A Primer, Bodyweight Basics

A PRIMER
BODYWEIGHT
BASICS
C. WHITE
connorwhitept@gmail.com
@primitiverage
primitive_rage

CONTENTS
* 3 PREFACE + INTRO
* 5 EQUIPMENT
* 6 BASIC ANATOMY
* 8 WARMING UP
* 12 MUSCLE UPS
* 14 PULLING PROGRESSIONS
* 17 PUSH UP PROGRESSIONS
* 21 DIPS
* 23 PLANCHE PROGRESSIONS
* 27 BACK LEVER
* 28 FRONT LEVER
* 30 L SIT
* 34 WEIGHTED EXERCISES
* 36 HANDSTANDS/HSPU
* 41 RING EXERCISES
* 45 TRAINING PRINCIPLES
* 46 EXAMPLE SESSION
A Primer: Bodyweight Basics
by Connor White is licensed
under CC BY-SA 4.0
* 47 FOOD
* 48 REFERENCES
2 BODYWEIGHT

PREFACE
I have only been able to gain this knowledge through the outstanding and consistent efforts
of the content creators that are in the Calisthenics community. Fitness FAQ’s, Calimove,
Antranik, GMB to name but a few. As well as the motivation from watching calisthenics and
street workout competitions showcasing amazing static and dynamic moves.
This was meant to be a 15 page eBook as an introduction to some basic bodyweight exercises,
but I thought why not just chuck in all the exercises I use in my training routine. I find
all the exercises listed to be great tools for building a well rounded body. However, I am
always learning new ways to move, trying to polish up my skills, get stronger and expand
my knowledge.
This is not a definitive guide, I plan on updating it when I have improved, hopefully I’ll even
put a full planche in the next one. If I was not capable of performing an exercise or explaining
it’s execution correctly, I did not include it. There were a few exercises I removed due to
this fact, if I do not know about it, I will NOT speak on it. There are many who do know, and
I’m sure you can find the correct information with a quick search on the internet.
After reading through a few books about calisthenics I have found the material to either be
too much, or too little. I thought I’d try and make something that fills the middle ground, I
hope you gain something from it!
I am not a doctor, a nutritionist, or a physiotherapist. I am merely someone who likes calisthenics.
Take my advice if you want.
BODYWEIGHT 3

SO, WHAT IS IT?
The oxford dictionary defines calisthenics as “gymnastic exercises
to achieve bodily fitness and grace of movement.”
Looking at the origin of the word in Greek it is broken down to
Kallos, meaning beautiful, and Sthenos, meaning strength. All
disciplines of fitness are valid in their own right, however even a
bodybuilder will have a hard time performing a muscle up. Many
old time strongmen and bodybuilders believed you were not truly
strong unless you were proficient at hand balancing. It’s all good
having muscles, but what can you actually do with them?
It is here that calisthenics fills the middle ground. We can easily
build muscle with bodyweight exercises, while also providing a
natural element of progression by adjusting our body position and
leverage, you learn some skills along the way too!
Weight training is great for
building size and strength,
but this usually only leads to
isolated movements, while
compound lifts (using multiple
muscle groups) like a
squat or deadlift are used in
many routines, calisthenics
exercises often require tension
throughout the entire
body using gravity as your
resistance, with leverage
being the deciding factor on
the difficulty.
Large legs will make a full
front lever (and planche)
even harder, many people
stop at the straddle progression
for both of these movements.
.
LEVERAGE
We can see this in action by looking at the front lever,
while the full front lever is a very challenging move to
hold, all the progressions leading up to it gradually take
more weight away from the center of mass.
As the lower back extends
and our weight is moved
away from the center of
mass, you must pull harder
to maintain the position. If
it’s too hard, bring your legs
in.
With all the weight at
the centre of mass, this
tucked position is our
starting point for the
front lever.
A fulll front lever requires
tension through the whole
body and is very challenging,
A straddle position
(split legs in a V shape) will
shift more weight back to
the centre of gravity.
4 BODYWEIGHT

EQUIPMENT
OVERHEAD BAR
An overhead bar will be invaluable for building pulling
strength, as well as being an anchor point for gymnastic
rings or a suspension trainer.
A doorframe fitting bar can be picked up for cheap. It willl
be more than adequate, but if you have access to one
with overhead room you will be able to train muscle ups
much easier. A nearby park with monkey bars works just
fine.
PARALLEL BARS
RINGS
Parallel bars (or paralettes) are an extremely versatile tool,
allowing core work (such as the L-sit) rows, planche, dips,
elevated push ups, handstands and anything else you can
think of.
They take strain off the wrist, allowing you to wrap your
hand around the bar as opposed to having your hand
planted flat on the floor.
They are very cheap, or easy to build yourself.
Rings can take the place of most pieces of gym equipment.
If you can do it on cables, chances are you can do it
on rings, but with the added fun of trying to keep yourself
stable.
The benefits to mobility, strength and coordination offered
by ring work is unparalled, while also being a very good
way to work on shoulder/scapula mobility that carries over
to basically everything else.
They can also be slung over a tree branch or anything
above you, meaning you can get a good workout anywhere.
One of the main mistakes people
make when starting calisthenics is
trying to advance too quickly, tied
into this is not properly warming
up before starting a session. Here
we’ll go over some basic anatomy
and WHY we’re preparing each
element.
BODYWEIGHT 5

BEFORE WE START...
SCAPULA
Scapula strength is responsible for stabilizing and controlling your shoulders effectively.
It is responsible for six primary motions: elevation (bringing your shoulders to
your ears), depression (shoulders sink down towards the ground), upward and downward
rotation (lifting arms overhead, then pulling the arms back down respectively)
and PROTRACTION and RETRACTION.
Some basic anatomy is worth having a look at for understanding exactly what you’re
working and where you should be feeling it.
The Trapezius (often referred to as ‘traps’) comprises an upper, middle and lower section,
performing shoulder elevation, retraction and depression respectively. #1
The Rhomboids are responsible for retracting the scapula, as well as downwardly rotating
it (Think chopping wood). #2
The Serratus Anterior protracts the scapula, as well as upward rotation in synergy with
the trapezius (raising the hand up) #3
The Pectoralis minor protracts the scapula, downwardly rotates the scapula in synergy
with the rhomboids. #4
The Levator Scapulae elevates the scapula, assists the rhomboids in downward rotation
and flexes the neck.
#4
#2
#3
#1
#2
Here we can see the muscles
responsible for our pulling and
pushing motions.
#1
The latissimus dorsi PULLS
(lats) #1
Pectoralis major PUSHES
(pecs) #2
6 BODYWEIGHT

ROTATOR CUFF
The muscles of the rotator cuff are also helpful to examine, as they are responsible
for stabilizing the ball and socket joint which is your shoulder. To compensate for
the huge range of motion the shoulder is capable of, it relies on the support of the
rotator cuff muscles to keep it structurally sound.
They are as follows: Supraspinatus, Subscapularis, Infraspinatus and Teres Minor.
The Supraspinatus assists the
Delts in lifting the arm away
from the body, e.g. front and
lateral raises. This process is
also known as abduction.
The Subscapularis rotates the
arm medially, like holding a
drink in front of you.
The Infraspinatus rotates the
arm laterally, which is out to
the side. The Teres Minor also
assists in this range of motion.
Proper scapula control drastically reduces the
chance of injury.
To put it simply we are trying to go against what
gravity wants us to do, as we need to STABILIZE
the scapula, not be limp. Fight back.
In general if we are pulling, RETRACT.
If we are pushing we should be PROTRACT-
ING.
BODYWEIGHT 7

WARMING UP
The right warm up is dependant on what we are doing. We wouldn’t need to spend
time stretching our hamstrings if we were doing pull ups.
Some people can spend an hour doing warm ups, but this is not the best use of time
and over stretching can often lead to decreased power output when it is time for the
work. Dynamic stretching is your best friend.
Dynamic stretching is defined as active movements which go through the full range of
motion (ROM) relative to what the intended exercise is. It has been shown to increase
the ROM and flexibility throughout the working set.
8-10 reps will do just fine for dynamic stretches.
If you feel you need more, do more!
WRISTS
If you feel your wrist flexibility is lacking or you have tight forearms, it is worthwhile
to stretch them. Prior to any form of handstand training, wrist/forearm stretching will
assist in preventing injuries, while also allowing you to work on shifting weight back
and forth by relaxing and tensing your wrists respectively. This weight shifting is key in
maintaining balance in a handstand, and we’ll go over it in that section.
We simply place the palms on the floor, fingers pointing forward and rock ourselves
back and forth, using the muscles of the wrist/hand to do so. The further forward you
lean, the more stretch you get, adjust as necessary. This can also be performed with
the fingers facing towards you. Spending 15-20s in the different positons will be all you
need.
8 BODYWEIGHT

DYNAMIC STRETCHES
SCAPULA PULL UP
A great way to strengthen the
scapula, while emulating the start
of the pull up position. Useful for
building grip strength too as you’ll
be hanging off the bar.
Start by hanging from the
bar, with your scapula
elevated (near your ears,
gravity does this for you)
This is a Dead Hang
Then move to an active hang
position, depressing the
scapula pulling the shoulders
DOWN (fighting gravity).
This is an Active Hang
If you’re experiencing joint or tendon pain, rest. If your elbows feel sore, rest. Do not push
your body excessively when doing advanced calisthenics moves. They are extremely taxing
on the body (and the central nervous system) so you will need to listen to your body and
get plenty of rest.
CHEST STRETCH
Start with your hands in front
of you at shoulder level, keeping
the arms straight, bring the
hands back to shoulder level
(further if possible) and return
them to the starting position.
BODYWEIGHT 9

COBRA STRETCH
This stretch is great for lower back and abdominal muscles,
as well as combining it with the walk out making it a good
hamstring stretch too! Take your time with this one, and
start from your knees or with slightly bent legs if you are
lacking the flexibility.
Start in an upright position, bending down while
maintaining straight legs (if possible) #1
#1
Touch the floor and begin to walk out with your
hands while keeping your feet in the same place.
At the end of the walkout, we are in a plank
(#2) position.Depress your lower back (hips)
to the floor and look forward/up (#3).
As this is rather difficult, a
lower repetition range is
advised.
1 set of 5 is plenty! Just
make sure you stretch your
hamstrings and lower back.
#2
#3
You can go to your forearms
if a straight arm is too much.
#4
We just want to work
through the range of
motion linked to what we
plan on working.
You don’t need to spend
20 minutes stretching!
Some people like to, but it
may reduce the effectiveness
of your working sets
due to fatigue.
See what works for you.
BACK STRETCH
Grab something in front
of you, around shoulder
height. (A bar, a doorframe,
rings, anything will do)
Hold the object with one
arm and lean backwards,
keeping the arms and legs
straight.
You can move your hips
in and out, lengthening
and shortening the lats
throughout the stretch.
This focuses on the upper/
middle back.
10 BODYWEIGHT

SKIN THE CAT/GERMAN HANG
This may look extremely difficult, but it is priceless in building
strong shoulders and elbows for straight arm strength, needed
for many moves like the front/back lever and planche.
#1
Imagine you are trying to pull the bar to
the floor (#2). Bring your knees through
(#3) and extend your legs (#4), trying to
point your feet at the ground. Hanging
with the feet pointing down is called
a German Hang (#5), and is useful for
initiating the back lever later on!
Using the principle of
leverage, we can make
this easier by tucking
the legs in, closer to
our centre of mass.
Keeping the arms as straight
as you can, tuck your knees
up to the bar by pulling
down hard (like initiating a
front lever) and leaning backwards.
#2
You do NOT need to do
the full range of motion to
start. Go back as far as you
are comfortable with.
#5
#3
When your legs are through, begin to
lower yourself and try to extend your
legs down to the floor. See how far
down you can go!
#4
Either drop down off the bar/
rings, or for more range of
motion and work, reverse the
movement.
BODYWEIGHT 11

BAR
MUSCLE UPS
AND HOW WE GET THERE...
The muscle up is the reason
a LOT of people become
interested in calisthenics. It
requires pulling power, skill
and control in the transition,
and pressing power for the
top of the movement with a
front dip.
#1 #2 #3
With all the elements involved
in the movement,
we have to start simple and
break it down to the individual
parts. First of which is
the pull.
First we have to get above the bar, for this we need explosive
pull up strength. So, we need to get our chest to
the bar. How do we do that?
Well, we try and get our chest to the bar! Whenever we
train pull ups, we should be trying to do it as explosively
as possible.
Once we get the shoulders
and elbows above
the bar, all we have to
do is perform a front dip
on top of the bar. Guess
what helps! Front dips!
Explosive means generating as much force as you can
quickly.
We can use a looser grip, where we explode up and
then quickly get our hands above the bar. If you are using
a swing to initiate the muscle up then this is a good
choice. It would be worth cultivating the false grip
however as you will be able to work through the full
ROM slowly. This means more gains!
Hanging with a neutral grip
With the wrist at a 90 degree angle with a false
grip, we shorten the distance we must travel to
pull ourselves up, as well as creating a solid base to
press off when we get the shoulders above the bar.
A false grip can take a long time to develop but
will make your muscle ups a lot more controlled,
therefore enhancing the strength gains as we work
through the range of motion slowly, as opposed to
the normal muscle up which uses momentum to
assist.
90°
Hanging with a false grip
12 BODYWEIGHT

RINGS
MUSCLE UPS
#1 #2 #3 #4
We can also do them on rings. These are
much more dependant on grip strength
than with a bar, as you need to maintain the
false grip position.
At the same time however, the transition
is much easier to practice on the rings as
they are adjustable in height. You can start
at the top of the rings and do the reverse
movement of the transition without having
to be above the bar to start.
We can see in the picture of the false grip the
position of the wrist in relation to the forearm.
If the wrist is below the bar, it is basically
impossible to get any pushing strength for the
top of the movement. If we have our wrist
above the bar we have a solid base to push
from mechanically.
So if our hands are already planted above the
bar in a false grip, it’s much easier to push at
the top.
Ring dips are a GREAT accessory exercise
for cleaning up the top part of the muscle
up. Try and keep the rings as close to
your armpits as you can and pivot your
shoulders back and forth to hone in on the
motion you’ll need, you can do this with
your feet on the floor. Frame 3 and 4 show
what an isolated ring dip looks like as it’s
part of the same move!
Ring dips work the triceps, chest, and the
core and scapula for stabilization.
#1 #2
Keeping the legs close together, under tension,
will help keep yourself from swinging
around so you can achieve a smooth motion.
BODYWEIGHT 13

ROWS
To build a base of pulling strength we can start with bodyweight rows. Usually this
would be done on a fixed bar or rings, but a table with room underneath will suffice
(it will need to be a sturdy table!) You could also tie a knot on a bedsheet, thread it
through the top of a closed door and pull yourself towards the door.
Make sure you have a counterweight if
not using a fixed object, we don’t want to
injure ourselves.
The higher the bar and the further back you move your feet, the easier the pulling motion
will be as you will be taking more of your bodyweight out of the movement.
Hands shoulder width apart, aim to pull your chest towards the bar while keeping your
body as straight as you can. Keep your abs and glutes tight to keep yourself straight.
As this is a pulling motion, we RETRACT our shoulders.
CHIN UPS
Next we work on lifting our full body weight With the biceps giving more assistance,
a chin up is a fair bit easier than a pull up with an overhand grip.
Using an underhand grip puts more emphasis on
the biceps (making chin ups an excellent tool for
building big arms) while also working the back.
You may find it easier to maintain grip by keeping
your thumb next to your index finger, more like a
hook (pictured).
14 BODYWEIGHT

#1 #2 #3
If you are having trouble progressing, it might be helpful to introduce negatives into your
training. This involves starting at the top of the movement and doing it in reverse, E.g. for a
negative chin up we would step on an elevated object, or simply jump to the top of the movement,
and try and control ourselves on the way down. As you progress, negatives will help
you get over certain ‘sticking points’ as you can just do the portion you’re having trouble with,
e.g. negative muscle ups focusing on the transition phase.
When we are competent with chin ups
(completing 8 clean reps is a good baseline)
it would be worth incorporating standard
pull ups into your routine.
PULL UPS
Gripping the bar shoulder width apart, hang
on the bar in a dead hang, then retract and
depress the scapula and engage your lats to
pull yourself up.
The stronger you become, the higher you
will be able to pull yourself, this will in turn
make the muscle up much easier.
Contrary to a lot of the other exercises explained
so far, the best way to get better at
muscle ups is not to just do muscle ups.
As there is a large skill element in this move,
forcing more reps results in bad form and
injury.
Work on building explosive pulling strength
and front dips instead!
BODYWEIGHT 15

PULL UP VARIATIONS
Once we have mastered the chin up and the pull up, it’s worth adding some
variation to your routine.
The Close Grip pull up is great for targetting the
biceps, this hand position can provide a huge
amount of pulling momentum if you have strong
biceps and lats.
Put your hands as close as possible, and as usual
begin in a dead hang with your scapula disengaged.
Then shrug your shoulders down, retracting
them (to an active hang) and begin the
pulling motion. See how high you can get your
chin above the bar! To advance simply try and
pull yourself higher up, to the chest, then the
stomach etc.
A Wide Grip pull up puts a lot more
workload on the back directly. With
your hands as wide as you can, initiate
a dead hang. Begin the pull by retracting
your scapula and subsequently
your lats.
Good form entails keeping momentum
to a minimum so we are actually working
the target muscles and not forming
bad habits.
After this we would begin working on weighted pull ups and one
arm pull progressions. These will be covered in a future edition but
these are just the basics!
OBSERVING PROGRESS
Progress is not linear. We have injuries, life events, different focuses.
Not everyone will have the same journey but that's what makes calisthenics
so interesting but also frustrating. You may decide to work
on muscle ups for 2 months while neglecting other elements for quick
progress, or you might prefer a more balanced approach. I prefer to
go hard on 1 element if I really want it, while keeping a baseline level
of work on everything else. We can't improve everything at once but
we can be smart with our exercise choices to minimize losses, or even
improve other relevant aspects.
16 BODYWEIGHT

THE FRONT DIP
The second part of the muscle up comes in the form of a front dip, so
let’s have a look at that.
We’ll go over the seperate
dip progressions shortly!
Keep the elbows
tight to the body.
Approach a waist height bar, or one
that you can get above with a jump.
WIth your hands shoulder width
apart (or whatever’s comfortable for
you).
Protract your shoulder blades, taking
your feet off the ground by pushing
down as hard as you can. Maintain
a stable core and keep your feet
together as a single unit so you can
distribute your weight easier.
Bend the elbows and lower yourself towards the
bar. Try to maintain your centre of mass by leaning
forward and direct the legs as necessary to
engage in a smooth motion, you will get a feel for
this don’t worry! This knowledge of your body is
invaluable in more advanced exercises!
CHEST
FORM
For the front dip, we need a strong chest!
Pushups are a great exercise for building your
chest, triceps and front delts. We want to focus
on the CHEST, so note that the hands are in
line with the chest, NOT the shoulders.
A standard push up should be
performed with the arms tight
to the body, not with flared out
elbows.
To make a push up easier, adopt the stance on
your knees instead on a soft surface. This means
you will not be lifting the extra weight from your
extended legs.
BODYWEIGHT 17

PUSH UPS
#3
Keep the back straight throughout.
At the top of the movement
we protract our shoulders
(shoulders in front of us, pushing
down hard)
#2
To make the exercise easier, we can also
raise our hands. You can use a box, a chair,
a table, anything you like as long as it’s
sturdy.
#1
Assume the push up position by placing the hands about
shoulder width apart (or just slightly wider) and straighten
the body. At the top of the movement, make sure you are
PROTRACTING your shoulders, pushing down, not letting
the shoulders sag.
Hand placement should be around ‘nipple’ height for correct
activation of the chest (not the front delts). Begin to
lower yourself by bending the elbows, taking care to not
to flare your elbows outwards.
If the hand placement is too
high, we put more work on the
front delts. They are meant to be
assisting not taking charge! You
may need to work on your wrist
flexibility if this position is too
uncomfortable, or you could use
paralettes to take the strain off
your wrists.
Keep the back straight throughout! When you are the bottom
of the movement, keep tension by not fully laying on
the floor, only letting the chest touch. Then push yourself
back up while keeping shoulders protracted and your back
straight!
Better form means better progress. If we cheat movements
we're not actually engaging the muscles that need to be
engaged, you're short changing yourself. Be patient and
stick with the basics until you're ready.
3 sets of 10 would be advised before introducing more
advanced variations like close grip or wide push ups.
Standard push up hand placement
18 BODYWEIGHT

The close grip (or diamond) push up is great for building big triceps.
Place the hands as close together as you can. Keeping the elbows close to
the body works the triceps and gives a good squeeze to the muscle fibres located
in the ‘inner chest’ (where the pecs meet in the middle) while you can’t
really isolate this section, some exercises put more emphases on said fibres,
you’ll definitely feel it.
CLOSE GRIP
We also have the wide grip push up as a variation.
Go as wide as you can while still protracting your scapula, do not let your shoulders
sag down! Keep control through the movement while keeping your body
straight and glutes/core tight. Your shoulders will naturally be flared out during
this position.
Again, you can go on your knees or raise your hands if these feel too difficult.
However, you would get more benefit by working on your standard push ups
instead! You may wish to turn your hands out a bit to avoid putting strain on your
wrists.
WIDE GRIP
BODYWEIGHT 19

CLAP PUSH UPS
#1
This is basically an explosive
push up, the feet stay on the
ground while we try to generate
enough maximal force to launch
our upper body into the air. The
more power you generate, the
more claps you can do. You can
also just explode up and not do
any claps.
From the bottom of
a push up position,
push as hard as you
can. The closer your
elbows are to the
side of your body, the
more power you can
get as you are bringing
the triceps into
the equation.
Keep your back
straight and feet in
place!
#2
When your hands leave
the floor, bring them up to
your chest (or as high as
you want) and perform the
clap. Then bring them down
again so you can land safely.
#3
Claps don't build a strong
chest. Press ups do.
If you're on a slippery surface you may bring your buttocks up slightly so your feet
don't slide, don't worry if you do this! It also allows you to control the descent as you
use your hips as 'suspension' to adapt and soften the landing. Landing with slightly
bent arms is also ok for this reason. We want to look after our joints! A soft surface
may help too.
As with previous push up variations, you can raise your hands on an object to make
this easier. However I would advise just working on generating power with a standard
or close grip push up to make this easier. We prefer to solve the root problem than put
a bandaid on it. You will always get benefits from polishing up the basics.
20 BODYWEIGHT

DIPS
BOX DIPS
Pushing and pressing movements like dips are great for building the triceps, which actually
make the arms a lot bigger than just training biceps!
We start our dip journey with box dips. All you need is the end of a bed, a chair, a step or a
box. Anything that will support your weight that's elevated works.
Once your legs are locked out straight (or bent if straight is too hard, this shifts more
weight on your legs than arms) begin to lower yourself. Keep your back close to the platform
you're using and bring yourself as low as you can to stretch the triceps. Lower will be
better but do what you can to start.
Place the hands on the
object with fingers facing
forwards, then extend your
legs as far as you can.
It you experience
wrist discomfort,
try finding a wider
surface to put your
hands on
Keep your back as close to
the object as you can
BODYWEIGHT 21

TRICEP DIPS
#2
#1
Make sure your legs
don’t touch the floor
Tricep dips can be performed on any equal height platforms like 2 chairs, but a pair of
parallel bars will go a long way in calisthenics.
Grab the bars with palms facing you and your arms straight, push your shoulder blades
down and keep your elbows from flaring out.
Initiating the dip we bend our elbows to lower ourselves, try not to lean forward too
much when doing this but a little lean is fine. Go as low as you can, 90° is ideal, but range
of motion will vary based on how mobile your shoulders are, it will improve over time,
but don’t force it!
CHEST DIPS
#2
#1
With a similar execution to the normal
triceps dip, we simply learn the torso
further forward to activate the muscle
fibres of the chest.
We’ll be doing plenty of leaning next for
the planche.
As scapula depression plays a big role in this
movement (pushing down against gravity), the
stronger our scapula gets and the greater control
we have over it, the easier this exercise will
become.
22 BODYWEIGHT

THE PLANCHE
AND HOW WE GET THERE...
The planche is to push ups what muscle ups are
to pull ups in many people’s opinion.
It can be seen as the ultimate test of pushing
power, requiring insane amounts of strength
throughout the whole body.
This is a lever exercise, resulting in a counter
balance where the aim is to evenly distribute the
weight of the body over the hands.
PLANCHE LEAN
The difficulty of this exercise has MANY
variables, some of which you are unable
to control. Shorter people tend to have an
easier time achieving this move.
The more mass you have on your legs, the
harder this exercise will be. For many, the
straddle planche (shown above) is more
than enough of an achievement.
In a later section, we will talk about how to
train legs, personally I like to use an external
weight (a barbell) to perform squats.
Find the training style that works for you!
The starting position on the long
road to the planche is the planche
lean.
From a normal push up position, lean
forward while keeping your shoulders
protracted.
When you can hold this for 15-20
seconds, you could add a planche
lean press into the equation for some
serious pressing gains, leading up to
planche press ups!
The futher forward you move your feet,
the harder it’ll be as you’ll have to lean
more, Your back will naturally round in
this position.
BODYWEIGHT 23

PLANCHE LEAN PRESS
From the planche lean
position, lower yourself
(while keeping your shoulders
PROTRACTED.
#3
From the bottom of the
motion, continue to focus
on leaning forward while
pressing up from AS FAR
down your body as possible.
#2
This is a difficult exercise
and should be approached
in an intelligent manner.
Keep the reps low and allow
plenty of time recover
between sessions. Do not
train this every day!
#1
To progress, slide your
feet further forward, lean
further forward, and press
from as low as you can!
It looks like a press up but the shoulders are much further forward. The aim is to end
up with your hands as close to the centre of your body (hips) as possible. Make progress
in small increments as your strength increases.
Keeping your shoulders in front of your hands, lower yourself to the floor. Then push
yourself back up! Keep your back straight and lock your elbows at the top of the movement.
This is a good way of building straight arm strength for more advanced moves in
the future.
24 BODYWEIGHT

TUCK PLANCHE
The tuck planche is the first step in elevating the body
in a planche position. Hands shoulder width apart,
push down (depress your scapula) like you would at
the top of a dip and lean yourself forward slightly while
tucking your knees into your chest.
Keep your arms straight, you may have a rounded back
but this is fine at this stage, the next step is to flatten
the back!
It will be hard to keep your feet off the ground if not
using an elevated platform. Use some low or high parallel
bars for ground clearance.
Starting from your hands or low bars may
not give you enough room to allow this, or
you may be lacking the scapula strength
to maintain the position for long, so higher
parallel bars are ideal for starting.
ADVANCED TUCK PLANCHE
From the tuck position, try to lean further
forward while creating a counterbalance
by raising your hips. As the legs extend,
we lean further forward to keep the
weight centred over the hands in an attempt
to straighten the back.
It may sounds strange, but think about
'pushing your spine upwards' to achieve a
hollow body position. You will know this
from planche leans, it's when your back is
rounded at the top of the movement as
you lean forward. Protract your scapula
(push down) as hard as you can while
keeping the hips as elevated as possible
for a flat back position.
There is a rather large strength gap between
the normal tuck planche and the advanced
variant, but keep at it!
BODYWEIGHT 25

SINGLE LEG PLANCHE
From the advanced tuck (flat back)
position, tuck one knee into your
chest, while extending the other
leg behind you in a controlled
manner.
As you extend the leg, lean further
forward and continue to push
down as hard as you can to maintain
the hollow body position.
The straddle planche is a very difficult
move, and may be where you
decide to leave planche training.
There’s nothing wrong with this!
The full version is extremely difficult
and can take years to master.
STRADDLE PLANCHE
As you lean forward, extend your legs
in a V shape behind you in a controlled
manner. Following the rule we know so
far, the further the legs are from the
centre of mass the harder it will be.
Meaning the wider the straddle position,
the easier it is.
Adjust as necessary! If you have longer legs this may be
more difficult, but it is still very achievable with the correct
groundwork in the previous positions.
Pointing your toes when the legs are extended will help
generate tension throughout the legs and lower back,
making the position a bit easier to hold.
There are a few ways to enter
the straddle planche, from a
handstand, a tuck planche, a
planche lean etc. Find which
works best for you! I’ll be looking
at the approach from the tuck
planche position.
The planche is a lever, but it’s not in it’s name! The front lever and back lever are very
impressive moves requiring great awareness of your body and tension throughout.
The back lever is normally the first lever that people will achieve as your shoulders can’t
move much, meaning you don’t have to focus on stabilizing as much when compared to
the front lever.
26 BODYWEIGHT

LEVERS
The back lever is normally the first lever that people will achieve as your
shoulders can’t really go anywhere, meaning you don’t have to focus on
stabilizing as much when compared to the front lever or planche.
TUCK BACK LEVER
If you are confident with German hangs and the skin the cat position,
a tuck lever will be the next step to achieving your back lever.
To perform a tuck back lever, return to the skin the cat position
where you thread your feet through the bar, and hang there.
Bring your legs further back and hold longer to progress.
From the German hang position, raise your hips to shoulder level.
A rounded back is not the end of the world in this position.
Imagine squeezing the arms together behind you to generate
strength in this position. Keep your arms straight and lock your
elbows.
Flatten the back to put my workload on your core, this is a
great way of building strength in the abs and lower back to
keep the body straight throughout lever movements.
We are trying to make as much of a 90° angle between
the thighs and abs as possible. If you cannot maintain the
position, go back to the standard tuck and do the advanced
version for little bursts, then back to normal and repeat.
SINGLE LEG BACK LEVER
You may experience elbow pain if
you are not used to this position
or train it too frequently. Take
your time progressing through
the levers.
Moving more weight away from our centre, we move on to the single leg variation.
Keep one leg to your chest and extend the other, keeping your arms straight, elbows
locked and back as flat as you can.
Extend the leg out as far as you can! You'll get stronger over time. We do not want imbalances
so work both legs equally.
BODYWEIGHT 27

BACK LEVER
From the advanced tuck (flat back) position, we extend the legs in a V shape. (See straddle
planche) As usual, the further away the legs are from the centre of mass the harder
it is. So to make it easier, simply make your legs wider in the straddle position to bring
more of your weight closer to your hands.
Bringing the legs fully together results in a full back lever.
Pointing the toes and squeezing the legs together makes it easier for us to generate
full body tension, which you definitely need to hold this!
TUCK FRONT LEVER
The front lever can be called a straight arm pull (you will be
familar with this concept from the skin the cat initial pull)
in the back lever position we do not have to worry about
the shoulder joint rotating, meaning we do not have to try
so hard to stabilise the shoulder joint. With the front lever,
we are making a conscious effort to maintain a ‘pull down’
position, locking the arms in place through scapula and lat
This exercise (like all levers)
is very taxing and should
NOT be done in high volumes
in the same session.
You may develop some elbow
pain if you push this too
hard and that's the last thing
we want.
Hang from the bar with an overhand grip, hands shoulder
width apart and pull your knees towards the bar. Hang with
the body tucked, you’ll find the further forward your legs go
the harder it gets, so get your knees as far in front of the bar
as you can!
28 BODYWEIGHT

ADVANCED TUCK FL
This could be called the ‘Flat Back’ tuck front lever as the difference between the normal
tuck and this is just that. A flat back. As mentioned, the further forward your legs
are, the harder it’ll be as you’ll have to pull harder.
If you like having serious
mass on your legs, you
might not want to go past
a straddle variation, but
you might as well try.
FRONT LEVER
SINGLE LEG FL
From the advanced tuck FL position,
extend one leg while keeping the other
tucked to the chest, this variation really
puts emphasis on your core as you try
to keep your body straight. When you
can achieve 10s on each leg, it’s worth
trying to move on to the straddle front
lever.
From the advanced tuck
front lever position with
your back flat, extend your
legs in a V shape to achieve
a straddle position, just as
you did with the back lever
and planche. As your feet
get further away from your
centre, pull harder!
If we have trouble progressing we can try the negative (eccentric) portion of the movement to
build strength. Get your feet vertical to the bar with a straight body, and begin to control the
descent while keeping the body straight. If the fully extended version is too difficult, do it with
a straddle or tucked position!
Squeezing the legs together and pointing the toes will help you keep straight and create the
tension through the body you’ll need to hold this. From the straddle position simply put the
legs together! If you can’t hold it, go back to the straddle.
BODYWEIGHT 29

TUCK L SIT
The L sit (or half lever) is a foundational gymnastic exercise
which is great for building core strength and stability.
These are a great example of an isometric
hold, we do not do reps like a conventional
exercise but keep the body under tension in
a given position for time.
Learning this position relies on your ability to push down with
your scapula to elevate your feet off the ground. This is rather
difficult, so it is advised to use some equipment like parallel
bars to give yourself ground clearance. This strength will be
built over time.
Position your hands about shoulder width apart on your chosen
platform, push down as hard you can to elevate your body
while trying to keep your thighs horizontal to your torso.
SINGLE LEG L SIT
You can keep the non-extended leg tucked up to
your chest, or let the leg dangle (depending on
the height of your bars, and personal preferrence
of course)
While keeping the thighs horizontal to your
torso, extend one leg outwards as far as you
can! Bring it in if it’s too hard back to a tuck, or
you could half extend the leg just a little bit.
FULL L SIT
There might be a bit of a gap between a partial
and a full , but everyone works at their own pace
and progress is not linear.
Continuing from the partial L sit, we extend
and lock our legs in front of us, squeezing them
together with toes pointed to generate the required
tension through the body.
From here we can remove the platform and do it
on the floor, or progress to the more impressive
V sit (in a future edition).
Keep your breath controlled to maintain
your posture, as the diaphragm is present
in this movement it can be a little hard to
breathe. Small breaths work fine!
30 BODYWEIGHT

LEGS
Legs can be trained effectively just using bodyweight.
We’ll go over these exercises first, however
external loading of the movements (such as a barbell
deadlift or squat) will be much more effective at
gaining muscle mass on your legs.
PISTOL SQUAT
A pistol squat is unilateral movement, meaning just
one side is being utilized. This requires a good deal
of coordination and balance, as well as the strength
for a single leg squat.
Keeping the grounded foot flat on the floor, we
maintain a stable base for the movement. If you are
lacking ankle flexibility to keep the WHOLE foot on
the floor throughout the range of motion, you can
elevate the heel to take some of the range of motion
out of the equation.
Try pushing through the ‘middle’ of your foot to
generate power in a balanced manner. Pushing from
your toes will lean you forward, likewise from the
heel will take you backwards.
If you are having trouble keeping the floating foot
elevated, you can stand on an elevated surface so
the foot can dangle.
You can also use an object to guide yourself up and
down if you do not have the strength or balance.
Having the arms at the front allows
us to form a counterbalance, keeping
the weight centred throughout
the motion as we lower ourselves.
BODYWEIGHT 31

BODYWEIGHT SQUAT
While the squat is a fundamental movement, and something you’ve probably
done quite a lot in your daily life, good squat technique can take a long time
to perfect. But getting the hang of it offers so many benefits for strength and
coordination, utilizing the quads, hips, hamstrings, glutes, lower back and your
adductors! We want to get the most out of our time so this is really worth
training as it does so much at once. This is the beauty of compound movements
like the squat and the deadlift.
Your arms are a tool for
distributing your weight
and keeping balance
throughout the movement,
some people like to
have them out in front of
them, some people cross
them over their chest,
find what works for you!
#1 #2 #3
Stand shoulder width apart in a position that is comfortable for you. Toes slightly pointed
out (30 degrees or so) is ideal, but do whatever your flexibility allows.
While keeping your back straight, begin to bend the knees and push your hips backwards
as you descend.
Keeping the feet flat on the floor (elevate the heels with a small weight plate if you don’t
have the flexibility) open your knees enough that you can lower the hips through, until your
hips are in line with your knee or lower (lower = more range of motion = more effective!)
At the bottom of the movement, looking forward with feet planted firmly, begin to push
through the heels, driving with your glutes and quads (the front and back of the upper leg)
that’s one repetition!
Lower body exercises are crucial for building and maintaining a well rounded and
capable body and should not be ignored! The heavier your legs are, the harder
lever movements will feel as you have more weight to hold. Nonetheless, we want
a balanced physique, and it’s a bit more impressive if you can do a front lever or
planche and also have some size on your legs.
32 BODYWEIGHT

PLYOMETRIC SQUAT
Start in a low squat position, feet flat on the floor shoulder width
(or slight wider) apart. You can see in the 2nd picture that the arms
are brought down and follow through behind us during the jump.
This counter force allows us to generate more power as well as assists
in maintaining a straight line through the body as the legs extend,
as well as providing some force to the movement and a rythm
element which is quite fun.
The further down you
can come the more you
lengthen the quads,
meaning they have to
contract more = more
gains!
#3
#2
#1
This is an explosive variation of a squat, plyometric just
means jump training!
Once you can perform good bodyweight squats for reps,
make it harder by jumping at the top.
BODYWEIGHT 33

BARBELL SQUAT
WEIGHTED MOVES
This squat is a compound movement
and is great for building big quadriceps.
We want to have the knees
and hips in a horizontal line
(or lower) at the bottom of the
movement. A good rep should
take about 3 seconds, not too
fast, not too slow!
#1 #2 #3
Position the bar at a height where you can get your shoulders under it, around armpit
height is ideal. With a slightly wider than shoulder width stance, step under the bar and
lift it off, then step back with it if you need room.
Have your feet positioned similarly to the bodyweight squat, toes pointing 30 degrees
out or so. Keep even pressure throughout the foot so our weight is centred. Look forward
and position your arms/elbows in a comfortable manner. Keep the back straight!
Push your knees forward while controlling your hips straight down like you’re sitting.
We are trying to keep a straight line from the head to the middle of the foot throughout
the movement, filming yourself will give a lot of benefits as you can observe this line
yourself and make adjustments. There’s always something to improve!
34 BODYWEIGHT

STANDARD DEADLIFT
Using weights for larger muscle groups like the legs can offer a
much larger capacity for gains than a bodyweight variant.
Compound movements are amazing for
building strength and coordination.
#1 #2 #3
Stand with your feet shoulder width (or slightly narrower) apart, with your toes pointing
forward or slightly out, whatever you find better. As long as your arms are outside of your
knees, stand in a comfortable manner (if the arms are INSIDE the legs with a wide stance,
this would be a sumo squat).
To lower yourself to grab the bar, start by moving your hips back, then to go lower, bend
your knees slightly until your shins just touch the bar. Hands shoulder width on the bar in an
overhand grip, you are now in a deadlift position.
Start by slightly pulling the bar towards you so it stays close to you throughout the movement,
then, keeping your lower back as straight as you can, drive your hips forward while
leading up with your chest.
When you lock out at the top of the movement (you don’t need to lean back, just stand
straight) guide it back to position on the floor, keeping the bar tight to you.
A compound movement is that which recruits multiple muscle groups at the
same time, or in a very concise pattern executed almost instantaneously. It’s a
great time saver as they do so much at once!
BODYWEIGHT 35

FROG STAND
SHOULDERS
The frog (or crow) stand
is a common yoga move
and is a great first step
in learning to support
the entire weight of your
body.
Place your hands on the floor in front of you, rest your knees on the outside of your elbows
and press down hard as you lean forward. Try and shift your weight around to get a feel for
how tension changes in your hand in different angles of tilt.
This is a skill you’ll need for balancing a handstand!
BACK TO WALL HANDSTAND
Supporting your body in the air is no easy feat and requires full
body tension to maintain the straight line.
Find a wall or an object long/wide/stable enough to support your
body and place your hands shoulder width apart and kick yourself
up to the wall. The closer your hands are to the wall, the less of an
angle you will have to place your weight on the wall, and therefore
more weight will be on your shoulders.
We do not want to get into bad habits however, as the handstand
push up is performed with the body at more of a 45 degree angle,
having our back to the wall will mean we have an arch in the back,
just put one foot on the wall and keep the body straight rather
than resting both feet at once.
To kick up, have one leg close to
your chest (front leg) and one far
back (the rear leg), kick up with the
rear leg and follow it with the front.
This may take some practice but
you’ll get it eventually!
36 BODYWEIGHT

CHEST TO WALL HANDSTAND
The chest to wall handstand is also a
great tool for building the confidence and
strength required for the full handstand,
however it can be quite difficult to get
into as you have to walk yourself up the
wall to a vertical position.
The benefit of the chest to wall variation
however, is that you are in a position that
emulates the angle needed for a handstand
push up much more closely than
the back to wall version. A push up from
this position is great practice for the freestanding
push up.
Try flexing the fingers to
pull yourself away from the
wall when inverted!
With your back to the wall, bend forward to a pushup position and walk your feet up
the wall. This might be very difficult, but once you can hold the back to wall for a 20-
30 seconds your shoulders should be able to handle this.
Fully straighten the arms, pushing down as hard as you can to get the shoulders close
to the ears. Focus on keeping the body straight by pushing the chest toward the wall,
keeping the glutes and abs tight to flatten the lower back for a straight line.
Squeeze the legs together to create the tension you need. You can also point the toes
to add to this effect.
Walk yourself back down the wall after holding it for as long as you can.
Physiology and mobility play a HUGE role in how your handstand will
look and what is comfortable for you. There is always the possibility to
work on these things but some people will be straighter than others.
BODYWEIGHT 37

FREE STANDING HANDSTAND
It is worth talking about the hands specifically, as it is a
‘handstand’ we’re doing.
If we place our hands palm down with the fingers slightly
elevated (so we have greater control when ‘tensing’ the
fingers to shift our balance), we can feel that by tensing
the fingers we shift ourselves backwards, and by tensing
(pushing down with) the palm we go forwards. This
is used throughout the handstand position to maintain
balance.
If you are going to fall over, (heels falling) push with the
fingers, if you are going to fall back down (toes falling)
try and generate force through the palms.
Now we are moving away from the wall! Kick up as
usual, but once you feel your legs come in line with your
head begin to push down through the fingers to stop
yourself from going too far forward.
Try to point your toes and keep your body in a straight
line.
Practice bailing out of the
handstand, you will find a side
you feel more comfortable going
over on.
Confidence to save yourself
when you lose balance will go a
long way so drill it!
Another important part of maintaining balance in the handstand is the ability to generate
tension throughout the body to keep the body straight in the air! Pressing the legs together
and pointing the toes, squeezing the glutes and keeping the core tight will all help.
38 BODYWEIGHT

PIKE PRESS UPS
The pike position is a great way of building flexibility, as well as
building strong shoulders and triceps with a pressing motion. It
also gets us used to being inverted so we're not so scared when
it comes to handstands. It may seem daunting at first but if you
progress in the right way, you should feel confident being upside
down in no time!
From a push up position walk your feet towards your hands. As we are working towards
handstand pushups, where we are vertical, we are trying to press as much of our bodyweight
VERTICALLY as possible.
From this position, lower your head down, in front of your hands focusing on a forward
lean. The further forward you lean, the more workload put on the shoulders (which is what
we are trying to work). Come back up, at the top of the motion, fully extend your arms and
then elevate the scapula (shoulders up towards ears) as if you were starting a handstand.
This is a rep.
The elevated pike pushup is the next step as more weight is stacked on the shoulders. The
higher you raise your feet, the harder it will be. Eventually you will feel your feet floating!
Repeat the same procedure as the normal pike press ups, focus on getting your head as far in
front of your hands as you can, and fully extend at the top like a handstand.
The more weight vertically
over your shoulders, the
harder and better it will be.
BODYWEIGHT 39

THE PUSH UP
Once we elevate the legs enough in the pike push up position, we are taking the majority of
our weight in the pushing motion as we raise more of our body over our shoulders. To advance
on this get yourself more vertical!
The handstand push up can be broken down into a few parts. First, we have to have coordination
to keep our body straight in the full handstand position, then as we lower ourselves
down, moving the shoulders forward, the rest of the body takes an angle to maintain balance
(keeping the body straight).
We can practice this motion most effectively in the chest to wall positon (#2), but if you are
still struggling to maintain that hold, you may wish to use the back to wall instead as you can
kick up, rather than walk up the wall which is harder.
Keep the elbows from flaring
out during the press!
#2
#1
When using the back to wall variant to practice the push
up, do not put both feet on the wall as this forms an arch
in your back, not a straight line! You can use 1 foot to
create distance to straighten up however, as shown above
(#1).
We need coordination to keep the straight line as well as
pushing strength. If you are lacking coordination, practice
against the wall. If you’re lacking strength, do more elevated
pike push ups!
This is the position your body
will be in during the pressing
motion.
40 BODYWEIGHT

RING EXERCISES
REAR DELT FLY
With all ring exercises, the more weight we place on
the floor, the less we have to lift. We adjust difficulty
in this exercise by walking our feet further forward
to make it harder.
Grab the rings with a neutral grip (#1). As we do not
have a rotating handle like on a TRX (suspension
training) system, this grip allows you to pivot at the
wrist as you bring the rings back. Extend the wrist
straight as the rings come closer together. This will
keep the rings from going slack as you adjust hand
position to maintain tension.
Keeping the body straight (a slight bend is ok too)
and feet planted, pull the rings apart keeping tension
on the straps at all times. If we allow it to go slack,
we are not putting load on the muscles. The straps
are also much less likely to change anchor point on
the bar when pulled tight, making sure the width of
the rings stays consistent.
(#1)
The rear delt fly can be compared the reverse fly
motion on a pec deck manchine, or a rear delt fly
with dumbells.
Comparing this motion to a rear delt fly with dumbells,
we have a much smoother resistance curve doing
this exercise as the weight is evenly distributed
throughout the motion.
With a dumbell, we have gravity acting on the top
of the movement, making it extremely hard, and
gravity pulling the weight back down at the bottom
when your arms are relaxed, making it easier. We
prefer a consistent load, and the rings make this
possible.
When our hands are in line with our
shoulders (or slightly behind, we have
completed a repetition.
BODYWEIGHT 41

FACE PULL
The majority of us overwork our front delts in relation to our rear. Push ups, bench press,
shoulder press and many other pushing motions load our front delts. Many people do front
deltoid isolation work ON TOP of this in the form of front raises with dumbbells while ignoring
the rear. A long with the rear delt fly, the face pull also works the rear delts, bringing the
rotator cuff into the equation as well.
Use a neutral grip
to ensure the rings
rotate around the
fingers, keeping
tension on the rings
at all times.
With a neutral grip, lean back as far as you want, the further the feet go forward, the
harder it’ll be! We want to depress (bring down) and retract (pull back) the scapula so the
elbows are lower than our shoulders. If they are higher than the shoulders, we’ll be targetting
the rear delts a lot more. Focus on keeping the shoulder blade position you started
with. Depressed and retracted!
From your chosen position, pull the rings towards you while bringing the elbows back, in
the same motion, raise your hands to around ear height for the external rotation. At the top
of the movement your arms should be in line with your elbows below the shoulders.
The face pull is an essential exercise for strengthening the muscles responsible for external
(outward) rotation of the shoulder. We have many exercises that work on internal (inward)
rotation moving the hands in front of the body, but not much for the reverse!
As usual we want to be keeping ourselves under control so keep the glutes tight, back
straight and avoid using excessive momentum to cheat the exercise. Keep the rings under
tension at all times!
We need balance in
exercise selection to
achieve a full physique
42 BODYWEIGHT

Bicep is lengthened (eccentric) #1
RING CURLS
Bicep is shortened
(concentric) #2
Here is a good visual example of an eccentric and concentric contraction.
The eccentric portion is the lengthening of the muscle in a controlled manner.
we can see the bicep is lengthened in #1, and then a concentric, or
shortening phase brings your head back up to the rings (#2).
The ring curl follows the same pattern as the barbell (or ez bar) curl. The bicep is lengthened,
then shortened to contract. This is how we build big biceps. There’s not a special exercise for
big arms, the trick is to go through a full range of motion with control.
Hang the rings around or just below shoulder height, take an underhand grip around shoulder
width Retract your shoulders as you are pulling. Start with your arms straighened and
begin to pull the rings towards your ears while keeping your body straight. We want to
focus on keeping the strain on the biceps, not compensating by dropping our hips back and
leaning in. If you cannot keep your body straight, move your feet further back (more vertical)
to make it easier.
If we want to make it more difficult we lean back by moving our feet forward (more horizontal),
taking more of our weight off the ground and letting us take the extra weight with our
biceps. Adjust as necessary!
The rings allow us to adjust how
much of our bodyweight we are
lifting, as opposed to loading a bar
with weight.
BODYWEIGHT 43

TRICEP EXTENSION
Focus on trying to move only
the forearm!
The ring tricep extension follows the same rule as the popular skullcrusher exercise that
you may have seen performed in a gym. We are simply making the tricep as long as we
can (eccentric) and then contracting it (concentric). Working through a full range of motion
in this way is the best path to building any serious size.
Approach the rings with an overhand grip and make sure your feet are stuck in place as
we don’t want to be sliding backwards during the exercise.
Hands shoulder width apart, starting with the arms straight. Your biceps should be
just in front of your ears (as far back as comfortable) to ensure we lengthen the tricep
adequately for a full ROM and more gains.
Keep the upper arm fixed as you push away with the forearms. Do not let your elbows
flare out, keep your arms in as straight a line as you can.
If you need to make it easier, step further forward to place more your weight at your
feet. Likewise, when your current pitch becomes too easy, step backwards and take
more your weight!
People prefer to squat lower because the
quadricep becomes LONGER the lower
down you go. This gives it more force
to contract with, therefore leading to
increase strength gains when compared
with a small range of motion.
44 BODYWEIGHT

TRAINING PRINCIPLES
I feel it worth talking about my approach to training, how many repetitions and sets I do
and the theory behind it.
A study by Schoenfeld et al. (2017) found that volume was the deciding factor on muscle
growth, not a specific repetition range. In the study, 10 sets per week per bodypart was all
that was needed. Not 2 long workouts the same day on the same body part (if you’re anything
like I used to be).
More is not always better, especially if your body needs to recover.
If our muscles are under an adequate load throughout a full range of motion (or as close to
full as your physiology allows) then we will get stronger at said movement.
If you cannot maintain good form throughout the full ROM, then make adjustments so you
can. If you were lifting weight, you would lower the weight. If you were doing bodyweight
rows, you’d step backwards, letting the floor take your weight rather than lifting more yourself.
If you were doing a full front lever but started to fail, straddle or tuck your legs in to
shorten the lever and make it easier. We can always adjust difficulty.
After adequately warming up, I usually go for the hardest exercise progression I can. This
would be likened to training compound movements first when training for strength or hypertrophy
in a standard weightlifting/bodybuilding routine (we do use squats and deadlifts
however, they follow the same principle).
I have included necessary milestones and ideal reps/set ranges for the exercises explained
throughout but it’s worth going over again.
For exercises like pull ups and dips that use your bodyweight only, rep ranges do not really
apply unless we are using weights a long with it, the more pull ups and dips you can do the
better (At the time of writing, my best is 22 in a single set, but 30 is the goal). However if
you plan on doing multiple sets, I would advise stopping just short of failure. This is becuase
your overall volume (total lifted throughout the workout) is likely to be much higher if
you go just short of failure. You will recover much quicker between sets if you pace yourself,
meaning you should be lifting more overall througout the session rather than going all
out and having to rest for 5 minutes because you’re so exhausted. Just be consistent.
Anyway, that’s just my opinion on what has worked for me. I cannot stress this enough,
FULL RANGE OF MOTION with a reasonable weight will 99.9% of the time be more beneficial
than using high weight or intensity with BAD form.
Take care of yourself and you will be able to train all the time. If you’re injured, you can’t
really do much.
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EXAMPLE SESSION
There is a fair amount of debate about how long you should be able to hold a given position
before trying the next progression. Up to 30 seconds could be argued, but I feel once you can
do 10-15 seconds with good form, there is greater value in trying to do the next step along
simply for a shorter period of time, or by transitioning into it for little bursts.
Usually I’ll do the hardest progression I can (after I have warmed up) and work backwards
from there, (similarly to how you’d do compound exercises first in a weightlifting routine) finishing
with a max effort hold of the hardest thing I can do with solid form.
There isn’t really a one size fits all exercise routine for calisthenics, more of a pick your own
from a list of progressions/regressions based on what you’re trying to work towards or improve
on.
Here’s an example of how I would structure a back session for improving MY front lever.
Scapula pull ups 10 x 2
Skin the cat to German Hang 4 x 2
Tuck front lever 30s (to make sure we are feeling ok with the movement)
Now we are ready for the hardest thing we can do with good form!
Straddle front lever hold max effort - 15s (for me)
Single leg FL hold - 10s each leg x 2
Advanced (flat back) front lever - 30s x 2
Negative front lever 5 reps x 2
Straddle FL max hold until failure x 2
As mentioned, this is just for me and my skill level. You should regress the levers as necessary.
You should know how to do that by now if you’ve been paying attention!
My contact details can be found on the front cover if you would like to contact me about a
plan for your own progression.
At the time of writing, I am uploading calisthenics content to instagram, as well as live streaming
the majority of my sessions on twitch. Come check me out and drop me a message if
you’re interested!
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FOOD
I am not a nutritionist, all I have is the basic knowledge from my level 3 certification. But I
think it worthwhile to share some common sense general rules that have been very helpful in
my 8 years of training, with the aim of gaining muscle and trying to be lean.
I have never been a fan of the bulking/cutting cycle, instead opting for a pretty standard diet
year round, cutting a few calories out if I want to lose weight, and adding a few more in if I
want to gain weight.
As for macronutrients, there has been a huge amount of debate discussing the optimal
amount of protein needed in a diet for muscle growth. In my journey I have been told that up
to 2 grams of protein is needed per pound of bodyweight for optimal muscle growth. This is
NOT true, it is a sales tactic used to get you to buy protein supplements. Morton et. al (2018)
found that in excess of 0.7g per lb gave no specific benefit to muscle growth or performance.
Fat is higher in calories, protein is 4 calories per gram, carbohydrates are 4 calories per gram,
but fat is 9 calories per gram! This just means you can’t eat as much fat in terms of weight,
therefore there’s a very good chance it’s not going to fill you up as much. So naturally, lower
fat diets are favoured by those trying to lose weight.
If you want to focus on gaining muscle, make sure you’re eating in a calorie surplus. It does
not have to be a HUGE increase, just 200 or 300 calories over your maintenance intake. The
reason people who are trying to gain size don’t run is simply because it burns calories. If you
want to eat more then sure, go for a run! Just make sure you replace the calories otherwise
you will not gain weight.
If you’re trying to lose weight, the goal is to feel full while intaking a low amount of calories.
A huge reason fruit and vegetables are considered so good for your health is because they
actually fill you up due to the fibre content, and are very low in calories.
If you’re thinking about grabbing a 400 calorie chocolate bar, you could have 3 or even 4
apples for those calories if you really wanted. What do you think will fill you up more? THE
APPLES! You’d probably eat one apple and feel fine, cutting out the extra 300 or so calories
all together.
You do not have to just be eating apples. You’d be surprised how many low calorie alternatives
exist for all your favourite foods, the taste difference is minimal.
Find foods that you like which contain a reasonable amount of calories, making sure to intake
at least 0.7g of protein per lb of body weight (more protein is not a bad thing, just not to the
excesses previously stated)
Anyway, if you’re full, put the fork down.
That’s all! Thanks for reading.
BODYWEIGHT 47

REFERENCES
Shoudler girdle
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/1118_Muscles_that_Position_
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/1119_Muscles_that_Move_the_
Humerus.jpg
Rotator cuff
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shoulder_joint_back-en.svg
Morton et. al A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect
of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and
strength in healthy adults. Br J Sports Med. 2018 Mar;52(6):376-384. doi: 10.1136/bjs-
Brad J. Schoenfeld, Dan Ogborn & James W. Krieger (2017) Dose-response relationship
between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic
review and meta-analysis, Journal of Sports Sciences, 35:11, 1073-1082, DOI:
10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197
A Primer: Bodyweight Basics by
Connor White is licensed under CC
BY-SA 4.0
48 BODYWEIGHT