THE COMPLETE
PARALLETTE TRAINING GUIDE
FROM BEGINNER TO PRO
Introduction
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When you think about calisthenics,
what comes to mind? Maybe
strength, control, balance – or
perhaps all three. Parallettes are the
perfect training tool to learn and
practice some of calisthenics most
recognisable movements.
Gravity Fitness is a British brand
leading the way with innovative
functional fitness kit. Our founder
Rich started Gravity in 2015 after he
started doing calisthenics to rehab a
shoulder injury. He saw how difficult
it was to get quality, durable
functional training equipment – and
decided to make his own.
Parallettes have a special place in
our heart - the first product we
developed was our hugely popular
XL Pro Parallettes. Since then we’ve
improved the design – and added
Medium Pro Parallettes to the range
– because we think parallettes are
fundamental to functional training.
We started with parallettes, and now
stock a leading range of traditional
and innovative functional kit for
calisthenics and strength training.
Grab yourself a set of parallettes in
our store and take a look around
whilst you’re there.
Parallettes are a portable, versatile
training tool for full body strength
and fitness work. In this guide we’ll
run through 10 total body exercises
suitable for beginners, advanced, or
pro level calisthenics.
We’d love to see hear about your
functional fitness experience with
our kit - get in touch at
Support@BornActive.com.
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THE COMPLETE
PARALLETTE TRAINING GUIDE
FROM BEGINNER TO PRO
Page 3
Introduction
Page 4
Index
Page 5
Rear dip
Page 6
L-sit extensions
Page 7
Leg raises
Page 8
Wide push up
Page 9
Hindu push up
Page 10
Skullcrusher
Page 11
Push up to L-sit
Page 12
Crow stand
Page 13
Elbow lever
Page 14
Wall handstand
Page 15
Pull up FAQs
Page 16
Join the community
4
Rear Dip
Dips are a powerful parallettes exercise that will build strength and stability in
your upper body – particularly your arms, chest, and front delts. They’re a great
exercise in their own right, and they’re a strong foundational move for the rest of
your calisthenics journey. Dips build the strength you’ll need for moves like
muscle ups and planche.
There are lots of ways to perform parallettes dips, but we’ve chosen to walk you
through a rear dip. Rear dips are beginner-friendly, so what better way to kick off
this parallette training guide.
1.
2.
3.
Sit inside your parallettes and
take hold of the bars with a
natural grip (knuckles facing
outwards).
Raise yourself up by pressing on
your hands to lock your arms out.
Bend your legs at the knee and
send your feet behind you.
4.
5.
5
To perform the dips, lean forward
slightly and send your elbows
behind you as you lower your
body as far as you can.
Press up from the bottom
position, keeping your elbows
tucked close to your body.
L-Sit Extensions
L-sits are a classic core exercise that you can do on a variety of calisthenics tools –
on gymnastics rings, from a pull up bar, or using parallettes. We like doing L-sits on
parallettes because the parallettes give you a stable base, and the fact that you’re
pressing down (rather than hanging) gives your chest, shoulders, and arms a
workout too.
These L-sit extensions differ from L-sit holds. You’ll be extending your legs out
during the movement which brings an extra element of strength to the exercise,
challenging your hip flexors as well as your abs.
We’ve added a single-legged option if you need to start with a less challenging
option.
1.
Start by sitting between the parallettes.
2.
Hold yourself up by pressing down on your hands (to lock out your arms) and
feet (to raise yourself off the ground).
3.
Extend legs, hold, and bring your legs back to the start position.
4.
For a less challenging option, extend one leg at a time, keeping the other leg on
the floor.
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Leg Raises
Leg raises are a great core exercise, so combine them with the L-sit extensions
on the previous page if you want a killer superset combination.
Leg raises can be done on XL or medium parallettes (the only difference will be
the angle and range of movement).
1.
Sit or stand inside your parallettes.
2.
Take hold of the parallettes with a natural grip, knuckles facing outwards.
3.
Lift one leg straight out in front of you until it’s parallel to the ground, then
lower it with control.
4.
Repeat on the other side.
5.
For a less challenging option, keep the other foot on the ground.
6.
For a harder option, keep one leg raised as you raise and lower the working
leg.
7.
For an advanced option, perform a single leg raise each side and then a
double leg raise to finish the set.
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Wide Push up
Push up exercises are a core part of any calisthenics programme. They build
strength and muscle across your upper body, and promote better shoulder
mobility too.
There are so many variations of push ups, it’s always easy to find one to suit
your level of strength or your current training focus.
Push ups work with your body weight and can be done with no equipment at
all, but we love doing them on parallettes because you can get that extra range
of movement which means you’ll never cheat a rep! This wide push up
variation puts more of the work through your big chest muscles so you get
more bang for your buck.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Set up your parallettes slightly wider than shoulder width apart.
Choose the movement intensity: have your body higher than your feet
for a less challenging option, or have lower parallettes for a harder
option.
Take your feet out behind you so your body is in a straight line.
Bend at the elbows and lower your chest between the parallettes,
sending your elbows out to the sides.
Press back up to the start position.
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HINDU PUSH UP
Hindu push ups represent everything we love about calisthenics – bodyweight
control, strength, and a flowing movement. If you’ve ever done yoga, you’ll
recognise the movement as similar to a chaturanga. But don’t worry, we’ll break
it down for you in the steps below.
This is an amazing movement for building strength and control throughout your
entire body. Hindu push ups work your chest and shoulders (like any push up)
but also use your back muscles, core, glutes, and legs.
Give it a go and you’ll see what we mean.
1.
Set your parallettes up shoulder width
apart.
2.
Stand behind your parallettes and get into
a plank position, holding the middle of the
parallettes, with the end of the handles at
your hip crease.
3.
Push up on your hands and press your
feet, raise your hips, and get into a
downward dog (upside-down V) shape.
Hips are high, arms and legs are straight.
4.
Send your body forward and down
(imagine that you are diving under a
fence).
5.
Move through a press up position and lock
out your arms as your chest raises to face
the front.
6.
Reverse the whole movement, coming
back to a press up position and then
taking your body back
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SKULLCRUSHER
Parallettes aren’t just a great tool for working the larger muscle groups. You can
also use your parallettes to challenge smaller muscles and supporting muscles, all
of which will build full body strength and power.
Skullcrushers are a classic triceps exercise, usually done with a barbell and plates.
This parallettes version is much easier to set up, and because it uses your own
bodyweight it’s also much safer.
Take some time to work through the steps so you understand how the movement
should feel, then start getting into your reps and sets.
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1.
Set up your parallettes so you
can have both hands narrower
than shoulder width. This
either means putting your
parallettes
together
(bars
horizontal) or using one
parallette (bar horizontal from
left to right).
2.
Get in a plank position with
your hands over the bar of the
parallettes/,
closer
than
shoulder width.
3.
Start with arms straight, then
lower your chest down whilst
sending
your
elbows
backwards.
4.
Your forehead should just
about meet the bar of the
parallette between your hands
at the bottom of each rep.
5.
Keep the movement controlled
on the way down and on the
way up and feel the work in the
triceps.
PUSH UP TO L-SIT
Parallettes give you the opportunity to combine more than one bodyweight
movement, and that’s what we’ve done here by pairing a push up with an l-sit.
You’ve done both of these movements individually, now it’s time to put them
together.
This is an advanced movement, so work up to it if necessary. This might mean
doing a push up, then an l-sit separately until you build the strength. Or you
could go from a push up into a tuck (without extending the legs).
If you need help or extra guidance with any of these movements, join the
Gravity Fitness Tribe on Facebook where you can post questions and get direct
help from the Gravity calisthenics coaches.
the movement to go from l-sit back to press up.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Set up your parallettes slightly wider than shoulder width.
Start in a plank position.
Lower into a press up and press back up to the top position with arms straight.
Move your body slightly forward so your shoulders move forward of your
hands, this will take the weight into your hands so you can start the l-sit.
Tuck your legs under you and keep the weight into your hands as you shift
from a plank into a dip position.
Finally, send your legs through in front of you to complete the l-sit.
If you can, reverse the movement to go from l-sit back to press up.
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CROW STAND
Crow stand is a balance movement (it’s one you might recognise from yoga).
It’s relatively simple, but requires a lot of strength. Once it clicks with you, you’ll
be able to hold it for a while which will help you build more strength as time
goes on.
Crow stands place a lot of your bodyweight over your upper body, making them
a great way to build strength in your shoulders, arms, chest and upper back.
They are also a good progression movement for elbow levers (which we will
look at next) and more advanced moves like planche.
hang out in this position.
1.
Set your parallettes up at shoulder width.
2.
Take hold of the parallettes in a plank position with arms straight.
3.
Shift your weight forward so your chest moves forwards over your hands.
4.
Bend your legs and tuck your knees in towards your elbows until the
inside of your knees are resting on your elbows or upper arms (bend your
elbows slightly).
5.
Move your head slightly towards the floor so your hips and head are level.
6.
Adjust your balance so you can
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ELBOW LEVER
Elbow lever is an advanced move that challenges your strength and balance. It
combines hand balancing with strength, control and co-ordination and will help you
move onto even more advanced calisthenics movements on the parallettes, rings,
and bars. And the good news is it’s not as hard as it looks. In fact, elbow lever is
pretty easy to learn once you’ve built the necessary strength in your wrists and
shoulders.
This exercise combines the strength of a push up, stability of a plank, with balance
and co-ordination. It demands strength in your upper body, core, hips and lower back.
It’s got it all! That’s why we’ve put it in this penultimate spot in our parallettes guide.
Elbow lever builds nicely on strength, balance, and body position you’ve worked on
during crow stand (on the previous page). And it looks cool too!
1. Set your parallettes up shoulder width and crouch
behind them.
2. Hold the handles and tuck your elbows into your
sides.
3. Lean forward slightly so your weight is over your
hands and your elbows are tucked into your hips.
4. Send your legs back from this tucked position to
straight out behind you.
5. Tip your chest and head towards the floor slightly
so your back is parallel to the floor.
6. Play around with your balance and body position
so you can maintain this elbow lever position with
legs out behind you.
7. For an advanced version, start in a plank position
(rather than legs tucked) and tuck your elbows in
to your hips before sending your weight forward
to lift your legs off the floor.
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WALL HANDSTAND
If you haven’t done a handstand since you were a kid, let’s have some fun learning how
to do them on parallettes! Wall handstands are easier and therefore safer than freestanding handstands, and a great way to build your awareness and confidence.
Wall handstands are a good strength exercise in their own right, building strength and
muscle through your shoulders, arms, chest and upper back. You can also use them as a
progression to a whole host of calisthenics exercises, like handstand press ups.
went up, one leg at a time.
1. Set your parallettes up against a wall with the feet against the wall, bars forming a Tshape to the wall.
2. Kick up into a handstand by facing the wall, taking one step forward, and placing your
hands on the parallettes, then kicking both feet up.
3. If this is too challenging, practice kicking up into a handstand against the wall
without the parallettes, then add the parallettes in.
4. Kick up quickly and with conviction so you don’t fatigue yourself with too many failed
kick ups.
5. Once your feet are against the wall, bring your legs together and push your chest
slightly though your arms.
6. Lower back down the way you went up, one leg at a time.
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PARALLETTES FAQS
How often should I use parallettes in my workouts?
You can add one or two of these exercises into your regular workouts, or
dedicate entire workouts to gymnastics rings movements. All of these
exercises use bodyweight rather than additional external load, so be guided by
your progress and recovery.
What reps and sets should I aim for?
Parallettes workouts are strength training, so build up to a range of 3-4 sets of
10-12.
What size parallettes should I use?
There are benefits to both types of parallettes we sell (XL Pro and Medium
Pro). XL Pro Parallettes are higher off the floor, giving you more clearance for
flowing movements like press up to l-sit. Medium Pro parallettes are lower to
the ground, making them ideal for wall handstands, press ups, and crow
stands. If you need any guidance about which type of parallettes to add to
your collection, email us on XXX.
Can I substitute weighted work with parallettes movements?
Yes! Calisthenics is a great substitute for weight training with barbell and
dumbbells. You can build a strong, athletic body with bodyweight and
parallettes. If you want to add other calisthenics tools, or mix and match your
bodyweight training with other types of weight training, it’s all good. That’s the
beauty of calisthenics.
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JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Excited to try the parallettes strength moves in this guide? Then you need a
quality, solid pair of parallettes! The Gravity Fitness store has two sizes of
parallettes to choose from – XL Pro Parallettes (80cm high) and Medium Pro
Parallettes (30cm high). Check out the store now to see our entire range of
top quality traditional and unusual functional fitness tools.
And if you want calisthenics coaching Q&As, training tips, free workouts and
more, the Gravity Fitness Tribe Facebook group is the place to be. Hit the link
and get access today!
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