After spending a lot of time analyzing, studying, and testing the best strategy for gaining muscle mass based on current training knowledge, scientific studies, and recommendations from top professionals, one thing has become clear to me: To achieve muscle growth, you need to provide the muscle with a stimulus close to muscle failure, with a volume of sets that ensures this stimulus reaches all muscle fibers. That's why I came up with a simple routine to achieve this optimal stimulus, which I'll present below.

Lately, I've been thinking about those messages we see on social media, where some influencers try to sell us the idea that training—whether at the gym or in the park—is a daily struggle, an epic battle against suffering and inner demons. This trend of dramatizing workouts caught my attention, turning them into something unnecessarily epic that, in my opinion, pushes a lot of people away. Where does this image come from? I've seen people talk about training as if they were fighting an internal war—wearing hoodies, headphones, dark clothing, and taking on such a serious attitude that they look like they’re starring in a war movie. The idea being sold is that every set is a fight against yourself, that going to the gym is like facing an invisible enemy. And sure, there are moments of real effort, those times when an exercise gets tough or you're pushing close to failure. But in reality, training is a very different experience.

Progression in Handstands: From Balance to Perfection One of the most common mistakes I’ve observed in skill training is the obsession with achieving the strictest and most perfect technique from the very start. It’s common to see people attempting a handstand with fully locked arms, ears aligned over the biceps, head between the shoulders, a completely straight back with posterior pelvic tilt, extended legs, and pointed toes—without even having learned how to balance first. In other words, they try to perform the hardest version of the handstand without going through the essential phase of “learning to do it wrong” progressively. The Mistake of Seeking Perfection from the Start

One of the most important values in calisthenics is respecting strict technique when performing exercises, including full range of motion. Over the more than 20 years of development that modern calisthenics has had as a sport, we have always taken pride in the cleanliness of our movements and the beauty of our execution compared to other sports or training methods. Exercises like pull-ups, dips, push-ups, muscle-ups, planches, and more—if they weren’t done properly with clean technique, they weren’t considered worthy of a calisthenics athlete.

Over the more than 10 years I’ve been posting content about calisthenics and training in general, I’ve made many mistakes—some of which I really regret. You see, there are certain exercises or specific techniques that I repeatedly recommended or demonstrated in my videos and articles, only to realize over time that they were incorrect, not ideal, or even potentially harmful. Today, I want to go over five exercises or techniques that I explained incorrectly and how they should actually be done.

AtCalisteniapp, we’re always working to bring you the best training tool possible. That’s why we’re excited to introduce this update, which includes new features and improvements that we’ll go over below. But before that, we want to congratulate everyone who completed theReset Mission! It’s been a true display of discipline and daily effort. This challenge has helped us kick off the year in the best way possible, and now it’s time to use that momentum to keep training consistently and reach our goals. Also, just a quick reminder that the Reset Mission is saved under the "Challenges" section, so you can take it on whenever you want. This update will be rolled out progressively to all users, so if you haven’t received it yet, you should see it in the next few days.

In the world of training, certain exercises or movements sometimes become the "black sheep." Cheating in different lifts, behind-the-neck pull-ups, and even, in recent years, the deadlift, have turned into enemies within the community. The moment they appear on social media, alarms go off, and hundreds or even thousands of people flood the comments to warn of the “sacrilege” happening on screen. Often, there’s a reason behind these reactions, as certain movements or techniques come with risks that you need to understand. If you decide to perform those exercises, you should be prepared to handle them. For example, with the deadlift, if your back rounds during the lift, you need to understand the risks and the potential for injury. However, other times, this social alarm is unwarranted, taken out of context, or based on a misunderstanding. That brings us to today’s topic: the butt wink in squats.

Over the more than 10 years I’ve been sharing calisthenics content and helping people achieve their goals, I’ve noticed that it’s very common for beginners in this sport to have an initial burst of enthusiasm for achieving multiple goals at once. For example, many people have a broad goal of getting in shape, gaining some muscle mass, leaning out, and looking more aesthetic. At the same time, they might also want to learn some signature calisthenics moves, like the muscle-up, handstand, or even progress toward a planche or front lever.

A Curious Phenomenon in Calisthenics: Push vs. Pull Patterns There’s a fascinating phenomenon in calisthenics that most people are unaware of at first. However, if you’ve been training for a few months, you’re probably starting to notice it. You see, as you train for a while, you’ll realize that some exercises come more naturally to you than others. For instance, you might find push-ups and dips easier, but pull-ups are much more challenging.

After more than 10 years training calisthenics at the park, this past year I’ve been combining it with gym sessions to train weighted calisthenics, also known as Streetlifting. In my case, it hasn’t just been about occasionally going to the gym to add some weight; I’ve made it a priority. I created a training periodization plan and steadily improved my numbers, training with weights at least three times a week. This has allowed me to truly experience what it’s like to train with added weight and to appreciate the differences, advantages, and disadvantages compared to traditional calisthenics. In this article, I’d like to share my insights, hoping it might help you in your own training journey.

Recently, I heard a phrase from a trainer I deeply respect that stuck with me. The phrase was: "There’s nothing predetermined, nothing fixed—routine design is an art." Reflecting on this, I realized something. After designing the majority of the 500 free routines we have on Calisteniapp, the 40 training programs (each with 3 to 6 phases, and every phase containing its weekly routines), the 24 adaptive Evo routines, and the 19 21-day challenges (each with 3 to 4 daily routines for different levels and equipment), we’re talking about approximately 2,200 routines created over the years just for Calisteniapp. To this, I would add the routines I’ve designed for myself, for people I’ve trained in person and online, as well as those I’ve created for tutorials and YouTube or Instagram videos, among others.

In calisthenics training, there are different types of routines, each with its own characteristics, use cases, and benefits. However, between 2002 and 2013, during the old-school era, a specific type of routine emerged that seemed to hold something special. The athletes who followed these routines appeared to respect and revere them, seeing them as a challenge fit only for the best. Most importantly, these routines seemed to deliver incredible results. Both in terms of aesthetics and endurance, the top calisthenics athletes in the world made these routines a cornerstone of their training. Over the years, they’ve remained a go-to method for the true beasts of the newer generations.