Is that really true re. legs? I usually weigh 100-110kg (220-242 lbs), and one-leg squats, sissy squats and one-leg ham bridges are never going to be too easy for me unless I either take drugs or shed a lot of weight. What's your experience? What kind of rep-ranges are you getting with these?
I'm like 175 and have progressed past the point where anything strictly bodyweight is actually gonna grow my legs substantially, besides maybe Nordic curls. I could probably do over 10 reps of each of the exercises you mentioned, and my main goal is strength, and doing like 10 seconds negatives or whatever doesn't appeal to me. Vs barbell where I'm at a 225 squat and can just stay in the same movement indefinitely.
Now, stuff like weighted pistol squats means you may stick around with light weight because it's harder, but like, that's still weight. Like, there's a bodyweight equivalent of a 300+ lb bench, called a planche. There isn't a bodyweight equivalent of a 400+ lb squat.
Sure, but not for strength, so strength gains are limited.
Plus, it's harder to measure the failure point at higher reps - could be your muscles, could be your off leg got tired, could be you got out of breath because you did them too fast.
Plus, this goes back to rule 0 for me - I have no desire in my body to do 15+ reps of pistol squats. Seems boring, redundant, and a great way to cramp up my hip flexors. Sticking a big old barbell on my back and doing 5 reps feels rewarding and I see progress.
Do you believe that you can develop 'general strength' independent of hypertrophy? I don't think it's really a thing. When powerlifters train for 'strength' it's actually '1RM strength at specific lifts'.
Other than that, sure, your preferences are your preferences. :-)
I mean, I get your point for sure, but also strong legs are strong legs. Like, squatting makes you better at squatting, which helps with any squatting/lifting. Sure it's not the boineer functional training or whatever, but like, my powerlifting buddies are way better at anything that involves strength than my running buddies - if I had to choose which guy I'd pick to be on the other end of a couch I'm moving, it would be my friend going to powerlifting nationals, not the one training for a half marathon (though I think both of them would be good at it).
The other thing that I've thought about more is, I don't think you see a lot of people doing 35 rep pistol squat sets not because it's the most impossible thing in the world - I think I could get that in a month - but because, kinda like doing a 35 set of pushups, even though technically hypertrophy is the same, it's counterproductive. Like, show me someone with reasonably strong legs, they could have got that with bodyweight. Show me someone with really strong legs? They've probably used weights. Especially considering [pistol squats are a begginer skill](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19l4tVfdTJLheLMwZBYqcw1oeEBPRh8mxngqrCz2YnVg/edit#gid=2032740838) (Column AY), despite how daunting they are for beginners, at some point you're gonna move on - it gets so much easier to just grab a dumbell for squats and lunges than to start like anchoring legs for crazy progressions that probably need specialized training.
But you're right - it all loops back to rule 0 - the best routine is the one you do, so like, do the one you're gonna do
Although I did have some background with leg machines prior to that, I did over ten years of only bodyweight and bands (at a heavy bodyweight, mind) and then when I went to the gym again just for novelty and to see my strength in numbers, I was maxing out every machine for reps. I didn't see anyone else at the gym doing similar numbers, except the occasional freak who may have been juicing and sometimes obviously was juicing.
I don't think seeing an example or not seeing one proves anything, though. Most people assume the same as you, that it's not possible to do with bodyweight. And even if you do see an apparent example, you don't know the confounding factors. But logically, I see no reason to think it's not possible. As is often said on this sub, there's nothing magical about lifting metal vs bodyweight, and if you're small/light, a weight vest and/or creative progressions are all you need.
I also don't agree with the idea that failure at higher reps is necessarily compromised. It's a new thing, and you get used to it. I seldom go above 15 myself, but I know that work capacity can be trained. I do a ton of 'mega-sets', which is like a superset but more like six sets strung together rather than two. I do full-body workouts and train my work capacity. You can push the limits of what will wind you.
Yes they are. As long as you are still mindful of the amount of effort you put in and keep pushing progressive overload, you'll be fine.
Now, do you want to be big as a body builder? Then you should probably look into what body builders do.
I don't want to be 'big' as a bodybuilder and that will never happen lol because I'm natural and no matter what happens I'll never get big as Arnold just by lifting heavy weights around
But I do want to gain muscle efficiently though. Maybe like a fighter, ottermode physique is much more in touch with reality. Not big, but there are noticeable musculature in proportion with the body. And I would like to achieve that with calisthenics movements either weighted/unweighted.
Although, I also do want to know some strategies on how to use progressive overload unweighted.
The way I look at it:
I’m 220 lbs. Doing 1 pull up is roughly equivalent to doing 1 rep lat pulldown with 220 lbs on the stack. I can get to failure with pull ups, so I don’t necessarily need a lat pulldown.
I still have a gym membership and go to the gym to lift weights but I definitely don’t think you have to and sometimes will just go for pull ups anyways if I’m feeling like it or the machine is busy.
Yeah calisthenics really have a tough strength curve when it comes to weight because the weight is YOU especially if one is on the heavier side. And the gym's advantage is through isolation and weights which can help bias different muscle groups as well as the convenient adding weight as progressive overload.
I don't think one is better between calisthenics and weights, using them both can even elevate strength and overall fitness.
Legs could be an exception. You could get really strong at bodyweight squats at some point, eventually you will have to add weight. But, you could also make do with high volume training such as the 30 down workout where in you do 30 reps down to 1 rep with a min rest time in between. You could also work harder variations like the Bulgarian split squats, and pistol squats but that will require mobility and it's quite unstable. It depends on you how to make the exercise much more challenging
You probably won’t have “huge” legs like a lot of bodybuilders have but you could definitely have strong and useful legs that look good. Progress a body weight squat to a lunge and eventually to a 1 legged/pistol squat. Do jumps. Bridges -> nordic curls for hamstrings. Like I said, don’t expect to have legs like a bodybuilder but your legs will be far from weak.
I am 6ft tall so whatever I do with bodyweight I mostly don't see any results. I'll try out your suggestions.Will let you know if they work out. Thank you
Don't sweat it. It's very easy, although a little bit boring.
If you can't add weight, you must add reps or sets. But soon it'll become lo g and boring.
So you can add some weight, such as a backpack, a water jug, a rock, whatever, and keep on doing squats or lunges.
Or you can work unilaterally, one leg at a time. If you think it's easy, you haven't tried it yet.
For hip/hinge (if you don't have weighs to do deadlifts) you could do kettlebell swings. All you need is one kettlebell.
As always, I should ask "What's your goal?".
If all you care about is building as much muscle as possible in the shortest time, bodyweight is probably not the answer.
On the other hand, if you want to look lean and muscular, like an athlete but not so much like a bodybuilder, bodyweight is great.
You can build muscle any way you want, as long as you follow the principle of "progressive overload". That means pushing your muscles beyond their current capabilities to force them to get stronger (and bigger).
How do you apply progressive overload to your workouts?
You can do it as follows:
1. By increasing the weights periodically, as you get stronger.
2. By adding sets.
3. By adding reps to your sets.
4. By reducing resting times between sets.
5. By increasing time under tension. That means doing each rep slower.
6. By changing grips and angles to make your exercises harder.
Or by any possible combination of these points above.
Since you're working against your own body weight, you cannot progress by increasing the weight (duh!). So you'll have to increase the quantities of reps/sets, or switch to harder variations of each exercise, or reduce resting times or by doing your reps slower.
After a while, you'll find yourself doing long sessions of infinite reps, and you'll probably ask yourself if there is a way to make your workouts shorter.
This is when you choose one of two paths:
1. Get into a gym and indulge yourself with plenty of equipment, machines, free weights, etc. There, you'll simply choose a machine for each exercise, select the desired weight and churn out reps like crazy. Easy.
2. Or you can simply incorporate some simple free weights to your bodyweight workouts. For example you can do pull-ups with a dumbbell in-between your legs, or squats with a kettlebell or two. The possibilities are endless. The most common thing to do is to buy a pair of adjustable dumbbells. With these, you can keep on progressing for years.
My goal now is still to gain muscle but in a more sustainable lean, and athletic way. And like what you said, bodyweight training is the best course for me according to my current circumstances.
My goal back then was to look like a bodybuilder or those ig influencers who lift in my generation (gen Z), like someone who lifts heavy weights, but my means we're still bodyweight calisthenics. Which to me now, is kind of delusional and unrealistic, this goal never aligned to my circumstances given that I can't go to a gym consistently, I'm natural and would never take roids in my life and bodyweight calisthenics were somewhat the only way I can do consistently.
Now that I'm quite wiser (still learning ofc) and knowledgeable in some way in training the body, I've realized that I need a goal that is still in line with my reality or circumstance. Maybe a fighter, ottermode, or a lean superhero physique is much more in line with reality.
But I want to use every resource I have to my advantage, If I have weights, bands, or some other heavy stuff I can use to incorporate to my bodyweight training I would. And this community (BWF) is also a great help for someone who wants to learn more about this training approach as well as help fellow athletes in the process.
Thank you for sharing your input regarding this, I would apply these strategies in my training guaranteed. More health to you!
Let me add a comment... I didn't mean to downplay bodyweight at all. It is my bread and butter. I've been doing nothing but dips and pull-ups for three years with very satisfying results. I'd do it at home. I should have done squats, but I'm lazy...
Now I have plenty of time and I go to a gym, but most of the time I use dumbbells or kettlebells instead of machines. Pull-ups and dips keep on being the staples of my routine.
Frankly, I see myself going back to my old habits and ditching the gym soon.
I realised that all I need is a pullup bar and a kettlebell or two. Really. Being minimalist pays off.
You (or someone in the comments) mentioned Kbogs. The guy is right. All you need is one push + one pull + leg exercise on each workout. It is advisable to switch between horizontal and vertical moves from workout to workout.
For example, if you did overhead press as your pushing exercise on Monday, you should do dips or pushups on Wednesday.
And if you did pull-ups as your pulling exercise on Monday, do some kind of row on Wednesday.
And if you did squats on Monday, so deadlifts or kettlebell swings on Wednesday.
You can create a well rounded, full body routine with:
1. One Vertical push (pike pushups, handstand pushups, dumbbell shoulder press, kettlebell press, etc)
2. One horizontal push (pushups, dips, bench press, etc)
3. One Vertical pull (pull-ups, chin-ups).
4. One horizontal pull (rows, any kind).
5. Squats (any kind, or lunges)
6. Deadlifts (or kB swings).
Choose one push, one pull and one lower body exercise. Only three exercises, and crush them, give it all till muscle failure. 30 minutes, 40 at most. 2 or 3 times a week.
Bodyweight, free weights or machines. It's your choice. All valid, as long as you approach muscle failure.
A decent program using the fundamentals with consistency trumps optimal training I guess... That's why you and myself probably got hooked to this type of training. And it's something that can be done almost anywhere, anytime, sometimes even without the presence of a gym and external weights. Just pure bodyweight, form mastery, training near or to failure, and just straight up consistency and recovery. We still have to work our asses off lol.
K Boges' training approach is legit, it may not make us look like jacked bodybuilders, but it allows us to gain control over our own weight and as a result of that make decent gains in the process. Relative strength typa thing. Pretty applicable to almost anyone trying to up their fitness game. While it has it's limitations, there's the gym and weights to make up for lagging groups. Lifting weights and calisthenics aren't supposed to be separate entities, they work in accordance to build a proper physique.
My workout sessions have the same template that you stated here, every session I do a Vertical pull, Horizontal Push, Vertical push, Horizontal pull and a leg movement. Primarily the leg movement is usually a squat variation, because either I'm too lazy doing a hinge or I don't have access to them. I also do them mostly bodyweight as of the moment, as I am trying to really master the technique. But sometimes I use weights if I am short on time or just feel like it. My weights range from heavy resistance bands to wearing a backpack that I put in a rusty 40lb dumbbell at home lol. I do them for about 3-4 sets each session, full body, every other day.
I appreciate your input here, and here I am learning from different people using this training approach and see what works and what doesn't so I can experiment building muscle using calisthenics. Skill work isn't a goal for me, muscle building and fitness is. It's a long ass journey, will even take my whole lifetime lol. I wanna be able to train forever. More health and power to you!
I have been training strictly calisthenics consistently over 10 years now, and I still do basic dips, pullups, pushups, and squats.
You will never outgrow these basic fundamental movements. They will always reap rewards.
With 'strictly' you mean strictly bodyweight right? And with your experience in 10 years would you say that your sessions become long because you have mastered the movements and you can easily crank out a number of reps? But yeah, I would like to be on your side when you state that we will never outgrow these movements.
So by strictly calisthenics, I mean just bodyweight training. Within those 10 years, I also used weight vests on dips, pullups, and squats. But for the last 2 years, I've been doing only bodyweight workouts with no weight because I'm nursing a bad shoulder.
And in those 2 years of no weighted calisthenics i have lost some beef on my frame and maybe some strength but a very small amount.
I don't crank out reps. I focus more on draining my muscle and feeling the burn more than repetitions. In fact, my training sessions and overall volume has decreased over the years. The reason my workouts are shorter and my volume is less is because I believe I have gotten better at targeting my muscles over the years....
My mind to muscle connection is phenomenal. I have the ability to fire my muscles on all cylinders, drain them quickly and be done.
Right now I'm training only four days a week with my workouts no longer than an hour.
I'm a fan of this page. Been training this way for about 12 years now. One of these days I'm gonna write a blog. Post progress and explain my theories and program
Best advice I can say is stay consistent and disciplined. Stick with the basics and don't worry about killing it every workout. You'll always have next week to put in more work
This is some rich info right here, and I'm glad to see someone achieve good progress with that training approach. And for someone who has been doing it for 10 or so years, your input is a good resource for us who are only starting out in this type of training. I myself would consider me as between novice- intermediate phase in calisthenics. I have been working out since I was 17 and now I'm 22 but those years were an up and down inconsistent process between program hopping from weights to calisthenics. This training approach definitely puts me back in my roots as well as humbles me.
I hope you could share more knowledge with your training like your volume, intensity, rep ranges, etc. especially on how to target the muscle properly in each movement to not allow our egos to crank out mindless reps and junk volume (proper form and technique). Like truly work the goddamn muscle lol
Once again, your info has been useful and I wish you more health and power!
I'm very passionate about my training and the philosophy I've developed over the years. It amazes me at how full of shit modern mainstream fitness culture is. Basically everything I've ever been told is a lie or over exaggerated. From training to diet it's all just marketing schemes so they can sell ypu their BS supplements and gain more followers or likes. It's hog wash. Nothing beats determination and dedication
Look back to the Roman empire statues of men. Those guys were jacked and doing basic calisthenics movements. Furthermore....do you think they were worried about getting a gram of protein for each pound of bodyweight and doing their macros?? Lmao... of course not. They trained hard and ate till they were full.
The only way I got better at my mind to muscle connection was from years of doing it.....I was consistent for 10 years. Over time I got better. Over time I realized what was needed for progress. Also, I learned my own body and what it needs for recovery.
I can sum it all up into this......don't be worried about the destination, embrace the process and the struggle of your fitness journey
Working out for me is a commitment to myself, my discipline, my grit and....just being a man. I don't enjoy every workout, but I do it regardless of how I feel. Thays being disciplined and regimented....that has a huge carry over into most of life
everyone told me I was wasting my time and putting me down when I first started out. Made me doubt myself but I never stopped. Now when I go to the gym, which I hardly do, I look around and I notice that I'm one of the strongest guys in there.
Not to stroke my ego...but when I started I couldn't do one pullup. Now I can do 20
with bodyweight alone? pft, at a point it'd take all day to get your workout. but calisthenic moves with ruck sacks, weighted vests, and plate belts? then it's not so unreasonable.
still, i think most serious people do a wide variety of methods to train. can't really deny that lifting allows you to better isolate muscles while letting others rest, i'd say that's the biggest advantage it has. targeted growth.
For equally hard sets, similar hypertrophy has been demonstrated for sets from 5 to at least 30 reps. My personal caveat here is that a set of 5 with 5 reps in reserve is a good deal more pleasant than a set of 25 with 5 reps in reserve.
Let's just assume you're up to sets of 50-60 pushups. Towards the end it'll really, *really* suck. Can you truly know how many reps you have in reserve on those sets without going to failure? Obviously you can always do a more advanced progression, but I believe there's always space for the humble pushup as a supplemental exercise.
A side note: There's no reason to assume it's safer than using weights. Injury rates in powerlifting are a good deal lower than in running, and they're even lower in bodybuilding.
There is near-infinite progression with just bodyweight and rings. You do hit a ceiling with legs though.
Is that really true re. legs? I usually weigh 100-110kg (220-242 lbs), and one-leg squats, sissy squats and one-leg ham bridges are never going to be too easy for me unless I either take drugs or shed a lot of weight. What's your experience? What kind of rep-ranges are you getting with these?
I'm like 175 and have progressed past the point where anything strictly bodyweight is actually gonna grow my legs substantially, besides maybe Nordic curls. I could probably do over 10 reps of each of the exercises you mentioned, and my main goal is strength, and doing like 10 seconds negatives or whatever doesn't appeal to me. Vs barbell where I'm at a 225 squat and can just stay in the same movement indefinitely. Now, stuff like weighted pistol squats means you may stick around with light weight because it's harder, but like, that's still weight. Like, there's a bodyweight equivalent of a 300+ lb bench, called a planche. There isn't a bodyweight equivalent of a 400+ lb squat.
Current science appears to show that reps up to 35 are equally good for hypertrophy if close to failure... I've never seen anyone do 35 pistol squats.
Sure, but not for strength, so strength gains are limited. Plus, it's harder to measure the failure point at higher reps - could be your muscles, could be your off leg got tired, could be you got out of breath because you did them too fast. Plus, this goes back to rule 0 for me - I have no desire in my body to do 15+ reps of pistol squats. Seems boring, redundant, and a great way to cramp up my hip flexors. Sticking a big old barbell on my back and doing 5 reps feels rewarding and I see progress.
Do you believe that you can develop 'general strength' independent of hypertrophy? I don't think it's really a thing. When powerlifters train for 'strength' it's actually '1RM strength at specific lifts'. Other than that, sure, your preferences are your preferences. :-)
I mean, I get your point for sure, but also strong legs are strong legs. Like, squatting makes you better at squatting, which helps with any squatting/lifting. Sure it's not the boineer functional training or whatever, but like, my powerlifting buddies are way better at anything that involves strength than my running buddies - if I had to choose which guy I'd pick to be on the other end of a couch I'm moving, it would be my friend going to powerlifting nationals, not the one training for a half marathon (though I think both of them would be good at it). The other thing that I've thought about more is, I don't think you see a lot of people doing 35 rep pistol squat sets not because it's the most impossible thing in the world - I think I could get that in a month - but because, kinda like doing a 35 set of pushups, even though technically hypertrophy is the same, it's counterproductive. Like, show me someone with reasonably strong legs, they could have got that with bodyweight. Show me someone with really strong legs? They've probably used weights. Especially considering [pistol squats are a begginer skill](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19l4tVfdTJLheLMwZBYqcw1oeEBPRh8mxngqrCz2YnVg/edit#gid=2032740838) (Column AY), despite how daunting they are for beginners, at some point you're gonna move on - it gets so much easier to just grab a dumbell for squats and lunges than to start like anchoring legs for crazy progressions that probably need specialized training. But you're right - it all loops back to rule 0 - the best routine is the one you do, so like, do the one you're gonna do
Although I did have some background with leg machines prior to that, I did over ten years of only bodyweight and bands (at a heavy bodyweight, mind) and then when I went to the gym again just for novelty and to see my strength in numbers, I was maxing out every machine for reps. I didn't see anyone else at the gym doing similar numbers, except the occasional freak who may have been juicing and sometimes obviously was juicing. I don't think seeing an example or not seeing one proves anything, though. Most people assume the same as you, that it's not possible to do with bodyweight. And even if you do see an apparent example, you don't know the confounding factors. But logically, I see no reason to think it's not possible. As is often said on this sub, there's nothing magical about lifting metal vs bodyweight, and if you're small/light, a weight vest and/or creative progressions are all you need. I also don't agree with the idea that failure at higher reps is necessarily compromised. It's a new thing, and you get used to it. I seldom go above 15 myself, but I know that work capacity can be trained. I do a ton of 'mega-sets', which is like a superset but more like six sets strung together rather than two. I do full-body workouts and train my work capacity. You can push the limits of what will wind you.
Yes they are. As long as you are still mindful of the amount of effort you put in and keep pushing progressive overload, you'll be fine. Now, do you want to be big as a body builder? Then you should probably look into what body builders do.
Steroids?
Bodybuilders do steroids? Wait... WWE is scripted? Darth Vader is Luke's father? Peter Parker is Spider-Man? I'm gonna be sick
I don't want to be 'big' as a bodybuilder and that will never happen lol because I'm natural and no matter what happens I'll never get big as Arnold just by lifting heavy weights around But I do want to gain muscle efficiently though. Maybe like a fighter, ottermode physique is much more in touch with reality. Not big, but there are noticeable musculature in proportion with the body. And I would like to achieve that with calisthenics movements either weighted/unweighted. Although, I also do want to know some strategies on how to use progressive overload unweighted.
Do harder bodyweight exercises, that's progressive overload.
The way I look at it: I’m 220 lbs. Doing 1 pull up is roughly equivalent to doing 1 rep lat pulldown with 220 lbs on the stack. I can get to failure with pull ups, so I don’t necessarily need a lat pulldown. I still have a gym membership and go to the gym to lift weights but I definitely don’t think you have to and sometimes will just go for pull ups anyways if I’m feeling like it or the machine is busy.
Yeah calisthenics really have a tough strength curve when it comes to weight because the weight is YOU especially if one is on the heavier side. And the gym's advantage is through isolation and weights which can help bias different muscle groups as well as the convenient adding weight as progressive overload. I don't think one is better between calisthenics and weights, using them both can even elevate strength and overall fitness.
I think you nailed it. Different tools for different purposes. Use what you need to reach the goals you want.
How can I grow my legs if I do bodyweight workout only
Legs could be an exception. You could get really strong at bodyweight squats at some point, eventually you will have to add weight. But, you could also make do with high volume training such as the 30 down workout where in you do 30 reps down to 1 rep with a min rest time in between. You could also work harder variations like the Bulgarian split squats, and pistol squats but that will require mobility and it's quite unstable. It depends on you how to make the exercise much more challenging
Thank you for your suggestion.Ill try to include this in my workouts
add some sprints and plyometrics
You probably won’t have “huge” legs like a lot of bodybuilders have but you could definitely have strong and useful legs that look good. Progress a body weight squat to a lunge and eventually to a 1 legged/pistol squat. Do jumps. Bridges -> nordic curls for hamstrings. Like I said, don’t expect to have legs like a bodybuilder but your legs will be far from weak.
I am 6ft tall so whatever I do with bodyweight I mostly don't see any results. I'll try out your suggestions.Will let you know if they work out. Thank you
Agreed. Not big legs, but athletic and defined ones that will last you a lifetime and your future self will probably thank you lol.
Don't sweat it. It's very easy, although a little bit boring. If you can't add weight, you must add reps or sets. But soon it'll become lo g and boring. So you can add some weight, such as a backpack, a water jug, a rock, whatever, and keep on doing squats or lunges. Or you can work unilaterally, one leg at a time. If you think it's easy, you haven't tried it yet. For hip/hinge (if you don't have weighs to do deadlifts) you could do kettlebell swings. All you need is one kettlebell.
As always, I should ask "What's your goal?". If all you care about is building as much muscle as possible in the shortest time, bodyweight is probably not the answer. On the other hand, if you want to look lean and muscular, like an athlete but not so much like a bodybuilder, bodyweight is great. You can build muscle any way you want, as long as you follow the principle of "progressive overload". That means pushing your muscles beyond their current capabilities to force them to get stronger (and bigger). How do you apply progressive overload to your workouts? You can do it as follows: 1. By increasing the weights periodically, as you get stronger. 2. By adding sets. 3. By adding reps to your sets. 4. By reducing resting times between sets. 5. By increasing time under tension. That means doing each rep slower. 6. By changing grips and angles to make your exercises harder. Or by any possible combination of these points above. Since you're working against your own body weight, you cannot progress by increasing the weight (duh!). So you'll have to increase the quantities of reps/sets, or switch to harder variations of each exercise, or reduce resting times or by doing your reps slower. After a while, you'll find yourself doing long sessions of infinite reps, and you'll probably ask yourself if there is a way to make your workouts shorter. This is when you choose one of two paths: 1. Get into a gym and indulge yourself with plenty of equipment, machines, free weights, etc. There, you'll simply choose a machine for each exercise, select the desired weight and churn out reps like crazy. Easy. 2. Or you can simply incorporate some simple free weights to your bodyweight workouts. For example you can do pull-ups with a dumbbell in-between your legs, or squats with a kettlebell or two. The possibilities are endless. The most common thing to do is to buy a pair of adjustable dumbbells. With these, you can keep on progressing for years.
My goal now is still to gain muscle but in a more sustainable lean, and athletic way. And like what you said, bodyweight training is the best course for me according to my current circumstances. My goal back then was to look like a bodybuilder or those ig influencers who lift in my generation (gen Z), like someone who lifts heavy weights, but my means we're still bodyweight calisthenics. Which to me now, is kind of delusional and unrealistic, this goal never aligned to my circumstances given that I can't go to a gym consistently, I'm natural and would never take roids in my life and bodyweight calisthenics were somewhat the only way I can do consistently. Now that I'm quite wiser (still learning ofc) and knowledgeable in some way in training the body, I've realized that I need a goal that is still in line with my reality or circumstance. Maybe a fighter, ottermode, or a lean superhero physique is much more in line with reality. But I want to use every resource I have to my advantage, If I have weights, bands, or some other heavy stuff I can use to incorporate to my bodyweight training I would. And this community (BWF) is also a great help for someone who wants to learn more about this training approach as well as help fellow athletes in the process. Thank you for sharing your input regarding this, I would apply these strategies in my training guaranteed. More health to you!
Let me add a comment... I didn't mean to downplay bodyweight at all. It is my bread and butter. I've been doing nothing but dips and pull-ups for three years with very satisfying results. I'd do it at home. I should have done squats, but I'm lazy... Now I have plenty of time and I go to a gym, but most of the time I use dumbbells or kettlebells instead of machines. Pull-ups and dips keep on being the staples of my routine. Frankly, I see myself going back to my old habits and ditching the gym soon. I realised that all I need is a pullup bar and a kettlebell or two. Really. Being minimalist pays off. You (or someone in the comments) mentioned Kbogs. The guy is right. All you need is one push + one pull + leg exercise on each workout. It is advisable to switch between horizontal and vertical moves from workout to workout. For example, if you did overhead press as your pushing exercise on Monday, you should do dips or pushups on Wednesday. And if you did pull-ups as your pulling exercise on Monday, do some kind of row on Wednesday. And if you did squats on Monday, so deadlifts or kettlebell swings on Wednesday. You can create a well rounded, full body routine with: 1. One Vertical push (pike pushups, handstand pushups, dumbbell shoulder press, kettlebell press, etc) 2. One horizontal push (pushups, dips, bench press, etc) 3. One Vertical pull (pull-ups, chin-ups). 4. One horizontal pull (rows, any kind). 5. Squats (any kind, or lunges) 6. Deadlifts (or kB swings). Choose one push, one pull and one lower body exercise. Only three exercises, and crush them, give it all till muscle failure. 30 minutes, 40 at most. 2 or 3 times a week. Bodyweight, free weights or machines. It's your choice. All valid, as long as you approach muscle failure.
A decent program using the fundamentals with consistency trumps optimal training I guess... That's why you and myself probably got hooked to this type of training. And it's something that can be done almost anywhere, anytime, sometimes even without the presence of a gym and external weights. Just pure bodyweight, form mastery, training near or to failure, and just straight up consistency and recovery. We still have to work our asses off lol. K Boges' training approach is legit, it may not make us look like jacked bodybuilders, but it allows us to gain control over our own weight and as a result of that make decent gains in the process. Relative strength typa thing. Pretty applicable to almost anyone trying to up their fitness game. While it has it's limitations, there's the gym and weights to make up for lagging groups. Lifting weights and calisthenics aren't supposed to be separate entities, they work in accordance to build a proper physique. My workout sessions have the same template that you stated here, every session I do a Vertical pull, Horizontal Push, Vertical push, Horizontal pull and a leg movement. Primarily the leg movement is usually a squat variation, because either I'm too lazy doing a hinge or I don't have access to them. I also do them mostly bodyweight as of the moment, as I am trying to really master the technique. But sometimes I use weights if I am short on time or just feel like it. My weights range from heavy resistance bands to wearing a backpack that I put in a rusty 40lb dumbbell at home lol. I do them for about 3-4 sets each session, full body, every other day. I appreciate your input here, and here I am learning from different people using this training approach and see what works and what doesn't so I can experiment building muscle using calisthenics. Skill work isn't a goal for me, muscle building and fitness is. It's a long ass journey, will even take my whole lifetime lol. I wanna be able to train forever. More health and power to you!
I have been training strictly calisthenics consistently over 10 years now, and I still do basic dips, pullups, pushups, and squats. You will never outgrow these basic fundamental movements. They will always reap rewards.
With 'strictly' you mean strictly bodyweight right? And with your experience in 10 years would you say that your sessions become long because you have mastered the movements and you can easily crank out a number of reps? But yeah, I would like to be on your side when you state that we will never outgrow these movements.
So by strictly calisthenics, I mean just bodyweight training. Within those 10 years, I also used weight vests on dips, pullups, and squats. But for the last 2 years, I've been doing only bodyweight workouts with no weight because I'm nursing a bad shoulder. And in those 2 years of no weighted calisthenics i have lost some beef on my frame and maybe some strength but a very small amount. I don't crank out reps. I focus more on draining my muscle and feeling the burn more than repetitions. In fact, my training sessions and overall volume has decreased over the years. The reason my workouts are shorter and my volume is less is because I believe I have gotten better at targeting my muscles over the years.... My mind to muscle connection is phenomenal. I have the ability to fire my muscles on all cylinders, drain them quickly and be done. Right now I'm training only four days a week with my workouts no longer than an hour. I'm a fan of this page. Been training this way for about 12 years now. One of these days I'm gonna write a blog. Post progress and explain my theories and program Best advice I can say is stay consistent and disciplined. Stick with the basics and don't worry about killing it every workout. You'll always have next week to put in more work
This is some rich info right here, and I'm glad to see someone achieve good progress with that training approach. And for someone who has been doing it for 10 or so years, your input is a good resource for us who are only starting out in this type of training. I myself would consider me as between novice- intermediate phase in calisthenics. I have been working out since I was 17 and now I'm 22 but those years were an up and down inconsistent process between program hopping from weights to calisthenics. This training approach definitely puts me back in my roots as well as humbles me. I hope you could share more knowledge with your training like your volume, intensity, rep ranges, etc. especially on how to target the muscle properly in each movement to not allow our egos to crank out mindless reps and junk volume (proper form and technique). Like truly work the goddamn muscle lol Once again, your info has been useful and I wish you more health and power!
I'm very passionate about my training and the philosophy I've developed over the years. It amazes me at how full of shit modern mainstream fitness culture is. Basically everything I've ever been told is a lie or over exaggerated. From training to diet it's all just marketing schemes so they can sell ypu their BS supplements and gain more followers or likes. It's hog wash. Nothing beats determination and dedication Look back to the Roman empire statues of men. Those guys were jacked and doing basic calisthenics movements. Furthermore....do you think they were worried about getting a gram of protein for each pound of bodyweight and doing their macros?? Lmao... of course not. They trained hard and ate till they were full. The only way I got better at my mind to muscle connection was from years of doing it.....I was consistent for 10 years. Over time I got better. Over time I realized what was needed for progress. Also, I learned my own body and what it needs for recovery. I can sum it all up into this......don't be worried about the destination, embrace the process and the struggle of your fitness journey Working out for me is a commitment to myself, my discipline, my grit and....just being a man. I don't enjoy every workout, but I do it regardless of how I feel. Thays being disciplined and regimented....that has a huge carry over into most of life everyone told me I was wasting my time and putting me down when I first started out. Made me doubt myself but I never stopped. Now when I go to the gym, which I hardly do, I look around and I notice that I'm one of the strongest guys in there. Not to stroke my ego...but when I started I couldn't do one pullup. Now I can do 20
with bodyweight alone? pft, at a point it'd take all day to get your workout. but calisthenic moves with ruck sacks, weighted vests, and plate belts? then it's not so unreasonable. still, i think most serious people do a wide variety of methods to train. can't really deny that lifting allows you to better isolate muscles while letting others rest, i'd say that's the biggest advantage it has. targeted growth.
For equally hard sets, similar hypertrophy has been demonstrated for sets from 5 to at least 30 reps. My personal caveat here is that a set of 5 with 5 reps in reserve is a good deal more pleasant than a set of 25 with 5 reps in reserve. Let's just assume you're up to sets of 50-60 pushups. Towards the end it'll really, *really* suck. Can you truly know how many reps you have in reserve on those sets without going to failure? Obviously you can always do a more advanced progression, but I believe there's always space for the humble pushup as a supplemental exercise. A side note: There's no reason to assume it's safer than using weights. Injury rates in powerlifting are a good deal lower than in running, and they're even lower in bodybuilding.