You want to try something new? Ever heard of calisthenics? We show you how Calisthenics muscle building training works.
Calisthenics training - that means nothing to you?
Calisthenics training involves working with your own body weight. The goal is to build muscle while increasing body control and flexibility.
A really intense workout. And the special thing about it: you train in public. So not at home in the living room or in the gym. But in the park or other public places.
What could be better than enjoying sports in the great outdoors and fresh air.
This is how you succeed in building muscle with calisthenics!
Table of contents
Where Calisthenics comes from
What is absolutely hip now actually comes from the ghetto and street workout scene in New York.
In the early 2000s, the calisthenics movement emerged in small groups at sports parks and playgrounds. The existing scaffolding, benches and bars were simply used as training equipment.
The videos spread like wildfire on the Internet. And a new trend was born.
How Calisthenics Training Works
Calisthenics is an intensive full-body workout that can be performed on fixed bars or in special calisthenics parks. But you can also train on the beach or on playgrounds.
Only your body weight is needed for the workout. Whether you train alone or in a group is up to you.
The goal of Calisthenics is to combine endurance, strength and body control with aesthetics and flowing movements.
In contrast to classic strength training with weights or on equipment, the varied and functional workout with your own body weight also promotes coordination skills.
Calisthenics exercises are much more complex than traditional strength exercises and promote the interaction of all muscles. They bring functional muscle development and fitness that you don't get with the linear and monotonous training in the strength dream.
These medicine ball exercises make muscles grow!
How to build muscle with Calisthenics
Wondering if you can build muscle with calisthenics? Clear answer: But certainly!
First, though, you should know a few basic things about building muscle.
Muscle building describes the increase of muscle mass. A muscle consists of several muscle fiber bundles, which are made up of individual muscle fibers. These in turn consist of several sarcomeres.
During a load, minute injuries are inflicted on the muscle fibers, and the structure is disrupted. In the subsequent rest phase, an adaptation reaction of the muscle takes place, which repairs the injuries and at the same time protects the body against future stresses of a similar kind by increasing the number of sarcomeres.
The muscle recovers and the mass grows.
The muscles must therefore receive loads and stimuli in order to grow. The load and stimuli are given by the Calisthenics training.
However, calisthenics athletes don't train to get as much muscle mass as possible, but to master different movement patterns that have their own body weight as resistance. The higher this is, the more difficult the exercise becomes.
Therefore, they also often have smaller, but very compact muscles.
Building muscle is not only about gaining muscle mass, but also about making the muscles you already have stronger. And that's exactly why you can build muscle with calisthenics.
High Intensity Interval Training you'll love!
What you need to consider for muscle building with calisthenics
Just like any other sport, there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to calisthenics muscle building.
Give your body a break
Muscle growth occurs during the recovery phase. Therefore, breaks are just as important as the training itself.
If you don't give the muscle enough time to regenerate, it can't be completely repaired. This reduces the performance and in the long run you end up in overtraining.
Therefore, be sure to take breaks as well. Make sure you get enough sleep, a healthy and balanced diet, massages, a visit to the sauna or even activities such as light endurance training or stretching sessions.
Eat healthy
Muscles consist mainly of proteins. So if you want to build muscle through calisthenics, you also need to eat enough protein.
But other macronutrients such as carbohydrates and fats also play a role.
To build muscle, you must have a calorie surplus. That is, you should eat more calories in a day than you consume.
The lower the calorie surplus, the slower you build muscle. But fat also accumulates less.
If you are struggling a bit with this topic, you should take a look at our We Go Fit Nutrition Plan view. You can use it to create your personal nutrition plan. It will help you lose weight or build muscle depending on your goal.
Train regularly
Discipline and continuity are incredibly important if you want to build muscle. If you only train a few times and then let it go again, you won't notice much success.
The musculature must be stimulated again and again.
If no new stimuli come, your body adapts. However, to the negative. It saves the superfluous muscles, since they are not needed anyway.
So to build muscle in the long term, it's important that you exercise regularly and, most importantly, for the long term.
The big advantage is that you train with a plan and you will see results quickly.
Increase the load
In addition to regularity, you should also increase the load.
As just mentioned, your body adapts to stimuli. To be successful in the long run, the stimulus from today's workout must be greater than the one from last week. So your body has to adapt over and over again.
Increase the intensity, take shorter rest periods between sets, increase the training volume or choose heavier variations of the exercises.
Choose the right intensity of training
The intensity of Calisthenics muscle building training also plays an important role. The harder you train, the stronger the stimuli and thus the adaptation reaction of the body.
But the more intense the training, the longer and better the regeneration must be. Training and regeneration always go hand in hand. One cannot be without the other.
6 effective exercises for muscle building with calisthenics
Let's finally start training. We have picked out the 6 most effective calisthenics exercises for you.
Really take your time for the workout. The exercises should be performed slowly. This challenges the muscles especially.
Choose the intensity so that you can do 3 sets of about 8-12 reps.
As with any workout, the same applies here: Never forget to warm up!
Pull-ups for a strong upper body
- Grab the bar about shoulder width.
- The backs of your hands point toward you and the fingers away from you.
- Slowly pull your body up and then lower it again.
This is how you succeed in building muscle as a woman!
Push-ups
- Stretch your arms and legs.
- The hands are under the shoulders.
- Tense your body.
- Now let the body slowly sink down.
- At the same time, the upper arms are as close to the body as possible.
- And lift the body back to the starting position.
Attention: Your back is straight the whole time!
Calisthenics muscle building with dips
- Stand between the bars.
- Grab the bars with your hands.
- Push yourself up with the strength of your arms.
- And down again - but without touching the ground with your feet.
Important: Make sure that the shoulders do not buckle and come closer to the head. You need a lot of strength for this, especially at the beginning of your workout.
The best triceps workout for home!
Calisthenics muscle building exercise: squat
- Stand about shoulder width apart. The tips of your toes point very slightly outward.
- Push your butt down towards the back.
- The knees do not come above the tips of the toes.
- Lower the buttocks until they are level with the knees.
Hanging Leg Raises
- Find a bar where your feet don't come to the ground.
- Grab the bar and let yourself hang for now.
- Now slowly lift your legs until your legs and upper body form a right angle as shown in the photo.
- Then slowly lower the legs again and lift them again.
These are the nutrition tips you need to follow if you want to build muscle!
Rowing for more muscles in the arms
- Grab the rings with both hands.
- Walk with your feet forward.
- Your body is completely stretched and tense.
- The further you move forward with your feet, the more difficult the exercise becomes.
- Now pull yourself up with your arms.
- The elbows remain on the upper body.
- Slowly return to the starting position.
The advantages of calisthenics muscle building exercises
Finally, you'll be presented with the biggest benefits of calisthenics training:
- The Streetworkout is free of charge.
- You can work out anywhere and at any time of day.
- The risk of injury is low.
- You can train alone or in a group.
- The workout is varied.
- You need almost no equipment
Our conclusion
Building muscles with calisthenics works great. The great thing about this workout is that you don't need any equipment and it's still very effective. In addition, you can vary the Calisthenics exercises. You will certainly not get bored.
To browse further:
* Advertising & affiliate links: Our website is financed by advertising and affiliate links. As a partner of linked stores (e.g. Amazon) we earn from qualified sales.
Read more
