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After 8 years of Gym I started Calisthenics
3 min read
I never gave Calisthenics a chance before because I was completely biased, but now, after going full Calisthenics training for months, there’s no going back.
So, I am 1.78 meters tall (5'10") and weigh 74kg (163lb) with low body fat around 8%. My goal in the gym was to reach 80kg (176lb), but I wasn’t able to accomplish that, gotta be honest, the last 3 years there was no big effort on my part.
In the very beginning, going to the gym gave me fast, noticeable results, but after the first year the progress kept getting smaller until eventually I didn’t notice any. But stopping wasn’t an option, so every week, at least 3 times, I was there.
The first time I discovered calisthenics was because a friend was making fun of it, and I immediately got biased. But one day, I watched a video of a guy doing amazing skills like L-sits and pike push-ups while handstanding, and right then I knew I wanted to do that. The feeling grew until I made the decision and quit the gym cold turkey.
The next week, I bought gymnastic rings, a jump rope, parallettes, and resistance bands. That was it, I made a plan using ChatGPT, and the next day I was doing ring dips in my garage. I felt amazing after the first workout. It was interesting, fun, and enjoyable.
In the very beginning, going to the gym gave me fast, noticeable results, but after the first year the progress kept getting smaller until eventually I didn’t notice any. But stopping wasn’t an option, so every week, at least 3 times, I was there.
The first time I discovered calisthenics was because a friend was making fun of it, and I immediately got biased. But one day, I watched a video of a guy doing amazing skills like L-sits and pike push-ups while handstanding, and right then I knew I wanted to do that. The feeling grew until I made the decision and quit the gym cold turkey.
The next week, I bought gymnastic rings, a jump rope, parallettes, and resistance bands. That was it, I made a plan using ChatGPT, and the next day I was doing ring dips in my garage. I felt amazing after the first workout. It was interesting, fun, and enjoyable.
I’ll share my current workout, a mix of ChatGPT suggestions and tweaks from experimentation.
Daily Structure
- Warm-Up (3min)
- Skill Work (10 min)
- Strength Training (30 min)
- Flexibility (10 min)
Day 1: Push
Warm-Up
- Jump rope (1 min)
- Wrist circles, shoulder dislocations, arm swings (2 min)
Skill Work
- Tuck L-sit on parallettes (3 sets of 10-20 sec)
Strength Training
- Archer push-ups (3x8–12)
- Pike push-ups (3x8–10)
- Ring dips (3x5–8)
- Triceps on rings (3x8-10)
Flexibility
- Chest stretch (doorway)
- Puppy pose (shoulders)
- Wrist stretches
Day 2: Pull
Warm-Up
- ump rope (1 min)
- Scapular shrugs, cat-cow, leg swings (2 min)
Skill Work: L-Sit
- Ring hanging L-sit (3x15–30 sec)
Strength Training
- Ring pull-ups (3x6–10)
- Ring rows (3x8–10)
- Ring chin-ups (3x6-8)
- Ring bicep curls (3x8-10)
Flexibility
- Child’s pose (lower back)
- Seated forward fold (hamstrings)
- Lat stretch
Day 3: Legs
Warm-Up
- Jump rope (1min)
- Hip circles, ankle mobility, bodyweight squats (2 min)
Skill Work
- Pistol squats (3x2–5/leg)
Strength Training
- Shrimp squats (3x6–10/leg)
- Single leg glute bridges (3x15–20)
- Nordic curl (3x5–8)
- Single leg calf raises (3x10-12)
Flexibility
- Couch stretch (hip flexors)
- Standing quad stretch
- Calf stretch
Gymnastic rings aren’t as stable as bars, but I like them anyway since I prefer a minimal setup. I also plan to use progressions for each exercise (where possible). For example, after mastering pistol squats, I’ll replace shrimp squats with them.
For now, I’ll follow this program twice per week and drop updates occasionally. If you’re curious about calisthenics, give it a try, you don’t need to leave the gym for it.
For now, I’ll follow this program twice per week and drop updates occasionally. If you’re curious about calisthenics, give it a try, you don’t need to leave the gym for it.
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by David Martins