A Primer, Bodyweight Basics

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