Calisthenics For Dummies

Mark Lauren is an internationally recognized expert in bodyweight training. For 15 years, he trained U.S. Special Forces as a military physical-training specialist. With Joshua Clark, he is coauthor of You Are Your Own Gym and Body By You. Joshua Clark is an international best-selling and award-winning author, editor, filmmaker, music producer and journalist.

• Introduction 1About This Book 1Conventions Used in This Book 2Foolish Assumptions 2How This Book Is Organized 2Icons Used in This Book 3Beyond the Book 3Where to Go from Here 4Part 1: Total Fitness: No Limits 5Chapter 1: Calisthenics: When Your Body Is Your Equipment 7Calisthenics: For All Bodies and Abilities 7Why Calisthenics Is Better than Any Other Workout 8You save time 8You save money 9You save space 9You can do it anywhere 9No gymbarrassment 9It’s always open 9It’s safer 9You will not stop seeing results 10Getting the Results You Want 10Become stronger 10Burn more fat 10Get better with age 11Regain your youthful metabolism 11Live injury free 11Getting Comfortable with Bodyweight Exercises 12Use muscles you didn’t know you had 12Get off the bench 12Discovering the Eight Abilities You’ll Build Through Calisthenics 12Muscular strength 13Power 13Muscular endurance 13Cardiovascular endurance 13Speed 13Coordination 13Balance 14Flexibility 14Rounding Up Your Gear for Home Workouts 14A backpack 14Towels 16Trees 16Table 16Chairs 16Video camera 17Pull-up bar 17Bosu ball 17Suspension straps 17Elastic bands 17Your Body Is Your Home 18Chapter 2: You Were Made to Move 19Fitness Equals Function 19Practice the movements most important to your survival 20Put the pieces together 20Locomotion: The Secret to Your Best Physique 20Understand locomotion 21Improve locomotion as quickly as possible 21Your Body Is a Tower 21Your body’s ability to resist stress depends on its alignment 22Ideal joint alignment 22Spinal stabilization 22Joint functions 22Weight shifting 23Focusing on Developmental Movements 23Mobility 23Stability 24Force absorption 24Load sharing 24Perfect posture and physique 25Your Performance Pyramid 25Avoid neglect 25Aging does not equal disabling 25Living Pain Free 26Coordination helps you avoid injury 26Functional exercises are the safest 26Lessen hip and knee pain 26Ameliorate lower back, neck, and shoulder pain 27Putting the Building Blocks of Calisthenics in Place 27Focusing on Attention and Breathing 28Performance Leads to Efficiency 28You only get good at what you do 29Focus on the fundamentals 29Mastery of life 29Chapter 3: Setting Goals and Staying Motivated 31Knowing What You Want from a Calisthenics Program 31Evaluate where you are and where you want to be 32Create specific goals 32Step away from the scale 33See your effort pay off 35Embrace the mental boost 35Throwing Your Ego Out with the Weights 35The true measure of your merit 36Start small and progress gradually 36Finding and Keeping Your Motivation 36Big rewards, small costs 37Independence day 37Making your health a top priority 38Overcoming Obstacles 38Dealing with injuries 38Modifying your routine when life gets in the way 38Picking up where you left off 39Facing Down Your Excuses 39Giving in to your excuses backfires 39Resisting your excuses creates a better you 40This is your time 40Part 2: the Exercises 41Chapter 4: Getting Down with Floor Exercises 43Gaining Big Improvements with Small Exercises 43Developing better posture 44Improving hip, spine, and shoulder functions 44Better coordination means getting more for less 44Back Lying Exercises 45Dead bugs 45Glute hip-ups 46Up and overs 47Windshield wipers 48Crawling Exercises 49Dirty dogs 49Hip circles 50Pointers 51Straight wide legs 52Front Lying Exercises 53Hip twists 53Moose antlers 54Twists and reaches 55Y cuffs 55Side Lying Exercises 57Hip drops 57Moon walks 58Side crunches 59Side leg lifts 60Chapter 5: Lying to Standing Transitions (Developmental Movements) 63The Role of Weight Shifting in Movement and Stability 64Exercises for Coordinating Hip and Shoulder Functions 64Rolling exercises 64Lying to kneeling exercises 65Kneeling to standing exercises 67From lying to the stork stance exercises 68Chapter 6: Strength Training Exercises for Your Core 71Mastering the Abdominal Exercises 72Bodyrocks 72Reaching bodyrocks 73Side reaching bodyrocks 73Pillar reaches 74Tripod scissor kicks 75Mountain climbers 76Mountain climbers across 76Mountain climbers around 77Rollouts 78Hanging leg lifts 79Scorpion kicks 79Parallel leg crunches 81Starfish crunches 82Sit-ups 83V-ups 83Jack knives 84Practicing the Lateral Stability Exercises 84Side plank 85Side v-ups 85ITB (Iliotibial band) leg lifts 86ITB kickouts 87Learning the Lower Back Exercises 87Reverse hypers 88Swimmers 88Skydivers 89Chapter 7: Strength Training Exercises for Your Legs and Hips 91Trying the Hip Hinging Exercises 92Deadlifts 92One-legged deadlifts 93Romanian deadlifts 94One-legged Romanian deadlifts 95Narrow squats 96Wide squats 97T-arm squats 98Overhead squats 99Squats to deadlifts 100Deadlifts to squats 100One-legged squats 102Squat thrusts 103Bulgarian split squats 104Dynamic squats 105Learning the Lunging Exercises 106Back lunges 107Front lunges 108Side lunges 108Saxon lunges 109Twisting lunges 110Squats to lunges 111Lunges to squats 112Iron Mikes 113Practicing the Kneeling Transitions 114Long kneeling transitions 115Short kneeling transitions 115Side kneeling transitions 117Bottom squats 117Cossack squats 118Strengthening with Step-Ups 120Stork stances 120Gate swings 121Cross steps 122High-knee marches 124High-knee runs 124High-knee skips 125Chapter 8: Pushing to Strengthen Your Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps 127Maintaining Ideal Alignment Under Stress 128Practicing the Perpendicular Pushing Exercises 128Classic push-ups 128Staggered push-ups 130Archer push-ups 130Contra presses 131Tripod push-ups 132Dips 133Seated dips 134Bouncing push-ups 135Semi-planches 136One-arm push-ups 136Trying the Inline Pushing Exercises 137Military presses 138Dive bombers 140DF glides 140Bear crawls 141Chapter 9: Pulling Exercises to Strengthen Your Back, Biceps, and Forearms 143Finding Tools for Pulling Exercises 144Practicing Perpendicular Pulling Exercises 144Let-me-ins 144Let-me-ups 147Trying Inline Pulling Exercises 150Pull-ups 151Assisted and negative pull-ups 154Chapter 10: Exercises for Mobility 157Enjoying the Benefits of Proper Positioning 158Starting with the Spiderman Exercises 158Hip swirls 159Arm circles 160A frames 160Saxon tilts 162Doing the Inch Worm Exercises 163Bloomers 163Deep squats 165Vertical twists 165Kneeling switches 168Mastering the Quadruped Exercises 169Kickouts 169High kicks 170Side kicks 172Table tops 172Trying the Starfish Exercises 175Starfish twists 175Starfish hip drops 177Starfish push-ups 177Starfish dive bombers 179Part 3: the Workouts 183Chapter 11: Mixing and Matching Exercises for Your Goals 185Choosing Your Workout Types 185Sets across 186Supersets 186Ladders 187Timed sets 188Speed sets 188Circuit training 189Flows 189Focusing Your Training with Training Splits 191Full body workouts 191Upper and lower body workouts 192Pushing, pulling, legs, and core workouts 193Adapting Your Workouts for Long-Term Progress 193Volume and intensity 193Consistency and variety 194Progression and regression 194Covering the Essentials to Avoid Injury 195Joint functions and transitions 195Beginning with warm ups 195Wrapping up with cool downs 195Allowing time for active recovery 196Chapter 12: Following a 13-Week Program 197Creating a Tailored Routine 197Introducing the Workouts 198AMRAPs 198Timed sets 199Circuit training 199Block 1: Weeks 1-4 200Monday 201Tuesday 203Wednesday 204Thursday 206Friday 208Saturday 210Block 2: Weeks 5-8 212Monday 212Tuesday 214Wednesday 216Thursday 218Friday 220Saturday 222Block 3: Weeks 9-12 224Monday 224Tuesday 226Wednesday 228Thursday 230Friday 232Saturday 234The Active Recovery Week 236Monday 237Tuesday 238Wednesday 240Thursday 242Friday 244Saturday 245Part 4: Calisthenics for Special Circumstances 249Chapter 13: Doing Calisthenics When You’re Pregnant 251The Benefits of Exercise Before and After Baby 251Taking Heed and Taking It Slow 252Preparing for a Successful Pregnancy and Delivery 253Getting fit before getting pregnant 253Volume over intensity 253Increased stress tolerance 253Improved recovery 254Chapter 14: Working Out with Limited Mobility 255Getting the Essentials Right 255Finding your safest starting point 256How working with limited mobility inspired my program 258Getting and Staying Prepared for Life 258Getting up and down from the floor 259Rolling exercises 259Lying to kneeling transitions 260Kneeling to standing transitions 261Back lying to standing transitions 262We’re the Only Mammals That Walk on Two Feet 263Chapter 15: Starting Your Kids on Calisthenics 265Keeping Your Kids Happy and Healthy with Movement 265Leading by example and training together 266Instilling/encouraging the joy of movement 267Increasing your child’s injury resistance 267Learning to learn better 268Overcoming Complaints about Exercising 269Chapter 16: Nine-Minute Workouts 271Athleticism Leads to Efficiency 272Structuring Your Workouts 272Starting with the Pushing Exercises 274Push-ups 274Military presses 275DF glides 275Trying Out the Pulling Exercises 276Let-me-ins 276Let-me-ups (knees bent) 276Let-me-ups (legs straight) 277Moving on to the Hip Hinging Exercises 278Squats 278Romanian deadlifts 280Back lunges 280Part 5: the Part of Tens 285Chapter 17: Ten Tips for Success 287Stay Consistent 287Schedule Your Workouts 287Listen to Your Body 288Strengthen Your Weak Side First 288Rest and Recuperate 288Don’t Do Too Much 289Show Up 289Keep a Playful Mindset 289Count Your Wins, Not Your Losses 289Eat a Healthy Post-Workout Meal 290Chapter 18: Ten Bodyweight Training Myths 291Men and Women Should Train Differently 291Women’s Muscles Will Get Too Big If You Do Strength Training 292You Can Reshape a Muscle by Doing Isolation Exercises 293You Need High Reps for Definition and Low Reps for Mass 293Muscle Can Turn Into Fat 294You Can’t Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time 294Going Hungry Means Looking Healthy 294Exercise Machines Were Built for You 295Bodyweight Exercises Don’t Allow You to Adjust the Difficulty 295Aerobics or “Cardio” Is the Only Way to Burn Calories 296Index 297