Fitness · 14 recordsStart calisthenics

Calisthenics stalls when people start with exercises they cannot yet do. This begins with the easiest version of each movement you can do for clean repetitions, adds a harder step only when the current one feels controlled, and tracks the few milestones worth working towards: ten push-ups and a first pull-up.

Install this templateSee the others

Free on any plan. You will see this list again in the app, and nothing is created until you press install.

✦ Everything it creates

The whole plan, before you install it

Goal

Ten push-ups and a first pull-up Month 4

Built with progressions, not attempted every session.

Find the starting point Day 10

The easiest version of each movement, done cleanly.

  • Find somewhere to hang from: a bar, a frame or a parkDo firstDay 3
  • Find the easiest push-up, row and squat I can do ten timesDo firstDay 5
  • Write the first routine: push, pull, legs, coreDo firstDay 7

Progress one step at a time Month 4

A harder version only when the current one is controlled.

  • Four-week check: move up a step where the reps are easyDo firstWeek 4
  • Start negative pull-ups and dead hangsDo firstWeek 5
  • Eight-week checkDo firstWeek 8
  • Test ten push-ups and a pull-upDo firstMonth 4

Routines

  • Three calisthenics sessionsweekly
  • Stretch for five minutesdaily
Skills
  • CalisthenicsBeginner → Intermediate

    Log sessions here. The reps in each progression are the real record; the log is what shows the weeks that built them.

✦ It comes with a note

The progressions

Push Wall push-up, incline push-up, knee push-up, full push-up

Pull Dead hang, inverted row, negative pull-up, full pull-up

Legs Assisted squat, bodyweight squat, split squat, step-up

Core Knee plank, plank, hollow hold

Move up a step when three sets of the target reps feel controlled. Form first; the number is not the point.

Questions

Start calisthenics, answered.

Three sessions a week, with a rest day between each, is plenty to start. Muscles adapt during recovery rather than during the session, and beginners who train every day tend to stall or get sore enough to stop.
One exercise each for push, pull, legs and core: push-ups, rows or hangs, squats and a plank, each at the easiest version you can do cleanly. The plan moves each one up a step when three sets of the target reps feel controlled.
It varies widely, from a few weeks to several months depending on strength and body weight. Negative pull-ups, dead hangs and rows build towards it, and the plan checks progress every four weeks rather than testing a maximum every session.
✦ More templates

Other systems you can install

Install it and start this evening

It takes one press. Everything it creates is tagged, so if it turns out not to suit you, it is easy to find and remove together.

Install this template