A calisthenics programme comes down to four decisions: how many sessions, which split, which exercises and how to progress. Here's how to make each one, with an example session for each level and the ready-made programmes.
The 4 decisions
Take them in this order. Most programmes that fail are too ambitious on the first and vague on the last.
How many sessions
Three sessions a week are enough to progress for many months. Leave a rest day in between: it's during rest that the muscle rebuilds.
| Level | Sessions per week | Length of a session |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 3 | 30 to 45 min |
| Intermediate | 3 to 4 | 45 to 60 min |
| Advanced | 4 to 5 | 60 to 75 min |
Choose the number you'll still be keeping up in three months. Three sessions done are worth more than five sessions planned.
Which split
| Split | Principle | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Full body | The whole body at every session | Beginner, 3 sessions |
| Upper and lower | One session for the upper body, one for the legs and core | 4 sessions |
| Pull, push, legs | One day per family of movements | Experienced athlete, 3 to 6 sessions |
| Skills and basics | The skill at the start of the session, the basics afterwards | When you're aiming for the muscle-up or the front lever |
Start with full body. Each movement comes round three times a week: that's what teaches you the movement fastest. Switch to another split when your sessions go over an hour.
Which exercises
A complete session takes one movement from each family: a pull, a push, legs, core. Four to six exercises are enough. The six basic movements and their versions are in calisthenics exercises.
The order matters as much as the choice:
- The warm-up: 5 to 10 minutes, shoulders, wrists, a few easy reps.
- The skill or the technical movement, while you're fresh.
- The heavy movements: pull-ups, dips and their weighted versions.
- Legs.
- Core, last. If it tires too early, it gives out on everything else.
As for equipment, a pull-up bar and dip bars cover everything: see what equipment to start with.
Sets, reps, rest
They depend on what you're after.
| Goal | Sets | Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength | 4 to 5 | 3 to 6, harder version or added weight | 2 to 3 min |
| Muscle | 3 to 4 | 6 to 12 | 90 seconds to 2 min |
| Endurance | 2 to 3 | 15 or more | 30 to 60 s |
| Static skills | 4 to 6 holds | 5 to 15 s | 2 min |
Stop each set one or two reps short of failure. You keep your technique clean and you recover for the next set.
TipWrite down every session: exercise, sets, reps. Without a notebook, you don't know whether you're progressing, you assume it.
How to progress
A programme is only as good as its progression rule. The simplest one is called double progression.
You keep the same version of the exercise until you've reached the top of the range on every set. Then you make it harder, and you start again from the bottom.
To make it harder, you have four settings. Change only one at a time:
- a harder version: decline push-up, wide-grip pull-up, single-leg squat;
- added weight: a dip belt for pull-ups and dips, a weighted vest for push-ups and squats;
- a slower tempo: three seconds on the way down;
- less rest between sets.
Added weight is the most precise setting. You add one or two kilos at a time, where a new version sometimes makes too big a jump. The guide weighted pull-ups: where to start gives the first steps.
An example for each level
| Family | Beginner | Intermediate | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pulling | Inverted row, 3 × 8 | Pull-up, 4 × 6 | Weighted pull-up, 5 × 5 |
| Pushing | Push-up, 3 × 10 | Dips, 4 × 8 | Weighted dips, 5 × 5 |
| Legs | Squat, 3 × 15 | Lunge, 4 × 10 per leg | Bulgarian split squat, 4 × 8 per leg |
| Core | Plank, 3 × 30 s | Knee raise, 3 × 10 | Leg raise, 4 × 8 |
| Sessions per week | 3 | 3 to 4 | 4 |
This table is a starting point, not a complete programme. Apply the progression rule to it, week after week.
Ready-made programmes
Would you rather have a plan that's already written? Choose according to your goal.
| Your goal | The programme |
|---|---|
| Do your very first session | Starting street workout |
| Follow a complete beginner plan | Full-body programme: beginner session |
| Train your whole body without heavy equipment | Full-body bodyweight programme |
| Go from 5 to 15 pull-ups | Pull-up programme |
| Train with a resistance band | Resistance band exercises |
| Get your first muscle-up | First muscle-up |
| Hold a front lever | Front lever progression |
When to change programme
Keep the same programme for eight to twelve weeks. Change it when you haven't progressed on any movement for three weeks, not before.
If you plateau and you feel tired, take a lighter week first: same exercises, half as many sets. Often, progress picks up again on its own.
Common mistakeChanging programme every two weeks. The body needs to repeat the same movements to progress. An average programme followed for three months beats a perfect programme followed for ten days.
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