Incorporating calisthenics into your workout routine (or making them the meat of your exercise regimen) can provide you with great results. Calisthenics are synonymous with body weight exercises. Common exercises would be push-ups, pull-ups, planks, lunges, squats, sit-ups, etc... Everything will be done using your own body weight.
Calisthenics are perfect for those who can't afford a gym or those that may be too intimidated to go lift with the muscleheads. And even without weights, you can still produce strength, power and build lean muscle mass. The best part is that you can really mix up your routine and challenge yourself with harder sets as you get more fit.
I am quite the proponent of body weight exercises. I lifted for 2 years and still couldn't do a pull-up. It was pretty embarrassing. Once I got into doing body weight exercises, I started finding true strength (now doing clap pull-ups!). Don't get me wrong, I still lift quite a bit. But I also throw in push-ups, pull-ups, planks and lunges as well as the other numerous variations out there.
You can look online at the many different examples and variations for body weight exercises. If you are a beginner, a book that I cannot recommend enough (and own myself) is Mark Lauren's You Are Your Own Gym. Seriously, it's a great book as it provides plans and you can be somebody who is starting with barely being able to do a squat and will finish up doing pistol squats like it's nobody's business.
There was a comment on my other post asking if I could provide a calisthenics routine. So I decided to make this post to provide one that I use quite a bit. Just a heads up, and you will hate me for this, but I like burpees :)
One note, calisthenics routines can be done at home, in a park, on a playground. Pretty much anywhere. That's the beauty of using only your body weight. No need to hop in traffic and go to a gym. Run to the park and get your sweat on!
My Morning Calisthenics Routine (do 5-10 minutes of stretching beforehand!)
100 jumping jacks
30 burpees
20 pull-ups
30 high jumps
20 pushups
100 crunches
30 squats
20 burpees
20 forward lunges (each leg)
30 high knees (each leg)
10 burpees
10 pushups
10 pullups
10 burpees
Run 1 mile
Yeah, I'm getting tired just reading that. So this is a pretty intense one. Let me modify this to make one that's a bit more beginner friendly.
25 jumping jacks
5 pushups
10 squats
10 lunges
25 crunches
5 burpees
10 dips
30 second plank
Run 1/2 mile
You want to be as intense as possible when doing these. Try to push yourself past what you thought were your limits. Make your own routines. Mix things up!
And as for getting rid of your man boobs with calisthenics, remember that exercise and nutrition will be key. A primal way of eating mixed with an intense workout will produce optimal results. The workouts don't need to be long either. Boost up intensity and cut the time. There's no reason to spend hours in a gym and there's no reason to spend hours doing a body weight routine. 20-30 minutes is more than enough and you will start seeing results quickly.
A question I have is what is your favorite body weight exercise?
Calisthenics are perfect for those who can't afford a gym or those that may be too intimidated to go lift with the muscleheads. And even without weights, you can still produce strength, power and build lean muscle mass. The best part is that you can really mix up your routine and challenge yourself with harder sets as you get more fit.
I am quite the proponent of body weight exercises. I lifted for 2 years and still couldn't do a pull-up. It was pretty embarrassing. Once I got into doing body weight exercises, I started finding true strength (now doing clap pull-ups!). Don't get me wrong, I still lift quite a bit. But I also throw in push-ups, pull-ups, planks and lunges as well as the other numerous variations out there.
You can look online at the many different examples and variations for body weight exercises. If you are a beginner, a book that I cannot recommend enough (and own myself) is Mark Lauren's You Are Your Own Gym. Seriously, it's a great book as it provides plans and you can be somebody who is starting with barely being able to do a squat and will finish up doing pistol squats like it's nobody's business.
There was a comment on my other post asking if I could provide a calisthenics routine. So I decided to make this post to provide one that I use quite a bit. Just a heads up, and you will hate me for this, but I like burpees :)
One note, calisthenics routines can be done at home, in a park, on a playground. Pretty much anywhere. That's the beauty of using only your body weight. No need to hop in traffic and go to a gym. Run to the park and get your sweat on!
My Morning Calisthenics Routine (do 5-10 minutes of stretching beforehand!)
100 jumping jacks
30 burpees
20 pull-ups
30 high jumps
20 pushups
100 crunches
30 squats
20 burpees
20 forward lunges (each leg)
30 high knees (each leg)
10 burpees
10 pushups
10 pullups
10 burpees
Run 1 mile
Yeah, I'm getting tired just reading that. So this is a pretty intense one. Let me modify this to make one that's a bit more beginner friendly.
25 jumping jacks
5 pushups
10 squats
10 lunges
25 crunches
5 burpees
10 dips
30 second plank
Run 1/2 mile
You want to be as intense as possible when doing these. Try to push yourself past what you thought were your limits. Make your own routines. Mix things up!
And as for getting rid of your man boobs with calisthenics, remember that exercise and nutrition will be key. A primal way of eating mixed with an intense workout will produce optimal results. The workouts don't need to be long either. Boost up intensity and cut the time. There's no reason to spend hours in a gym and there's no reason to spend hours doing a body weight routine. 20-30 minutes is more than enough and you will start seeing results quickly.
A question I have is what is your favorite body weight exercise?