When we talk about calisthenics for beginners, we mean a form of bodyweight resistance training that someone is just starting with. This is the case of maneuvers as popular as squats, push-ups, or lunges.
Instead of using exercise machines or implements (such as dumbbells) to provide resistance, calisthenics uses your body weight and gravity to achieve that resistance.
Notably, calisthenics training is a practical solution for improving posture and strength, as a 2017 study published in the journal Isokinetics and Exercise Science revealed. This research found that men trained like this enhanced their position and decreased their fat mass.
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Calisthenics exercises for beginners
Calisthenics exercises for beginners have many benefits. For example, they can be done anywhere. In addition, they are usually full-body or involve large muscle groups.
Moreover, they involve functional movements. They are perfect for improving and optimizing activities of daily living, increasing strength, coordination, balance, mobility, and stability.
1. Squats
Bodyweight squats are a simple and effective calisthenics exercise for beginners. To do them, spread your legs with your feet forward and lower your hips. You can go down to knee height or stay halfway.
You can vary this exercise by opening the feet outwards to involve more of the internal muscles of the extremities. It is also possible to reduce the opening, aligning the knees with the hips. Either way, you can add a resistance band.
Another way to work the squat is static on a wall. Simply separate your legs and lower your hips to knee height, resting your back straight on a wall and holding for at least 60 seconds.
2. Lunges
Lunges can be performed in several ways. To start, stand up and put one leg forward. Bend the front leg without letting it pass the ankle and lower the back knee. Repeat several times and change limbs.
This calisthenics exercise for beginners can be done alternately forward legs or bringing them back, first and then another. One way to add intensity is to swap legs in a jump.
3. Iron
Planks are a simple exercise for stability, balance, and core strength. To do this, lie on your stomach with your hands directly under your shoulders (slightly wider than shoulder width) as if you were about to do a push-up.
Place your toes on the ground and squeeze your glutes to stabilize your body. Also, activate the legs and do not lock or hyperextend the knees. Your head should be in line with your back. Hold this position for at least 20-30 seconds.
An exciting variation is the plank on the forearms. As its name suggests, you must support your forearms, leaving your elbows in line with your shoulders. The rest of the exercise is the same. To give it more intensity, you can raise one leg to hip height, hold for a few seconds, and change sides.
Another variation of the plank is Superman. For this exercise, stretch one arm in front and the opposite leg behind from the standard plank or forearm position.
4. Side plank
The side plank engages the obliques better than a standard plank. Lie on your side with one leg on top of the other. Then, support your body on your hand or elbow while keeping one foot on the other. Hold the position for 20 to 30 seconds on each side.
You can make the plank more difficult by raising your upper arm, leg, or both. If you need to ease the exercise, cross your upper leg in front of your body for additional support or flex your bottom leg and straighten your top leg, which you may or may not support.
5. Push-ups
Push-ups involve the whole body, but above all, they develop the shoulders and chest muscles. Stand on all fours with your hands wider than your shoulders to do them.
Next, stretch out your arms and bring your feet back with your legs straight. Lower your body until your chest is close to the floor. Pause and come up, stretching your arms. You can make this exercise easier by supporting your knees.
A variation of this beginner calisthenics exercise is to spread your arms wider. This version works the chest more. Also, you can complement it by extending your legs further, offering you a different challenge.
You can also do it by bringing your hands closer and bending your arms with the elbow back for more intense triceps activation. Another variation is the pike push-ups, starting from the inverted V position, with legs and arms stretched out and the hips up. The exercise involves bending the components from this position so the head falls to the ground.
6. Climber
The climber is another complete exercise in which you must activate the entire body. Start in a plank position with your arms outstretched. Bring one knee to the chest and alternate with the other. You can always keep one foot supporting or with the air phase, bringing one knee to the chest while you get the opposite foot back.
7. Leg raises
This is an abdominal exercise that is done by moving the legs. Lie on your back and raise your stretched limbs to vertical. You can do it alternately or with both legs at the same time. Placing your hands on the floor, palms down will help you maintain the pose.
With both legs at the same time, it is more complicated. In this case, the key is to raise them from the hip without changing the posture of the lower back. The trickiest part is lowering your legs slowly without arching beyond the natural curve.
Recommended Calisthenics Routine for Beginners
Calisthenics exercises for beginners involve many muscle groups, so it is possible to do a whole-body routine with just a few. An excellent way to organize it in a circuit, choosing several and doing rounds with a short break.
The number of repetitions and rounds will depend on each one. The advantage is that you can increase reps as you get better. Therefore, we will propose some ideas for calisthenics routines for beginners. Don’t forget to warm up 5-10 minutes before you start and do a final stretch.
Routine 1
- Iron (30 seconds).
- Squats (8 repetitions).
- Lunges (8 repetitions with each leg).
- Push-ups (8 repetitions).
- Leg raises (8 repetitions with each leg or 8 with both legs simultaneously).
- Climber (8 double repetitions).
Rest for 1-2 minutes and do at least three more rounds. You can increase the repetitions or the time as you get more trained.
Routine 2
- Plank on forearms (30 seconds).
- Wall squat (60 seconds).
- Squats with feet out (8 repetitions).
- Side plank (30 seconds on each side).
- Push-ups with arms apart (8 repetitions).
- They are walking lunges (8 double repetitions).
Rest for 1-2 minutes and do at least three more rounds. You can increase the repetitions or the time as you get more trained.
What should I keep in mind if I want to do calisthenics exercises for beginners?
Calisthenics exercises are an excellent way to start playing sports and an exciting resource for training when we don’t have equipment. However, the fact that it can be done anywhere does not mean that precautions must not be taken into account.
First of all, warming up is essential. Just walking or jogging for a few minutes is not enough. It is necessary to do joint mobilization and dynamic stretching to prepare the body. This will help avoid injury.
On the other hand, it is critical to attend to the evolution of the physical state. This means increasing reps, rounds, and resistance based on our development.
Finally, it is essential not to forget to stretch at the end of the calisthenics exercises. The stretch should target all muscle groups.
We must not lose sight of the fact that there is a risk of injury if the technique is not taken care of and it is carried out without planning. The good news is that you can progress much, including more complex movements, as you master the basics.