1 Year Progress Post! (Lots of Info)

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M, 77kg (170 LBS), 183cm (6ft) , 23

The first calisthenics related video I ever watched, and what ultimately led me to all this, was from Mike Boyd's YouTube video Learn to Muscle Up!

I got super hyped and decided at the beginning of May 2018 I would do the same thing, but 5 pull ups instead of muscle ups. (I think I was at about 2 or 3 sloppy reps before May)

I hit my 5 reps by the end of May, got suggested some OfficialTHENX videos browsing YouTube and my mind was blown (dislike THENX now). I completely went to body weight exercises by the start of June. I got a bug, like some of you all might have gotten, where training became my obsession.

Progress Pics: Front/Side, Back, Random Collage

Achievements:

Back lever

Front Lever (Sloppy)

5-10 sec Handstand

V sit

Ring // Ring L Sit // Strict Bar // Slow Bar Muscle Up

6 Slightly Kipping Bar Muscle Ups (3 strict with no kip)

Closing in on Middle Splits

One Arm Push Up

One Arm Toes to bar

Dragon Flag

15 pistol squats on one side

Weighted Basics:

Dip - 125lbs/56.5kg x 2 Dip Progression Graph

Chin Up - 125lbs/56.5 kg x 1 Chin Up Progression Graph

Squat - 205lbs/93kg x 4

Dead lift - 255lbs/115kg x 10

Training:

Overarching Goals - Front Lever (my favorite), One arm Pull/Chin up, +15 Second Handstand, HSPU

I started Calisthenics with a bro split for the first month or two, and moved to Push Pull Legs. I'm thinking about switching to Upper/Lower soon though.

I do a bit of work with weights (Bicep Curls, Cuban Rotations, Forearm Extensor Curls, weighted basics) but always prefer to do body weight when I can. As well, I usually do a night time stretch for 10-20 min once a week working on mobility.

The only program I ever bought was Body by Rings. I did it for a few weeks in November and it was a very solid program! (Super helpful for structuring my own program because I had way too much volume/exercises before)

Shout out to @milliekeeling23 & @peinopela for always having the best quality information I've come across in the calisthenics community. Honestly, go subscribe to them if you haven't already. FitnessFAQs Tom Merrick

Couldn't of gotten to where I'm at so quickly without them!

Diet :

Mostly ate whatever I felt like eating, especially right before starting calisthenics. I tried to eat over 3000 calories a day during Fall/Winter to stay in a surplus and called it a mini bulk, but I was just eating trash food if I'm honest with myself. I've mostly been able to eat whatever and not put on much of any weight (This whole year I've been between 170-180 lbs)

April and May I have been tracking calories with MyFitness Pal and staying below 2500. Lost about 5-7 pounds (176->170). Taught me a lot about what I'm eating in relation to macros and total calories. Also helped with aesthetics and possibly Front Lever.

Previous Exercise Experience:

Played lacrosse in High School but was skinny throughout school.

Bro style weight lifting at the age of 19 for a little less than a year.

A semester of weight lifting for a workout class in college age 21-ish

Weight lifting 2 days a week (when my girlfriend dragged me into the gym) and not consistently, for 6-ish months before starting calisthenics.

Almost never trained legs before calisthenics... (I used to cramp trying to squat one rep of only the bar on my back)

Lessons learned:

Everyone moves at their own pace.

Looking/comparing progress to someone else wont make you progress any faster.

I've learned how important dedication, consistency, and not pushing yourself is to long term gains. I still idiotically test maxes more than I should. I still slip up ever once an a while and re-injury myself. I still have a ton to learn, but I'm slowly getting better at not making mistakes that slow me down over the long run.

Going Forward:

I have my sights set on a OAC/HSPU and of course cleaning up my Front Lever! (I'll probably do a Front lever progress post with all my training footage and data once I'm happy with my form).

I know I'm not too far from the OAC but Shoulder/Pressing strength has been lacking for me relatively speaking (Injured my upper back trying to do too many wall HSPU early 2019).

No intentions of slowing down though. Keep an eye out for a post like this from me in 2020 as well :)

Please ask me any questions you have and thanks for reading!
 
@cclay88 Push day:

Wall HsPU Negative then Pike PU - 2 reps/5 reps x 4 sets
Psudo PL PU - 5-8 reps x 3 sets
Ring dip - 8-10 rep x 3 sets
Feet in Trx plank to Pike - 5 reps with paused hold x 4 sets
Tiger bend push ups - 8-10 reps x 4 sets
RTO hold - Max hold x 2

Pull day:

Mechanical advantage Front Lever Pull - 5 reps x 4 sets
Pulley assisted OAC - 35 lbs assistance 5-8 reps x 3-4 sets
Dragon flag or toes to bar - 7-10 reps x 3 sets
Reverse curls - 6-10 reps x 4 sets
One arm row - 8-12 reps x 3 sets
Scap arch pull - 5 reps x 3 sets

Leg day is fun and just kinda do whatever. Usually do pistols and glute Ham Raise as first two excercises.

Biggest take away is 4 main movements to focus on. Vertical push, horizontal push as main movements on push day.
Vertical pull, horizontal pull as main movements on pull day.

I include one abb related excercise and one arm relate excercise. Also have a high rep and scapular/form related excercise.

Hope this helps!
 
@button Formated:

Push day:
  • Wall Handstand Push Up Negative then Pike PU - 2 reps/5 reps x 4 sets
  • Psudo Planche Push Up - 5-8 reps x 3 sets
  • Ring Dip - 8-10 reps x 3 sets
  • Feet in Trx Plank to Pike - 5 reps with paused hold x 4 sets
  • Tiger Bend Push Ups - 8-10 reps x 4 sets
  • Rings Turned Out Hold - Max hold x 2
Pull day:
  • Mechanical Advantage Front Lever Pull - 5 reps x 4 sets
  • Pulley Assisted One Arm Chin Up - 35 lbs assistance 5-8 reps x 3-4 sets
  • Dragon Flag or Toes to Bar - 7-10 reps x 3 sets
  • Reverse Curls - 6-10 reps x 4 sets
  • One Arm Row - 8-12 reps x 3 sets
  • Scap arch pull - 5 reps x 3 sets
Leg day:
  • Pistol Squats
  • Glute Ham Raises
  • +just kinda do whatever
 
@johnk001 I know right! Thats why I didn't include my plan in the original post. Thought it may be a bit confusing haha. Yes Google is your friend but here is a cheat sheet for anyone else wondering.

HsPU - Handstand Push Up

OAC - One arm Chin

Psudo PL PU - Psudo Planche Push Up

RTO - Rings Turned Out

Mechanical Advantage FL Pull - Going inverted in a easy Front lever Progression, doing the negative in a harder progression (From Tom Merricks Front Lever Guide)

You'll learn all the terms with time!
 
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