How to get Strong with Calisthenics

Strength development has been well researched, documented and tested. Very little is left to the imagination and generally speaking we know exactly how to go from being weak to being strong.
To simplify hard work, nutrition and rest will allow your body to get stronger. Your body neither knows nor cares where the strength stimuli is coming from. It does not matter if you are pushing your body weight, dumbbells or a car. This episode is an exploration of how I've spend my life building strength with calisthenics, gymnastics based and bodyweight only exercises. I discuss how you can build true strength using calisthenics, how to adjust traditional weight lifting protocols to suit your style of training and what kind changes you can make to your training to maximize your gains.
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Timestamps
00:00:00 Welcome to How to Get Strong with Calisthenics
00:01:05 What is Strength
00:06:42 Progressive Overload
00:12:34 Creating your routine
00:16:50 Training Frequency & Weekly Volume
00:22:08 High Reps VS. Low Reps
00:28:57 Rest between Sets
00:30:47 Should you train until Failure
00:32:01 Choosing the right exercises
00:39:12 Do we just skip leg day?!
00:42:21 Periodization & Deload
00:47:26 Recap

[@Lucas_SM_Gymnasthenics]

Your ability to provide a super simple,complete and detailed picture of how strength training works and specifically through calisthenics in a super dynamic and easy to digest way is awesome. And also the fact that you covered aspects that are often overlooked such as whats the most optimal thing vs what you can/are willing to do/suits you best, because at the end of the day what is going to give you results is what you do and something that may not be the most optimal thing, definitely gives you outstanding results compared to nothing. Another important point was the explanation of why you should work in all the different intensity ranges and the practical application of the theory to calisthenics. I would be highly interested in a conversation like this covering mobility & flexibility training. Your work is much appreciated, Keep going!

[@CoachBachmann]

Hey. Thx for that! Have a look at the first episode of this series. It’s similar to this one but all about flexibility. Check it out and let me know

[@Lucas_SM_Gymnasthenics]

​@@CoachBachmannOh sorry, I havent seen that You already have a video on that, I Will check It out, Thanks!

[@CoachBachmann]

@@Lucas_SM_Gymnasthenics no worries haha I don't blame you! KZbin is rather big these days. easy to miss a post or 2 ;)

[@FIMARx]

Mostly because you enjoy the movements and getting better!

[@CoachBachmann]

Haha we love getting better don't we?!

[@FIMARx]

@@CoachBachmann ofc master.

[@ncso6553]

Thanks a lot for your videos. Sooooooo interesting and exhaustive. You're the best calisthenics teacher I've ever seen. Huge respect

[@cliveandersonjr.8758]

Absolutely love your content Coach Bachmann! Thank you and God Bless 🙏

[@lucaalt2749]

Love your Content! Cant believe the channel is still so small... Thanks for the great videos!

[@humble_integrity]

such valuable solid information bother. thank you for sharing...

[@brucehelppie6119]

i am a subscriber. your knowledge and training advice is invaluable and i'm incorporating your suggestions into my training and daily life. thank you so much!

[@CoachBachmann]

I absolutely l hearing that! Thank you! I am super happy my years of experience and struggle can help improve your overall training and life experience :)

[@patkruk]

Simply outstanding! Thanks for sharing.

[@CoachBachmann]

Thanks for listening. I just added a new episode that I am sure you will also like

[@cinammoned3874]

Your channel is one of the BEST calisthenics channels out there!

[@CoachBachmann]

thank you so much! I really appreciate this! I am only getting started ;)

[@kostar500]

I like your content, like your style, and i am a subscriber.

[@CoachBachmann]

Thank you!

[@_uchiha]

commenting for the algorithm

[@CoachBachmann]

I appreciate that!!

[@biancacheng]

Me too!

[@CoachBachmann]

@@biancacheng thank you too!!

[@iamjustanotherhuman]

It was reassuring to hear that the HSPU and dips (Russian and Korean) that I did this morning are productive for my 90° PU goal 👏. It blows my mind how exponentially harder skill based balance moments are compared to linear strength ones 🤯! Beginner to intermediate calisthenics is like playing an instrument 🎻, after that it’s like composing and orchestrating a symphony 🧠

[@CoachBachmann]

isn't it beautiful tho?! Combining strenght and balance is not fair when trying to learn tho as there are too many bottle necks. Hard to practice the exact strength when you dont have the feeling for balance and impossible to practice the balance in the position if you dont have the strength to support yourself. at that point it really takes quite a bit of planning and specific programming. I am working on a 90 deg push up program at the moment. Might come in handy for you. I am hoping to be able to post it within the next few weeks!

[@prathamsolanki777]

Really got a deep insight Thanks coach!

[@CoachBachmann]

My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!

[@sheetmusicpianofied8153]

Great video.

[@matiasnicolas7420]

This is gold

[@dannniels]

awesome value-packed video, coach! here's my notes if anybody's interested. WHAT IS STRENGTH? physical activity causes: 1. muscle fibers to go under stress 2. micro tears in your muscle fibers 3. your muscles to grow back stronger don't overcomplicate everything. as long as you're working hard and recovering, you're getting stronger. USE IT OR LOSE IT - you have to constantly keep challenging your body by progressively overloading. muscle recovery process depends on: 1. nutrition (protein) 2. hormones 3. rest (sleep) hypertrophy is a structural adaptation of the muscle by increasing its size. strength combines: 1. hypertrophy (a bigger muscle has more potential for strength) 2. neural adaptations (how much force a muscle is able to apply on a joint) 3. technique (if your technique improves, your mind-muscle connection gets better, you're creating a mechanical advantage, and you'll feel significantly stronger) strength gains are highly specific. you shouldn't train to get stronger overall - you should train to get stronger in a specific movement pattern. PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD progressive overload is the key for building muscle. progressive overload - stressing the muscle a little bit more every workout, every week, or every month. for calisthenics, progressive overload is much more complex and fun than for weight training. progressive overload in calisthenics: - doing more reps - adding weight - increasing the progression (decreasing leverage) - increasing the range of motion - adding a dead-stop (this will take the principle of muscle elasticity away from you) - slowing down the tempo - decreasing rest time CREATING YOUR ROUTINE don't focus on creating the most efficient routine possible. focus on creating a routine that you can stick to. a sustainable routine must be: - safe - realistic - fun - flexible training frequency and weekly volume refers to how much we need to train to get stronger. volume refers to the total work done (sets x reps x intensity). for hypertrophy, more volume = more muscle. for strength, intensity matters much more than volume. it's not about how many sets you do - it's about how hard those sets are. your weekly volume is going to depend on: - your level - your recovery ability - your goals you should only do as much volume as you can recover from. hard sets per muscle group per week: - 1-10 = outstanding gains - 11-20 = good gains - 21+ = insignificant gains additional work: - technical sets (easier sets) - 4-8 sets per isolation muscle (calves, biceps, triceps - the only muscle that you don't need to isolate is the anterior deltoid) training less will allow you to train more intensely. your most important exercises must be first in your routine. HIGH REPS VS LOW REPS rep range means how many reps you can do in an exercise before you can't do anymore. - low reps - 1-6 (strength) - medium reps - 7-12 (size) - high reps - 13+ (endurance) all rep ranges are good for hypertrophy (above 20% of your 1RM). in low-rep sets, it's easy to develop bad technical habits and injuries, so make sure to mix in some medium or high-rep sets to work on your technique and conditioning. if you only perform low-rep sets, it'll be hard to get enough weekly volume because you'll have to rest much longer in between them (and you'll just burn yourself out). "I won't do low-rep sets because I only care about size" getting stronger will mean that you'll be able to train more intensely at a higher rep count, so you'll gain more muscle. training at a high rep range will build more resistance to fatigue, so you'll be able to train more without getting tired (being able to do 20 muscle ups will help you improve your technique much more than being able to do 2). additionally, doing high-rep sets will release metabolic stress in your muscles, which will help with strength. REST BETWEEN SETS resting between sets is essential for you to regain your strength and prepare mentally for the next set. for hypertrophy, rest at least 1 minute. for strength, rest for 3-5 minutes (this is why you shouldn't only do strength sets - they'll make your workout significantly longer). you'd only rest for less than a minute if: 1. you're doing supersets of opposing muscle groups 2. you want to create more metabolic stress SHOULD YOU TRAIN UNTIL FAILURE? rarely. if you're training until failure, your: 1. chances of getting injured increase 2. recovery time between sets and workouts increases CHOOSING THE RIGHT EXERCISES strength gains are very specific. if you want to get stronger in the front lever, primarily you have to train the front lever, but you can also isolate the specific muscles that work in the front lever. it only gets confusing when you're really overthinking it. the problem with calisthenics is that almost all exercises are compound exercises. it's functional, but it becomes hard to isolate specific muscles, so imbalances and injuries are likely to develop. choose exercises outside of calisthenics world so that you can isolate specific muscles. if your form is bad: - your risk of injury increases - you're not gonna hit the specific muscle that you want to hit bad form for the pike push-up, for example, isn't that big of a deal because you're still gonna hit your shoulders in other exercises. bad form becomes a bigger deal for the front lever. if your shoulders lose retraction, you're not gonna be able to engage your lats anymore, and if you're not using your lats in the front lever, where else are you gonna use them? if the front lever is your only lat isolation exercise and you don't do it correctly, your lads won't actually get trained and you'll develop muscular imbalances. if you realise there's a problem, find the problem, isolate the problem, and work on the problem specifically. - if you're falling out of the handstand push-up, practice handstands and handstand push-up leans. - if your back arches on the press to handstand, practice tuck planche raises. - if you lose protraction in the planche, practice scapula push-ups. STATIC VS DYNAMIC EXERCISES theoretically, it doesn't matter which one you choose. as long as you stress the muscle sufficiently, hypertrophy and strength gains will happen. however, practically speaking, dynamic exercises will be better for you because static exercises will only develop strength in the static position, while dynamic exercises will build strength in the static position (a little bit slower though) and also all around it. since the static exercise is going to be the most difficult part of the dynamic exercise, you're going to be staying in the highest intensity rather than moving in and out of it, so the risk of injury is higher. DO WE JUST SKIP LEG DAY? no, but you should lift weights for legs. they're the biggest muscle in our body, so skipping them entirely is a bad decision. PERIODIZATION & DELOAD these are not as important for beginners as for advanced athletes, because progressing for beginners is very easy. periodisation - long-term planning of workouts for maximum gains and avoiding plateaus. 1. month 1-3 - technical cycle (progressive overload through progressions) 2. month 4-6 - strength cycle (low reps for strength and high reps for hypertrophy and for improvement in technique for strength exercises) 3. month 7-9 - optional strength cycle (low rep sets) 4. month 9-12 - technical cycle (advance to calisthenics skill goals) deload - less intense week of training after a period of high intensity training (50% intensity). they're usually not programmed because life's responsibilities usually create natural deload weeks. technically, technical weeks are deload weeks. ROUTINE CREATION CHECKLIST 1. work hard and stay consistent (if you're making progress, you have the perfect routine) 2. constantly challenge your body (apply progressive overload) 3. train specifically for your goals (strength is a skill) 4. choose simple exercises for strength gains 5. do low-rep sets for strength and medium to high-rep sets for technical refinements & weekly volume 6. rest for 1 - 5 minutes between sets 7. 10-20 hard sets per main muscle group per week 8. 8 sets for isolation muscles per week 9. stay away from failure unless specifically planned 10. create a fun, sustainable, and safe routine 11. rest & recover

[@thanksgivingh6185]

hey thanks a ton for sharing. i usually make notes on longcontent like this too, but tends to turn out way sloppier. fantastic draft. 😁

[@dannniels]

thanks man, love making notes on long-form content that I watch, only recently got the idea to share them in the comment section for anyone who's interested

[@briangrose9847]

This is perhaps one of the most in-depth and yet still concise treatise on calisthenics training and it’s from a bona fide high-level performer and trainer. And it’s free 🤯 No one should complain about costs, or plateaus, or where to start, or problems of self-doubt. It’s all in here. Just follow the advice and you’ll see incredible results! So glad this channel exists. For a year or so I was doing high intensity training with kettlebells and sandbags and wrestling style conditioning. I had great results especially for mat strength but I recently wanted to rekindle my passion for calisthenics. To know Coach Bachmann has a great channel just reinforces I’m making the right decision

[@CoachBachmann]

Love hearing this! Thank you for the kind words! I’m here to make sure nothing can or ever will hold you back. Let’s go!!

[@briangrose9847]

Absolutely sir 🫡 i’m going to try the press to handstand and middle split follow alongs today.

[@CoachBachmann]

@@briangrose9847 let me know after how you like them

[@manfredkral5881]

Hi Sascha! Thank you for your great content on all the socials and in the members area! I've a question about the sets per muscle group per week. Do you refer to pull and push or just for the exercise to train (i.e. push for the hand stand push up)?

[@CoachBachmann]

I refer to muscle groups do shoulders, chest, quads, etc. Difficulty here again is that movements are compounds skills which means this counting becomes more difficult and less of a precise science. In general this number must heavily vary from athlete to athlete and depend on your current goals.

[@weareanotherwayfortech]

Amazing content bro! Really appreciate the time and effort going into these, keep them up. I recently purchased a few of your programs, the How to Handstand bundle & Handstand push-up protocols. I assume things mentioned above are included as much as possible within your online programs if you follow your protocols? You've mentioned additional bits e.g. 2 full-body workouts that included your legs and back with different types of pull and push (which are straight overhead). Do you have any easy recommendations you can make for supplement workouts to accompany your online programming HS programmes?

[@CoachBachmann]

thank you! Glad you are enjoying the content and especially thank you for supporting the project by purchasing the programs. Currently the things mentioned above are not included in all programs for multiple reasons. All program sales pages explain exactly what is included. It is easy for me to talk about how to train, it is also easy to map it out in detail. The actual production is a bit more difficult. I am currently in the progress of redoing the programs to update them and make them significantly more complex. Which brings the next problem: How much to deliver at which price. The only reasonable conclusion is a subscription based system with access to everything to be able to deliver a truly complete training program. this is the main project at the moment and I am hope early next year I will be able to deliver on this promise. It's been the main project for the past 4 years but is finally starting to come together!

[@CoachBachmann]

To supplement the online handstand programs at the moment I would recommend general fitness work. I can be calisthenics but it can also "just" be regular weight training. Either works!

[@simonhook5138]

@CoachBachmann Amazing! This is super cool and makes a lot of sense, I totally appreciate how much work needs to go into this so am very understanding of the effort required to deliver on that promise. All the best with that and good luck with working through on that promise. I'm excited to see what you deliver for this. I did strain my shoulder /neck quite badly on the second HS workout, which I have to take full responsibility for as I did the session early in the morning shortly after waking and I heard you mention in one of your podcasts it's best to practice HS later in the day, ideally between 2-4pm, once the body is much warmer in the day. I clearly wasn't warm enough so have learned my lesson on that one. My neck is almost normal again so looking forward to getting back on it.

[@CoachBachmann]

@@simonhook5138 ah man. Sorry to hear that! My neck sometimes does that too when I work front levers without proper warm ups first thing in the morning. Try warming up more (obvs) but you could also consider adding a few yoga sequences into your warm up to mobilize and get some blood flowing. (I am also recognizing your thumbnail from my email inbox... I am absolutely gonna take care of that request as well. I am just traveling today and tomorrow so a bit between desks all day! sorry for the delay

[@simonhook5138]

@@CoachBachmann Yoga sequences sound like a great shout. Would your free shoulder prehab sequence from your email registration flow also do the job as enough of a warm-up for an early morning session? I noticed that you have a couple of them included in those How to HandStand workouts but not the whole sequence you share via email. Also, fantastic if you can sort out that email request for me, that would be ace but no stress in rushing, whenever you can. And... by the way, regarding the online program. You have by far the best I've seen in terms of experience design. It's super straightforward. Pick a course, Intro video, help centre, and programming is all ordered, you pick a workout, and simply run through it, each session has a clear and obvious rep count, and each exercise has a demo right next to it. Seriously... it's a dream. Not sure who's supporting you with your online stuff but they're doing an incredible job. Make sure to keep you're subscription stuff as simple and intuitive to use. Also love your Instagram videos with the animated graphics, serious so cool and such a great way to communicate visually really complex understandings. One last question. Your flexibility programmes. Would I be correct in thinking you could run one of these alongside a handstand program if you felt like you had enough energy? I was thinking I might try hitting one of these in the mornings and then more strength-based HS stuff later in the day after work or afternoon (as suggested) if working from home. Would you consider this overdoing it, or do you think it is doable?

[@draak88]

Hey Sascha! Thank you for your videos, i was waiting for them for so long. I am writing because maybe you have some real life experience regarding my current injury. I do calisthenics for 2 years now and i did a lot of HS, HSPU and planche work, and ofc continously doing the big basics. I have long and thin fingers, hands (very bad disadvantage) and after some months of right-hand pain i recently went to the doctor and it turned out that at the thumb and index finger area i have tendon sheath inflammation and instability due to ligament elongation due to overtraining. A professor said that the ligament elongation cannot be fixed and it will cause early cartilage wear, the other doctor said that he thinks it will be okay after the magnetic, electric and light treatments. My question: Is it true that it cannot be fixed and i can forget calisthenics forever? Do you have any experience about this hand ligament elongation? Thank you for everything!

[@tiagopiresabud4154]

Hi! It is difficult to address each specific injury... but anyway, in my experience (as a regular calisthenic guy who had injuries in the past) you should avoid doing exercises that aggravate the pain. Maybe, you could try doing HS using paralletes or blocks and see if you can do them pain freely. If you keep experiencing pain no matter what, maybe it's time to focus on other movement, such as pulling exercises, legs, stretching, etc. Keep in mind, that you should eventually do specific strenghtening exercise for the healing process. If you don't trust your doctor, maybe you could try seeing a doctor who is specialized in treating sport injuries similar to yours. Hope it helps.

[@draak88]

@@tiagopiresabud4154 Thanks, but my question really was that if the ligament elongation is treatable or not.

[@tiagopiresabud4154]

@@draak88 I believe that tendon injuries are treatable. Depending on the severity, (for example, in case of a tear) you might need a surgery. But anyway, let's see Sascha's thoughts on this one. Wish you have a fast recovery.

[@morya8376]

Sasha, hi! 41:03 While I do agree with you on training legs it's not clear to me how you can have both upper body getting bigger and legs not reacting to that bodyweight growth leading to instability. I guess you meant legs hypertrophy to keep proportions.

[@CoachBachmann]

I think I’m not sure I understand your question if there is one. Sorry. I believe we are both making the same point tho. What I’m trying to say is that there are some athletes who go hard and heavy on upper and manage to keep their legs tiny. Literally too small to support the weight of the upper body properly. The kinds of people would have a hard time running, playing sports or dancing for example. This is obviously bad in an every day life scenario. It could make sense in very specific athletic cases but having lived a live as a professional athlete and performer I can guarantee that it is never worth sacrificing health for performance benefits.

[@MarincaGheorghe]

If you have a limited time to train, say 3 main strength sessions per week (1.5h each) would you say isolation exercises are not actually required ? Maybe for legs, but that depends on how you do your legs I guess. All other main upper muscles are already covered by the push/pull complete routine.

[@CoachBachmann]

Hey! So I am pretty short on time at the moment. I train 3x per week for 1h. I am the strongest and (almost) best looking I've ever been but (!!) I am not as specific meaning my skill level is slightly less high than what it would usually be. so 3x1.5h is plenty for strength! I think you should do more isolation for upper than for legs. If you train squats, deadline and lunge variations you have what you need. no need no isolation here. For calisthenics athletes isolation work needs to happen around the shoulder joint on an individual level. Shoulders are highly complex and move in all directions. Depending on your precise profile you will need to isolate here to make up for weak spots and to protect yourself from injuries!

[@gymfor4181]

Начал интенсивно учить стойку на одной руке, научился стоять на правой руке за 2 месяца. Но теперь мучают боли в плечевом суставе😢

[@CoachBachmann]

You have to build your practice slowly and increase volume progressively over time. Make sure to incorporate lots of prehab and scapula stability exercises. If you are in pain you have to rest, ice and see a medical progressional. you only have the one body!

[@cliveandersonjr.8758]

I think plyometrics should be part of an athlete's routine as well.

[@KastoeKrab]

Plyometrics are the best indicator of strength

[@Airflareairchair]

How did you do elbow lever to handstand? One handed

[@CoachBachmann]

Haha thanks! At the end it boils down to planning and training. Lots of training

[@strugglemovement5286]

Conditioning exercisevfor HSPU…

[@CoachBachmann]

This is actually next. stay tuned!