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!
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!