Calisthenics is an incredible form of exercise that uses body weight as resistance. It has long been used in and out of gyms to build lean muscle and enhance strength.

However, its biggest draw is its accessibility. Between pricy gym memberships, lack of time, and bulky equipment, calisthenics provides an option that can be performed anywhere. This makes it an excellent choice for those with little time or who don’t have access to a gym. 

In this article, we discuss the top ten calisthenics benefits. We explore why you should consider adding them to your routine, and how to start training.

10 Benefits Of Calisthenics

We have listed a range of key benefits to expect when adding calisthenics to your exercise routine. From increased muscle mass and strength to accessibility and versatility, it is a great addition to any workout. Below are the ten most common ones.

Builds Muscle

Calisthenics is excellent for building lean muscle. Building lean muscle mass requires mechanical tension and metabolic stress, which is the physiological process that leads to muscle growth and adaptation.

This can be achieved using a range of compound and isolation exercises to progressively overload our muscles by increasing sets and repetitions. Compound exercises are multi-joint movements that allow us to increase resistance and stimulate greater growth. Isolation exercises target a single joint, allowing us to increase volume for specific muscles.   

Calisthenics is compound movement-based. From the push-ups and pull-ups to the squats and lunges, each exercise targets multiple muscle groups. This allows us to increase resistance and training volume, which has been shown to promote muscle hypertrophy. 

Increases Strength

Calisthenics is a powerful training form for increasing strength. Developing strength requires producing maximal force against external resistance at a high intensity. Compound exercises are excellent for building strength as they use multiple muscle groups, allowing us to increase resistance.

Since calisthenics is compound movement-focused, we can apply significant load to the upper and lower body, increasing strength. 

For example, pull-ups and dips are excellent for developing strength. They are compound movements, which allows us to increase resistance dramatically. When combined with an increase in training volume, we can apply near-maximal loads to enhance strength. 

Furthermore, using different push-up variations is a valid technique for improving strength. This makes it a valuable form of exercise for enhancing strength in and out of the gym.

To develop strength, perform sets of 4–6 repetitions at 80%–100% of your one repetition maximum. This is the maximum weight you can lift for one repetition with proper form.

Strengthens Bone Mass

Calisthenics and resistance training are excellent for maintaining bone health. Mechanical stimuli, such as muscle contractions and gravity, are one of the biggest determinants of bone health. These promote healthy bone formation and regeneration, helping us maintain bone density and prevent osteoporosis.

Calisthenics uses gravity to apply resistance and mechanical stress to our muscles and bones. Because calisthenics exercises are multi-joint movements, they allow us to promote bone formation and regeneration for the entire body.  

Enhances Core Stability

Core stability is a vital component of calisthenics training. When we perform exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, planks, and sit-ups, our core must engage to stabilize. This allows our upper and lower body to work together, improving lifting capacity.

Correct breathing is also essential during calisthenic exercises. Combined with core engagement, it increases core stability and enhances lumbar spine function and low-back muscle endurance.

To effectively activate your core, inhale and tense your core muscles, then exhale during the effort phase of your movement. This will help you maintain core rigidity and stiffness.

Improves Posture

Calisthenics is great for improving and maintaining corrected posture. Poor posture can place stress on the spine, shoulders, and pelvis. This can lead to pain, dysfunction, and musculoskeletal disorders. 

Our back muscles influence our posture. These muscles are the trapezius, rhomboids, and erector spine. They help us remain upright and control scapula posture and function. 

Calisthenics consists of functional, high-quality movement patterns that can target these back muscles. Exercises such as pull-ups, inverted rows, and push-ups are all excellent for strengthening our back muscles and overall posture.

By improving posture, we can enhance movement quality, decrease dysfunction, and reduce injury risk.

Adding calisthenics to your workout can improve posture without requiring major equipment. This makes it great for anyone who lacks time or does not have access to a gym.

Works Multiple Muscle Groups

Calisthenics exercises use multiple muscle groups when performed correctly. These types of movements allow us to increase volume and resistance, which is vital for muscle growth. 

Using multiple muscles also enables us to increase intensity, which is essential when developing muscular strength.

Moreover, compound movements using multiple muscle groups have a greater energy expenditure. This makes them a great choice if you want to undertake strength training for weight loss.

Targeting multiple muscle groups can give us a more complete workout. It allows for improved strength, mass, function, core stability, and function while boosting energy expenditure.

Enhances Function

Calisthenics focuses on compound movements making it excellent for enhancing function. Our daily activities are centered around standing, sitting, walking, and maintaining posture. This requires back, chest, shoulder, and lower body strength. 

Calisthenics movements replicate many of these movement patterns. For example, squats and lunges help us develop lower body strength and function. This can help us with movements such as standing up and walking upstairs. 

Furthermore, exercises such as push-ups and pull-ups help us with activities that require pulling and pushing movements.

Performing bodyweight exercises enables us to strengthen similar movement patterns. This allows us to strengthen functional movement patterns, improving our quality of life.

Improves Appearance

Improving our appearance and developing our physique requires body recomposition. This is the increase in muscle mass and decrease in body fat. 

Calisthenics exercises use multiple joints and muscle groups. This requires our entire body engagement to stabilize and assist the prime movers in performing the movement. Full-body engagement also increases lifting capacity, allowing us to increase resistance and training volume, stimulating growth.

Because of this, calisthenics exercises such as squats, push-ups, and pull-ups enable us to target our major muscle groups evenly. This allows us to develop a well-balanced physique, improving our appearance. 

Different Exercise Variations

When most people think about calisthenics, they immediately think about the limitation in variety. Whether this is due to a lack of equipment or experience, it can turn many people off bodyweight training. However, this is far from the truth.

Calisthenics is incredible for adding variety to your training. From changes in hand placement to different pushing and pulling techniques, calisthenic exercises can be scaled for all experience levels.

Let’s take the push-up, for example. They can be modified with a close grip, incline, decline, or uneven surfaces. This allows us to increase resistance, target different muscles, and add variety. 

The key is to experiment with different exercises and combine similar movements to increase training volume, intensity, and overload. This will lead to greater results and keep your training fresh and interested for long-term success.

Can Be Done Anywhere

For many, the biggest draw to calisthenics is that it can be done anywhere. While the absence of free weights and fancy machines can be seen as negative, it is calisthenics’ biggest positive.

Because of this, calisthenics is particularly good for breaking up sedentary time, such as long hours at our desks. Its focus on compound movement means we can engage the entire body anywhere. This enables us to maintain function, strength, bone mass, and posture, helping us reduce the aging process.

For example, pull-ups are one of the best rear delt bodyweight exercises, while dips fit into your calisthenics shoulder workout. Both of these bodyweight exercises can be done anywhere.

How To Start Calisthenics

One of the best things about calisthenics is that it can be modified to suit any experience level. Below are our best tips for getting your calisthenics training started.

• Back To Basics — Whether this is your first time or you’re a seasoned lifter, the best place to start is with the basics. Perform movements such as push-ups, squats, lunges, and sit-ups to get a feel for your workout. While these movements may seem basic, they are foundational movements that can be scaled to match your experience level. 

• Take It Slow — When you are first starting, it is important to take it slow and focus on developing your technique. It may be tempting to jump ahead to bigger and better exercise variations. However, it can be difficult without the proper foundation. 

Taking your time allows you to focus on the movements and understand how your body moves and responds to training. Once you have built confidence, then you should consider adding variety and variations to your training. 

• Follow A Program — Like all forms of exercise, the best thing you can do is to follow a program. This will ensure you keep up with your training and make gradual improvements. 

• Focus on Technique —  Like all resistance training proper technique is essential. Each exercise should be taken through the full range of motion. This will improve hypertrophy, strength, and power. 

Conclusion

Calisthenics use of compound movements allows us to increase training volume, resistance, and intensity. This makes it an incredible form of exercise for increasing muscle mass and strength while engaging our core muscles. 

However, what truly sets it apart is its accessibility. Being able to perform it anywhere means anyone can improve their strength, bone mass, and posture, reducing the aging process. This is excellent for those with limited time and no access to a gym. 

If you are considering trying calisthenics, start slow, begin with the basics, and perform each movement with the correct technique. Follow these tips, consolidate your movements, and the results will come.

Frequently Asked Questions