In the world of calisthenics, you first need to develop a foundation of strength before you can start to learn crazy movements like the front lever. This article will introduce you to 5 basic bodyweight exercises that train all the important muscles for calisthenics. They are compound movements which means that several muscles work together naturally. That permits athletes to train several muscles at once and to improve their intramuscular coordination which means developing functional strength. More advanced athletes can perform these basic exercises with additional weight or incorporate them at the end of their regular workout when they are already fatigued.
Pull-ups
The pull-up can probably be considered the single most important exercise in calisthenics since it is very effective to build strength in the lats, the scapula, the rear shoulder, and the biceps. These muscles are strained by the muscle up, the front lever, the human flag, and many other calisthenics skills, so you should definitely work on pull-ups. It is important to retract the shoulders before starting to pull because that activates the scapula and protects the shoulders. Furthermore, you should keep your abs and your legs tense, while performing the pull-up, since that makes the whole movement more effective and clean.
Push-ups
Push-ups are a great way to train upper body muscles that are used for pushing motions. But apart from the shoulders, triceps, and chest also the abs are used for stabilization. Probably everyone knows how to do a push-up but there are a few things that you have to keep in mind to achieve a good form, which will help you to prevent injuries and train the muscles more effectively. Firstly it is crucial to keep the body in a straight line by contracting the abs to prevent lower back problems. If you don’t have enough strength to hold your body straight throughout the whole motion you should do separate ab exercises. Secondly, the hands should be shoulder-wide apart and the elbows should be located around 45° to the body. Thirdly you always have to perform the full range of motion which means bending the arms 90° and extending them completely as you come up again.
Dips
Even though this exercise strains similar muscles to the push-up, it is worth training dips. They enable you to create more progressive overload because you need to carry the whole body weight instead of only 70% as with push-ups. Furthermore, the muscles are demanded from a different angle. While performing the dip the rest of your body should remain straight and the arms should be bent 90° at the lowest point of the motion.
Leg raises
Leg raises can either be performed in a laying position or hanging from a bar for more advanced athletes. Either way, it is a great exercise that trains every part of the abs (except the side abs). Remember to always keep the legs as straight as possible and should always keep the legs straight. If you are performing the hanging leg raises you can start by raising the legs 90. As you get stronger you can start raising the legs farther until they touch the bar. To activate the abs correctly, it is important to raise the hips during this motion instead of swinging back with the upper body. If you lower your legs slowly and controlled the leg raises will get even more demanding.
Squats
Lastly, you can incorporate squats in your training that train the glutes, the hamstrings, and the quadriceps. Even though legs are mostly used for stabilization in calisthenics, they shouldn’t be skipped to avoid imbalances and to develop a healthy body! Here are a few pieces of advice on how to train squats properly. Keep your feet hip-wide apart and bent your knees 90° while performing the squat. Should this exercise get too easy you can add additional weight in a backpack or perform one leg squats where one leg carries the whole body weight. Another option is holding the position at the lowest point of every repetition for a couple of seconds which trains the static strength.
