BEYOND
BODYWEIGHT
Assessments and Program Design for Calisthenics
Strength
Refael Paz
Copyright © 2022 Refael Paz
All rights reserved.
The author strongly recommends that you consult with your physician before beginning
any exercise program. You should be in good physical condition and be able to
participate in the exercise. The author is not a licensed healthcare care provider and
represents that they have no expertise in diagnosing, examining, or treating medical
conditions of any kind, or in determining the effect of any specific exercise on a medical
condition.
You should understand that when participating in any exercise or exercise program,
there is the possibility of physical injury. If you engage in this exercise program, you
agree that you do so at your own risk, are voluntarily participating in these activities,
assume all risk of injury to yourself, and agree to release and discharge the publisher
and the author from any claims or causes of action, known or unknown, arising out of
the contents of this book.
The publisher and the author advise you to take full responsibility for your safety and
know your limits. Before practicing the skills described in this book, be sure that your
equipment is well maintained and do not take risks beyond your level of experience,
aptitude, training, and comfort level.
Cover art by 33 Red Studios.
Contents
My Journey to Calisthenics
What Are You Training For?
Training for Hypertrophy vs Strength
Training Principles and Mindset
Goal Setting
The Elephant in the Room
Strength Standards
Warrior Standards
Beast Standards
Hero Standards
Legend Standards
God Standards
Calisthenics vs Weights for Lower Body
Methods
Max Effort Method (MEM)
Supplementary Work
Loaded Carries
Before the Workout
Approaching the Workout
The Warm-Up
Programs
Original Program
4-Days-a-Week Program
Antagonistic Superset Program
Abbreviated Program
Beginner Program
Details
Rest Intervals
Periodization
Progression Method
Deloads
Ring Routines
Training Frequency
Tempo
Training Duration
Exercise Selection
Conditioning Work
Assessing Strengths and Weaknesses
Identifying Weaknesses
Assessment Tools
Troubleshooting
Diagnosis
Pain
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
With All Credit To Science
About the Author
My Journey to Calisthenics
I admit it—introductions are my least favorite part of every book! But don’t skip this
chapter as it’ll help you understand the origins of my system.
To anyone who didn’t know me as a kid, I was probably the opposite of what you’d
imagine. I was born cross-eyed, diagnosed with asthma, relatively small for my age, and
skinny. My extreme shyness and lack of confidence were natural at that time, as at the
age of five I wasn’t fully aware of mindfulness practices and the stoic philosophy..
Growing up, I played different sports: tennis, soccer, basketball, judo, and others. While
I didn’t play professionally, early exposure to broad interests likely played a huge role in
specific athletic development later. Thank you Mom! Maybe you already knew about
general physical preparedness. I was not gifted physically in any way, but
competitiveness made me decent at the sports I played.
Fast forward to the age of eighteen when I was recruited to the army. In Israel, every
citizen pays their dues (two to three years) to the country and eventually, that time turns
into great stories and laughs. Training-wise, I did a lot of running—“fitness,” people
would say—plus the odd obstacle course and a few sets of push-ups before lunch.
One year into my service, I found strength training highly rewarding. The push-ups had
apparently worked. From that point on, I insisted on keeping a dedicated regime of daily
basic workouts, twenty to thirty minutes in length. I built some muscle mass, grew
stronger, and became more athletic; everyone noticed, which further boosted my
enthusiasm. A set of adjustable dumbbells—the same set I still have today—was
delivered four hundred kilometers to the middle of the desert so I could take my training
up a notch! Along with the dumbbells was a big bag of oatmeal and a jar of whey protein
I made sure to bring with me every time I returned from home visits.
Once I completed my service, I began doing bodybuilding workouts at the gym as a
twenty-one-year-old. The classic bro-lifts turned into barbell strength training as the
years went by. I incorporated the powerlifts and fast-lifts into my practice. I acquired a
solid base of strength. At twenty-three, my evolution towards calisthenics—through
CrossFit—was gradual, as my exposure to bodyweight movements increased.
I use the word “evolution” intentionally. You see, I was pure garbage at it at first. I failed
miserably in single-leg squats, a muscle-up was out of the question, and I was afraid to
balance myself upside-down. As an adult practitioner who weighed more than 80 kg/176
lb. with no previous exposure to gymnastics, disadvantageous leverages (my ape index is
1.1!), and plenty of useless mass, the basic calisthenics exercises humbled me. I thought
I was strong, but these movements made me feel otherwise. They intrigued me and kept
me on edge. So, I kept doing calisthenics to practice things I was truly bad at.
Initially, I saw great progress, partially thanks to luck. Since calisthenics wasn’t as
popular back then, I stayed focused on what little I already knew. I wasn’t even familiar
with advanced exercises such as the iron cross, so I remained grounded to the earth,
grounded to my honest abilities. The influx of information often blinds the innocent.
Most of you are probably familiar with the iron cross, an exercise on gymnastics rings in
which you hold your body in a crucifix position with no support, using mainly arm
strength. Performing an iron cross on rings surely seemed impossible for me, as many
feats of strength appeared to me as my research deepened over the years. I eventually
achieved the iron cross and went on to pursue more challenging feats of strength.
The takeaway? Whatever goal you have in mind—maybe a chin-up for the obese, a single
push-up for a seventy-year-old, or a muscle-up for the female athlete—can be achieved. I
do not consider myself physically gifted, nor had I believed that I would be able to
achieve this strength one day. The only gift I have is the method.
Every person has that one exercise that symbolizes the tremendous level of strength and
body-preparedness he or she believes are currently beyond their reach. The iron cross
might symbolize what you perceive as unachievable in your lifetime but becomes
realistic with hard work and a smart approach. Eventually, your mind’s perception of
what is achievable becomes limitless, and the path to achieving it becomes tangible.
Growing up, it was hard for me to look past the traits I was born with. When we’re
young, we truly believe everything revolves around us. Looking back, now I am grateful
for all those “disadvantages” as I understand they are a part of my story—they were my
gifts. Some kids had a standing vertical jump of forty inches, while others were born
strong as a bull. I had to work hard enough to give myself a fair chance. I had to figure
out a way around the disadvantages to win. A problematic relationship to have with
myself I admit in hindsight, but when contained, it can yield productive results.
Necessity is truly the mother of invention.
This is not a speech about my achievements. I write to you with full belief in your ability
to exceed my strengths and more importantly, your expectations of what you are capable
of. I am an ordinary person. I think in some sense that my special power lies in being
able to relate to most people and provide information that is applicable to the average
Joe and ordinary Jane.
What Are You Training For?
I believe we should train for function, health, longevity, and wealth—in other words,
train to enrich life. Training has many profound benefits: health improvements,
longevity, better mood, increased cognitive function, higher energy throughout the day,
improved confidence and self-image, increased productivity at work, improved function
for daily tasks, better sleep, less money spent on healthcare, increased sharpness and
alertness, increased libido, reduced risk for injuries, stronger bones and ligaments,
looking good naked, etc. The list continues! How can someone start reaping all benefits?
Through strength training.
“Strength is the mother of all qualities,” said Tudor Bompa, one of the founding fathers
of sports training methodology. Strength is required in any physical activity in life and
sports. Greater strength increases your performance in absolutely anything. “As long as
a person has the required mobility and the symmetry, the priority is always strength,”
noted Pavel Tsatsouline, founder of StrongFirst.
I continue to practice calisthenics because I see it as a phenomenal strength-building
platform. If an exercise increases my potential for strength development, it shall be
used. The exercises I practice are the vehicle for strength and resilience, not the sole
end-goal. The skills are a means to an end. A training regime which significantly
deviates from the overarching goal should generally be discarded.
Often, the term ‘health’ in the context of training receives a bad reputation amongst
performance-based practitioners. Do not mistake these words as promoting
effortlessness, laziness, or lack of intent. We set precise goals, write a solid plan, and
execute each session with full seriousness. The provided routines improve performance
in conjunction with the benefits, not at the sacrifice of.
I have practiced many strength modalities and found benefits in all. I still participate in
other activities and incorporate them daily in my training regime. Nothing else has truly
impressed me the way Calisthenics and Gymnastic-Strength Training has. If a single
practice could be said to encompass all physical traits, Calisthenics/GST would come
closest.
However, the methodology is not perfect, and does have some drawbacks. I recommend
using other tools to complement the practice if you see value or the potential for value in
them. Don’t be trapped by dogma.
We use weightlifting (fast lifts) to build power, quickness, and explosiveness. We use
powerlifting (slow lifts) for mass and the armor-building effect. We use weights for
mobility and dumbbells for isolation work to target weaknesses and prevent injuries.
TRAINING FOR HYPERTROPHY VS STRENGTH
In my experience, many people start training with appearance as their main motivation.
I will elaborate on training for hypertrophy—the addition of lean muscle mass—as a
primary goal.
Hypertrophy training possesses certain attributes that are different yet not completely
opposite to strength training.
Training for hypertrophy draws the attention on muscle groups rather than movement
patterns. Reaching technical efficiency in a particular movement is optional, but
unnecessary; you can use multiple different exercises to target the same muscle-group.
Therefore, the hypertrophy-focused trainee performs more exercises than the strength
athlete, generally speaking, and rotates exercise variations more frequently.
When training primarily for hypertrophy, training volume must increase to target the
muscular system more efficiently. The number of exercises will expand as well in order
to provide attention to different muscle groups. Overall training intensity must decrease
in response to these variables, as most bodybuilding programs demonstrate.
Unlike many other strength coaches, I do not disregard hypertrophy training. The
addition of lean mass is crucial for improvements in strength. The phase in which you
gain the most strength—newbie gains—perfectly overlaps with your ability to add lean
mass at this stage. This ability diminishes significantly as training age increases. We
incorporate hypertrophy work in the programs provided in this book, as we
acknowledge it is one of the mechanisms for growing stronger and better isolating weak
muscle groups.
Those who prioritize strength view hypertrophy as a means to an end, not the end goal.
They focus on improving movements first and tracking their progress. They seek
efficiency in a few designated movements, and adapt their nervous system to perform
under high loads. They know that if they’ve gotten stronger, hypertrophy has taken place
to some degree. After all, the demand to get stronger is what created the stimulus for
hypertrophy in the first place.
Most trainees who focus solely on hypertrophy end up overworking mirror muscles,
such as the biceps, chest, quadriceps, and abs, while neglecting their posterior chain.
Eventually, neglecting the posterior chain leads to loss in function, worsens posture,
increases risk for injuries, and limits performance potential.
Training Principles and Mindset
The principles I am about to share will guide you through workouts and routines. No
matter how complex the routine is, it must be approached and executed in the right
manner to be effective. Each principle is paramount for long-term success and can’t be
discarded.
▪ Break Personal Records (PRs) - You train to improve. Do not repeat the same
workout twice. Tackle the workout with the intensity necessary to make a
difference. I have seen athletes training with high intensity on a shitty program
achieve decent results, but I have never seen any results for any athlete training
with a lack of intensity even on the most complex programs. Add one rep, one set,
0.5 kg, or a two-second hold—break the smallest PRs. This principle aligns
perfectly with the progressive overload principle familiar to many.
▪ The Generalist - Be well rounded. Don’t focus your practice on mastering only a
single trait or exercise. Broaden your perspective, widen your abilities, and train to
have an answer for all obstacles in life. Training for strength? Great, start with
decent mobility. Training for mass? Great, start with some endurance. Training to
master the planche? Great, start with the basics. Performance is like building a
tower: If you don’t have a strong base, you won’t be able to build it very high.
Working on your foundations will prime you for optimal results in the long term
and keep every other endeavor within reach.
▪ The Big Movements - Use movements that provide the most value and impact. In
calisthenics we refer to them as ‘complex movements.’. Do not waste too much of
your time on small isolation exercises. Training movements that incorporate more
muscle mass and demand more central nervous system activation are higher in
complexity and will lead to the best results in less time.
▪ Quality Matters - How you do things dictates the outcome. Do not let your ego
decide for you. Perform every exercise with control, using full range of motion and
keeping the objective of the exercise in mind. Good technique minimizes risk of
injury and enables the highest potential for sustainable progress.
When you reach a crossroads, use these principles to choose the right path for you.
Goal Setting
Setting goals is the first step towards success. If you don’t know what you are striving
for, you won’t exert the effort needed to make a change or acquire the necessary tools to
assess your progress (or lack thereof).
Five goal-setting principles you must apply:
1. Set up to three goals at a time. The more advanced you are, the fewer goals you
should set. Narrowing your focus to only one to three tasks will yield faster results,
whereas broadening your work leads to insufficient focus.
2. Balance - You should aim to achieve a structural balance within your body. This
goal-setting principle is a direct continuation of the generalist approach. If you set
a push goal, add a pull goal as well. If you set an upper-body goal, add a
lower-body goal as well.
3. Your goals should be realistically achieved within six to eight months. This
timeframe is significant enough to set a remarkable, ambitious goal that is also
tangible.
4. Only set a new goal once you achieved a previous goal.
5. Goals should be measurable and specific. A goal to “get stronger” is not specific.
Which movement exactly do you want to get stronger? Pulling strength? Great,
let’s set a goal involving chin-ups. Still, this is not specific enough. One example of
a goal phrased correctly would be “five chin-ups with an additional fifty percent
body weight.”
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
It is by no coincidence that the average weight and average height of the gold-winning
olympic ring gymnasts in the last 30 years was 61 kg and 1.62m, respectively. They both
play a huge role in performance.
You are most likely taller and heavier. You might have different circumstances. Don’t let
it discourage you. I believe calisthenics can benefit athletes of all shapes and sizes.
Firstly, you are competing only against yourself. The only metrics and values relevant to
compare yourself with are the ones beneficiary to your circumstances. The other metrics
and values are hypothetical. Pondering about them leads to no place. There is no other
option.
Secondly, you are not a competitive ring gymnast. You want to use calisthenics as a
practice to enrich life. The name of the exercise or the value of points it holds in a
competition set-up are irrelevant.
Thirdly, in many other scenarios your height and weight would not be viewed as
disadvantageous.
Lastly, the force output a heavy athlete applies performing ring muscle-ups might be
higher than the force output exerted by a light athlete performing more advanced skills.
I was able to perform elite ring gymnast skills weighing 86 kg. To truly test a belief or a
method, it needs to be proven in the extremes. The training principles and programs
provided in the book are battle-tested.
By training smart and consistently working hard, you will be able to achieve much
beyond your belief.
Regarding lean mass, ring specialists are the most jacked amongst the gymnasts. Don’t
confuse an advantageous smaller frame to having as little muscle-mass as possible,
being so called ‘muscle-bound’. Relative to each individual athlete, the stronger the
athlete is, the more muscle mass she/he will pack on her/his frame.
Relative-strength, therefore, is mostly a factor of being lean. Carrying unnecessary fat
mass hinders performance significantly. Calisthenics makes you accountable not only to
being strong, but maintaining a lean, healthy and functional physique in the process.
Don’t get caught with being as lean as humanly possible. In the attempt of getting too
lean, you will end-up with little energy for productive training, low mood,
nonfunctioning hormonal system, eating disorders, insufficient energy to build new
tissue, etc.
People have different body-fat percentage set points. You will find body-fat
recommendations for performance in the Assessment chapter. My approach is to follow
a nutritional plan, including the most nutrient-dense whole foods, that enables you to
thrive. Once/if you meet a certain body-fat percentage ceiling, tinker with food quantity
to achieve a leaner physique. Rinse and repeat.
I advise you to consult a physician as I acknowledge how complex the matter is.
Strength Standards
I want to provide you with a roadmap for calisthenics to help you assess where you
stand and where you are going—point A to point B. With no clear goal, you will lack the
motivation and precise plan for strength that will allow you to prosper.
Unlike weightlifting or powerlifting, in which weight progress is easy to assess and
apply, setting the right goals in calisthenics can be extremely confusing. Where should
you start? What exercises are the most effective? How do you progress from here?
In calisthenics, we progress through changing joint angles, leverages and
complexity—all of which are determined by joint resilience, strength and the technical
demands of the exercise. Therefore, a certain chronological order of standards should be
applied for you to progress optimally. For example, parallel bar dips progress into ring
dips, when instability becomes a source of intensity, and more elbow preparation is
required. Performing single-leg squats before acquiring a basic bilateral squat pattern
and foundation of strength will actually limit your progress.
Many exercises and variations that are not covered in these lists may be great exercises
indeed. However, I chose the most “bang for your buck” movements that I believe will
form a well-rounded calisthenics athlete.
Reaching every strength standard before you move on to the next stage is a great
approach to maintain versatility and sustain progress. Once you reach all standards,
move on to the next stage. If one of your movements is relatively behind in standards
compared to the others, put more emphasis on it! The Assessment chapter will help
point out exactly why you may lag in a particular movement or find it more challenging,
discovering the source of the problem.
WARRIOR STANDARDS
30 push-ups
10 chin-ups
10 bodyweight rows
5 ring dips
60-second wall-supported handstand
30 ass-to-grass air squats
The Warrior has built a fundamental level of strength that separates him/her from the
average person. The Warrior focuses on the basics. It is not a coincidence that most
exercises on the list require a high number of repetitions. You must practice hundreds of
repetitions with the basics to begin your journey before building strength beyond belief
on top of that. As a result, your endurance improves, work capacity increases, joints
become resilient, and most important, you gain strength on multiple planes. The
Warrior standards represent a health and longevity base that anybody—in any shape or
form—should strive for. Before starting any training program, most people can conquer
the Warrior standards within one year of dedicated practice.
BEAST STANDARDS
5 ring muscle-ups
5 wall-assisted handstand push-ups
10 pistol squats
press to handstand
60-second freestanding handstand
The Beast controls their body in space well and has impressive levels of strength.
Achieving the Beast standards must involve taking your training up a notch. . The
presses to handstand require a lot of mobility, as do the pistol squats. Performing
multiple ring muscle-ups is one of the main symbols for bodyweight strength. The
introduction to straight-arm strength through presses to handstands is another building
block towards mastering more advanced straight-arm skills. Becoming a Beast demands
one to two additional years on average from the point of meeting the Warrior standards.
HERO STANDARDS
5 freestanding full-range handstand push-ups
1 one-arm chin-up
5-second full front lever hold
5-second straddle planche hold
5 one-hand shrimp-squats
Hero level strength is no joke. The Hero is recognized as a strong individual wherever
they go. The Hero is a mature trainee, greatly aware of what works for them and what
doesn’t, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. The mentality of the Hero has
already shifted towards gradual, measurable, meaningful steps towards success,
repeated over and over and over again. The combination of ultimate bent-arm strength
and straight-arm strength will transform the upper body. Conquering the Hero
standards takes an additional one to two years on average.
LEGEND STANDARDS
3 ninety-degree handstand push-ups
3 straddle planche push-ups
3 full front lever pulls
5-second ring iron-cross hold
5 two-hand ass-to-grass shrimp-squats, standing on a slant board
Legend standards are gold medal achievements; encountering such a strong individual,
both mentally and physically is rare. In addition to demonstrating full body strength,
conditioning, size, endurance, control, and resilience, the mind of the Legend is
impenetrable. Even for the ‘genetic freaks’ out there, hard work is not enough to reach
this level; you must train with a smart plan for years and years. Checking off one Legend
standard is impressive but checking off all standards is insane! Reaching these
standards takes an additional one to two years of practice from the point of meeting the
Hero standards.
GOD STANDARDS
3 ring iron-cross pullouts
3 ring full-planche presses to handstands
3 full-range front lever rows
10 two-hand ass-to-grass shrimp-squats, standing on toes only
God standards signify a strong individual amongst the strongest. Reaching God-level
standards requires years upon years of hard work and a smart plan even for the most
genetically gifted athletes. If everything is set up for you to walk this journey, reaching
these standards takes an additional two to four years after reaching Legend level
standards. As I write this chapter, finding the right words to describe this kind of
strength is truly hard for me.
Remember, the standards are here to provide you with an idea where you should aim
and put your emphasis on next, and how the future landscape looks. Despite knowing
you have years of work laid out in front of you, do not lose sight of the daily session and
each milestone you must reach to get to the top.
Calisthenics vs Weights for Lower Body
The debate about whether calisthenics can provide the full solution for leg training is
ongoing.
Once again, in calisthenics we progress through complexity. By comparison, while the
upper body requires more variation and complexity, the lower body is structured with
more stability and less ranges of motion—an attribute that demands intensity over
anything else.
One way to increase intensity for the lower body using calisthenics is through single-leg
training. Although the options for intensity are limited, most powerlifters and
weightlifters would be extremely challenged by some single-leg squat variations from
the calisthenics world.
The single-leg squat variations are a way to achieve great overall leg development using
calisthenics. In addition to carrying your entire body weight on one leg, you will improve
stability and range of motion as well. This training promotes balance between both
limbs, which is crucial for injury and risk prevention and overall wellbeing. Most in-field
athletic demands are unilateral—think of hops, bounds, change in direction, throws,
kicks, and punches.
Another option to increase intensity using calisthenics is explosive exercises. Jumps and
sprints, for example, result in higher power output while using only your body weight
and require minimum learning time, if any. Further down the road, you can train in
plyometrics. Explosive exercises in combination with single-leg training will result in
phenomenal leg development.
The third option is isolation leg exercises. Putting your entire body weight on single
joints focuses all the tension on fewer muscle groups. You will not need any additional
weight for isolation exercises beyond your own body weight. Nordic curls, reverse
Nordic curls, and sissy squats are a few examples. Imagine progressing towards
single-leg variations of these isolation exercises—feats which were rarely seen.
Athletes with lower-back injuries would find the single-leg squats a great way to target
their legs without fatiguing the lower back or risking injuries. Lower-back injuries are
common and should not be taken lightly.
Powerlifting for the lower body focuses on pure intensity using the most simple and
basic movement patterns: bilateral squatting and hinging using a barbell. They are also
referred to as the slow lifts. The slow lifts will help build a tremendous amount of
muscle mass not only on the legs, but on the trunk as well. The heavy weights will
develop a nervous system accustomed to absolute strength demands. You will acquire an
armor-like type of strength, which transfers into contact sports. Some say a lot of bad
things about powerlifting, but you don’t want a powerlifter to tackle you in a match,
ever.
Weightlifting is the sport of the fast-lifts: the snatch and the clean-and-jerk. To
complement upper-body calisthenics training, you can use the snatch, clean, and all
variations. Weightlifting builds explosive strength like no other sport and demands fast
recruitment of as many motor units in the body possible, simultaneously. Power
production is highest using these movements.
Kettlebells can be used as a simpler option for explosive lifts. They are less technically
demanding and require less time to learn than weightlifting. Train the kettlebell swing,
the kettlebell clean, and the kettlebell snatch for the lower body to provide a stimulus
similar to weightlifting.
Ultimately, if you have access to all these tools, there is no reason to limit your practice
to only one methodology. I recommend starting with lower-body calisthenics exercises
and acquiring an equal level of single-leg squatting strength between legs before
performing heavy bilateral movements using weights. Most people have a profound
imbalance between legs, which should be addressed first. Once you’ve done that,
incorporate explosive calisthenics leg exercises and learn the slow lifts. Slow lifts are the
foundation for the fast lifts, which can be incorporated later as well.
When training your legs as a calisthenics athlete, stick primarily to low-repetition
training. It maximizes nervous system activation while minimizing hypertrophy on the
legs, which can become detrimental to calisthenics skills. We want to develop as much
strength in the lower body as possible while putting the least amount of weight on the
legs.
Some calisthenics athletes neglect leg training altogether. I find this approach baffling.
The lower body is the stronger half. All athletic activities are based on the lower body.
The biggest muscle groups within your body are in the lower half. Functioning as an
elderly adult is lower-body dependent. Why would you not train your legs? Devoting
more overall training time to the upper body or even refraining from direct leg training
for short periods is completely fine, but eventually, dedicating precious time for leg
training is inevitable and necessary.
Gymnasts train their legs. The elite ring specialists do as well. They practice tumbling,
perform high-rep leg circuits, and train for strength in the lower body directly. World
champions would display some decent leg development too.
For many athletes, training the legs can even result in improvement of upper-body
calisthenics skills. Strength in muscle groups, such as the glutes and hamstrings, is
required for certain skills like the planche, that involves holding your body in space
parallel to the ground. Additionally, your nervous system becomes more efficient at
producing maximum force, a feature that transfers to upper-body skills directly.
In spring of 2021, I ran a specific program of heavy barbell squats, heavy barbell cleans,
and ring Maltese holds. Everything improved simultaneously! I added two centimeters
in circumference to each thigh, I achieved a double bodyweight barbell squat, my body
weight increased by four kilograms and my ring Maltese strength increased by twelve
percent in four months.
For the programs in this book, I chose a combination of the fast lifts and slow lifts to
train your lower body. Calisthenics alternatives can be substituted and are encouraged,
using the previously mentioned guidelines.
Training your legs always results in a net positive. I hope I’ve positively influenced your
views on leg training with calisthenics. The results will eventually speak for themselves.
Methods
Before introducing you to the programs, it’s important that you have a solid grip on the
methods.
Many routines out there are no more than a grocery list of exercises. They tell you the
what but not the how. Often, results come down to the repetition and set schemes,
overall training volume, frequency of variation, and the intensity. We already know that
to get better at the planche, we probably need to planche.
Calisthenics is a relative-strength sport—the strength per pound of bodyweight
ultimately determines calisthenics performance. The goal is to be as strong as possible
while carrying the least amount of mass. This is a good general approach for health and
longevity too.
For maximum relative strength, neurological strength adaptations need to be
maximized; in other words, teaching the nervous system to be as efficient as it can be by
recruiting more motor units (motor neurons together with the muscle fibers on which
they act) simultaneously, coordinating between muscle fibers and between muscle
groups. To best stimulate nervous system adaptations, heavy or explosive training using
low repetitions is necessary. Usually, short sets of one to five repetitions are
recommended, and include a mixture of low to moderate repetitions. Much of our
practice will be within this repetition range. By studying calisthenics athletes and
gymnasts, you’ll notice that much of their strength is achieved with extremely low
repetition training or short isometric holds, similar to how weightlifters train.
In contrast, muscular adaptations are more pronounced using at least eight repetitions.
Gymnasts perform endless high-repetition circuits, high-repetition rehab and prehab
exercises, and pound the basics—rows, chin-ups, push-ups, etc. Although we are mainly
seeking relative strength, for isolation work we want muscular development.
Why? You get stronger via three mechanisms:
▪ improving technique,
▪ improving neurological efficiency,
▪ adding muscle mass.
I like using the army analogy to explain strength. Adding more muscle mass is the
equivalent of having more soldiers. Improving technique is the equivalent of teaching
them how to shoot better. Improving neurological efficiency is teaching them how to
cooperate, communicate, and coordinate with one another.
Training a weakness, not a movement, is training a muscle group. When you strip
neurological efficiency and technique (since both are mostly specific to the exercise)
away from an exercise, you are left with the amount of mass you can build. For example,
when performing shoulder external rotations, the movement itself is irrelevant to
performance; we only care about the carryover towards more complete movement
patterns.
If we can use higher-rep training instead of lower-rep training to target a muscle group
with lower risk of injuries and less central nervous system fatigue, we’ve hit the jackpot.
The Westside Barbell system emphasizes attacking weaknesses with accessory exercises.
So will we!
Accessory exercises complement your main exercises. They should not replace them.
When combining the best of both worlds, these training methods provide the
calisthenics athlete with the full arsenal of weapons to achieve his or her goals. Here are
the methods we use:
MAX EFFORT METHOD (MEM)
An extremely high-intensity method by which you perform one to five sets of a single
repetition of the exercise with at least ninety percent of your RM (repetitions
maximum). Basically, the amount of weight or variation you could only perform for one
to three repetitions in one all-out set on that training day. This method was introduced
by Louie Simmons.
Using the MEM, you must rotate the exercise variation every session. Do not repeat the
same exercise in back-to-back weeks.
The exercise variation should stay within the family. Manipulating range of motion, type
of grip, implement (parallel bars, rings, floor, etc.), isometric/dynamic, eccentric only,
and transitions are all examples of slight tweaks you can make.
Example:
Week 1 - ring one-arm chin-ups
Week 2 - heavy partial reps
Week 3 - bar one-arm chin-ups
Week 4 - accommodating resistance one-arm pull-ups
Do not fail at any repetition. I repeat: Do not fail at any repetition! High intensity and
max effort are still within your ability to successfully execute the repetitions.
Perform as many specific warm-up sets as you need and gauge from there how far you
will go that day. The warm-up sets serve as extra volume and technique work. On good
training days, following the MEM also means breaking your all time PRs.
This method is extremely effective for calisthenics. Maxing out is less fatiguing on the
central nervous system, we have so many variations of skills to practice, and
isometric-training suits the intense approach perfectly.
Example of max-effort straddle planche training session (including warm-ups):
Warm-up set #1 – 10-second planche lean hold
Warm-up set #2 – 10-second tuck planche hold
Warm-up set #3 – 5-second advanced-tuck planche hold
Warm-up set #4 – 5-second open-advanced-tuck planche hold
MEM set #1 – 3-second straddle planche hold
MEM set #2 – 3-second straddle planche hold
MEM set #3 – 3-second straddle planche hold with 0.5 kg ankle weight
One rule you should always follow is to never go back in weight or variation when
performing MEM. You either gradually keep building up the intensity when you are
certain of your ability to execute the sets or you stay on the same workload for a few
extra sets. If you feel like you need to decrease the intensity - it is a clear sign to wrap-up
the MEM work. Always end on a high note.
SUPPLEMENTARY WORK
Exercises using the same movement pattern of the main movement, performed with
medium intensity and medium volume, preferably varied slightly to address your
weakness. Supplementary work can be performed in a wide range of repetitions, but
preferably for 3-5 sets of 5-3 reps, the best strength-building repetition range.
Supplementary work usually follows the main movement and contributes significantly
to its progress.
Example #1:
main movement - full-range handstand push-up
weakness - triceps
supplementary work - weighted floor (partial range) handstand push-up
Example #2:
main movement - back squat
weakness - quads
supplementary work - front squats/cyclist squats
One great option for supplementary work in calisthenics is performing
dumbbell-mimicking exercises. Using one or two dumbbells, perform the same pattern
of the main movement. The dumbbell mimicking exercises isolate the raw strength
needed in the arm for that skill and strengthen both limbs equally without having to
focus on complex technical cues. They complement the MEM.
Example #1: For planche, perform dumbbell incline seated planche raises.
Example #2: For handstand push-up, do standing one-arm dumbbell press.
Example #3: For front lever, do prone bench dumbbell pullovers.
The DB mimicking movements lack the core and leg engagement and total body
coordination, but provided you first train the actual skill using your own bodyweight,
performing them afterwards will transfer over well.
Working the DB mimicking movements is highly stressful on the tendons. I would
recommend using a slightly higher repetition range if using them, as 3 sets of 5-8
repetitions.
LOADED CARRIES
The big family of carries includes farmer walks, suitcase carries, waitress walks,
kettlebell horn walks, bearhug carries, sled push and pulls, front rack carries, and so on.
Loaded carries work your core in all directions and ways, test your grip, and improve
metabolic conditioning. Coaches love to preach that core training is useless. I say they
are wrong as most trainees develop significant core-musculature weaknesses over time
due to improper activation during compound movements and lack of direct focus.
Loaded carries also tie everything else together. When you improve them, everything
else seems to get better. Hence, loaded carries, popularized by Dan John, are often
referred to as the fifth movement: push, pull, hinge, squat, and the carries.
Loaded carries principles:
▪ Change the carry every workout—the equipment used, the distance, the weight, the
duration, the variation, etc. Don’t repeat the same carry twice.
▪ Make it simple, don’t overcomplicate them—just do them!
▪ Ten minutes max!
Before the Workout
APPROACHING THE WORKOUT
Make an appointment with yourself. Dedicate time for training just as you do for work
or meetings. Arrive on time.
Bring your training log with you. Managing a training log will help you track progress.
Know exactly how many repetitions, weights, and exercises you performed each time
and how many you are striving for in the upcoming workout. Scan the logbook before
every workout.
Over time, you can scan your training log for any recurring patterns that you can learn
from. For example, if every sixth consecutive training week is garbage, you will know to
adjust before the next one and insert a deload week every sixth week. This is also
referred to as “mining your training journal.” Dig in!
Drawing conclusions from your own training experience ultimately makes you a mature
trainee who individualizes their training and makes choices based on rationality.
THE WARM-UP
The general warm-up refers to any non-specific drills performed before your first
exercise in the workout. A five- to ten-minute general warm-up goes a long way. The
goal of the general warm-up is to prepare the athlete physically and mentally towards
the training session. For calisthenics in particular, supplying blood flow and heat to
joints trained that day is essential.
For calisthenics workouts, perform scapula stabilization exercises and wrist preparation.
For weightlifting, perform plyometrics, including jumping rope, box jumps, depth
jumps, broad jumps, etc.
For powerlifting, perform a barbell complex: Romanian deadlifts, front squats, overhead
presses, bent-over rows, back squats, good mornings, and behind-the-neck presses.
Athletes tend to naturally gravitate towards their needs and alter the following
warm-ups accordingly. Stressed-out athletes seek slow movements, stretching, etc.
Amped-up athletes want to perform explosive movements such as plyometrics or simply
go straight into work. ‘Lazier’ athletes seek games or soft skills.
Mix in any exercise that you feel necessary to prepare you for the workout. The exercises
should help with any previous injury, certain muscle activation you desire to improve,
technical cues you wish to promote, or a weakness you want to strengthen. Eventually
the general warm-up will become personalized to the individual.
Do not exceed ten minutes.
Programs
A single best program does not exist. The best program for a trainee depends on the
level of the trainee, their goals, recovery, preferences, weaknesses, previous exposure,
schedule, and so on. Therefore, I will provide you with different templates for success.
Choose your own program to initiate training, incorporating the one that intuitively
catches your eye as it likely suits your personality type.
Rotate to a different program every eight to twelve weeks.
The more advanced you become, the more frequently you will need to rotate programs
to drive adaptation. Often, a program that least resembles your last one results in the
most amount of adaptation from the body, such as a low-volume, abbreviated type of
program that follows a high-volume program.
Ultimately, you will identify what works for you by observing progress, using your
training log, and drawing conclusions from it. This applies to frequency of variation,
total training volumes, exercise selection, training frequency, timing of deload, etc.
Using the Details chapter in the book, you can take the training programs below, use
them as a template and eventually adapt them to your needs and preferences.
As you will see, effective training programs share much in common.
Program Notation:
Template: set/superset letter - exercise - sets x repetitions - additional weight
Example: A. Ring Push-Ups - 3 x 3-5@20 kg
Ring Push-Ups - 3 sets of 3-5 repetitions with an additional 20 kilograms.
A, B, C, etc. = straight sets: performing each exercise separately by itself
A1, A2, etc. = supersets: alternate between exercises
ORIGINAL PROGRAM
When in doubt, you can’t go wrong with the Original program. It works great for all
levels of trainees. Three days a week, realistically, works best for the average person
since you always have a rest day between workouts to promote recovery.
Each day, focus on only one main movement, which yields both intent and intensity.
Each training day follows the same structure:
Build up to MEM singles → Supplemental exercise for 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps → Accessory
exercises for high reps.
4-DAYS-A-WEEK PROGRAM
The 4-days-a-week program is optimal for the calisthenics-focused intermediate or
advanced athlete. The main differences between this program and the Original are:
1. Max-effort and supplemental exercises are split to create twice the frequency per
movement pattern
2. Lower-body exercises are practiced as accessory movements only
3. A four-day training split spreads the stress throughout the week.
ANTAGONISTIC SUPERSET PROGRAM
Antagonistic supersets refer to training opposing movements or opposing muscle groups
in an alternating fashion. This routine best suits early-intermediate to intermediate
athletes, especially those seeking variety.
The main differences between this program and the Original program are:
1. The max-effort exercises are performed in the same workout and the
supplementary exercises are performed on a separate day
2. Most exercises are performed in supersets
By using the antagonistic superset approach, you
▪ get twice the frequency per upper-body movement
▪ enhance performance by facilitating stabilizers recruitment
▪ save time
▪ recover faster
ABBREVIATED PROGRAM
Abbreviated training is a common method among old-school strongmen. This routine
suits trainees who lack time or recoverability, have a desire to train hard and fast, or just
don’t give a shit about accessories. A lot of people would be surprised by the progress
they’d make following such a low-volume routine that allows them to fully recover.
For this program, you perform a max-effort exercise followed by one supplementary
exercise and one crucial accessory exercise of choice. You get in and out of the gym
quickly.
BEGINNER PROGRAM
Beginners react best to full-body workouts, training the lower body, upper-body push,
and upper-body pull every session.
The repetition range is higher on average: five to eight reps for compound movements,
since beginners have lower motor-unit recruitment and need more practice.
Beginners will achieve more from practicing only the basic compound movements; there
is no need for isolation work such as biceps/triceps exercises. Beginners have yet to
develop significant weaknesses or know how to identify them.
Details
REST INTERVALS
Between sets, rest for full recovery, but no longer than that. Once your heart rate
stabilizes, enter the next set. The stronger the athlete, the more rest he will need.
Beginners can rest for shorter intervals between sets. The more fatigue the exercise
creates, the more rest the athlete will need to maximize force output.
General rest interval recommendations:
▪ For squats/deadlifts, rest three to six minutes between sets.
▪ For cleans/snatches, rest two to five minutes between sets.
▪ For calisthenics complex movements, rest two to four minutes between sets.
▪ For accessory/isolation exercises, rest thirty to ninety seconds between sets.
Although accessories can benefit from longer rest intervals too, for the purpose of
hypertrophy, fatigue can be the limiting factor of the set.
PERIODIZATION
Every now and then, a new buzzword arises, accompanied by a lot of confusion in the
community. The buzzword periodization, in simple terms, means any alteration in
training variables within your plan. The rationale behind altering training variables is to
keep pushing the general adaptation syndrome, as “everything works for six weeks,”
according to Dan John.
When changing repetition range, introducing an exercise variation, or adding one
working set, you are in fact periodizing the training.
Advanced practitioners should have more variance in training parameters, such as going
from a high volume, low intensity phase to a low volume, high intensity phase.
Therefore, planning the program further ahead is necessary.
Although planning further ahead, the advanced athlete has to be more diligent and
aware of each individual session, as performance tends to fluctuate more on higher
levels.
Beginners, on the other hand, can get by with little to no periodization and daily
fluctuations in performance tend to occur to a lesser degree. Sticking to a prescribed
weekly routine or a 4-week routine realistically already puts the beginner way ahead of
the curve.
The training programs I’ve provided are already structured in a periodized fashion.
The Max Effort exercises are rotated each week as mentioned before—do not repeat
them week after week. You may return to the same variation every four weeks
(minimum).
Supplemental exercises are continued until their upper repetition range is reached. Start
by doing the minimum amount, three sets of three reps, and build up towards the
maximum, five sets of five reps. The progression serves as a transition from higher
intensity to higher volume. Once completed, you can add weight or introduce an
exercise variation. Ideally, you would keep the same supplemental exercises for four to
eight weeks.
Accessories can be varied more frequently, every one to four weeks, as long as you keep
the focus on the same muscle groups. In general, you have the most leeway when
structuring accessories into your routine. If you see consistent progress and are not sure
how to vary exercises, continuing the same exercises would be safer.
As mentioned in the Programs chapter, ultimately you should use the training programs
as a template and learn how to adapt them to your needs and preferences.
Stick to each training phase for a meaningful period of time, 6 weeks minimum. Plan the
hunt, hunt, discuss the hunt. In that order. Problem is - most trainees like to talk before
they give the plan a fair chance. Don’t be that person.
For one reason, you should finish your plan simply because you initially decided so.
Making a habit of quitting or not finishing what you started will ruin your character. If
you stop believing in your own words, the ability to stick to what you decided, anything
of high value will be beyond your reach. There is no better reason to stick to a plan.
Finish what you started.
For another reason, not giving your plan a meaningful amount of time will prevent you
from fully squeezing the adaptation process and making an impact.
Lastly, you will be unable to draw conclusions. If you constantly change what you do,
you can’t point at what worked and what didn’t. Don’t excuse your inconsistency as an
internal need for variation.
Only once you give the plan a proper go, start making changes. There’s no magic. That
3-5 rep range? Try switching to a 5-8 rep range or a 7-10 rep range. You can ramp-up
the intensity set by set instead of the traditional ‘straight-sets’ approach. Make it yours.
PROGRESSION METHOD
Calisthenics is an extremely demanding sport, in which strength is demonstrated
through uncommon ranges of motion and complexities. Calisthenics relies on a lot of
tendons and joint strength, beyond muscle tissue strength. All the passive tissues take a
longer time to recover from training because blood supply to these areas is limited.
Regeneration of passive tissue can take months.
In all exercises with a repetition range, for example, 3 x 6-10 or 3-5 x 5-3, add one or two
repetitions every session until you reach the upper limit of repetitions in all sets. Then
you can add weight or increase the intensity with variation. This is a simple and effective
progression method you can sustain for months and years to see great results. This
progression method is called the double-progression method.
The double-progression method offers a slow, gradual, incremental progression rate,
which is realistic and sustainable for long periods of time. This slow-and-steady pace
allows the body to adapt while minimizing risk of injuries.
The importance of remaining injury free is highlighted often in this book. One
unfortunate injury can set you back for a whole year, if you manage your rehabilitation
process wisely—a risk that is not worth taking. In the meanwhile, taking the patient
route would have yielded more progress.
Christopher Sommer, gymnastics coach extraordinaire, describes why our approach is
detrimental. “We tend to overestimate what we can do in a day, and underestimate what
we can do in a year.”
DELOADS
You must earn deloads. If you miss one training session every month or one training
week every few months or so when you go on vacation - you do not need a deload, you
need a wake-up call.
For the dedicated athlete, deloads are necessary for long-term progress and fatigue
management. Take a deload week every seventh week. For heavy athletes weighing
above 80 kg and/or athletes who practice the Legend standards and beyond, take a
deload week every 4th week. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
On a deload week, reduce the intensity by ten to twenty percent and perform one- to
two-thirds of the number of sets in each exercise. Stay active throughout the week.
Binging on Netflix is not an effective deload protocol. You still need to practice the
movements and stimulate the nervous system to some degree.
RING ROUTINES
Performed with control, this is the method for practicing and refining skills, as well as
acquiring the strength endurance of a gymnast.
A ring routine is a set of multiple exercises performed on rings consecutively.
Ring routines improve conditioning and strength endurance and stimulate hypertrophy
as the outcome of time under tension.
Gymnasts perform high intensity, high complexity skills during ring routines under
fatigue. Performing a three-second planche hold when completely fresh and rested is
one thing but holding the planche as the fifth exercise inside a ninety-second stressful
sequence is another. Gymnasts perform under pressure, and their form and strength do
not deteriorate as much as the usual trainee’s does.
Every ring routine should include at least
▪ a push exercise
▪ a pull exercise
▪ a transition exercise
▪ a handstand variation
Feel free to add even more skills. Use the progressions that suit you, e.g.: the tuck
shoulder stand for ring handstands. Vary the routine every workout.
I have not structured ring routines in the programs but treat them as a training method
you can sprinkle in once every two to three weeks for two to four sets, just before the
accessory work.
Beast Level ring routine example: ring muscle-up, tuck shoulder stand, three ring dips,
skin the cat, three ring chin-ups.
Hero Level ring routine example: five-second front lever hold, ring muscle-up,
five-second shoulder stand, five-second back lever hold, skin the cat.
God Level ring routine example: kip support, bent-arm press handstand, five-second
handstand hold, three-second straddle planche hold, three-second iron cross hold.
TRAINING FREQUENCY
Training frequency refers to the number of training sessions performed each training
week.
The number of training sessions performed directly correlates to your ability to recover
from them. The average person should train for strength three times a week. In this
case, the trainee would have at least one full rest day between workouts.
For dedicated athletes (those who focus on optimizing recovery), the optimal strength
training frequency is four to five times a week. In theory, you can achieve faster results
doing four sessions a week compared with three, but only provided you can recover from
them.
Hardgainers have found the best success doing only two sessions a week, since their
recoverability is low. Finding two-per-week programs from the 1920s to 1950s created
by strongmen is not uncommon.
Many trainees believe it is the age that affects recoverability the most. In my experience,
recoverability is most affected by sleep and nutrition (in that order).
To adapt the programs for four times per week, simply spread the same routine over the
necessary number of days:
A/rest/B/rest/C/rest/rest → A/B/rest/C/rest, repeat
or
A/rest/B/rest/C/rest/rest → A/rest/B/rest/C/rest, repeat
Aiming for the minimum effective dose and slowly ramping up from there is better than
trying to recover or rehabilitate any overuse injuries or overtraining effects.
Training frequency per movement refers to the amount of times you train a particular
movement each week. The more stress the athlete is able to produce in a singular
training session, the less frequent the athlete will train each movement.
Advanced and/or heavier athletes will train each movement less frequently, possibly 1-2
times a week.
Beginners and/or lighter athletes can sustain higher frequencies per movement,
possibly 2-4 times a week.
Frequency per movement is a training variable that should be individualized. Athletes
who usually train hard, heavy and enjoy competition would benefit from lower training
frequency per movement, since each individual session requires more recovery time.
Methodical athletes who tend to train safely, far from failure training, never truly
exerting themselves and are slow learners would benefit from higher frequencies per
movement.
Training frequency per movement can be altered to give more attention to lagging
muscle-groups, it doesn’t have to be equal across all exercises. Prioritize your
weaknesses by increasing their training frequency.
TEMPO
Tempo refers to the speed in which you perform each portion of each repetition.
Performing five fast repetitions over five seconds produces a different training stimulus
than five slow repetitions over thirty seconds. In practicality, tempo variance and
over-prescription usually does more harm than good.
Narrow the focus to as few tasks as possible. Therefore, the only tempo you will truly
need for my programs is to explode on the concentric phase as fast as you can, pause
for a second at the top, then control your way down.
Apply this tempo to any dynamic exercise in the program and you will reap the rewards.
Concentric phase: the positive phase, against the direction of resistance
Eccentric phase: the negative phase, with the direction of resistance
Isometrics refer to holding a certain part of the range of motion in a static position.
Isometrics have been used by strongmen for centuries. Isometrics have been shown to
recruit more motor units in less time in comparison to dynamic movements—truly a
deadly training method. They can be performed using barbells, dumbbells, and even by
resisting a doorway or wall. In gymnastics, isometrics are incorporated within the
competition settings, so they’ve become popular among calisthenics practitioners.
Although many coaches believe full range of motion exercises are always better,
isometrics are an exception and should be introduced as an exercise variation within
your program.
TRAINING DURATION
The total duration of the strength training session should be thirty to sixty minutes,
excluding the general and specific warm-ups. Remember, intensity is in inverse relation
to quantity: the longer you train, the less intense each exercise and set can be, on
average. In addition, the hormonal balance is not advantageous past the sixty-minute
mark for natural athletes; in particular, the androgen to cortisol ratio. Longer workouts
usually hint at either too many junk exercises or insufficient intensity.
Two-a-days: performing two separate sessions within the same day.
When necessary, you are better off splitting a workload between two different sessions
throughout the day, separated by two to six hours, than doing a two-hour workout. This
produces even better, faster results as you gain twice the muscle protein synthesis and
another hormonal boost, in addition to the ability to focus more on the second portion
of the workout, which would otherwise be performed under more fatigue. Keep in mind
that this method is slightly harder on recovery since the nervous system is amped up
twice in the same day.
Two cases in which two-a-days should be considered:
▪ Handstand practice: Handstands require volume, frequency, and consistency. If
handstands are among your goals, split your daily workout into an AM mobility
and handstands session, and a PM strength session.
▪ Splitting the strength session: AM Session - main strength work. PM Session accessories. The same workload is spread throughout two sessions within the
same day.
EXERCISE SELECTION
The chronological order of exercises within a workout corresponds to its neurological
demand. The more neurologically demanding the exercise is, the earlier within a
workout it should be placed.
The heavier and more complex the exercise is, and the more muscle mass involved, the
more neurological activation it demands.
In lifting, these exercises are referred to as compound movements: deadlifts, squats,
presses, etc. In calisthenics, we refer to them as complex movements: intensity through
complexity.
An exercise can be more neurologically demanding although appearing the same
mechanically. Think of freestanding handstand push-ups compared to wall-assisted
handstand push-ups or ring dips compared to parallel-bar dips.
A full planche press to handstand, although technically a single-joint movement, is
extremely complex, works a great range of motion, and involves a lot of muscle mass.
Therefore, it is extremely neurologically demanding.
Your main heavy, complex exercises should always come first. Hit them hard when you
are fresh. In relation to the Pareto principle, these exercises are the twenty percent of
causes that yield eighty percent of the consequences. Most of your training time should
be devoted to big exercises, with some time towards the end of the session devoted to
isolation/prehab/corrective exercises (accessories), which are easier on the body.
One interesting interpretation of the Pareto principle is that the most beneficial twenty
percent of causes could not have been sustained without the supposedly less beneficial
eighty percent of causes. Using the strength training analogy, accessories are ultimately
necessary for progress. In my experience, that is especially true the more advanced you
get.
Every training session will include three to six exercises in total. With this number in
mind, choose only the most potent ones and leave out any junk exercises.
Every exercise within the program should have a clear purpose.
Exercise hierarchy:
▪ Main movement - the actual specific skill or movement, hit with extremely high
intensity.
▪ Supplemental exercise - a heavy exercise, still within the same movement pattern,
hit with moderate intensity and moderate volume.
▪ Accessories - One to four isolation/simple exercises that target weak muscle groups
related to the main movement, using low intensity and high volume.
CONDITIONING WORK
Most people find conditioning work boring or draining, including me. Some research
even suggests that long steady-state cardio can jeopardize power, strength, and lean
mass. Conditioning work certainly does not have to be boring or draining and when
done correctly, it complements strength training.
Conditioning work should be performed to improve all metabolic pathways, widely
referred to as metabolic zones of training—from activities with low and sustained
demands, such as walking, to activities with extremely high and fast demands, such as
jumping or sprinting. You do not want to neglect any metabolic zone altogether.
I believe most people reverse-engineer conditioning work and perform it in the wrong
format. To achieve metabolic performance, you should incorporate a variety of play in
your daily life: spontaneous, recreational games which naturally involve running,
sprinting, change of direction, jumping, and so on—for example, football, basketball,
tennis, surfing, dancing, etc. Along with cardiovascular benefits, these activities also
provide social and competitive benefits.
When recreational games or activities are not available, structure the conditioning work:
▪ Sprinting is a tremendous metabolic activity to increase power and lose fat. Three
to ten sprints of forty to four hundred meters (sets and distance are in
reverse-relation) with a work-to-rest ratio of 1:3-6. Hill sprints are even better as
they fix running mechanics and decrease eccentric load.
▪ Loaded carries are a great conditioning option, too. Any strongman event, such as
tire flipping or sled dragging will do.
▪ Light kettlebell conditioning work. Turkish get-ups, swings, cleans, snatches, or
goblet squats. The key word is light. The limiting factor should be metabolic
conditioning, not strength.
▪ Weighted-vest walking. While walking is not fatiguing, adding the vest can shift this
activity more towards moderate conditioning work. Use a five- to fifteen -kilogram
weight vest. I picked this one up from Jim Wendler, powerlifter, authorand
strength coach.
Walking and biking should be your preference for transportation whenever you can.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator too. All of these choices accumulate over time to
provide profound cardiovascular and function benefits. Many people visit the gym to use
the treadmill or climb the staircase machine, which would not be necessary if wiser daily
choices were made.
Assessing Strengths and Weaknesses
IDENTIFYING WEAKNESSES
What if you don’t know your weaknesses?
First option:
For the upper body, simply train the chin-ups, push-ups, bodyweight rows, and dips.
In all variations, they cover most upper-body musculature and build high work
capacity. For pulls, aim for fifty total reps each session. For pushes, aim for one
hundred total reps.
For the lower body, simply train one unilateral leg exercise and one unilateral core
exercise. Unilateral work is often neglected but plays a huge role in minimizing
risk of injury, balancing strengths between limbs, and working your stabilizer
muscles, including obliques, quadratus lumborum, and so on. Aim for fifty
repetitions with each exercise.
Second option:
Work the antagonistic movement of the main exercise. The antagonistic movement is
the exact reverse action. The antagonistic muscle groups act as stabilizers during your
main exercise, hence their importance. In addition, it makes sure you don’t develop any
significant weaknesses by always working the opposing muscle-groups.
Example#1: Iron cross pull-outs - side deltoid raises
Example #2: One-arm chin-ups - handstand push-ups
Aim for fifty to one hundred total repetitions in the antagonistic exercise.
Ideally, you’ll identify your weaknesses over time and gear your supplementary or
accessories towards them to see the best results. Beginners don’t have weaknesses
because their whole body is weak and identifying any would be difficult. Weaknesses are
more pronounced for advanced trainees and are more important for their development.
ASSESSMENT TOOLS
Assessment refers to the tests used to identify strengths and weaknesses in relation to
the sports requirement. Identifying strengths and weaknesses is important because
achieving a certain structural balance within an athlete’s body not only reduces the risk
of injury but ultimately increases the performance potential for the sport.
Each sport has its own ideal structural balance. For an endurance cyclist, a chin-up with
added fifty percent bodyweight is completely irrelevant to the task, whereas for the
calisthenics athlete, this is a basic requirement for advanced skills. The assessment tests
are derived by studying the structural balance of the elites. I am certain the tests will
tweak and improve over time as the sport grows.
Calisthenics is a relative-strength sport, meaning the amount of strength per pound of
bodyweight is the ultimate factor, not your absolute strength. Therefore, some
assessment tools will relate to the athlete’s bodyweight and others will relate to certain
muscle groups and movements.
Calisthenics primarily focuses on the shoulder joint and the elbow joint. Hence, most of
the assessment tools directly relate to movements involving these joints. I added
lower-body assessment tools which are not required for success in the sport, but rather
are highly advised for health, function, and longevity.
In most of the assessment tools, I use external load to better pinpoint the exact
performance metrics. Using the exact exercises to address the problem is optional, but
calisthenics alternatives could work as well.
Assessment tools for calisthenics:
▪ Supinated EZ Bar curls to reverse-grip EZ Bar curls, ratio of 1:0.8
▪ DB preacher curls to seated DB incline curls, ratio of 1:1
▪ DB preacher curls, twenty-five percent of body weight for five repetitions
▪ EZ Bar supinated curls to lying EZ Bar triceps extensions, ratio of 1:1
▪ Seated dumbbell shoulder external rotation to barbell bench press, ratio of 0.1:1
▪ Seated dumbbell shoulder external rotation, twenty percent of body weight for five
repetitions
▪ Full-range parallel bars handstand push-ups for five repetitions
▪ BB bent over rows to BB bench press ratio of 0.9:1
▪ Parallel bar dips to mid-grip chin-ups, ratio of 1:0.85
▪ Mid-grip chin-ups to barbell shoulder-width grip overhead press, ratio of 1:0.62
▪ Mid-grip chin-ups to inverted ring rows, ratio of 1:1
▪ Inverted ring rows to push-ups, ratio of 0.5:1
▪ Forty-five-degree incline dumbbell Y-raises (trap 3 raises), ten percent of body
weight for ten repetitions
▪ Body fat percentage below fifteen for men, below twenty-three percent for women
▪ One-legged squat ratio of 1:1 (right limb : left limb)
▪ Ten pistol squats, each leg
▪ Nordic hamstring curl with your own body weight
Additional assessment tools you should strive for:
▪ Barbell back squat to barbell front squat, ratio of 1:0.85
▪ Barbell deadlift to barbell back squat, 1:0.85
▪ Barbell deadlift two times your body weight
▪ Barbell snatch equal to body weight
▪ Barbell power clean equal to body weight
We acknowledge that everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses. Genetic build,
athletic background, injuries, and other factors, all influence your current strength
levels and create gaps in certain key areas. But rarely can we pinpoint the exact reason
or provide the solution for it. Two trainees with similar routines—for example, front
lever and planche—will see different results. Why does one athlete improve the planche
so much while the other improves the front lever? What aspect of one individual’s
background or genetics leads to certain structures being stronger than others? We try to
answer that question and target the problem using the assessment tools. Otherwise,
weaknesses will create a low ceiling for your development. Unfortunately, the demands
of the sport do not care about our circumstances.
Targeting your weaknesses is a cheat code. They possess an enormous margin for
improvement in the shortest amount of time. You get stronger faster in areas you are
weak in. Since working on your weaknesses is not flashy, no one wants to do it.
Eventually, you will separate yourself from the pack by targeting your weaknesses and
unveiling your true potential.
Use the assessment tools listed in this chapter to understand where you are lagging and
why. Each strength standard points to a certain weak muscle group or structure. You
can target them during the accessories session, applying the guidelines provided for
accessories.
Troubleshooting
The assessment tools will help guide you through any weakness of yours. Neglecting to
address your weaknesses will eventually lead to a training injury, calisthenics is
unforgiving. Nonetheless, bad stuff happens in training. Knowing how to identify and
treat injuries is detrimental to long-term success. The next chapter is taken from an old
blog post of mine.
“Educating yourself on the process of dealing with tendinopathies is a part of becoming
a great calisthenics/rings athlete. Shoulders, elbows, and wrists are the hardest and
most commonly worked joints in our practice, therefore they are prone to overuse
injuries.
Tendon injuries will occur, it is simply a matter of when, not if, even when all training
and recovering aspects seem to sit perfectly in place. Whether and how you deal with
them will dictate how much of your potential would be fulfilled.
Tendinitis and tendinosis describe a state where an inflammatory response aggravates a
joint, caused by damage in a tendon tissue nearby.
The amount of total quality tendon tissue is in the center of muscle-tendon
performance. Healing the injury means you will rebuild and rearrange the tissues in a
‘functional’ manner. In doing so, you will be able to exceed the previous amount of
quality tissue, enabling you to surpass your previous athletic performance potential.
Treat the regimented routine as if it is training, because, as a matter of fact, it is. You
will receive a lot of input from poking around the area, moving around space and going
through the different stages.
The length of the rehab process will be determined by:
1. The severity of the injury
2. The recency of the injury.
It might take anywhere from 5-50 days.
You now have two frontiers:
1. Keep performing all exercises which certainly do not aggravate the injury.
2. Treating the injury in the following process.
DIAGNOSIS
Throughout the rehab process, you will ideally use the exercise that targets the damaged
tissues. If you know the exact exercise that caused the injury, use it as that would be the
most accurate. If you are not sure which exercise caused the injury, try moving your arm
around, with or without added resistance, in basic strength training patterns to find out
where and when you feel the pain. Pinpoint the exact exercise.
PAIN
Acknowledging pain and communicating with it is a part of having a good relationship
with your body. Not all pain is categorized as ‘bad pain’. Pain is, in general, a signal sent
by the brain to ‘be aware’ of a possible (perceived) problem.
Pain by itself, as an indicator of progress in rehabilitation can be misleading.
Performance and function are the key indicators of positive outcomes from the
rehabilitation process, not necessarily the reduction of pain. Pain can subside by
indefinite rest, as inflammatory symptoms (redness, swelling, pain, reduction in range
of motion, heat, etc.) would eventually dissipate, but the quality of the damaged tissues
would not improve since they were not worked. Then, once you load those tissues again,
they will break under stress and reinjure.
Going through pain is a part of the rehab process, otherwise we are not really targeting
the damaged tissue. However, not all pain is the same. The exact type of pain you will
feel is a crucial component to understand. When performing the exercise in any stage of
the rehab, the pain should be:
1. Sharp, knife-like type of pain.
2. Relatively low. On a subjective scale of pain from 1 to 10, between 1 to 3.
3. An “Ouch… Gone” type of pain. Meaning, it will not be prolonged into the rest
interval or the following day.
STAGE 1
●
Choose 1 or 2 exercises that target the damaged tissues.
●
Use light dumbbells, resistance-band, bodyweight or whatever allows all other
guidelines to be applied.
●
Perform 40-70 repetitions or simply 2-4 minutes of time-under-tension per set.
●
Do not go to failure.
●
Use the pain reference above.
●
Perform 1-2 sets.
●
Repeat the routine 3-5 times throughout each day, ideally separated by 2+ hours.
Keep following stage 1 until pain significantly alleviates while all other variables remain
constant.
STAGE 2: ECCENTRIC LOADING PHASE
●
Use the same exercise or two.
●
Use light dumbbells, resistance-band, bodyweight or whatever allows all other
guidelines to be applied.
●
Perform 6-8 eccentric-only/eccentric-focused repetitions per set.
●
The eccentric phase of each repetition should last about 8 seconds.
●
Perform eccentric-only exercises preferably. If not available, assist yourself with
the free arm on the concentric portion of the exercise when needed. Do not
perform the concentric phase unassisted under the same intensity.
●
Do not go to failure at any set.
●
Use the pain reference above.
●
Perform 1-2 sets.
●
Repeat the routine 3-5 times throughout each day, ideally separated by 2+ hours.
Keep following stage 2 until pain significantly alleviates while all other variables remain
constant.
STAGE 3: CONCENTRIC LOADING PHASE
●
Choose the same exercise or two.
●
Use light dumbbells, resistance-band, bodyweight or whatever allows all other
guidelines to be applied.
●
Perform 10-15 full repetitions per set.
●
Each repetition should be slow and controlled, no acceleration, no stretch reflex.
●
Do not go to failure at any set.
●
Use the pain reference.
●
Perform 1-2 sets.
●
Repeat the routine 3-5 times throughout each day, ideally separated by 2+ hours.
Keep following stage 3 until pain significantly alleviates while all other variables remain
constant.
STAGE 4: CONSERVATIVE STRENGTH TRAINING
●
Choose the same exercise or two.
●
Use light dumbbells, resistance-band, bodyweight or whatever allows all other
guidelines to be applied.
●
Perform 5-10 full repetitions per set.
●
Each repetition should include an accelerative component, but remain controlled
with good technique.
●
Do not go to failure at any set.
●
Use the pain reference.
●
Perform 3 sets.
●
Repeat the routine 1-3 times throughout each day, ideally separated by 2+ hours.
At this point, you are safe to resume your original routine, being more aware of your
ability to recover and the sensitivity of the injury.”
With All Credit to Science
Hard work displayed over time could never be replaced. You would achieve decent
results following the simplest of programs with absolute intensity and purpose, but you
wouldn’t achieve any significant results following the most sophisticated program with
insufficient intent and awareness. Often, it is the most lacklusterly sophisticated
programs that lead to lack of intensity and purpose in training, since the abundance and
complexity of details can blind you from the simple core truth of training.
With access to the internet came access to knowledge. If our grandparents struggled to
find any information regarding a certain topic, nowadays the question becomes how do
you distinguish the necessary information from the unnecessary. Free knowledge is
everywhere. Critical thinking becomes vital.
The strength wisdom acquired by gymnasts was mainly still hidden inside gymnasiums
up until 2010. Calisthenics, as practiced today, is relatively a new realm of strength. We
now have a burst of generally useful information to use. The sport is growing rapidly.
‘Evidence-based’ training became a new thing, supposedly. Every coach seems to point
at a new study which appears to disprove yesterday’s new study or your own experience.
Provided your recovery is good, working hard, in the musclehead sense of the word,
consistently over months, focusing only on a few exercises of choice, will always lead to
good results. You see, working hard is not easy. Otherwise, everybody would be strong
and jacked. Talking is easier.
Don’t get rattled. Follow the same old-fashioned wise advice that has been
recommended and implemented for decades. Success leaves clues. And I would add that
longevity leaves clues too; there's a difference between reaching elite performance and
maintaining it for years on years. It hints of efficiency.
To the old-fashioned advice I would add - gather your own training experience over
time. Training should be individualized. Even when unintentional or unnoticed, you will
find yourself gravitating towards a certain style of training. There are many ways to skin
the cat. High reps, low reps, bro-splits, full body workouts. All of which are different
ways to apply the same training principles. Getting to know what works for you is
extremely valuable.
In some sense we are fortunate that physical reality is in less need in the 21st century,
we have to be appreciative of that fact. However, we created a debt. Thanks to million
years of evolution, our bodies are still desperately designed for an active, mobile and
strong lifestyle, as the uninspiring negative health outcomes of the last few decades of
western living have proven.
Physical training maintains the vitality of the body.
Strength training is the middleground.
Calisthenics is a phenomenal platform to practice it.
About the Author
Refael Paz has been coaching internationally for more than a decade. His rare
combination of hands-on experience and expertise in the physical field has been used to
help hundreds of calisthenics athletes all over the world reach their goals. Refael is
married to Shira, his partner for ten years, and lives in a happy home in Israel, where
they raise their dog Olly.