The training plan is the most important thing in your calisthenics journey. It depends on your workout plan whether you will give up after a week of training if it is too intense or whether you will be satisfied with the results.
The training plan consists of many variables, such as:
- training experience & goal
- available time & equipment
- personal preferences
That’s why ready-made internet plans are useless (unless you adjust them for your needs). It’s best to create your own plan, then you have it personalized. That will be the most efficient and convenient program you can get.
What is your training goal?
Your training plan will depend on your training goal. The number of sets, reps, and rest for each exercise will differ for these goals. Of course, no matter what you focus on you will still improve in other aspects. If you train for strength you will still build muscles. Remember that the number of reps and sets only emphasizes the primary goal.
Strength
Low volume
sets 2-4
reps 1-5
High intensity
80-95 % of 1 RM
Long rest
3-5 minutes
Hypertrophy
High volume
sets 3-6
reps 6-12
Medium intensity
60-80 % of 1 RM
Medium rest
1 – 3 minutes
Endurance
High volume
sets 4+
12 reps +
Low intensity
Less than 60 % of 1 RM
Short rest
20 seconds – 2 minutes
Skills
Skills are completely different than regular exercises done for reps. Usually, skills are static positions where you increase the time you can hold them for. You learn them through easier progressions. You can learn more about training for calisthenics skills here.
Training frequency
Another important factor while programming a workout plan is training frequency. Training frequency will depend on how much time you have, how fast you regenerate and badly you want these gains.
As studies showed, the best optimal training frequency is 2-3 times a week per muscle group. So train at least 2 times a week and not more than 5 to avoid overtraining, which affects your performance – slower progress, and can even cause an injury.
Training type
While programming calisthenics training we have to choose which type of training we want. Full Body Workout (FBW) where in a single session we train are whole body or SPLIT where we divide training by movement type – push and pull.
FBW
If you’re busy and don’t have a lot of time or if you just train for physique and nothing else. Then the FBW plan would be best for you. Fast simple training without any complications.
This type of training is good, especially for beginners. Because every training looks the same you don’t have to think about what will you do today, it’s also easier to build a habit.
SPLIT
If you want to maximize the results you can split your training into smaller parts where you only focus on one movement type – push and pull. You can also add legs to your split to don’t have those skinny legs like most calisthenics athletes do.
