Calisthenics might be the word your grandfather used for physical exercise. This type of workout started cropping up in grade schools in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These low-resistance exercises use your body weight rather than other equipment.
You do many repetitions of each move to help build muscle while improving how long you can keep the exercise going. Calisthenics can be a warm-up or cooldown for another fitness routine or sport. Or they can be their own workout.
Calisthenics are making a big comeback in workouts around the world. There are lots of ways these moves can benefit you.
Calisthenics for Beginners
Calisthenics are a good choice if you're beginning a workout routine or just getting back into exercise. The risk of injury is very low. You don't have to invest in a lot of special equipment for your home or buy a gym membership.
You also can make the exercises harder or easier to meet your fitness level.
Calisthenics Equipment
You can do calisthenics without any equipment. But if you want to perform certain exercises or increase your workout's intensity, things you may need include:
- Pull-up bar, for pulling exercises
- Dip bar, which can be used for triceps dips, among other exercises
- Parallettes, two bars set a distance apart and low to the ground, for pushing exercises
- Resistance bands
You may be able to find pull-up bars and other equipment in public parks and playgrounds.
Types of Calisthenics
Calisthenic exercises are relatively quick and involve moving most or all of your body. You repeat each exercise at least 10-12 times. You can do more depending on your fitness level.
Some examples of calisthenic exercises include:
Jumping jacks
This is a two-step exercise. Start from a standing position, with your feet together and your arms at your sides. Then jump, bringing your hands together over your head and landing with your feet shoulder-width apart. Then jump back to the starting position. This is an aerobic exercise and a good way to warm up.
Trunk twists
This is a four-step exercise. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. First, lean forward at your waist, bending your torso. Then lean to one side. Next, you lean back. Finally, you lean to the remaining side. You'll work your abdominal muscles, including your obliques and hip flexors.
Push-ups
This is a two-step exercise. Start out lying on your stomach with your head facing forward. Your hands and feet should be on the floor with your arms extended. Straighten your elbows and push up. You can modify this exercise to work different muscles by moving your hands closer together. Push-ups work your chest, abdominals, shoulders, and triceps.
Pull-ups
Start by hanging from a horizontal bar with your arms shoulder-width apart and your palms facing outward. For step one, pull yourself up until your chin touches the bar, then go back to the starting position. Use your upper body. Don't kick your feet. You'll be working all of your back muscles and forearms.
Chin-ups
You begin this exercise hanging from a horizontal bar with your arms shoulder-width apart and your palms facing inward. Pull your body up so that your chin touches the bar. Return to the starting position. Again, use your upper-body strength. Don't kick your feet. This exercise works your biceps and your back muscles.
Sit-ups
Lie on your back, with your arms behind your head and your legs extended. Lift your arms and upper torso toward your feet, then return to the starting position. This exercise works your abdominal muscles. Only your torso should leave the ground during step one.
Planks
Start on your stomach with your elbows close to your sides and your palms down. Push up, keeping your elbows and forearms on the floor. Keep your legs and torso straight. Hold for a count of five, then lower yourself back to the floor. You'll be exercising your abdominal muscles and building strength in your core, which supports your spine, hips, and abdomen.
Lunges
Start in a standing position with your feet hip-width apart. Place your hands on your hips, or let your arms hang by your sides. Keeping your back straight, take a step forward with your right foot. Bend your knee so that your left knee is pointing toward the floor, with your right knee directly above your right foot. Using the muscles in your right leg, push back to your original position. Then, repeat using your left leg to step forward. This exercise works the muscles of your hips, butt, and thighs as well as your abdominals.
Benefits of Calisthenics
The benefits of calisthenics depend on your fitness level. For beginners who are able to do 10-12 repetitions at a time, the workout helps build muscle strength. Once you're able to do more reps, calisthenics help increase muscle endurance — how long you can keep up the exercise.
If you're already physically fit and want to increase muscle strength, you can adjust calisthenic exercises for your fitness level. For example, you can add extra weight while you exercise. This could mean wearing a weighted belt to do pull-ups.
You also can make exercises harder by changing your body position. Try raising your legs on a platform or a step while you do push-ups. This challenges your muscles more, which helps build strength. Building muscle may give you a leaner appearance, too. Calisthenics also may help make your body more flexible.
They can be good for helping you stick to workouts for a longer time. But to get the full benefit, you have to do the exercises quickly. You can't stop for more than a minute or so between each set. That keeps your heart rate up, making calisthenics a more challenging and effective workout. One study found that high-intensity calisthenics can give you an aerobic workout similar to what you'd get walking on a treadmill.
Calisthenics can help you build strength that will help with the movements you do in your daily life. That's because calisthenics work out more than one muscle group, which mirrors the way you use your body every day.
One study found that following a calisthenics routine can improve your posture, strength, and body mass index (BMI).
Building Muscle with Calisthenics
A traditional complaint about calisthenics is that you can't build muscle with this type of exercise. However, the research on the issue is mixed. One study found that a push-up regimen could be as effective as bench-pressing in building muscle strength and size.
The key may be modifying the exercise to increase the intensity, rather than just doing more repetitions.
Calisthenics vs. weight training
When you do calisthenics, you use the weight of your own body for resistance. In weight training, you use weights for resistance. That could mean a weight machine or free weights, such as dumbbells and barbells.
How Many Calories Do Calisthenics Burn?
The number of calories you use while doing calisthenic may depend on factors such as your intensity, effort, weight, and age.
These numbers should be considered averages for calories burned while doing calisthenics for about 30 minutes:
- 135 calories if you're 125 pounds
- 167 calories if you're 155 pounds
- 200 calories if you're 200 pounds
If you do vigorous calisthenics for half an hour, your calorie burn will be more like this:
- 240 calories if you're 125 pounds
- 298 calories if you're 155 pounds
- 355 calories if you're 200 pounds
If you have health problems, get your doctor's OK before beginning a new exercise routine.
Calisthenics Workout Plan
If you're just starting out, you may want to begin with two or three sets of five repetitions for each exercise. A good goal is to perform calisthenics two to four days each week. Your body needs a day off between each session to let your muscles rest.
A group of reps is called a set. As you get stronger, you can work up to two to four sets of 12-15 reps each. Rest up to 60 seconds between each set.
Eventually, you may be able to add more intense “explosive” exercises, such as jump squats, lateral bounds, burpees, and push-ups with claps.
A well-balanced calisthenics routine works the whole body.
Calisthenics workout at home
Beginners may want to skip the pull-ups or chin-ups and do fewer reps of the other exercises. Push yourself, but stop if you become very tired or if anything hurts. Always talk to your doctor before starting a new fitness plan.
Here's a sample workout plan:
Cardio warm-up. Don’t skip the warm-up — it’s one of the most important parts. It helps your body and mind shift into workout mode. Start with 5-15 minutes of cardio, such as walking or biking. Push yourself just enough to break a sweat. Aim to speed up your heart rate and breathing.
Muscle and joint warm-up. This is when you loosen up your muscles and joints so they can move smoothly during your workout. Think of it as adding oil to some squeaky hinges. This helps prepare the body to move through a healthy range of motion.
Focus on the body parts you’ll be using during that day’s workout. For example, if you plan on working out your shoulder muscles, you can start by “windmilling” your arms in full circles.
You can warm up with these dynamic activities:
- Knee-raises. Lift one knee in front of you. Use your hands to hug your knee, pulling it into your chest. Switch legs. You can do this while marching forward or standing in place.
- Internal and external hip rotation. Stand and lift your right knee to hip level. Ideally, you want 90-degree angles (like the corner of a square) formed at the hip and knee. As you balance on your left foot, turn your right knee inward, toward the opposite side of your body. Then turn your knee outward, away from your body. Return your right foot to the ground and switch to the left leg.
- Hip circles. Stand with your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart. Place your hands on your hips and move your hips in a full circle (like you’re hula-hooping). After you do it in one direction, switch and go the other way.
- Leg circles. Balance on your right leg. Then, gently move your left leg in a clockwise circle, then a counterclockwise circle. You want to keep your left leg straight, so that the movement comes from the hip. Repeat with the other leg.
- Toe kicks. Stand tall with your shoulders rolled back. Kick your right foot forward, trying to keep your knee as straight as possible. Reach out with your left hand and try to touch your toe, ankle, or knee. Repeat with your left leg.
- Butt kicks. Stand up straight, trying to not lean forward. Kick your heel back into your butt. Try to keep your knees under your hips and shoulders. Repeat with the other leg. You can go slow or fast, like you’re jogging in place.
- Arm circles. Use your arms to make full circles or “windmills.” Start with your arms hanging by your side, raise them until they point straight up past your ears, then lower them behind you to complete the circle.
- Shoulder rolls. Stand up straight with your arms at your side. Lower your shoulders. Keeping your arms and torso still, move your shoulders forward, then raise them toward your ears. Move them backward and return to the starting position in a smooth, continuous motion.
- Looking up and down. Without moving your torso or shoulders, tuck your chin into your chest. Hold for three seconds. Then lift your chin, look up, and hold for three seconds.
- Looking side to side. Look left and right, moving your chin over each shoulder. Hold for three seconds on each side.
- Neck lateral flexion. Stand tall, looking straight ahead. Drop your left ear toward your left shoulder and hold for three seconds. Repeat on the other side.
Repeat your chosen stretches 5-10 times each, or until your joints don’t seem to “stick” anymore. You should feel like you have a fluid, comfortable range of motion. Once you're warmed up, you're ready to start exercising.
Jumping jacks. This classic schoolyard exercise gets your heart pumping and works your whole body. To make them harder, jump on and off a raised surface, like a step.
Pull-ups or chin-ups. Pull-ups tone your back muscles, and chin-ups put the focus on your biceps and other arm muscles. For a pull-up or chin-up, you’ll need a stable horizontal bar. You might find one at the gym or the park. Even a sturdy tree branch (make sure to test its strength first) might get the job done.
Squats. These are good for muscles in your legs and butt.
To do a squat:
- Stand up. Set your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Point your toes slightly outward.
- Press down into your heels. Keep your back straight and chest out. Try to use your muscles to squeeze your body down. Think about putting your weight back and keeping your shoulders above your heels.
- Lower your butt until your thighs are horizontal, or until your heels begin to lift. Keep your head straight.
- Press down evenly through your heels and the balls of your feet. They should be flat on the floor, with your knees directly above your toes. You don’t need to hold this. Raise yourself back into a standing position.
If this is too hard, try sitting in a chair. Using your arms for balance, stand up.
Trunk twist. Focus on squeezing your trunk muscles as you rotate from side to side. For a challenge, try the exercise while seated with your legs extended straight out in front of you. Lift your feet off the floor and twist from side to side.
Lunges. These strengthen muscles in your butt, thighs, and core. You can hold the back of a chair to help keep your balance. To make this exercise harder, you can leap from a left-footed lunge to a right-footed lunge.
Push-ups. Push-ups, perhaps the most classic calisthenic exercise, strengthen muscles in your shoulders, arms, and chest. An easier version is to do the push-up against the wall instead of the ground. For this version, place your hands on the wall at a 45-degree angle. This variation takes the pressure off your wrists and shoulders.
You also can try a half push-up, where your knees stay on the ground the entire time. To make it harder, slow down. Lower yourself for three seconds, then push yourself up for one second. You can also use a step to raise your feet. For an extra challenge, clap at the top of each push-up.
Planks. This exercise, which is related to the push-up, strengthens your core muscles. If this exercise hurts your forearms, you can try it with your arms straightened like you’re about to do a push-up. If you want to make it harder, try lifting one leg. Take turns with your left and right legs. You also can lift one arm. To bring it up a notch, raise your left arm and right leg at the same time. Then, repeat with your right arm and left leg.
Cooldown. This is just as important, if not more important, than the warm-up. You want to focus on the muscles used during the workout. To stretch the hamstrings (back of the thighs), you can do a seated toe touch. To stretch your quads (front of your thighs), lay on your side and pull each knee to your chest, one at a time. Then, you can target the butt muscles by lying on your back, crossing one knee over the other, and pulling your knee into your chest.
Hold each stretch for at least 20 seconds. Repeat the stretch two to three times.
Weighted calisthenics
Adding extra weight to your calisthenics increases the intensity. You can use many different things as weights, including:
- Dumbbells
- Weight plates
- Sandbags
- Kettlebells
- Cans of soup
- Empty milk jugs filled with sand or water (one gallon of water weighs a little more than 8 pounds)
Here are some ways to add weight to specific exercises:
- Pull-ups. Wear a weighted belt.
- Jumping jacks. Hold a 1- or 2-pound dumbbell in each hand.
- Trunk twist. Hold a weight.
- Lunges. Hold a weight in each hand.
Takeaways
Calisthenics are exercises you can do using your own body weight for resistance. They can be a great way to get back into exercise because you don't need special equipment or have to join a gym. The risk of injury from calisthenics is low. Calisthenics can provide a full-body workout, helping you build strength. You can add more repetitions or more difficult exercises as you progress.
Calisthenics FAQs
Can you get ripped with calisthenics?
Some research suggests that push-ups can be as effective as lifting weights in building muscle mass. But the studies on calisthenics for building muscles are mixed. The greatest benefit of a calisthenics workout is that it engages many muscle groups, mimicking the way your body moves every day. These exercises use smaller, stabilizing muscles that might not be challenged by gym machines or weights. Those muscles stabilize your larger muscles. That, in turn, will help you with everyday activities, such as climbing stairs.
Are calisthenics harder than lifting?
You can modify a calisthenics workout to make it as challenging as you need it to be. The choice between calisthenics and weightlifting comes down to many factors, including your fitness goals and access to equipment.
