How to Get Started with Calisthenics Workout

A Calisthenics workout is a form of exercise that doesn’t rely on any workout tool. Instead, it utilizes bodyweight and gravity to challenge the muscles to the next level.

Calisthenic exercises are practiced with a variety of tempos and intensities and sometimes also require handheld tools including wands and rings. These exercises help enhance strength, muscle endurance, coordination, flexibility, and balance.

Anyone can perform a calisthenics workout, and there are chances you might have already done it before with exercises such as lunges and pull-ups. These exercises give out different training styles to target various muscles in the body. The best part is that you can do calisthenics exercises anywhere, any time at your home, gym, outdoors, or at a hotel while traveling.

Calisthenics workout equipment

While calisthenics can be done without any equipment, and you can get started at any time, if you're looking to challenge yourself more and want to change your usual bodyweight calisthenic routine, you can add some tools and amp up your session.

A few calisthenics workout equipments you can add include the following:

Pull-up bar
Resistance band
Parallettes

To help you get started with your calisthenics training, here we’ve listed a few of the best beginner-friendly moves.

Calisthenics workout guide for beginners

Start training with the following basic exercises to strengthen your muscles and enhance your overall athletic performance:

#1 Push-up

Push-ups are a great calisthenics workout to develop core and upper body strength. Start doing this exercise on your knees, or standing against a wall. Gradually, work your way up and perform push-ups on your toes.

To do a push-up:

Get on your fours with your weight balanced on your hands under your shoulders and toes. Keep the body straight and stable throughout the exercise.
Keep the core muscles engaged, and slowly lower your body towards the floor till the chest is an inch away from the ground.
Push back up by fully extending your arms, and repeat the exercise.

#2 Squat

Squats are a beginner-friendly calisthenics exercise. (Photo via Pexels/MART PRODUCTION)

Another great calisthenics workout, squats target the lower body, including the hamstrings and glutes, and work on the core muscles too. It's an incredible full body beginner-level exercise to add to your workout routine.

To do a squat:

Stand with your feet at a shoulder-width distance, and place your hands on your waist or extend them straight in the front.
Bend your knees, and push your butts back, and lower down while sitting back with your buttocks.
Go down as far as possible, and reverse the movement back to the starting position.
Keep the back straight and neck neutral throughout the exercise.

#3 Walking lunge

Lunges are a very productive calisthenics workout that target the lower body muscles, including the glutes, hamstrings, and calves, and also strengthens the abdominal muscles.

To do a walking lunge:

Start standing with your feet at shoulder-width distance and hands on the sides or interlaced together in the front.
Take a step forward with your left leg while bending your right in the back till they both nearly touch the floor.
Use the heel of your left leg, and push yourself off into another lunge, bringing your right leg in the front.
Continue for a few reps.

#4 Plank

Planks are a core strengthening calisthenics exercise. (Photo via Pexels/Li Sun)

Planks are an easy yet challenging calisthenics workout that's great for core strength and balance. To challenge your muscles more, you can even try different variations of the plank and level up your routine.

To do a plank:

Take a position on all fours on the floor or mat.
Keep your hands under your shoulders and legs extended straight behind. You can also balance yourself on your forearms if that feels more comfortable or challenging.
Keep your core muscles engaged, abs tight, neck neutral and back straight throughout the plank position.
Stay in this position for a few counts, and slowly lower back to the floor.
Repeat the exercise.

#5 Burpee

Burpees are another very effective and high intensity calisthenics workout that targets multiple muscles at once. It's a great full body compound exercise that not only strengthens the muscles but also boosts muscle endurance.

To do a burpee:

Start the exercise in a squat position with your back straight, knees bent, and feet at shoulder-width distance.
Lower your hands to the ground, and kick your feet back so that you're in a push-up position.
With your body straight from your heels to your head, perform one push-up, and do a frog kick to jump your feet back to their starting position.
Standing straight, move your arms over your head, and immediately jump into the air. Land back softly where you started, and get into a squat position for the next rep.

Whether you're working out in the comfort of your home or the gym, the aforementioned calisthenics workouts are some of the easiest and most effective ones to start your training. Even better: just add these exercises to your full body routine to get the best results.