CONTENTS:
1. INTRODUCTION TO WEIGHTED CALISTHENICS
1.1 What is weighted calisthenics?
1.2. Pros of weighted calisthenics
1.3. Cons of weighted calisthenics
2. WEIGHTED CALISTHENICS TRAINING
2.1. Proper conditioning
2.2. How to start adding weights
2.3. Useful tools
3. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is weighted calisthenics better than calisthenics?
Will I get shredded or build muscle mass?
I have never lifted weights. Can I train weighted calisthenics?
I am afraid of getting injuries and loosing body control
1.1. INTRODUCTION TO WEIGHTED
CALISTHENICS: What is weighted
calisthenics?
Weighted calisthenics is a topic that has been growing the interest and attracting
more and more athletes worldwide. Well, if you wanna give a shake to your
workouts because you feel a little bored of the same isometrics/dynamics or you
have reached a plateau, then consider adding a bit more volume into them and
get stronger than ever!
The principle of introducing weights into your typical Calisthenics routines comes
from the fact that, as most of you already know, provides your body with a new
stimulus that can fix many issues you might encounter during your journey.
It helps increasing the muscle mass (in case your goal could be of such kind), helps
strengthening tendons, ligaments and provides explosiveness to your moves.
If you have been struggling to succeed for instance in increasing the total amount
of reps of the most basic exercises such as pull-ups, push-ups, dips and later on
eventually muscle-ups, in order to avoid the above-mentioned plateaus, the
thought of adding weights can help you developing much more strength and
explosiveness!
It can lead you to get far better at all of them and personally, I feel like sharing
with you this little consideration I wanna make.
Just to give you more proofs of this concept, after finishing my monthly cycle of
strength, I immediately noticed the difference in performing muscle-ups with
much more explosiveness, that before I didn’t have, as well as feeling my
shoulders much stronger while holding a straddle planche or human flag for
instance.
This is also a proof of fact that, all the main skills in Calisthenics don’t need to be
trained strictly through progressions and propaedeutics, but also through new
stimuluses that, like in this case of adding weights to basic exercises, are helping
to build a solid strength also for the skills.
Let’s say to close this little intro, that for sure a combination of both training
methods, hence through progressions/propaedeutics for each skill as well as
periodical cycles of strength that are implying to use also weights, is a very
effective mix that can lead to awesome results.
Of course, you must pay attention to the way you distribute such workout load in
the period, so to avoid overtraining or unwanted aches and pains in your tendons
and ligaments.
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1.2. INTRODUCTION TO WEIGHTED
CALISTHENICS: Pros of weighted
calisthenics
Let’s talk first thing first about the pros of including weights into your bodyweight
workouts.
For sure, as we all know, Calisthenics means using your own bodyweight in a way
that can lead you to master very difficult skills and get stronger than ever.
Now, in consideration of this concept, you can adapt and mix all different
exercises and their variations, in order to avoid or diminish chances of plateaus in
the longer period.
Nonetheless, there’s still an element that can be somewhat limitative in all this,
that is: your own bodyweight.
Said that, I do not wanna surely deny what I’ve been confirming in more than one
situation or stated in more than one article; sometimes you might just feel the
need to provide your body with a new stimulus because you can’t achieve further
progressions despite the efforts.
A stimulus that can allow you to overcome those plateaus, to go beyond the limits
imposed by using in every single workout your own bodyweight and by working
all the year through progressions in order to achieve new elements.
Of course, this consideration can work much better if you are keen on mastering
the main skills, hence working on monthly schedules with the aim to master them
rather than training in strength and endurance, where instead a key to success is
just including additional weights ever since and high amount of sets and reps in a
short time range.
For sure the process of including weights into your bodyweight trainings is
beneficial in terms of developing more strength that indirectly will help you to
achieve in shorter time the progressions and so, through them, the full form of
each skill.
Another positive effect of including weights, is the fact that you will also increase
the body mass working in hypertrophy, since using additional weight stimulates
your muscle fibers so to grow and so it does your overall body mass.
This principle applies mostly when you train strength and endurance in
Calisthenics; endurance training provides you with much more volume due to the
high sets and reps you must perform while eventually diminishing progressively
also the time set to do so.
After performing and mastering the main basic exercises such as push-ups, pullups/chin-ups, dips and later on muscle-ups with a fair amount of reps per each,
your tendons and ligaments will be enough conditioned so to start including also
weights and provide them with a new load.
This new load wants you to consider providing tendons and ligaments with a
proper time range so that they will adapt to it in order to let you progress towards
a heavier one in due time.
To make a clear example of this principle is sufficient to consider a subject that
has never approached weighted chin-ups for instance.
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If said subject switches from performing 4×10-15 reps to 4×10 reps of chin-ups
with 10-15 kg additional weight, is not said that he will be able to master them
without feeling stress in tendons and ligaments.
According to which genes, body and age you have, the process might differ.
Is fundamental to build a progression chart where you can choose among these
four methods suggested below:
1) LOWER LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY OF THE SAME EXERCISE: this means that,
according to the example above, if you’ve never approached bar chin-ups (hence
starting from a dead hang position), could be useful to approach firstly weighted
australian chin-ups, where instead you’ve mastered already the full form with
high volume of reps and so applying a new load, in addition to your own
bodyweight, will give it a little boost
2) HIGHER LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY, MORE SETS / LESS REPS (TO START
WITH):
in such case would be great to approach, if you can master them already with
clean form, bar chin-ups with additional weight, but with the aim to start performing more sets with less reps so to give proper adaptation to tendons and ligaments while still maintaining a very good workload
3) HIGHER LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY, MORE REPS / LESS SETS (LATER ON):
contrarily to the previous step suggested, in this case you are already in a phase
where you’ve become quite good at weighted chin-ups because you’ve progressively increased the overall strength and so you might want to lower the sets and
increase the reps per each one of them
4) INCREASE THE LOAD, HENCE MORE WEIGHT (FINAL STAGE): if you have
been training according to a progressive overload, the last option is for sure to
increase the load previously achieved and mastered so to avoid also in this case
any pleateau. Of course, the four methods I’m proposing above are just some of
the many different options you could have, let’s say these are the most common
and well known.
1.3. INTRODUCTION TO WEIGHTED CALISTHENICS: Cons of weighted
calisthenics After analyzing the different ways you can use to train with weighted
Calisthenics, let’s look at another important aspect of it: common injuries, aches
and pains. Well, when you start loading weight upon your shoulders and back,
surely it’s not he healthiest thing ever.
If you think about the famous posture of the hollow body, hence with posterior
pelvic tilt so to put the spinal column in a safe position (as straight as possible),
well now it’s the right moment to adopt it before attempting any weighted
exercise. I highly suggest you to use additional weights always in the safest way
possible; this means that before starting the concentric phase, like for instance the
pulling one while performing weighted chin-ups or pull-ups, you must go into the
hollow body position while in dead hang. Only once you have gotten the posterior
pelvic tilt and you feel that your lower
back is safe and the belt is not heavy as it was before in that area, only then you
4
TAKE YOUR CHANCE
I know what it’s like to hit a plateau and stop progressing. I know because I can list a
number of times when it happened to me. But due to it, however, I learnt how to fight
it.
If someone gave you a chance to overcome plateau, would you take it?
If someone told you how to optimize your progress, would you do this?
If someone created a workout routine that actually works, would you use it?
Well, guess what – someone DID!
Take the best of both worlds! Our collective knowledge and experience gained over
the years are here for you to learn from. You will enjoy every bit of it without making
the mistakes we have made as we guide you through your journey. Now it’s closer
than ever.
GET PROGRAM NOW
WWW.CALIATHLETICS.COM/WEIGHTED-CALISTHENICS-PROGRAM
- Boost your self-confidence to the level you can’t even imagine
- Be ahead of others – Learn PERFECT FORM of all exercises
- Say NO to bad things and live the way YOU want
- Start a new, longer and healthier life
- Much more than we both expect!
should start to pull your body up. It’s definitely better to get this habit as soon as
possible because, since you’re supposed to increase the strength in duly time and
so it does the load you’ll
periodically use to perform basic exercises, you wanna make sure to be able to
bear that load without bringing any more pain and suffering to your lower back.
When you perform push-ups the principle is the same; this is a clear proof of fact
that either you perform exercises on a vertical or horizontal plane, that doesn’t
change the fact that the load acts on your lower back.
Another important aspect to consider is the stress you bring to your shoulders
while increasing the load you put on yourself.
Adding weight indeed, it doesn’t only affect your lower back, but also your
shoulders since the heavier load the more stress tendons and ligaments will get,
while hanging. Also in this case, whenever I come across random videos on YouTube of people
performing pull-ups or dips with very excessive loads such as 100 kg and above,
well instead of thinking about how strong that subject is (that for sure catches the
attention anyway), I rather think about how much stress it’s bringing to his
tendons and ligaments such action. Remember, is not a show the one you have to
put on, but an attempt of training wisely and providing your body and C.N.S. with
new stimuluses so to progress,
to increase the strength and to be aware that you’re on the right path without
calling injuries on its way.
To sum up, from a more anatomical point of view, and in consideration of the
most common injuries that can generate by adding loads to your bodyweight, we
can identify the following ones:
a) Lower back pain: as we stated above, if you don’t assume the hollow body
position before starting the eccentric phase whenever you are hanging on a bar or
on parallettes in case of dips or on the floor in case of push-ups, it’s highly
possible that that load will negatively cause a damage to your vertebrae
b) Shoulder pain: the pain generated by the load you add to your bodyweight can
be responsible also of causing tendon lacerations or a ligament tearing
c) Elbow pain: epitrochleitis and epicondylitis are two of the most common types
of pain that can be generated by a non-correct movement while performing pullups and chin-ups, dips and push-ups I really do hope that, with this article, I was
able to make you more aware of the risks of loading weights on your body without a
proper previous “preparation” and that, thanks to it, now you can adopt all the
proper precautions and methods
so to limit, diminish or even avoid any fastidious injury
.
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2.1. WEIGHTED CALISTHENICS
TRAINING: Proper conditioning
As I mentioned above, before going into weighted Calisthenics, always for the
same principle that lies beneath it that is for the sake of your tendons and
ligaments, it’s highly suggested not to start including weights until you have
prepared them in proper way so to bear the new loads you are going to provide
them with.
If you think of adding for instance 10 kg plate or 12 kg kettlebell around your
waist and start performing chin-ups/pull-ups, when without you are still
struggling to perform in a row and in clean form at least 10-15 reps, this kind of
work is totally counterproductive.
Why?! Because for the sake of your tendons and ligaments, you wanna make sure
to provide them with a proper conditioning prior to adding whichever weight
while performing those specific basic exercises.
For sure, we all have different goals and different mindsets, but personally since I
always wanna make sure to preserve the health of my body, hence tendons,
ligaments and joints, I started adding weights to the basic exercises only after
some time I had mastered already in correct and safe way all of them.
Even once I started to add weights around my waist, I always made and I still
make sure to provide a progressive and proper overload so to adapt the C.N.S.
with a new stimulus after identifying the previous one as “non-threatening”.
On a general basis, I can say that I prefer to work monthly and periodically (hence
not every month) on stimulating muscles and C.N.S. with new progressive loads
since I wanna make sure to give them a proper rest, before attempting any new
increase.
Of course, we all have different genetics and body structure for whose, some of
you might be able to increase the load on a wider scale than somebody else, but
still I invite you to consider preserving your body’s health, by not giving a too
sudden shock in such terms.
2.2. WEIGHTED CALISTHENICS
TRAINING: How to start adding
weights
When I talk about calisthenics basics, I’m talking about what I consider being the
fundamental elements of such discipline like for every other sport.
Ya’ll know that, if you master in perfect way such motor patterns, the game gets
definitely better and somehow easier under some aspects.
From my point of view, the main reason why you should get very good at them is
just for a matter of safety, self-confidence and awareness.
Let’s make an example to let u understand the concept above:
If I know, that I’m capable of performing at least 15-20 reps in clean form of
Australian chin-ups and pull-ups in their full form, hence with legs straight and
6
eventually also on an elevated surface and in all their different grips’ variations,
I’d feel quite confident then in order to attempt the very first reps hanging on a
bar. The reason is that, without having anymore to worry about a possible lack of
strength (of course then on the bar, I can always add as assistance the loop
bands) I can focus better on form and technique and do each rep cleaner.
Even in such preliminary phase, when you are still performing Australian
chin-ups/pull-ups, the concept of adding some weight and make them more
challenging is definitely a very good idea!
If you had for different reasons, a sensible loss of strength due to a flu or an injury
or simply because of a too long break from your workouts, you might wanna
consider not jumping straight into what you were capable of doing before such
events, but take a step back to the basics for a while (1-2 weeks).
In this way, you’ll help tendons, ligaments and muscles to recover and get back to
their previous shape and so never forget about training the basics also in such
case.
Of course, you would want firstly to increase the volume and so perform maybe
15-20 reps (high buffer) each set so to gain what you lost and when you start
feeling that you’re getting back into shape, you can then add weight in order to
give a final shock to your muscles and go back on track the week after.
Depending on the age, the recovering time is different and so it is the one needed
to get back to the strength you had prior to that flu/injury/long break.
2.3. WEIGHTED CALISTHENICS
TRAINING: Useful tools
A brief bracket is worth opening, to summarize which are the main “tools” you
can use in Calisthenics for working with weights or opposite forces generated:
1) WEIGHTED VEST: probably one of the most comfortable item you can consider
buying for personal purposes so to be able to carry it with you wherever you go
and not be worried about finding a gym that is properly well equipped also in
such sense. On Amazon as well as on E-Bay you can find a wide range of different
brands and
prices, so you can surely find the one best suitable for your needs. The most
common weighted vests for bodyweight trainings, are providing you with a minimum of 10 kg weight additional and they can go all the way up to 30-50kg (higher
prices)
2) DIP BELT: another very common and older “tool” used often at the gym to
carry different loads by means of plates/discs so to vary instantly the total weight
set by set.
Compared to the weighted vest, for sure is not as much as versatile as this last
one, since you would have to carry all the discs/plates if you plan to train outdoor
in a park.
For sure, during winter season it’s a great tool to be used at the gym where you
can have access to all possible weights and for some maybe also at home (if you
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own a gym in your basement or garage well equipped)
3) ANKLE WEIGHTS: less common to be seen in Calisthenics, but for some specific
trainings they might come in handy.
Here I’m talking about specific training sessions, like for instance when training
planche or front lever where, if you wanna increase the load of such skills, you
might wanna consider adding a little weight to increase the intensity, hence on
your ankles
4) LOOP BANDS: don’t forget about the incredible versatility of loop bands while
training Calisthenics.
Loop bands a.k.a. resistance bands, are a great replacement tool when, for
different reasons, you might not have access to a weighted vest or a dip belt with
discs.
Think of them as a valid opposite force you add to the usual exercise/movement
you perform; the most evident and immediate result you can get it while
performing push-ups, dips or bodyweight squats and deadlifts.
Also for training some skills such as planche, especially in the earlier progressions
like tuck/advanced tuck planche or pseudo planche push-ups (ppp).
For pull-ups, loop bands can represent a valid opposite force as well, only you
have to make sure to fix the band to a solid base so to put your feet in it before
starting the pulling movement and in this way you’ll increase the resistance
opposed during the concentric phase.
Same principle can be applied also to Muscle-Ups so, as you can see, the
versatility they have is here fully explained and proven and you just have to test it
on yourself.
Given this little intro to the weighted Calisthenics journey, we are going to talk
about pros and cons of applying weights into your bodyweight workouts and
provide you also with some of the most common and effective routines you can
test, in order to start working with weights.
3. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
IS WEIGHTED CALISTHENICS BETTER
THAN CALISTHENICS?
Don’t get me wrong, there are thousands of people who have trained calisthenics
and achieved amazing results (you can actually see their transformations on our
website). Calisthenics will surely benefit your physical fitness and help you build a
good body physique. However, there is one very important factor that determines
hypertrophy and strength gains where weighted calisthenics has advantage over
calisthenics – INTENSITY. This is a point in bodyweight training where many hit
plateau because it is difficult to increase intensity of workouts, and hence the
progress slows. In this program we go above the roof with the intensity of
workouts. The muscle hypertrophy and strength gains are greatly accelerated
with increases in intensity and workout volume.
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WILL I GET SHREDDED OR BUILD MUSCLE MASS?
Weighted calisthenics is effective for both, building muscle and getting shredded.
Both of your goals require similar stimulus for you muscles since in case you want
to bulk you are aiming for the muscle growth, when reducing bodyfat you want to
maintain as much muscle mass as possible- here as well hypertrophy workouts
are crucial. The only difference we are going to apply here is nutrition. Everything
regarding nutrition is explained in our Nutrition guide.
I HAVE NEVER LIFTED WEIGHTS. CAN I TRAIN WEIGHTED CALISTHENICS?
Yes! The key point is that you can use weights that fit your current possibilities, so
you can start from every level! If you need more info, then we are here for you! In
our Weighted calisthenics program, we will teach you how to choose weights
(RPE), what is TEMPO, AMRAP, supersets, wave loading and many more! Despite
everything you need to achieve your goals and master all exercises in this
program we will teach you the most important factors of programming that you
will be able to apply on your own in the future!
I AM AFRAID OF GETTING INJURIES AND LOOSING BODY CONTROL
Thant’s why you need to have someone that will show you the right form. In our
program, every exercise comes with a detailed video explanation showing the
proper warm up and perfect form of exercises. We will also show you how to add
weights to the exercises and how to progress. Plus, you will find also common
mistakes specified with tips how to avoid them. Do not worry, most of the
exercises are compound movement since we take care about teaching you how
to control your body and keep your body functional.
9
TAKE YOUR CHANCE
I know what it’s like to hit a plateau and stop progressing. I know because I can list a
number of times when it happened to me. But due to it, however, I learnt how to fight
it.
If someone gave you a chance to overcome plateau, would you take it?
If someone told you how to optimize your progress, would you do this?
If someone created a workout routine that actually works, would you use it?
Well, guess what – someone DID!
Take the best of both worlds! Our collective knowledge and experience gained over
the years are here for you to learn from. You will enjoy every bit of it without making
the mistakes we have made as we guide you through your journey. Now it’s closer
than ever.
GET PROGRAM NOW
WWW.CALIATHLETICS.COM/WEIGHTED-CALISTHENICS-PROGRAM
- Boost your self-confidence to the level you can’t even imagine
- Be ahead of others – Learn PERFECT FORM of all exercises
- Say NO to bad things and live the way YOU want
- Start a new, longer and healthier life
- Much more than we both expect!