Do you want to start training at home but are concerned you don’t have the equipment for a great workout? If so, it may be time to try calisthenics. This is a form of training that uses our body weight to stimulate muscle growth.
In this article, we discuss the nine best exercises for an awesome calisthenics workout at home. We cover correct techniques, expert tips, repetition recommendations, and more to help you increase muscle and strength.
8 At-Home Calisthenics Workouts
These are the nine best exercises for a calisthenics workout at home to increase muscle mass and strength in 2024:
- Pull-Up.
- Jump Squat.
- Mountain Climber.
- Burpee.
- High Knee.
- Push-Up.
- Crunch.
- Jumping Jack.
- Chair Chest Dip.
These compound movements allow us to target many muscle groups using our body weight. Performed together, they increase full-body training volume and stimulate muscle growth.
9 Exercises For A Calisthenics Workout At Home
These are the nine best exercises for your at-home calisthenics workout. Below, we list a technique guide, ideal repetition ranges, and training tips. Follow these closely for the best results.
Pull-Up
The pull-up is an upper-body compound movement designed to increase muscle mass and strength. The primary mover is the latissimus dorsi. The secondary movers are the biceps brachii, posterior deltoid, trapezius, wrist flexors, and wrist extensors.
Being a compound movement allows us to apply significant resistance to your back muscle. This makes it great for increasing muscle mass and strength.
How To Do
- Standing below the pull-up bar, reach overhead and grab the bar with an overhand grip (palms facing forward). Your arms should be just wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Inhale and tense your core muscles.
- Exhale and pull yourself up until your collarbone meets the bar.
- Pause for one second, then lower yourself down.
Tips
- Keep your core engaged for the duration of the set. This will reduce unwanted movement, improving lifting capacity.
- Focus on squeezing the latissimus dorsi by pulling your elbows back as you pull up. This will improve your mind-muscle connection, enhancing results.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–4 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–12 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–4 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Jump Squat
The jump squat is a plyometric compound movement. These exercises require our muscles to reach maximum force quickly, allowing us to develop explosive power. The primary movers are the quadriceps and glutes. The hamstrings, calves, and core are the secondary muscles.
Like a traditional squat, it targets the lower body, however, jumping requires explosive strength to propel us off the floor. This can be used to improve vertical jump, sprint time, muscle strength, and overall athletic performance.
How To Do
- Standing, position your feet shoulder-width apart with your hands at chest height.
- Breathe out and tense your core muscles.
- Push back with your hips, and lower them down until they are parallel to the floor.
- Exhale, explosively swing your arms down, and push off the floor to launch yourself into the air.
- Keep your knees slightly bent to allow for a soft landing.
Tips
- Keep your knees slightly bent as you land, and immediately lower yourself into the next repetition. This will help you maintain momentum and continuous rhythm for the duration of the set.
- Focus on correct breathing, inhaling as you lower and exhaling as you explode off the floor.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–4 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–12 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–4 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Mountain Climber
The mountain climber is a core abdominal exercise that engages the entire body. The primary movers are the upper and lower rectus abdominis. The secondary movers are the glutes, quadriceps, obliques, hamstrings, and erector spinae.
The mountain climber can be performed as a slow march, or with explosive pushing off. This can improve jump height and improve running performance.
Furthermore, the core, chest, shoulders, and triceps must isometrically contract to hold the plank position. This is when a muscle contract but doesn’t change in length, which can increase muscle mass while improving tendon health.
How To Do
- Kneel, lean forward, and place your palms on the floor, directly below your shoulders.
- Lift your knees off the floor so your weight rests on your palms and the balls of your feet. You should now be in a high plank position.
- Breathe out and tense your abdominal muscles.
- Exhale, lift your right foot off the floor, and bring one knee to your chest.
- Then, return it to the starting position before switching sides.
- Alternate for the desired number of repetitions or duration.
Tips
- Beginners should perform this exercise at a slow marching pace to familiarize themselves with the movement. From here, they can increase speed to increase intensity and heart rate.
- Keep your core engaged and focus on breathing for the duration of the exercise.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–4 | 10–30 seconds |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 30–45 seconds |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 60–90 seconds |
| Power Training | 3–4 | 10–30 seconds |
Burpee
The burpee is a compound movement that has long been used to increase our heart rate. Targeting the chest, shoulders, triceps, core, quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves can increase muscle mass and endurance.
One of the great things about the burpee is that we can scale it to suit any experience level. If we want to make it easier, we can slow it down, and perform fewer repetitions. To increase difficulty we can increase speeds, add a push-up, or jump.
How To Do
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Take a deep breath and engage your core muscles.
- Then, squat down with your weight resting on the balls of your feet.
- Place your palms flat on the floor and kick your leg back to form a plank.
- From here, breathe out, push off the floor with both legs and bring your knees to your chest.
- Then push with both legs back up to the upright position.
Tips
- Beginners should perform the movement slowly, focusing on the correct technique. Once they are comfortable, they can consider increasing speed and intensity.
- Keep your core engaged for the duration of the set and aim to keep your hips parallel to the floor. This will ensure your entire body is working together during the sprawl and while holding the plank position.
- For endurance, perform sets of 15 or more repetitions at a moderate to high intensity. Aim for 60% of your one repetition maximum. This is the maximum weight you can lift for one repetition with the correct technique.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–4 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–12 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–4 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
High Knee
The high knees are a full-body movement that resembles running on the spot. This makes it great for warming up and elevating our heart rate. It targets the hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstring, glute, calves, shoulder, chest, and biceps. These muscles lengthen and shorten in quick succession, increasing blood flow, and warming up muscle tissue, while lowering injury risk.
How To Do
- Standing, bend your elbows so your forearms are parallel to the floor.
- Push off the floor with your left leg and drive your right knee upward.
- As this happens, simultaneously lift your left arm forward and straighten your right arm.
- From here, allow your right leg to straighten while driving your left knee upward.
- As this happens, allow your arms to swing through.
- Lift your right arm forward and straighten your left arm.
- Continue to alternate for the designated duration.
Tips
- Perform the movement relaxed fashion, gently bouncing off your calves and driving your knees up. This will help you gradually warm up your muscles.
- To increase the intensity, forcefully push off the floor, drive your knees upward, and swing your arms through.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–4 | 10–30 seconds |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 30–45 seconds |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 60–90 seconds |
| Power Training | 3–4 | 10–30 seconds |
Push-Up
The push-up is an upper-body compound exercise that increases muscle mass and strength. The primary movers are the pectoralis major and the secondary movers are the deltoids and triceps.
As a staple bodyweight exercise, the push-up engages the entire body as the core, legs, and glutes form a plank.
Furthermore, there are many variations. This means we can increase difficulty, allowing us to overload our muscles for continued growth.
Consider adding them to your arm workouts at home. This will increase upper body training volume, promoting muscle growth.
How To Do
- Kneel on the floor, lean forward, and place your palms on the floor just wider than shoulder-width apart.
- Lift your knees off the floor so that your weight rests on your palms and the balls of your feet.
- Take a deep breath in and tense your core muscles.
- Allow your elbows to bend and lower yourself down until your elbows are bent at 90 degrees.
- Breathe out and push yourself back up the starting position.
Tips
- Focus on correct breathing and core engagement for the duration of the exercise. This will improve your lifting ability.
- Aim to keep the spine in a neutral position. This will increase core rigidity.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–4 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–12 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–4 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Crunch
The crunch is an excellent exercise for targeting our core muscles. The primary movers are the rectus abdominis, and the secondary movers are external and internal obliques.
A go-to for many people’s ab training, it increases muscle mass, which can enhance our physique. Furthermore, we can add resistance to progressively overload the abdominal muscles for greater growth.
Add this to your ab workouts at home to carve out a muscular set of abs. These will help you taper your waistline for an amazing physique.
How To Do
- Lie on your back, bend your knees, and place your feet flat on the floor shoulder-width apart.
- Place both hands behind your head and interlock your fingers.
- Inhale and tense your abdominal muscles.
- Exhale and curl your spine off the floor until the top of your head is pointing toward the ceiling.
- Gently lower back to the starting position.
Tips
- Exhale and engage your core muscles with each repetition. This will increase core muscle contraction.
- Avoid performing this exercise if you are experiencing lower back pain.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–4 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–12 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–4 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Jumping Jack
The jumping jack is a full-body movement that is great for warming up the entire body. Each repetition engages shoulders, hips, and calves, while the dynamic movement increases heart rate. This makes it excellent for warm-ups.
How To Do
- Stand with your hands by your side, palm facing your thighs, and feet hip-width apart.
- Inhale and squeeze your core muscles.
- Exhale, jump, while simultaneously widening your stance, and raising your arms to the side overhead.
- Land in this position, then jump, narrowing your stance, and returning your arms to your sides.
Tips
- Keep your knees slightly bent, this will soften your landing and reduce pressure on your joints.
- Perform in a continuous motion. This will help you form a good rhythm, allowing you to increase your heart rate.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–4 | 10–30 seconds |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 30–45 seconds |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 60–90 seconds |
| Power Training | 3–4 | 10–30 seconds |
Chair Chest Dip
The chair chest dip is an upper-body compound exercise that can increase muscle mass and definition. The primary movers are the pectoralis major. The triceps, shoulders, and latissimus dorsi are the secondary movers.
The chair chest dip utilizes our entire body weight, providing us with a near-maximal load that can increase strength. Being a compound movement, it also targets many of our upper body muscles. This increases total upper body training volume, increasing muscle growth.
How To Do
- Place two chairs back-to-back, at shoulder-width apart.
- Stand between the chairs and grasp the back of each chair using an overhand grip (palms facing down).
- Breathe in and squeeze your core.
- Exhale and push yourself up off the floor so your arms are straight and knees are bent.
- Lower yourself down until your tricep (back of your arm) is parallel to the floor.
- Then push yourself back up to the starting position.
Tips
- Anchor each chair with a heavy object to anchor them into position. This will reduce the movement of the chairs.
- Angle your torso slightly forward. This will help you target the chest.
Optimal Sets And Reps
Training Style | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Strength Training | 3–4 | 4–6 |
| Hypertrophy | 3–4 | 8–12 |
| Endurance Training | 3–4 | 12–20 |
| Power Training | 3–4 | 1–3 (Explosive) |
Best At Home Calisthenics Workout Routine
The workout below combines the exercise above to help you build muscle and increase strength at home. This workout contains a short dynamic warm-up before body weight resistance exercise to build muscles. We also include high-intensity movements to increase your heart rate at the end of the session.
Exercise | Sets x Reps | Sets x Duration | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jumping Jacks | 2–3 x 30 seconds | 20 seconds | |
| High Knees | 2–3 x 30 seconds | 20 seconds | |
| Pull-Ups | 3–4 x 8–12 | 30–45 seconds | |
| Push-Ups | 3–4 x 8–12 | 30–45 seconds | |
| Chair Chest Dips | 3–4 x 8–12 | 30–45 seconds | |
| Crunches | 3–4 x 8–12 | 30–45 seconds | |
| Burpees | 3–4 x 30 seconds | 30–45 seconds | |
| Mountains Climbers | 3–4 x 30 seconds | 30–45 seconds | |
| Jump Squats | 3–4 x 30 seconds | 30–45 seconds |
Benefits Of Calisthenics Workouts At Home
Performing a home calisthenics workout is great for increasing muscle mass and strength. Below, we highlight three main calisthenic’ benefits, and reasons why you should consider adding calisthenics to your routine.
Builds Muscle
Building muscle mass requires mechanical tension to promote muscle growth. This can be achieved by performing compound and isolation exercises. Compound exercise use more joints, allowing us to increase resistance to stimulate muscle growth. Isolation exercise targets single muscle groups, enabling us to increase training volume for specific muscles.
The exercises above a prime examples of compound exercises. Push-ups, pull-ups, and chair chest dip use our body weight to overload our upper body muscles. Performed at a moderate to high intensity, these movements will build lean muscle mass.
Improves Appearance
Improving our appearance requires body recomposition. This is when we increase muscle mass and decrease body fat. This can be achieved by performing compound and isolation exercises while being in a calorie deficit to burn fat.
The exercises above are excellent for building lean muscle mass and burning fat. Exercise such as push-ups and pull-ups help us build lean muscle mass. Meanwhile, performing burpees, mountain climbers, and jump squats in high-intensity circuits can burn additional calories and reduce body fat.
Combine this with a calorie deficit and we can lean down to reveal a muscular physique, improving our appearance.
Strengthens Bone Mass
Strengthening bone mass requires mechanical stimulus which comes from muscle contractions and gravity. These promote healthy bone formation and regeneration, This helps us to maintain bone mineral density and prevent osteoporosis, a condition which develops when bone mass decreases.
The calisthenic exercise above all uses gravity as resistance to apply mechanical stress to bone and muscle tissue. Pull-ups, chair chest dips, and push-ups can apply near-maximal load to our muscles and bones, promoting bone formation and regeneration.
Safety Training Tips
- Consider performing jumping jacks and high knees before your calisthenics workout. Dynamic movements help prepare the body’s muscles, joints, nervous, and cardiovascular systems, enhancing performance and reducing the risk of injury.
- Focus on performing each exercise with the correct technique and completing each movement through a full range of motion. This will help increase strength, power, and muscle growth.
- Concentrate on squeezing and engaging your target muscle with each repetition. This will help establish a strong mind-muscle connection, improving your results.
- Perform each exercise with the correct breathing technique and an engaged core. This will keep your torso rigid, improving spinal function, stability, and endurance
Conclusion
Calisthenic workouts are incredible for improving strength and function. In the beginning, the limited equipment and space seem major negatives. However, with the right guidance and a little creativity, the possibility of bodyweight training at home becomes endless.
If you are wondering how to start calisthenics at home, use this article as a guide. Following our technique guide, expert tips, and program will create a solid foundation for building muscle and increasing strength.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can build muscle with only calisthenics. Building muscle requires progressive overload of muscle tissue to promote growth. Body weight exercise provides considerable resistance, volume, and intensity, which can increase muscle growth.
Yes, 20 minutes of calisthenics is enough. Body weight exercises offer significant resistance, providing an immediate challenge to your muscles. Performed at a high intensity, minimal rest times can promote muscle growth.
Yes, it is okay to do calisthenics five days a week. We can split our calisthenics workout movements such as push, pull, and legs. This will allow us to train opposing muscle groups, while still getting adequate rest.
Yes, you can still do calisthenic if you are fat. Performing calisthenics with excessive body fat will increase resistance. This may make it challenging for a beginner. However, it will provide significant resistance with increased training intensity, promoting muscle growth.
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Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.
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About the Author
Ben Dillon, BHSc, PT Musculoskeletal Therapist & Personal Trainer
