You're not sure which equipment is the right one?
Read our sales advisor and find out everything about calisthenics. In addition to exercises, training tips and product recommendations you will also find suitable training plans for your level.
Index
Chapter 1
What is Calisthenics?
The term calisthenics originates from the Greek and means something like beautiful power. For some years now, more and more people are getting enthusiastic about this kind of movement. In almost every big city you can find Calisthenics Parks. What such a training looks like and what you have to consider, you can now find out.
What does calisthenics mean?
Calisthenics is not the same as bodyweight training. Where bodyweight training ends, calisthenics training only begins. A good bodyweight training provides the basis for calisthenics training. The same basic exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, planks, etc. are performed. However, in calisthenics extremely difficult and almost artistic movements are added.
In the meantime calisthenics has rather grown into a lifestyle. There are communities in every city, Calisthenics parks are springing up all over Germany, international championships are held and there are thousands of Calisthenics videos on YouTube. Especially the outdoor training and the strenuous exercises create a strong community.
What effects do I achieve with Calisthenics Training?
The major advantages of calisthenics training are
- Exercising outdoors
- almost only whole body exercises
- extreme body tension
- as good as free
- functional strength
- promotes mobility
- lower risk of injury than training with weights
And the training in the community increases the motivation for the training tremendously. For those who like to train outside and in a group, calisthenics is a good choice.
Chapter 2
Calisthenics Workout Setup
You should set up your training based on your fitness level. You can increase your workouts per week, number of exercises, sets, etc. depending on how fit you already are.
How many repetitions are useful for calisthenics training?
When training with your own body weight, different rules apply than when training with weights. Do more repetitions and more sets. The goal is to make the muscle exhausted so that it can recover and become stronger until the next training. To do this, it needs a sufficient training stimulus. The following table gives you a good overview of how you should build your training.
| Beginner | Advanced | Pro | |
| Repetitions | 12-15 | 15-20 | 20 or additional weights |
| Number of Exercises | 5-8 | 7-12 | 7-15 |
| Sets | 3-4 | 4-6 | 3-7 |
| Breaks | 1-2 min | 45 Sec - 90 Sec | 45 Sec |
How often should I do a Calisthenics training per week?
Even with a calisthenics training a split program makes sense. It is a good idea to split the program into push, pull and leg exercises. Then you can either do each training 1x per week, so
- Monday push exercises
- Wednesday pull exercises
- Friday leg exercises
Or you have enough time and recovery, then you can also set a training stimulus twice a week and divide it up as follows
- Monday push exercises
- Tuesday pull exercises
- Wednesday leg exercises
- Thursday PAUSE
- Friday push exercises
- Saturday pull exercises
- Sunday leg exercises
The advantage in this variant is that you will achieve results faster, so with only 1x per week training per muscle group. However, this is a question of your time budget and your recovery. With so much training the body needs a lot of nutrients and sleep. Therefore, your everyday life should be fully focused on training.
When does it make sense to start using additional weights?
You should use an additional weight as soon as you cannot make the exercise more difficult by using another lever (e.g. negative push-ups), or if you do not feel a sufficient training stimulus anymore, i.e. if you are not getting stronger.
From this point on you should help with bands and weight vests.
Chapter 3
Calisthenics for Beginners
Especially in the beginning there is no way around tools for calisthenics training. Super bands are suitable for pull-ups, bars or benches for push-ups and a sling trainer for leg training.
For many, the motivation to start with calisthenics training is to master cool moves and to be able to show off a little. But here we have to disappoint you a bit. Until you master these moves, it takes a while. Especially in the beginning you have to have a lot of patience and practice again and again.
But with a little time, progress and success always come quickly. Therefore it is very important for beginners to master the basic exercises and then slowly but surely improve. You will find the basic exercises in the next chapter.
To get you started, there are a few tools to help you get started. You can of course start without any equipment, but with equipment it is easier to train and the motivation is also higher.
Which tools do I need for the calisthenics training?
For pull exercises we recommend a pull-up bar or rings and super bands. If you have an outdoor park nearby, you can also train super pull-ups and the like there. With the Superband you can support chin-ups especially at the beginning. Later it is also more than helpful for muscle-ups. Superbands are available in different strengths. If you have some fitness and can do about 2-3 pull-ups, you should get a purple super band. If you can't do a pull-up at all, start rowing and try a black Superband slowly.
For push-ups and pressure exercises, parallels are ideal. With these you can increase your angle and make the push-ups a little easier. But parallels are also great for negative push-ups or shoulder pressure exercises later on. If you want to buy an all-round tool right away, we recommend the PowerCube. With this tool you can perform pressure exercises as well as rowing movements.
For advanced users we can recommend weight vests. At some point you reach the point where your own body weight is no longer sufficient as resistance. Here weight vests are a sensible investment. For push-ups, chin-ups, leg exercises, etc. the additional weight provides a perfect training stimulus.
For calisthenics, the most important thing is a solid base. Of course you want to have "cool moves" on it quickly, but it takes a lot of patience to get there. That's why you train the basic exercises at the beginning. These we present to you here:
In the following video you will get a quick and clear introduction to the basic exercises in calisthenics:
With Calisthenics, you can achieve many goals. Above all, you strengthen your tendons, ligaments and muscles with the training. However, it takes a lot of practice before you can fully master free exercises and train safely. Books are a good way to learn more.
Our Book Recommendations
We recommend the following books to expand your knowledge of calisthenics:
