BEGINNER CALISTHENICS WORKOUT ROUTINE
START YOUR JOURNEY RIGHT
Welcome! If you’re here, it’s because you’re probably just starting with calisthenics and need a routine. As a beginner, it’s important to strengthen your whole body during the first few months. To achieve this, the routines I bring you today are all full body (you’ll work most muscle groups), with nearly all exercises being compound movements (involving multiple muscles, not just focusing on one).
Although all routines are designed for beginners, not everyone will be at the same level. With that in mind, I’ve ordered them by difficulty, with #1 being the most approachable. All are designed so you won’t spend more than an hour completing them.
Before you start, remember it’s your responsibility to individualize these routines, adapting intensity to your level and exercises to your needs. Therefore, the training volume and rest times I show are just guidelines—you can change them anytime. If you have doubts about any exercise, at the end of the post you’ll find a table with all exercises used in the routines; just click on the one you have questions about, and it will take you to the page where I explain it.
#1 BEGINNER CALISTHENICS WORKOUT ROUTINE
The goal of this first routine is to help you get familiar with the fundamental calisthenics movements. You’ll start by strengthening your back with Australian pull-ups and build strength in the area with the negative phase of pull-ups. Then, you’ll work your chest, shoulders, and triceps with floor dips and push-ups. Your core will be indirectly engaged through the previous exercises, but I’ve added mountain climbers to help you further strengthen this muscle group. Finally, you’ll focus on your lower body with squats and heel raises.
| EXERCISES | SETS | REPS | REST |
| Australian pull ups | 4 | 10 | 1:30 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Negative pull-up phase (jump until your chin passes the bar and lower as slowly as possible) | 4 | 5 reps (should be consecutive) | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Floor dips | 4 | 10 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Push ups | 4 | 8 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Mountain climbers | 4 | 30 sec. | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Squats | 4 | 15 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Heel raises (both feet together) | 4 | 12 | 1.5 min. between sets |
#2 BEGINNER CALISTHENICS WORKOUT ROUTINE
The second routine introduces some changes. Instead of performing the negative pull-up, you’ll work the movement isometrically (holding the final position with your chin above the bar). The core exercise changes completely, switching to the plank. The posture you adopt during the plank is very important and will help you internalize it for future exercises. For the lower body, I’ve added Bulgarian squats, which pair perfectly with regular squats. Although I removed heel raises to keep the routine from getting too long, you can add them back if you have time to target your calves more specifically (they’re also worked in the two previous exercises).
Finally, I’ve increased the number of repetitions in some cases, so don’t forget to check that.
| EXERCISES | SETS | REPS | REST |
| Australian pull ups | 4 | 10 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Isometric pull-ups (hold position with chin above the bar) | 4 | 5-8 sec | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Parallel bar dips | 4 | 6 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Push ups | 4 | 8 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Plank | 4 | 30 sec. | 1 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Squat | 4 | 15 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Bulgarian squat | 4 | 8 (per leg) | 1.5 min. between sets |
#3 BEGINNER CALISTHENICS WORKOUT ROUTINE
This last routine marks a turning point compared to the previous ones due to the introduction of chin-up (supinated grip) pull-ups. This grip is easier than the pronated one but still represents a greater challenge than what you’ve done so far. I’ve changed the core exercise again; this time you’ll work it hanging from the bar, which requires some coordination to perform correctly. Squats become explosive, and generally, all the repetitions have been increased.
| EXERCISES | SETS | REPS | REST |
| Australian pull ups | 4 | 12 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Supinated pull-ups | 4 | 5 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Parallel bar dips | 4 | 8 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Push-ups | 4 | 10 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Knee raises | 4 | 12 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Explosive squat (with jump) | 4 | 12 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Bulgarian squat | 4 | 12 (per leg) | 1.5 min. between sets |
#4 BEGINNER CALISTHENICS WORKOUT ROUTINE
That’s right, when this routine no longer feels like a big challenge for you, you’ll be ready to move on to the next level. For that, you’ll have to master new exercises such as pronated pull-ups, bar dips, diamond push-ups, and the L-sit. Don’t worry, it’s not a huge jump compared to the previous routine. If you feel you’re not ready yet, keep practicing with routine #3. Keep going!
| EXERCISES | SETS | REPS | REST |
| Australian pull ups | 4 | 15 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Pull-ups | 4 | 5 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Bar dips | 4 | 8 | 1:30 min. entre series 3 min. entre ejercicios |
| Diamond push-ups | 4 | 8 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| L-sit | 4 | Max sec | 1 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Explosive squat (with jump) | 4 | 15 | 1.5 min. between sets, 3 min. between exercises |
| Bulgarian squat | 4 | 12 (per leg) | 1.5 min. between sets |
CAN I MOVE TO THE NEXT LEVEL?
After training with the last beginner routine for a while, you might wonder if you’re really ready to increase the intensity of your workouts. So here’s a list of basic exercises that by now you should be very familiar with. Heads up! This is not a routine, so the time you take between exercises or whether you do them on different days doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you can complete the required number of repetitions. If not, I recommend continuing at the beginner level until you’re ready. Here it is:
Pronated pull-ups: 8
Parallel bar dips: 12
Bar dips: 10
Push-ups: 20
Squats: 25
This concludes the beginner routines section. I hope you can put them into practice as soon as possible and enjoy training like never before. Before you realize it, these will feel too easy and you’ll move on to the next level. If you have any questions about the training plan, don’t hesitate to leave them in the comments — it’s important everything is clear before you start training. Cheers!
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