Calisthenics Course

Lesson 1 • Safety, Injury Prevention, and Recovery

Covers warm-up protocols, common injury sites, and recovery strategies essential before any training begins. Prevents setbacks that would interrupt progression.

Lesson 2 • Understanding Body Mechanics and Leverage

Explains how joint angles, lever arms, and center of gravity affect exercise difficulty. Directly informs exercise selection and progression logic.

Lesson 3 • What Calisthenics Is and Why It Works

Defines calisthenics, its history, and physiological basis for strength gains. Establishes the conceptual framework used throughout the course.

Lesson 4 • Assessing Your Starting Fitness Level

Guides learners through self-assessment tests to identify strength, mobility, and endurance baselines. Results drive personalized program design from chapter one onward.

Lesson 1 • Leg Raises and Compression Strength

Develops hip flexor and abdominal strength through hanging and floor leg raise progressions. Compression strength built here is prerequisite for L-sit and bar skills.

Lesson 2 • Plank Variations and Anti-Rotation Drills

Builds isometric endurance and anti-rotation capacity through progressive plank and Pallof-style drills. Transfers directly to push and pull movement stability.

Lesson 3 • Integrating Core Into Full-Body Movement

Applies isolated core strength to compound movements through bracing cues and movement drills. Bridges the gap between core isolation and functional exercise performance.

Lesson 4 • Anatomy of the Core in Calisthenics

Maps the muscles comprising the functional core and their roles in movement. Provides anatomical context for every exercise introduced in this chapter.

Lesson 1 • Programming Push Volume and Recovery

Applies periodization concepts to push training, balancing volume, intensity, and rest. Ensures sustainable progress without shoulder overuse injury.

Lesson 2 • Pike Press and Handstand Push-Up Prep

Bridges horizontal pushing to vertical pressing through pike and elevated pike progressions. Prepares the shoulder girdle for handstand push-up demands covered in later chapters.

Lesson 3 • Push-Up Mechanics and Progressions

Breaks down scapular movement, elbow path, and body alignment for the push-up pattern. Establishes the technical standard applied to all pushing variations.

Lesson 4 • Push-Up Variations for Strength and Hypertrophy

Introduces wide, narrow, archer, and decline push-up variants to target different muscle heads. Provides the volume and variety needed for balanced chest and tricep development.

Lesson 1 • Inverted Rows and Horizontal Pulling

Develops mid-back and bicep strength through bodyweight rows at varying angles. Horizontal pulling balances the push-dominant patterns trained in the previous chapter.

Lesson 2 • Balancing Push and Pull Programming

Structures weekly training to maintain push-to-pull ratio and prevent postural imbalances. Directly applies periodization concepts from the push chapter to pulling work.

Lesson 3 • Scapular Pull-Ups and Dead Hangs

Establishes shoulder girdle stability and grip endurance as prerequisites for all pulling work. Scapular control here prevents impingement in every subsequent pull variation.

Lesson 4 • Pull-Up Variations and Volume Building

Introduces wide grip, commando, and L-sit pull-up variants to increase training stimulus. Volume accumulation methods here build the base for muscle-up and front lever work.

Lesson 1 • Lunge and Step-Up Variations

Builds unilateral leg strength and hip stability through lunge and step-up progressions. Single-leg work here is prerequisite for pistol squat development.

Lesson 2 • Pistol Squat Progression System

Systematically develops the single-leg squat through assisted, partial, and full pistol progressions. Combines strength, balance, and ankle mobility demands into one skill.

Lesson 3 • Nordic Curl and Hamstring Strength

Introduces the Nordic hamstring curl as the primary eccentric hamstring strengthening tool. High eccentric load here significantly reduces hamstring strain risk.

Lesson 4 • Hip Hinge and Posterior Chain Work

Targets glutes and hamstrings through single-leg deadlift, glute bridge, and hip thrust progressions. Posterior chain strength prevents knee and lower back issues in all movements.

Lesson 1 • Freestanding Handstand Balance Training

Transitions learners from wall support to freestanding handstand using finger pressure and micro-adjustment drills. Balance training here is a long-term skill requiring consistent daily practice.

Lesson 2 • Handstand Foundations and Wall Work

Develops wrist preparation, shoulder alignment, and body line for the handstand using wall-supported drills. Wall work builds the proprioceptive base for freestanding balance.

Lesson 3 • Front Lever Progressions

Develops the front lever from tucked to full position through systematic lat and core loading progressions. Requires the pulling strength and body tension established in prior chapters.

Lesson 4 • Back Lever and Skin-the-Cat

Introduces shoulder extension skills through skin-the-cat and back lever progressions on rings or bar. Shoulder flexibility and posterior chain tension are the primary training targets.

Lesson 1 • Planche Foundations and Lean Drills

Introduces planche lean and tuck planche as the entry point for straight-arm pushing strength. Wrist loading and scapular protraction are the primary adaptations targeted.

Lesson 2 • Muscle-Up Prerequisites and Technique

Identifies the pull-up, dip, and false grip strength standards required before muscle-up training. Technique breakdown prevents the common kipping compensation pattern.

Lesson 3 • Programming Advanced Skills Concurrently

Structures weekly sessions to develop muscle-up and planche simultaneously without overtraining. Applies fatigue management and skill-specific periodization to complex training blocks.

Lesson 4 • Muscle-Up Progressions and Drills

Provides band-assisted, negative, and partial-range drills to build the muscle-up movement pattern. Drill sequencing ensures each phase is mastered before full movement integration.

Lesson 1 • Principles of Calisthenics Periodization

Applies linear, undulating, and block periodization models to bodyweight training contexts. Periodization prevents stagnation and structures progress across weeks and months.

Lesson 2 • Goal-Based Program Templates

Presents beginner, intermediate, and advanced program templates aligned to common calisthenics goals. Templates serve as practical starting points for independent program design.

Lesson 3 • Evaluating and Adjusting Your Program

Teaches systematic program review using performance data, recovery metrics, and skill benchmarks. Adjustment skills ensure learners can self-coach beyond the course.

Lesson 4 • Progressive Overload Without Weights

Identifies bodyweight-specific overload methods including leverage, tempo, volume, and density. Overload application here ensures continued adaptation without external loading.