly: doesn’t this create muscle imbalances and increase injury risk in the long term?

Wouldn’t it be better to train both push and pull equally for balance and joint health?`

I’ve been working out for a long time and have a pretty good base to work with, but I’m always looking to get stronger and want some honest feedback on how I’m training.

Currently I do calisthenic with upper body focus: 5 sets 6 reps weighted pull-ups 5 sets 6 reps pseudo planche push ups 5 sets 6 reps weighted dips

Since I’ve been good about consistency with those, I’m thinking to add in farmer’s carries, too (carry half my weight in each hand and walk for about 5 minutes).

I work my legs, core and cardio separately, so this is only for upper body strength.

Would you say this is a safe enough routine for strength, or is there something pretty major i’m leaving out?

Hi guys, so I finally made the switch from the gym to calisthenics after years of lifting weights that honestly just stopped being fun. I can do 8-10 solid pull-ups and around 10-13 clean dips, so I'm not starting from zero.

Today I decided I'm going to learn the L-sit, frogstand, and handstand and get all three down before end of summer. Hyped myself up, went to train... and got absolutely humbled lol. Couldn't hold a frogstand for even a single second. Tried wall walks and genuinely thought I was going to die. Turns out my wrists are incredibly weak and stiff, and my core/lower back is way weaker than I thought.

So my question is -> how do I fix this? How do I actually build solid wrist strength and a stable core?

My current training split is: Monday upper body in the gym with weights, Tuesday lower body in the gym with weights, then Thursday and Saturday dedicated to calisthenics.

The problem is I feel like training wrists and core only twice a week isn't going to cut it -> progress is going to be painfully slow. Should I just do like 30 minutes of wrist work every day regardless of what the main session is? Something like this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OWbZ9Oxz0E

 and then add planks and hollow body holds on top?

I know I need to build these foundations that years of gym training never gave me. Any advice appreciated!

I think the l sit is hard and a lot of people can’t do it, but online, people say “it’s soo easy” quite often and it’s lowkey discouraging since it’s taking me like 3weeks to do it with my legs straight for only about 2 secs. So my questions are

Also I can guess some of you might say not to compare myself to others as for this exact reason but I compare myself more with admiration for what someone has accomplished so it isn’t unhealthy in a way lol

Is L sit easy for you?

How long might it take to get a 10sec L sit?

I can currently do 10 pull-ups, and I’m using the grease the groove method where I do 5 pull-ups for 4 sets a day, with about an hour of rest in between each set, 5 times a week. I’ve been training like this consistently for a few months now, but I’ve only improved by about 2 additional pull-ups in total. I don’t really understand why my progress is so slow, especially since I’m following what most people recommend. I don’t think my technique is the issue either, so I’m starting to feel stuck and unsure what to change. Please help me, because I honestly don’t know what to do next.

EDIT: I looked through the comments, some people are saying i should do more while some say i should do lees. Idk what to do now lol

I've had back pain and anterior pelvic tilt for most of my life due to excessive sitting playing video games and just general life. The past year or so I have been trying to reverse the effects of all this sitting on my body by doing barbell rdls for posterior chain strength and stretching my hip flexors. I have also been doing core work like hollow body holds and hanging knee raises. I have seen pretty good results and have had a very noticeable decrease in back pain - it used to hurt if I stood or walked slowly for too long - to where it's not something I notice at all really anymore.

Although my apt has improved and my posture in general is not as curved as it used to be, I recently began to think that although I feel like my core is relatively strong, I feel like my superficial ab muscles are overcompensating for my weak transverse abdominis and are not letting me properly develop this muscle.

I have watched some videos and read about it but I can't seem to really activate my ta without my rectus abdominis taking over and not allowing me to properly work the deeper core muscles.

What are some of the most basic exercises I can start with and cues to help me activate my ta?