10 Best Exercises To Start Calisthenics | + Beginner Workout Routine

What’s up guys it’s yannick here from calisthenics family

and today I’m going to show the top 10 exercises that you can do as a beginner

to get started with calisthenics and I will also share a complete workout plan

that includes all of these exercises

so you can start your journey in the most effective way.

So the exercises that I’m about to share are the ones

that I’ve been doing over and over again when I started out with calisthenics

which enabled me to build an incredible amount of functional strength

and got me a lot of muscle mass too at the same time

which is in my opinion the best part of practicing Calisthenics.

Altogether, these 10 exercises will work every single muscle group in the body

and will also target all the necessary aspects that are required to for calisthenics

such as dynamic strength, static strength, balance, core strength and shoulder mobility.

Alright so let’s get straight into the 10 exercises, and make sure to watch the video till the end for our weekly give-away.

One of the best and most neglected exercises is the pike pushup.

This exercise works mostly the shoulders and triceps

and is the only exercise that is a vertical push motion,

which makes it essential to have into your routine.

This exercise is also the foundation for exercises like the handstand and handstand push-up.

To make this exercise easier you can do negative pike push-ups.

Next up is the pullup,

which is an iconic exercise for calisthenics and bodyweight training

and it is so for a reason

It is the most effective exercise to strengthen your back

Besides this, it’s also the best exercise to improve grip strength and scapula strength

which are both required to become a pro in calisthenics.

To make the pull up easier you can use a resistance band or do negatives.

The 3rd exercise is the hollow hold.

This is no doubt the one single exercise that helped me the most to acquire full body control

and enabled me to perform clean static exercises such as the handstand and Backlever.

The hollow hold works the complete abs, glutes and lower back,

which will result in a good sixpack too.

To make it easier you hold your legs in a diagonal line.

Next is the frog stand.

The best exercise to practice balance in an accessible way.

One thing is for sure,

if you cannot frog stand, you’ll not be able to handstand.

Besides learning to balance it will increase wrist strength

which is beneficial will prepare you for the handstand and all other floor exercises too.

To make it easier you can start with kickups only.

Number 5 is the parallel bar dip.

This is the most effective exercise to increase overall push strength.

This exercise will prepare you for all harder push exercises

such as the handstand push up

and the muscle up.

Furthermore it’s the most effective exercise to build muscle mass on both your shoulders, chest and triceps.

To make the dip easier you can perform the bench dip.

Next up is the plank.

Probably the first exercise that comes to mind when you think of a static core exercise.

The plank is so effective because it does not only work your complete abs,

but also you lower back, glutes

and it’s one of the few exercises to practice posterior pelvic tilt and scapula protraction

which is incredibly useful for pretty much all calisthenics skills.

To make it easier, you can do the plank on your knees.

Number 7 is the chin up, very similar to the pull up.

But with this exercise the biceps are more engaged.

This is therefore the best exercise to increase strength and muscle mass in the biceps.

Besides that, it’s one of the few exercises uses a supinated grip which strengthens your grip, forearms and elbow joints like not other exercise.

To make this exercise easier you can us a resistance band or do negative repetitions.

Next is the pistol squat.

One of the most functional bodyweight leg exercises.

Besides gaining strength and muscle mass in the complete legs,

this exercise improves balance, coordination, leg mobility and works the core too.

Simply said this is the first leg exercise that you should implement into your workout routine.

It’s quite challenging at first, therefore we’d recommend to try assisted pistol squats first.

Then the 9th exercise is the skin the cat.

Probably the best exercise to improve shoulder mobility and straight arm pull strength

which prepares you for frontlever and Backlever progressions.

Another benefit of this exercise is that you’ll overcome the fear of being upside down.

Which will make exercises like the handstand easier too.

If the skin the cat is too hard you can start with the upside down hold.

The last exercise of the list is the L-sit hold.

One of the most functional exercises.

Besides working the complete core and sixpack abs.

This exercise practices core compression and is incredibly effective to improve scapula depression,

which is useful for all downward pushing exercises, such as dips, muscle ups and the l-sit to handstand.

Since the l-sit is pretty challenging to start, we’d recommend to start with the tucked l-sit hold

Alright guys so these were the 10 best exercises that you have to incorporate into your routine

as a beginner if you want to get started with calisthenics

and to make it easy for you guys I have laid out a complete and very accessible week routine

that you can follow that includes all of today’s exercises.

As a beginner it’s best to train 3 times per week and to do full body workouts.

So this exact plan would be the optimal routine

to have the best exercises with the right amount of reps and sets, with enough frequency and enough recovery as well.

And to make it even easier guys, I have added this workout plan into our calisthenics app,

which you can follow completely for free, so you have the workout plan right in your pocket

where you can watch the instruction video’s again and even track your progress with each exercise.

Make sure to head over to the App store or google play to download our app for free.

So let’s get into this week’s give away,

today we will give away one pair of our optimal grip parallettes,

which are very useful to practice floor exercises pike pushup, l-sit and the frog stand with more stability.

Alright guys thanks for watching, make sure to subscribe for more calisthenics tutorials and workouts

and I’ll see you in one of the next video’s. peace out.