Calisthenics starting routine
When you're new to the fitness and calisthenics world, one of the most crucial decisions you'll face is how to structure your workout routines. This is a common dilemma that often leaves beginners feeling lost and unsure of where to begin.
We can divide gym/calisthenics routines into two categories: split and full body.
A full-body routine includes compound movements. At the end of your session, almost every muscle ( at least the main ones ) is trained.
A split routine, on the other hand, divides a workout per muscle group or pattern of movement ( push/pull or lower /upper body ).
Today, I'm going to explain why a full-body routine is the optimal choice for a beginner and highlight its numerous advantages over a split routine.
FULL BODY ROUTINE
As mentioned, with a full body routine, you use compound movements that target multiple body parts. Exercises like Squat, deadlift, military press or bench press are common in this routine.
In calisthenics, it is about the same, but with less focus on the lower body.
A routine can be organized as follows:
Horizontal pulling: front lever, body rows etc…
Vertical pushing: handstand push-ups, dips etc…
Vertical pulling: pull-ups…
Horizontal pushing: push-ups, planche, etc.…
Legs: squat, nordic leg curl etc…
Core: plank, hollow body etc…
This is a common full-body routine ( that obviously also includes stretching, warm-up, etc.…) that can be done two or three times a week.
The reasons for choosing it are multiple:
Focus on basics: when you start calisthenics is very important to master the basics. This includes mainly compound movements and with a full body routine, you will train them with a high frequency , which it will help you master them . Improving these basic movements also means that you improve how your muscles work together, which will build the foundation for more advanced skills. Obviously if you do three sessions per week you will not do the same exercise over and over again , but maybe variations of them ( For example : pull up on monday/ chin up on wednesday/ half rom pull up on Friday ).
Simplicity :Programming a simple full-body routine can be very straightforward . I’ve given an example above. On the other hand, splitting per muscle group can be very complicated because you need a very good knowledge of the biomechanics of the movements ( ex . A muscle up involves basically all of the muscles of the upper body , which makes it difficult to fit in a split routine )
You don’t have much time: The fact that there are only 2 or 3 workouts per week makes it simple to fit them into your weekly schedule. Furthermore, when you start your training, there is no need to do too much volume.
You can skip a workout : if one day you are not able to do your session, this wouldn’t be a problem , because you already trained almost every muscle of your body
Overtraining: The chance of overtraining specific muscle groups is reduced. However, it can be very difficult to find a good amount of volume, which would be a problem for intermediate or advanced athletes.
I think it’s right to talk, however, about the cons of a full-body routine, which are the following ones :
It is not the best option for hypertrophy: it must not provide enough stimuli for some specific muscles, which means that it can be difficult to build a harmonious body.
Frequency limitation: if you want to increase the frequency of your weekly workouts ( ex . up to four), this may not allow your body to properly recover, which in turn can cause soreness or pain.
You don’t have much time: Deja Vu, but this time is not about the weekly frequency but about the length of a session. In fact, if you want to train every single muscle, the workout can be protracted for hours.
Now that you know the basics, let’s work out!!
Also, I will soon deliver a free guide with a full-body routine for anyone who wants to approach calisthenics, so stay tuned!
