Before I start this post, I want to say this subreddit is amazing. Everything I’ve learned about calisthenics comes from religiously scouring r/bodyweightfitness and binge-watching FitnessFAQs, Antranik and CalisthenicsMovement on YouTube.
June 24th, marked 3 years since I began training calisthenics. I definitely wasn’t as consistent as I wanted to be but I love the mental and physical benefits I’ve felt and the lessons I’ve learned throughout the process. I’m hoping this post helps give motivation to all my tall friends athletes out there waiting to give calisthenics a shot. It’s not impossible!
Some of my favourite Calisthenics Movements and max reps/time:
Pull-ups x 21
Dips x32
Push-ups x 54
Ring Dips with a turnout x22
L-Sit on Rings x42 seconds
Below is a little write-up about my calisthenics journey, why I started it and some things I’ve learned along the way. Thanks for reading!
Before and after
—————————————————
To set the stage, before this journey I was a competitive basketball player and one of my favourite parts of being an athlete was improving my functional fitness. I had lots of quality training from great coaches and most of it was in the gym and lifting weights. I loved lifting weights but it never compared to the thrill I got from doing pull-ups and dips! Around my third year in university I started researching calisthenics like crazy (mostly this subreddit and watching barbrothers videos - shoutout Lazar he’s a legend) but didn’t trust that it would translate well to basketball so I stayed away.
Fast forward to the summer of 2018 where I moved away from home for the first time and I was no longer living the lifestyle of an athlete. I was having a lot of fun, I didn’t care what I was putting in my body, and I wasn’t exercising whatsoever. It was the first time that I was free of any type of routine.
During this time, I started to realize I wasn’t able to perform at the same capacity I once was able to and I even started to gain some weight (foreign to me). I didn’t realize how much I took the life and the routine of an athlete for granted. Then it hit me, I remembered my passion for calisthenics and I knew what I needed to do. I began researching everything that there was about calisthenics and set off. The photos on the left are one week into my journey and even though wasn’t even able to do a single pull-up I still loved it. The prospect of pushing my self beyond my physical and mental limitations was what excited me the most. I always thought, “wouldn’t it be amazing that someone at my height could be able to control their body the way gymnasts do?”
By no means do I know everything as I’m still early on. But here’s what I’ve learned 3-years in:
- Consistency: consistency, consistency, consistency. I cannot stress it enough… throughout my journey I’ve had times where I was on the ball and practicing frequently over a long period of time. But then the motivation would eventually fade. So what I’ve realized is the only way to get better over time is to continually put in the work week after week. Simple to say, painfully hard to execute.
- Sustainability: This ties into consistency. There is no point in going beyond your boundaries and training with high intensity if it’s not something you’ll be able to sustain over a longer period of time. There is a reason the tortoise
always beats the hare 
.
- Find your why: The only way to keep moving forward is to be motivated. Initially, I was doing this for the wrong reasons. I was doing calisthenics so I could show others what I was able to do. At the end of the day, that quickly fades. What I’ve realized through my many ups and downs is that the real motivator is the positive impacts that calisthenics has on my life and mental well-being. It keeps me grounded and I’m finally doing it for me.
- Mind muscle connection and ego: Initially, it was all about how many reps I could do, how much weight I could put-up and how fast I could progress through movements. This is a recipe for injury and poor progression. The real way to progress is to learn how to activate and recruit the right muscles needed for an exercise and controlling your tempo and body balance. It may feel like you’re progressing slower but you’re really progressing the right way.
- Proper Form and Full Range of motion: I found that it’s very difficult to be honest with yourself early on when you’re doing calisthenics. Form and full range of motion are very important for progression and a balanced body. A great way I found to keep honest is to video tape your movements and then try to work on perfecting it over time. I still haven’t perfected mine but it’s part of the process.
-Rings: absolutely the greatest tool for a calisthenics athlete. Not only can you do every single movement on here and more, but it’s a very humbling experience. Ring are great because your body is constantly needing to stabilize itself and they also eliminate kipping and cheating since they aren’t in a fixed spot. I have a newfound appreciate for gymnasts and will definitely be watching them during these Olimpics!
-Rest: This was a big lesson early on. Two main things I want to touch on - 1) tendons take so much longer to strengthen and familiarize themselves with movements than muscles. 2) The central nervous system can only take so much. It’s very important every so often to take the time your body needs to heal.
I hope that some of these thoughts may help you with your journey!
June 24th, marked 3 years since I began training calisthenics. I definitely wasn’t as consistent as I wanted to be but I love the mental and physical benefits I’ve felt and the lessons I’ve learned throughout the process. I’m hoping this post helps give motivation to all my tall friends athletes out there waiting to give calisthenics a shot. It’s not impossible!
Some of my favourite Calisthenics Movements and max reps/time:
Pull-ups x 21
Dips x32
Push-ups x 54
Ring Dips with a turnout x22
L-Sit on Rings x42 seconds
Below is a little write-up about my calisthenics journey, why I started it and some things I’ve learned along the way. Thanks for reading!
Before and after
—————————————————
To set the stage, before this journey I was a competitive basketball player and one of my favourite parts of being an athlete was improving my functional fitness. I had lots of quality training from great coaches and most of it was in the gym and lifting weights. I loved lifting weights but it never compared to the thrill I got from doing pull-ups and dips! Around my third year in university I started researching calisthenics like crazy (mostly this subreddit and watching barbrothers videos - shoutout Lazar he’s a legend) but didn’t trust that it would translate well to basketball so I stayed away.
Fast forward to the summer of 2018 where I moved away from home for the first time and I was no longer living the lifestyle of an athlete. I was having a lot of fun, I didn’t care what I was putting in my body, and I wasn’t exercising whatsoever. It was the first time that I was free of any type of routine.
During this time, I started to realize I wasn’t able to perform at the same capacity I once was able to and I even started to gain some weight (foreign to me). I didn’t realize how much I took the life and the routine of an athlete for granted. Then it hit me, I remembered my passion for calisthenics and I knew what I needed to do. I began researching everything that there was about calisthenics and set off. The photos on the left are one week into my journey and even though wasn’t even able to do a single pull-up I still loved it. The prospect of pushing my self beyond my physical and mental limitations was what excited me the most. I always thought, “wouldn’t it be amazing that someone at my height could be able to control their body the way gymnasts do?”
By no means do I know everything as I’m still early on. But here’s what I’ve learned 3-years in:
- Consistency: consistency, consistency, consistency. I cannot stress it enough… throughout my journey I’ve had times where I was on the ball and practicing frequently over a long period of time. But then the motivation would eventually fade. So what I’ve realized is the only way to get better over time is to continually put in the work week after week. Simple to say, painfully hard to execute.
- Sustainability: This ties into consistency. There is no point in going beyond your boundaries and training with high intensity if it’s not something you’ll be able to sustain over a longer period of time. There is a reason the tortoise
always beats the hare .- Find your why: The only way to keep moving forward is to be motivated. Initially, I was doing this for the wrong reasons. I was doing calisthenics so I could show others what I was able to do. At the end of the day, that quickly fades. What I’ve realized through my many ups and downs is that the real motivator is the positive impacts that calisthenics has on my life and mental well-being. It keeps me grounded and I’m finally doing it for me.
- Mind muscle connection and ego: Initially, it was all about how many reps I could do, how much weight I could put-up and how fast I could progress through movements. This is a recipe for injury and poor progression. The real way to progress is to learn how to activate and recruit the right muscles needed for an exercise and controlling your tempo and body balance. It may feel like you’re progressing slower but you’re really progressing the right way.
- Proper Form and Full Range of motion: I found that it’s very difficult to be honest with yourself early on when you’re doing calisthenics. Form and full range of motion are very important for progression and a balanced body. A great way I found to keep honest is to video tape your movements and then try to work on perfecting it over time. I still haven’t perfected mine but it’s part of the process.
-Rings: absolutely the greatest tool for a calisthenics athlete. Not only can you do every single movement on here and more, but it’s a very humbling experience. Ring are great because your body is constantly needing to stabilize itself and they also eliminate kipping and cheating since they aren’t in a fixed spot. I have a newfound appreciate for gymnasts and will definitely be watching them during these Olimpics!
-Rest: This was a big lesson early on. Two main things I want to touch on - 1) tendons take so much longer to strengthen and familiarize themselves with movements than muscles. 2) The central nervous system can only take so much. It’s very important every so often to take the time your body needs to heal.
I hope that some of these thoughts may help you with your journey!
