Body-weight program

[madmangoesdown Member Find all posts View Profile Close madmangoesdown]

Does anyone here have a body weight program u want to share?

I wanted to start exercises body-weight instead of lifting, but i don't know where to start.

Is it split or is it full body?

[mr.growmymeat Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mr.growmymeat]

Here is what I would do.

One Month of

Day 1 Pullups and variations (45 mintutes total Workout with 2-3 minutes rest between workouts/sets)
Day 2 Pushups and Dips and variations (45 mintutes total Workout with 2-3 minutes rest between workouts/sets)
Day 3 Squats, Lunges, Split Squats, Plyometrics, and Sprints (45 mintutes total Workout with 2-3 minutes rest between workouts/sets)
Day 4 Abs (30 minutes workout 90 seconds rest between workouts/sets)
Day 5 Begin Repeat of Cycle.

Then in Month 2 and 3 I would do

Day 1 Pullups, Pushups, Dips, Abs (30 minutes total with shorter rest period(30 secs to 1 min) between workouts/sets than phase 1)
Day 2 Aforementioned leg workouts (30 minutes total with shorter rest period(30 secs to 1 min) between workouts/sets than phase 1)
Day 3 Rest
Day 4 Repeat

Next Phase(3) will be exactly the same as Phase 1 but with a 20 lb weighted vest

Phase (4) will be exactly the same as Phase 2 but with a 20 lb weighted vest.

Make sure to ease into it, and don't use a weighted vest for leg workouts if you're not under 13% bodyfat(don't want to injure joints)

You can look up specific variations of workouts, watch videos of how to execute proper form for all of them, and tweak your routine to your liking.

[Closed039 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Closed039]

I don't want to derail the thread but why do you want to not lift weights?

[mr.growmymeat Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mr.growmymeat]

I don't want to derail the thread but why do you want to not lift weights?

I'm guessing he either doesn't want to buy a gym membership or invest in weights. Plus lifting weights can become boring although I love it others may not. Sometimes chopping a ton of wood and then carrying it then stacking it at a rapid pace sounds like a more fun workout.

[faithandhope Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close faithandhope]

I'm guessing he either doesn't want to buy a gym membership or invest in weights. Plus lifting weights can become boring although I love it others may not. Sometimes chopping a ton of wood and then carrying it then stacking it at a rapid pace sounds like a more fun workout.

I used to always have to find, cut, and stack wood. Now that I moved I don't anymore. I miss it though, nothing beats sweating your balls off in the cold splitting and stacking a whole cord of wood with an axe

[Closed039 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Closed039]

I'm guessing he either doesn't want to buy a gym membership or invest in weights. Plus lifting weights can become boring although I love it others may not. Sometimes chopping a ton of wood and then carrying it then stacking it at a rapid pace sounds like a more fun workout.

I used to always have to find, cut, and stack wood. Now that I moved I don't anymore. I miss it though, nothing beats sweating your balls off in the cold splitting and stacking a whole cord of wood with an axe

And both of those activities fit more correctly in the "lifting weights" category than the body weight exercises.

[faithandhope Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close faithandhope]

true but the weights are relatively low, and for long period of time. Thats alot more than just doing 50 total reps of bench, your doing hundreds of reps, plus its anaerobic

[Musa Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Musa]

If u are a beginner I would recommend u start with this programs:
one hundred push ups - welcome
The Twenty Pull-ups Challenge | The Twenty Pull-ups Challenge
after them u can go hardcore and train easily for muscle-ups, one arm pullups, planch pushups, etc.
I hope I helped.

[Toadstool Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toadstool]

I don't want to derail the thread but why do you want to not lift weights?

Body weight training translates into more useable, functional strength that you can use in the real world. Training with weights is very hard on the joints and the body in general, cutting it out can be more beneficial to the body.
Plus, doing a one-armed handstand pushup is just really cool! You can't ever learn to do that using weights.

[mikeguima Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mikeguima]

Here's what I'm currently doing (I've been doing calisthenics for over 1,5 years now, so it's not exactly for begginers):

Day 1 (Push): Pushups and variations, Dips and variations, Handstand Pushups.
Day 2 (Pull): Pullups and variations, Inverted Rows
Day 3 (Legs): Squats and variations, Lunges and Variations, Leg plyometrics.

4-6 exercises, 4-5 sets, 1 min rest between sets, 2 min rest between exercises.

I've tried pretty much every routine (full body, upper/lower, push/pull/legs...) and Push/Pull/Legs has given me the best results.

For begginers, do Full Body Workouts 3 times a week (at least 1 day rest in between). Include Pushups (Standard, diamond, elevated feet), Dips (start with triceps dips if the regular ones are to difficult), Pull Ups (if you can't do them, just do negatives. After that, move onto neutral grip pull ups if you can. If you can't, move onto chinups and then onto pullups), Inverted Rows, Squats and some leg plyometrics. Throw in some ab work if you wish (planks, crunches...)
Start with 30 min workouts and progress to 60 minutes workouts (max).

Here's two great websites for you to check:
Neo Calisthenics - Bodyweight & Weighted routines and Progression ladders
Home | The Fortress

Also, I started a new group for those interested. Join if you are into calisthenics/ bodyweight training: Calisthenics/ Bodyweight Training - PEGym Forums

[eiffel Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close eiffel]

Yes, I do hand balancing to compliment my martial arts training. Currently I'm working on getting a solid handstand, after which I'll be going for the planche, manna, hollowback, one arm handstand, one arm elbow lever, tiger bend, and other advanced techniques.

My routine for this is 5x1 held to failure, loss of balance, or 30 successful seconds of forearm stands, back-to-wall handstands and stomach-to-wall handstands, kicking the feet slightly away from the wall to practice freestanding.

I've done other calisthenic routines in the past, and I've managed to get down one arm one leg pushups, double clapping pushups, typewriter pull ups, pistol squats, headstand pushups, Russian dips, backbends, hanging leg lifts, and a few other pretty strong moves. In my opinion though, hand balancing takes the cake when it comes to full-body strength and coordination.

[eow. Member of the Month April 2013 Find all posts View Profile Close eow.]

Body weight training translates into more useable, functional strength that you can use in the real world.

Like what? Name strictly BW exercises [ besides the basic ones (pull-ups, dips) which are usually added to routines involving weighted lifts ] that give you "functional" strength and how this strength is used in the real world.

[Toadstool Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Toadstool]

Pushups, handstand pushups, bridges, squats, leg raises, pull ups

I'm quoting Convict Conditioning here. That book is regarded in high esteem by many and the big boys (like Pavel tsatsouline) echo what he says in their own programs.

These exercises, if done properly and progressively, add to useable strength in every day life. They strengthen joints and are good for recovering athletes. Shoulders pains that you get from exercises like the military press or the bench press are nonexistent in the world of calisthenics.

Most of these movements, such as the squat and the bridge, are compound movements; exercising most of the body in one go.

[eiffel Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close eiffel]

If your resistance training isn't hard on the joints, you're not using enough resistance. Bodyweight vs external weight should make no difference, the whole point of resistance training is to put lots of stress on the joints and muscles to break them down and make them stronger.

[eiffel Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close eiffel]

Like what? Name strictly BW exercises [ besides the basic ones (pull-ups, dips) which are usually added to routines involving weighted lifts ] that give you "functional" strength and how this strength is used in the real world.

If you can do a planche pushup, you can also bench press twice your bodyweight. If you can bench press twice your bodyweight, you cannot necessarily get anywhere close to a planche.

Free weight conditioning progresses by doing the same movements with more weight, so your strength improves but your coordination will plateau pretty quickly. With body weight training, the means of increasing resistance always involves improving coordination also, which is why it's often credited with being "more functional".

That being said, I am also one to believe that all strength is functional, and the challenges in figuring out one's coordination will inevitably slow the progression of strength to some degree or another. By training multiple facets of athleticism simultaneously, a deficiency in one will always hinder progress in another.

So while training with weights will get you more rapid strength gains, bodyweight conditioning will get you more coordination, and in the long run you can develop pretty tremendous strength with it too. For example, gymnastic coach Christopher Sommers claims that one of his students once did a 400 lb deadlift in his first high school weightlifting class ever, at a height of 5'3" and a weight of 135 lbs.

Of course, you could also opt to train with both weights and bodyweight, and many successfully do. But overload with weights will slow your path through bodyweight progressions, as you won't be able to focus as many strong sets on them.