Bodyweight Bodyweight Fitness Program

[Maine-ah KB]

I don't like thinking of modalities but rather movements. A Hing is a hing be it a barbell deadlift, a kettlebell swing or an unloaded single leg deadlift. Train movement, if you want more muscle mass shorten your rest periods and use a variation that allows you to max out around 8-12, in slow controlled manner, hold a rep back to have one in the tank and eat enough that the concept of food is offensive to you. Calisthenics by the by is hard to build legs with. At the very least grab something heavy (weight vest, kettlebell, sand bag or barbell for squats/hing motions)

I don't have a good program for you but here is a template I've used with success.
Warm up, crawl or loaded carry
Pair upper push and hing pattern
Pair upper pull and squat pattern
Some kind of finisher i.e. Swings, crawling for time, hill sprints (which make me nauseous just thinking of them)
For muscle growth pick a variation/load that lets u get a minimum of 6 reps 3 sets for each movement. Pairs work well since your still resting some between movement but compressing it so your muscles stay under tention.
Works for me, I do put on weight (both fat and muscle) fairly easily, your mileage may vary.
Good luck with your gainzz

 

[North Coast Miller]

It sounds to me that whatever quality you want to develop that needs a rep range, it will be harder with BW because the reps are predetermined. So strength needs 1-5 reps, muscle 6-12 reps. Why is possible to develop lots of strength (which needs a rep range) but muscle (which does also) not as well?

I think the way people develop strength with Bodyweight fitness is by using progressive calisthenics and modifying movements so they are challenging but doable (1-5 reps like Naked Warrior using elevations). So we can use this same method of regression to make it a bit easier even and so do 6-12 reps no?

Yes it is possible. It is difficult to do incremental load changes, not difficult to do broad changes in rep range. The changes in body positioning needed to manipulate the load with pure bodyweight make it tough to hit the exact same movement with the same ROM consistently. As an example, if you look at handstand pushup variations and compare them to a barbell shoulder press you'll see a big difference in total ROM.

I have heard that something very important for muscle is good diet. I plan to count calories and make sure I eat protein. Is it possible in your younger years you did not build much muscle because you did not count calories and make sure to eat enough?

Diet IS a huge part of making size gains. This is certainly part of it but not the entire story. I am not meaning to discourage you from a pure BW program. If you look to folks who have made this work to produce or maintain size, they tend to do a great deal of daily volume, guys like Woody Stroad and Herschel Walker. That said, it is much easier to maintain mass on a bodyweight program than it is to achieve it. It is still possible.

Pavel Tsatsouline says in Naked Warrior that tension is tension and the muscles don't know where it comes from. If I use Bodyweight Fitness exercises where reps are challenging and eat well, how could the muscles know that I'm not using an external weight and choose to not grow?

I am confused because I thought Bodyweight exercises can build lots of muscles but it sounds like extra weights are necessary which is very interesting.

Thank you for the help.

All resistance is seen by motor units the same, but not all tension is the same. There is a big difference between concentric/eccentric/isometric, and within these another layer of adaptive response when factoring in range of motion, duration and magnitude of effort, set and rep counts, rest periods etc.

Again, not to discourage you. It is entirely possible to make gains in strength, conditioning and size on a bodyweight program. For a combination of reasons it has been shown to not work as well as external resistance when it comes to mass gains, even in medieval times folks were using logs and rocks in addition to ladders and such to augment their training. But it will still work by itself, possibly more than well enough for your intentions. As with all programming, train hard and with consistency, plenty of rest and food, you'll make progress.

 

[IcyROM]

Well that's a username that's hard to forget. I remember you man, from the DragonDoor forum. No one seemed to ask about your strength levels in particular but you should have mentioned them. I think people here are assuming you're a Novice man.

Did you ever get that 50 kg added Pull-up I recommended you get BTW? Neat to see you here.

Oh yes hello I remember that oacu thread.

I did get Pull-up with a 50 kgs of added weight. I also worked on OACU progressions now and the negatives feel good but I don't have the actual movement. It was very good advice (you always helped me a lot!) definitely to build a base of lots of strength.

Also your post says it is edited by a moderator. This means you are a moderator here?

Also your advice was always very useful what training do you think I should do? I did recommended routine yesterday and it felt good I think but maybe a bit long.

 

[Steve Freides]

I still say that the barbell deadlift is the best teacher of tension I know. And the best way to develop your abs without doing ab exercise. And the best way to develop your lats without doing lat exercise. And the best way to develop your grip without doing grip exercise. And, and, and, and ...

-S-

 

[Kettlebelephant]

@IcyROM
Since you don't seem to be a novice anymore and you already know @305pelusa I'll leave you with this thread authored by him - Bodyweight Evolution by Daniel Vadnal
Should be in line with your goals, too.

 

[305pelusa]

If you're as strong as I remember you being, I think none of the options will work for you (probably). I've tried just about every program mentioned and didn't improve in mass the way I wanted. Maybe you're different though, I don't know.

I used to think Calisthenics didn't give as much mass for similar arguments as North Coast Miller. I trained with them for 7 years, built up to most of the skills I wanted (flags, OACU, OAPU, etc), and stayed at an extremely lean and hard 135 lbs. I just figured that was it.

But then I decided to make diet a primary focus, added some more higher rep work and in 5 months, I'm now at 145 and a similar body fat. And I keep climbing. So it's perfectly doable. I'm actually adding about 1 lb a month (and the mirror tells me little of it is fat) so I'm actually putting on muscle at similar rates as people using external weights. So I think it's a fine choice if you like Calisthenics; I also wouldn't complicate things with added tools and variables. The process is plenty complex with the variety of Calisthenics available anyways hehe.


I'm not a moderator here. But my posts do get screened every time due to past incidences so if you're looking for help, you might want to just DM me. Otherwise they might take many hours to get posted, they'll get edited and they might show up earlier in the thread (which makes it easy to miss them).

Good stuff brother.

 

[Carl]

I'd say all the same but for the hollow position pull up Steve!

I still say that the barbell deadlift is the best teacher of tension I know. And the best way to develop your abs without doing ab exercise. And the best way to develop your lats without doing lat exercise. And the best way to develop your grip without doing grip exercise. And, and, and, and ...

-S-

 

[Karen Smith]

@IcyROM I see you have been given several options since Steve tagged me. If you are interested in my help, Please email me at Karen.smith@strongfirst.com

I have other BW programs besides the few I have shared in my SF articles. I also do custom programs set specifically around your goals.

Thanks
Karen Smith

 

[IcyROM]

@IcyROM I see you have been given several options since Steve tagged me. If you are interested in my help, Please email me at Karen.smith@strongfirst.com

I have other BW programs besides the few I have shared in my SF articles. I also do custom programs set specifically around your goals.

Thanks
Karen Smith

I'm confused. Is this a paid program ?

I am sure your work is worth the price, I am just curious if this is an email to be coached. I don't think I need to hire a coach right now yet thank you of course Karen

 

[Karen Smith]

I'm confused. Is this a paid program ?

I am sure your work is worth the price, I am just curious if this is an email to be coached. I don't think I need to hire a coach right now yet thank you of course Karen

While I do distance coaching/program design, this email would be a FREE consult to gear you in the right direction to the best program for your goals and answer any bodyweight questions you may have regarding the SF content, philosophy and principles.

This is the STRONGFIRST BW forum, however I often times see people referring students outside our system. And seeing as you have come to our forum I like to make sure I help students understand our program philosophy.

I personally find that students have great success with the SF style of programming BW and want to make sure I answer the question specific to your goals.

Should you want to discuss your goals with me please email me.
Thanks
Karen

 

[s f]

I have had the opportunity to work with Karen.She is very knowledgeable in regard to both kettlebell and bodyweight programming. If she is offering you a free consultation,dont hesitate.

 

[IcyROM]

While I do distance coaching/program design, this email would be a FREE consult to gear you in the right direction to the best program for your goals and answer any bodyweight questions you may have regarding the SF content, philosophy and principles.

This is the STRONGFIRST BW forum, however I often times see people referring students outside our system. And seeing as you have come to our forum I like to make sure I help students understand our program philosophy.

I personally find that students have great success with the SF style of programming BW and want to make sure I answer the question specific to your goals.

Should you want to discuss your goals with me please email me.
Thanks
Karen

Ah ok yes that's awfully nice of you. I just had not understood. I have sent you an email. Thank you very much Karen.

 

[Michael Scott]

What would be the best 4 or 5 body weight exercises to do daily? I mean just body weight, not dips or pull ups, just pure BW, a place to do them, and the desire to do them. Exercises like SLDL, that strengthen and work on flexibility/ROM is what I am looking for, to supplement S&S. Or, to even do in the mornings, and S&S at night, that are complementary.

Does that make sense?

 

[North Coast Miller]

What would be the best 4 or 5 body weight exercises to do daily? I mean just body weight, not dips or pull ups, just pure BW, a place to do them, and the desire to do them. Exercises like SLDL, that strengthen and work on flexibility/ROM is what I am looking for, to supplement S&S. Or, to even do in the mornings, and S&S at night, that are complementary.

Does that make sense?

IDK about the "best"...

I might do skater jumps, Hindu PU, bridges, SLDL. That list would change over time.

 

[pet']

Hello,

What would be the best 4 or 5 body weight exercises to do daily? I mean just body weight, not dips or pull ups, just pure BW, a place to do them, and the desire to do them. Exercises like SLDL, that strengthen and work on flexibility/ROM is what I am looking for, to supplement S&S. Or, to even do in the mornings, and S&S at night, that are complementary

I would use :
> LSit / Hollow arch / Superman plank / Janda sit up (for abs, shoulders and lower back extension)
> Pistol squat (core, hip openning, leg strength) / SLDL (slow motion)
> Push up (and the variations such as OA, OAOL, etc...) (shoulders, abs, pec, arms)

Then, related to pure flexibility
> Back bridge
> Twist
> optional: front & side split
(note: back bridge + LSit + twist are the "trifecta" used in Convict Conditioning and described by A. Salkins)

Then, related to pure mobility
> Crawling
> Animal walk (lizzard crawl for instance)
> Cossack squat

So the five moves, regardless the variation / progression are: LSit, pistol, push up, bridge, twist

Kind regards,

Pet'

 

[Pavel Macek]

My choice is (no surprise) Pavel's The Naked Warrior & Hardstyle Abs. Add some swings or barbell deadlifts, joint-mobility and stretching, and you are good to go for a very, very long time.

Make sure to check out our Chief SFB @Karen Smith 's articles here.

 

[pet']

Hello,

@Pavel Macek

My choice is (no surprise) Pavel's The Naked Warrior & Hardstyle Abs. Add some swings or barbell deadlifts, joint-mobility and stretching

How would you program the different elements ?
> NW: on a GTG fashion (as per the book) / a "standard" practice session (if so, would you follow a specific rep / set / rest) ?
> HA : A few daily sets ? More sets / reps but only 2 or 3 times a week ?
> Swing / DL : in NW FAQ, Pavel advises to do 3 times a week (if I remember well)

Stretch and mobility are so efficient in my case that I do them everyday

Kind regards,

Pet'

 

[Pavel Macek]

@pet' For example:

• NW > GTG, 3 days on, 1 day off
• HSA > HLR 3x week, alternate with pullups - HLR - pullups (next week HLR - pullups - HLR) - 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps
• Swing/snatch DL > swing/snatch 3 times a week, sets of 5-10, or DL 1-2 times a week, let's say 5 doubles

 

[IcyROM]

Hello everyone I talked to Karen who was nice enough to make some time even though she had a prior commitment with her family. It was mostly the general principle of Hard and Medium and Light and a few front lever variations and some muscle building and ladder pull-ups.

She was kind enough to agree to make sure it looks good but I think posting here is better because others can benefit. But if this is not OK I am sorry and will delete this post.

Monday (Heavy/Hard)
1) Feet-assisted Planche 3 x 5 secs
2) Band-assisted Front Lever 3 x 5 secs

Wednesday (Medium)
1) Feet-assisted Planche 3 x 10 secs (but assist more than Monday)
2) Band-assisted Front Lever 3 x 10 secs (stronger band than Monday)
3) Feet Raised Diamond Push-ups 3 x AMRAP
4) Weighted Pull-up 3 x 10 reps

Friday (Light)
1) Tuck Planche 3 x 15 secs
2) Advanced Tuck Front Lever 3 x 15 secs
3) Diamond Push-ups 3 x AMRAP
4) Weighted Pull-up Ladders. 3 ladders of 2/5/8 reps using less weight for every rung to be able to do more reps

I created the sets and the secs. I don't know if that's good because we didn't discuss that but I really want to get strong and grow more muscle. So what do people think?

Also @Karen Smith recommended I quote Mark Rifkind but I don't know his name exactly and the search function doesn't seem to show any Marks with that last name. I think he knows a lot from gymnastics and muscle building so maybe he will see this post

 

[Pavel Macek]

Mark Reifkind - @Rif