Do you want to develop lean muscle mass and strength but can’t always get to the gym? Then maybe you need to add calisthenic to your routine.

Calisthenics, also known as bodyweight training is a highly effective means of overloading our muscles to promote muscle growth. Consisting of full-body, compound movements, it can increase core strength, and enhance function.

In this article, we discuss a 15-minute calisthenics workout. We cover eight exercises, a step-by-step technique guide, expert tips, and repetition recommendations to help you continue your training anywhere.

8 Exercises For A 15-Minute Calisthenics Workout

Below we have listed eight of the best calisthenics exercises for increasing muscle mass and strength. Each exercise contains a brief description, technique guide, expert tips, and repetition recommendations. This provides you with everything you need to create an effective daily calisthenics routine.

Push-Up

The push-up is an upper-body exercise that increases muscle growth and enhances strength. The pectoralis major is the prime mover. The secondary movers are the deltoids, triceps, rectus abdominis, and obliques

Being a compound movement (implicating multiple joints), we can apply significant resistance to our upper body muscles for greater growth. Meanwhile, the core must engage to stabilize the spine and reduce unwanted movement. This makes it an excellent full-body movement.

How To Do

1. Kneel on the floor, lean forward, and place your palms flat on the floor.
2. Position your hands just wider than shoulder-width apart.
3. Lift your knees off the floor. Your weight should now be resting on the balls of your feet and palms.
4. Breathe in and tense your core.
5. Breathe out, allow your elbows to bend, and lower your chest toward the floor.
6. Lower until your upper arm is parallel to the floor, then push back up to the starting position. 

Tips

• Focus on correct breathing and keeping your core engaged for the duration of the set. This will increase torso rigidity, and lifting ability, and improve abdominal fitness.
• Avoid dropping during the lowering phase, and focus on performing this part with control. This will ensure you are developing strength with the lowering and pressing phase of the movement.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Chair Tricep Dip

The chair tricep dip is a phenomenal upper-body compound movement for increasing strength. The prime mover is the triceps brachii. The secondary movers are the deltoid, pectoralis major, and rectus abdominis. 

This exercise requires us to press our entire body weight, providing a near-maximal load, which is ideal for increasing strength. 

However, if you are a beginner, some variations allow you to support your body weight with your legs. This enables us to safely and gradually increase difficulty and work toward a full chair tricep dip.  

How To Do

1. Position two chairs back-to-back just wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Stand between the chairs and place a hand on the back of each chair.
3. Your palms should be facing down with your thumbs closest to your thighs.
4. Breathe out and engage your abdominal muscles.
5. Exhale and push yourself off the floor so your arms are straight and knees are bent.
6. Allow your elbows to bend and lower yourself under your upper arm is parallel to the floor.
7. Once you reach this point, press yourself back up to the starting position. 

Tips

• Angle your torso slightly forward. This will decrease pressure on the shoulders, allowing for greater depth. 
• Place heavy objects or weights on the sets to hold them in position. This will reduce chair movement.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Mountain Climber

The mountain climber is an abdominal exercise that requires full-body engagement. The upper and lower rectus abdominis are the primary movers. The glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, erector spinae, and obliques are the secondary movers.

During the mountain climber, the abdominals, obliques, and glutes work to stabilize the trunk and stop rotation. This can also be performed with explosive and rapid leg movement, which can improve jump height and running performance. 

How To Do

1. Kneel, lean forward, and place your palms on the floor directly, beneath your shoulders. 
2. Lift your knees off the floor. Your weight should now rest on the balls of your feet and your palms.
3. Inhale and activate your abdominal muscles.
4. Exhale, lift your left foot off the floor and bring the knee toward your chest.
5. Then, return the left foot to the beginning position and switch sides.
6. Alternate legs for the set number of repetitions or duration. 

Tips 

• Ensure that your arms are straight and your shoulders are directly over your hands. This will improve stability and place less stress on the shoulders.
• Maintain core engagement for the duration of the set. Focusing on exhaling each time you bring your knee to your chest.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Squat

The squat is a lower-body compound movement that is excellent for increasing muscle mass, and improving strength and function. The quadriceps and glutes are the primary movers. The hamstring, core, and soleus are the secondary movers.

The squat utilizes many muscle groups of the lower body. This increases training volume, promoting greater muscle growth.

Furthermore, performing the squat teaches correct hip hinge movement. This makes it a functional movement that can improve movement efficiency for sitting down, standing up, and lifting objects.

How To Do

1. Standing, position your feet hip-width apart.
2. Position your arms out straight so they are parallel to the floor.
3. Breathe in and tense your core muscles.
4. Push your hips back and lower them until they are parallel to the flood.
5. Then exhale and push yourself back up to the upright position.

Tips

• Perform the lowering phase in a controlled fashion and avoid dropping into your squat.
• Focus on keeping your core engaged for the duration of the set. This will keep your torso rigid and help you maintain a neutral posture.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Side Lunge

The side lunge is a lower-body exercise that is great for improving function and increasing muscle mass. The glutes and quadriceps are the primary movers. The hamstring, abductors, adductors, gastrocnemius, and soleus are the secondary movers.

The side lunge incorporates a multi-directional movement pattern which can improve balance and function. This makes it an excellent exercise for the general population and athletes.

Furthermore, its use of bodyweight resistance can promote muscle growth of the lateral glute and inner thigh. This increases total leg mass, enhancing our physique.

How To Do

1. Standing with feet hip-width apart.
2. Inhale and tense your abdominal muscles.
3. With your left foot step out to the side.
4. Lower your hips until your lunging side hip is parallel to the floor.
5. Exhale and push your back to the standing position.
6. Perform the movement on the opposite side.
7. Alternate sides for the desired number of repetitions. 

Tips

• During the lunge, keep your leading leg knee in line with the second toe as you lunge. This keeps the knees aligned, reducing pressure and the risk of injury.
• If you are a beginner perform the first set with a shallow lunge. This will help you familiarize yourself with the foot positioning and the movement pattern. Once you are used to the technique, you can then increase depth.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Glute Bridge

The glute bridge is an excellent exercise for improving hip function and strength. The gluteus maximus is the primary mover. The secondary movers are the quadriceps, hamstring, and erector spinae.

The lying position allows us to focus on performing the bridge using the correct technique and engaging the glute muscles. This develops our mind-muscle connection, therefore improving activation. This can also help reduce lower back pain and improve function and results. 

How To Do

1. Lie on your back and place your feet flat on the floor just wider than hip-width apart.
2. Inhale and tense your core muscles.
3. Exhale and lift your hips until your trunk and upper leg form a straight line.
4. Then, gently lower your hips back to the starting position.

Tips

• Concentrate on lifting the hips rather than pushing down with your legs. This will improve glute muscle activation.
• At the top of each repetition, pause for a moment and tense your glute muscles. This will strengthen your mind-muscle connection.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Plank

The plank is an abdominal exercise that requires full-body engagement. The primary movers are the upper and lower rectus abdominis. The secondary movers are the obliques, erector spinae, and glutes.

During the plank, our core muscles isometrically contract which is when a muscle contracts but does not change in length. This keeps our torso rigid and can increase muscle hypertrophy and improve tendon health. 

How To Do

1. Kneel and place your forearms flat on the floor so that your upper arm is vertical.
2. Inhale and tense your core muscles.
3. Exhale and lift your knees off the floor. Your weight should be resting on your forearms and the balls of your feet.
4. Hold this position for the desired duration.

Tips

• Keep your core engaged and perform controlled breathing for the duration of the set. This will help keep your torso rigid and improve your ability to hold position.
• Beginners should start with shorter durations and focus on core activation. This will help them focus on engaging the core and developing a foundation of correct technique.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Burpee

The burpee is a full-body compound exercise that can increase muscle mass and endurance while elevating heart rate. It targets the chest, shoulders, triceps, core, glutes, quadriceps, and calves.

The burpee is challenging to perform. Furthermore, many variations allow us to increase resistance. These range from slow entry-level burpees like the one listed above to high-speed burpees with a push-up or jump. Performing it at a high intensity can improve cardiorespiratory fitness and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

How To Do

1. Stand with our feet hip-width apart.
2. Inhale and tense your core muscles.
3. From here, squat with your weight resting on the balls of your feet.
4. Place your hands on the floor and kick your back to form a plank.
5. Exhale, push off the floor with your legs and tuck your knees to your chest.
6. Then, simultaneously swing your arms up and push with your legs to jump off the floor.
7. Keep your knees slightly bent for a soft landing

Tips

• Beginners should focus on technique and consider increasing speed and variation once they are comfortable.
• Keep your core engaged for the duration of the set. When you kick your legs back during the lower phase keep your torso parallel to the floor. This will help you maintain a neutral spine and reduce unwanted pressure on the lower back.

Optimal Sets And Reps

Best 15-Minute Calisthenics Workout Routine

The workout below combines the eight exercises above into the best 15-minute calisthenics routine. This workout is to be performed as a circuit. Each exercise will be performed for 30 seconds with minimal rest between exercises. Take a short 60 seconds of rest after each round before repeating three to four times.

The circuit follows a high-intensity format to increase your heart rate, muscle mass, and endurance. Perform it at your own pace and focus on using the correct technique for the best results.

Benefits Of 15 Minutes Of Calisthenics

Performing your 15-minute calisthenics workout is great for increasing muscle mass, and functional strength, anywhere at any time. Below, we discuss three main benefits. 

Increases Muscle Mass

Promoting muscle growth requires an overload of muscle tissue at a moderate to high intensity. This can be achieved by performing compound and isolation exercises. 

Compound exercises engage multiple muscle groups, enabling us to apply significant load to our target muscles for muscle growth. Isolation exercises allow us to increase the training volume of specific muscle groups, increasing muscle mass.

Calisthenic exercises are excellent examples of compound exercises that use body weight to overload our muscles. Movements such as squats, push-ups, and chair tricep dips engage multiple muscle groups. Because of this, they are capable of moving significant loads, promoting muscle growth and strength. 

Improves Functional Strength

Enhancing functional strength requires the overloading of muscle tissue in multiple planes of movement. This can be achieved by performing large compound movements that use multiple joints and muscle groups.

Calisthenics movements utilize multi-dimensional movements to strengthen movement patterns. Exercise such as side lunges, burpees, and squats engage a combination of muscle groups, which can improve function. 

The side lunge can develop balance for daily life or lateral movement for sports such as football or basketball. Burpees strengthen the ability to get up off the floor. Meanwhile, squats improve our ability to sit down and stand up unassisted.  Therefore, by adding these to your workout, you can improve functional strength.

Can Be Done Anywhere

The biggest positive for calisthenic workouts is that they can be done anywhere. Gyms are incredible for developing muscle mass, strength, and function, however, they are not always accessible. 

Calisthenics gives us the ability to overload muscle tissue without equipment. This is perfect for anyone who doesn’t have access to a gym or struggles with work commitments.

Adults spend approximately 51%–68% of their waking time in sedentary positions. These 15-minute calisthenics workouts help us fit in workouts, reducing sedentary time while developing strength, balance, and function. 

Training Tips For The Best Results

• Perform a gentle warm-up including light cardio or dynamic stretches before your workouts to prepare muscles, joints, and your nervous system. This will improve performance and reduce the risk of injury. 
• Focus on performing each exercise with the correct technique. Avoid dropping during the lowering phase and take each movement through a full range of motion. This will improve muscle growth. 
• Keep feet firmly planted on the floor and push up through the mid-foot.
• Focus on keeping the engaged for the duration of each exercise. This will keep the torso rigid, protecting the spine.
• Concentrate on engaging your target muscle with each repetition. This will help forge a stronger mind-muscle connection improving results.
• Complete a cool-down after your workout, including gentle cardio and static stretches. Regular static stretching can increase flexibility and mobility. This can improve performance and functional range for daily living activities.

Conclusion

The 15-minute calisthenics workout is an incredible way to increase muscle mass, strength, and function. While the lack of equipment can feel like a downgrade compared to the gym, it is its biggest strength. It allows us to fit in workouts and maintain our physical health anywhere at any time.

If you want to begin your calisthenics workout at home, follow our guide, tips, and programming recommendations. This will help you achieve incredible results.