Calisthenics workouts to improve your lockdown fitness regimen

Plenty of people have picked up calisthenics over the pandemic, as gyms and indoor fitness classes have closed and with dumbbells and other weights selling out. It has proven so popular that pull-up bars in many parks have either been fenced off or even completely dismantled in this latest lockdown. While moves such as pull-ups and front levers (where you look as if you’re lying down for a snooze, but you’re actually suspending yourself from the bar in an overhand grip) need a bar, the good thing is that calisthenics doesn’t necessarily need equipment – press-ups and handstands are calisthenics moves too.

The word “calisthenics” comes from the Greek words kallos, which means “beauty”, and sthenos, which means “strength”. Essentially, it’s bodyweight exercises, with weights being optional. It’s about play, too, says School Of Calisthenics cofounder David Jackson, whose school saw more than 30,000 sign-ups for online classes in the March lockdown last year.

“It’s a lot of self expression,” says Jay Chris, who is a multiple world calisthenics champion and has been training clients virtually. The great thing about calisthenics, he thinks, is how freeform it is: people come from a range of backgrounds (dance, gymnastics, parkour, even football) and integrate them into their own moves – Chris tells me a former footballer would do kick-ups while in a front lever.

But calisthenics is not all about human flags and flinging oneself from bar to bar. “It’s the unparalleled feeling of triumph, be it over fear, weakness or even gravity itself,” says Lucy Joslin, who’s also been holding virtual classes. “If you put the work in, you will improve.” She’s found the community aspect the most appealing feature – a sentiment shared by both Jackson and Chris. She’s in a WhatsApp group with other women, called “No Band”, where they all support each other in being able to do a pull-up without a resistance band. “You go on a journey with other people,” she says.

While being able to train in-person with others isn’t possible just yet, here are some exercises to do at home until you can.

Lucy Joslin, calisthenics coach at BLOK London and Cali Kulture crew member

These are some more beginner calisthenics moves.

Exercise one: Broomstick straight arm shoulder blade retraction

• Standing or sitting with feet together, grasp a broomstick, belt or towel with both hands, shoulder-width apart.
• Straighten your arms, keeping the pelvis tucked under and ribs pulled in.
• Pull the shoulder blade muscles in, digging them into your body.
• If possible, lift your arms so your shoulders are in line with your ears and your broomstick, belt or towel is above your head. Hold.
• Aim for three sets of ten seconds.

Exercise two: Tricep push-ups

• Start in plank position, fingers facing forwards, hands shoulder-width apart.
• Protract the shoulders, round the upper back slightly and push the floor away.
• Ensure that the biceps are facing forward.
• Tuck the pelvis under, suck the ribs in, engage glutes and abdominals.
• Squeeze the elbows into the ribs and slowly lower to the floor until the elbow is at a right angle or thereabouts and push back up again.
• If you find that your back arches or your ribs flare (ie you lose form) then modify by placing the knees on the floor.
• Aim for three sets of eight reps.

Exercise three: Pike compressions

• Start sitting in an “L” position, legs flat along the floor and torso upright. This can be done with your back against the wall or, if your hamstrings are tight, with a block or cushion under your buttocks.
• Reach forward and place your hands on the floor, about in line with your knees.
• Engage you lower abdomen and firm the legs.
• Attempt to lift one or both legs off the floor simultaneously (for most people they won't lift more than a few cm). To make it easier, sit forwards from the wall and lean the upper back into the wall.
• Aim for three sets of ten reps.

Exercise four: Pike handstand hold

• Facing the floor, place your feet on a chair, sofa or up a wall.
• Place your hands on the floor, in line with your hips, if possible.
• Straighten your arms and legs, raising your hips, so you form an inverted “V” shape.
• Press down into the palms of your hands, rotating your shoulders towards your ears and into their sockets. Engage your trapezius muscle (the “V” of your back) to pull your chest away from whatever your feet are resting on.
• Aim for three sets of 15 seconds each.

Exercise five: Tuck L

• Set up two chairs of equal height (preferably identical) with the seats facing in, shoulder-width apart.
• Stand in between the chairs. Bend your knees and place a hand on each seat.
• With your feet still on the ground, press down into the seats, straighten the arms and protract the shoulders.
• Release your feet from the ground, bringing your knees up as close to the chest as possible and balance with your body in the air.
• Lean back a little, if possible, until you feel your triceps engage.
• Aim for three sets of 15 seconds each.

David ‘Jacko’ Jackson, cofounder and ‘head of helping people’ of the School Of Calisthenics

All these exercises are featured as full tutorials in the School Of Calisthenics’ “Bodyweight Basics” programme, which you can see for free as part of a seven-day free trial with our online memberships.

Exercise one: Frogstand 

• Place your hands down on the floor just like you would be setting up for a push-up. Bring your feet in towards your hands as if you’re crouching down on your toes.
• Bend your elbows slightly to create a ridge so you can position your knees on the back of the triceps or just outside the elbow, whichever feels most comfortable for you.
• Spread your fingers and grip the floor tightly, then lean forward and gradually transfer the weight off your feet.
• Keep pushing down as hard as you can through the shoulders until you feel like you can take one foot off the floor before lifting the other foot off and be balancing just on your hands.
• Try to hold for five to ten seconds. Aim to do three to five holds.

Exercise two: Deadbug

• Start by lying on your back with your arms straight up vertically and your knees bent at 90 degrees, with your thighs vertical in the air, matching your arms.
• Draw your ribs down towards your pelvis, tucking the pelvis slightly and suck your belly button in towards your spine, taking away any arch in your lower back, which should now be touching the floor.
• Over three seconds, lower, with control, an arm and its opposite leg away (for example, left arm and right leg) from your midline until they are hovering just above the floor.
• Pause for two seconds before returning to the start position.
• Swap sides and repeat.
• If you want to make it hard you can move both arms and legs at the same time to increase the strength demand.
• Aim to do two to three sets of 12 to 20 reps.

Exercise three: Side hops for fun! 

• In a deep squat or crouch position, place your hands on the floor, shoulder-width apart, out in front, but to the side of you. Do a little jump or bunny hop sideways so your body ends up on the other side of your hands. As all your weight will be through your hands and shoulders, keep pushing down into the floor. The ultimate aim is to move into a tucked handstand shape, so keep the hips up.
• To make it harder, slow the movement down as much as you can and get the hips as high as possible. You may even be able to pause in the tuck handstand position for a split second after some practice.
• Aim to do for five minutes or until you've had enough.

Exercise four: Wall walks

• With the wall behind you, start in a push-up position – your feet should be right next to the wall. Step your feet onto and up the wall as you walk your hands back towards it. Control the trunk and hip rotation through the core as you keep walking back and up, moving the feet and the hands gradually as you go farther and farther up the wall until, ideally, you reach the full wall-facing handstand position. Pause at the top before reverting the movement by walking back down under control.
• To progress this, you can move slower and pause at the top for longer, but, trust us, these are hard. A real killer is to go straight into your second rep without letting the feet touch the floor!
• When you start these for the very first time, work only through the range you feel most comfortable and that you can control well. Perform them as single reps, bringing your feet back down to the floor each. Gradually, you'll build up the confidence to go farther up the wall. You'll be developing strength the whole time too.
• Aim to do two to four sets of one to five reps, with one minute's rest in between.

Jay Chris, cofounder of Bar Sparta and two-time world calisthenics champion, three-time UK national champion

This is a more advanced workout for shoulders and core, featuring the planche.

Exercise one: Tuck planche into planche lean

• From a kneeling position, place your hands in front of you, farther than shoulder-width apart.
• Lean forwards, bringing the knees to your chest and picking your feet off the ground into a tuck planche. Your shoulders should be farther forward than your wrists.
• With control, send the feet back into a planche lean (like a plank, but with the shoulders ahead of the wrists). Land with the tops of the feet touching the ground.
• Return to tuck planche from planche lean.
• Aim to do four sets of eight reps.

Exercise two: Supinated-grip floor-assisted planche push-up

• From a Downward Dog, turn the hands around backwards, so your wrists face forwards.
• Flow your body forwards, past plank into planche, so the shoulders go past the wrists. Tuck your toes under, so the tops of the feet are touching the ground. This is the starting position.
• Maintaining a straight line through your back and hips, lower yourself in a press-up, keeping your elbows tucked in towards your body until your chest touches the ground and then rise back to the starting floor-assisted planche position.
• Aim to do four sets of eight reps.

Exercise three: Neutral-grip floor-assisted planche push-up

• Same starting position as before, but with fingers facing outwards (wrists face each other), instead of backwards.
• Lower yourself in a press-up, keeping your elbows tucked in towards your body, until your chest touches the ground, then rise back to the starting position.
• Aim to do four sets of ten reps.

Exercise four: Slow archer push-ups

• Start in a plank position, but with the hands facing outwards and far wider apart than shoulder-width.
• Lower down, bending only one arm and keeping the other straight, like a one-armed press-up, until your chest touches the ground. Make sure your body stays straight the whole way up and down.
• Raise yourself back to the starting position.
• Aim to do four sets of six reps on each arm.

Exercise five: Scapular rolls in planche lean (four sets of 30 seconds)

• Go into a planche lean: a plank but with the hands turned out, the shoulders ahead of the wrists and the toes tucked under so the tops of the feet rest on the ground. Engage the muscles between your shoulder blades, pushing upwards so it arches above you.
• Slowly release the shoulder-blade muscles, such that your head rolls forwards slightly. As you continue releasing, your head should continue down, but backwards. Engage the shoulder-blade muscles again to complete the roll, bringing the head up and forwards into the starting position. It is normal for the rest of your body to wriggle a little during the roll.
• Aim to do four sets for 30 seconds.

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