Lego man creates the ultimate calisthenics circuit
Image source design_inspiration
A good friend of mine recently explained to me that the his time for retoxing had long over run, and that he now wants to get back into training. I pointed him in the direction of this blog to learn a few of the basic calisthenics exercises, in reply to this he asked, “Do you have a routine i can follow?” This is when it dawned on me that i haven’t published a post that outlines a routine. Here is that post.
When I train at home I like to make the most of the time available so my routines have minimal rest periods. Instead of rest periods I prefer to exercise a muscle group immediately followed by an unrelated muscle group. This isn’t advisable for everybody so I will outline a breakdown of work/rest ratios.
The benefits of exercising in this way are:
- short workout time
- emphasis on aerobic and anaerobic respiratory systems
- emphasis on muscular endurance and strength
- simple movements relevant to life and sport
- whole body workout
- numerous exercise variants
The routine template
- Whole body
- Upper body
- Core & trunk
- Lower body
- Whole body
The exercises
Whole body: burpees, alternate squat thrusts, squat thrusts, star jumps, walk arounds, and running on the spot
Upper body: press ups, triceps dips, pull ups, inclined/declined push ups and handstand push ups
Core & trunk: sit ups, crunches, back extension, supermans, cross over crunch
Lower body: squats, single leg squats, box step ups, forward lunges, and backwards lunges
The example
- Squat thrusts
watch - Push ups watch
- Cross over crunch watch
- Back extension watch
- Squats watch
- Burpees watch
How to use the routine
Where to start if you’re…
A beginner:
- work/rest ratio = 20/30 seconds
- 2 circuits with 2 minutes rest between
An intermediate:
- work/rest ratio = 45/20 seconds
- 3 circuits with 2 minutes rest between
Advanced:
- work/rest ratio = 60/10 seconds
- 4 circuits with 2 minutes rest between
Key points
The above are guidelines only. They are not set in stone, and can be manipulated specifically to your fitness. I recommend adapting the work/rest ratio initially, then number of circuits, and finally the rest between circuits. Complete the calisthenics circuits training session twice a week with at least 48 hours between each session. If you intend to perform another type of training, for example cardio, on the same day then i suggest that the calisthenics session should follow, with a suitable recovery period. Remember, you can interchange the exercises so long as the template is adhered to. For example, a whole body exercise for an alternative whole body exercise.
A calisthenics routine is as simple as that. Let me know if you decide to try it out or already do. This particularly applies to that friend i mentioned.
You might like to read the series on calisthenics before starting this routine, found here:
What are calisthenics?
What are calisthenics? Part 2
What are calisthenics? Part 3
3 Comments
My primary exercise is backpacking, which I do for an hour a day 7 days a week over moderately hilly territory. I’ve gone from 240 lbs to 160 lbs doing this, and I’m back at college weight. It’s low impact, high intensity. Over the 3 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve gradually increased the weight in the pack, to the point that I’m now carrying 122 lbs. I’m in reasonably good shape.
Lately I’ve started adding calisthenics, in an attempt to get my upper body in as good of a shape as my legs and back. I’ve been doing pushups, situps, handstand presses (?) and chinups. For pushups, which I’m best at, I do about 300 every other day, in sets of 30, which I spread out through the day. On pushup day, that’s all I do for calisthenics. On the other days, I do three sets of crunches (about 40 per set), handstand presses, maybe 4 sets of 9 or 10, and 4 or 5 sets of chinups, of which I can only do 4 per set so far.
I’d like to learn to do this better, because I don’t seem to be getting stronger or bigger. My body fat is sitting on about 13%, which I’m okay with, but I’d like to add an inch to my chest and a half inch to my arms. And I’d really, really, really, like to be able to do 10 chinups comfortably. Can you give me any advice on how to structure the workout over the course of a week to maximize strength and mass gains? After an initial increase in strength and endurance, I’ve hit a serious plateau, and its a bit frustrating.
BTW, I’m a 43 year old male, and 5′9″ tall.
Finally, I highly recommend backpacking as a combination cardio-leg strength exercise. Increasing intensity as you get stronger is as easy as throwing another couple of 2 liter water bottles in the pack, and its easy on the knees and hips for the amount of calories it burns.
I’ve always exercised. Right now I’m 47 years old, weigh 280+. Since my 20’s I’ve concentrated on aerobic exercise, mainly walking and biking. I’ve started doing burpees- 10 is all I can do at one time; and restarted pushups, and added this to my activity.My upper body strength was diminishing and I wanted to get some of it back. My problem is that I worked out with weights alot when I played football and I tend to bulk out very fast, even from doing pushups. The muscle gain increases my weight dramatically within a few days. This gets very discouraging when my clothes get tighter from muscle growth. Because of knee problems, running is not an option. I don’t know why my body responds this way to this limited strength building activity. Does any one out there have any insights on this? I like being stronger but being close to 300 lbs. fristrates me.
P.S. I’m also 6-4 in height