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.

When I started practicing calisthenics over ten years ago, one of the things that fascinated me the most was the ability to not only stay fit and healthy but also to learn tricks and skills that presented a real challenge. These tricks not only allowed me to showcase my strength and abilities but also kept me motivated to continue progressing, aiming to master even more difficult moves. Thanks to this, my training sessions became much more enjoyable, varied, and stimulating, constantly pushing me to improve. Unfortunately, back then, there wasn’t much information available, so I had to teach myself. I experimented with different tricks I discovered in old Street Workout videos.

One of the key features of calisthenics, making it incredibly fun and appealing to those who value self-improvement, isthe ability to progress while learning new exercises and more challenging variations. For instance, someone who trains at the gym or practices sports like weightlifting or powerlifting might see months of progress reflected in adding a few kilograms to their favorite lift. In contrast, a calisthenics enthusiast might achieve something far more visual—like progressing from standard pull-ups to a muscle-up. This distinct characteristic of calisthenics is often a driving force behind why people become hooked on this beautiful discipline and are motivated to continue improving in every aspect.

When we start our fitness journey, we might feel overwhelmed by seemingly complex training methods. Trainers talk about microcycles, macrocycles, mesocycles, periodization, and other concepts that can make it all sound like an intellectual challenge far beyond our grasp. This can leave us feeling a bit "useless" when it comes to designing our first training routines, as we might think we need to master these concepts to create a decent plan. Consequently, we may feel like we can’t succeed without the help of one of these highly knowledgeable trainers.

My story About 6 years ago (in 2018) I was at my best in planche, it was easy for me to do elements like full planche and even some more difficult variations, but unfortunately I had an injury in the area of ​​my right forearm, which I thought had affected my biceps tendon. This made me have to stop abruptly with all the static and dynamic elements and go back to training only basics.

In today's article we are going to look at the main weighted calisthenics exercises and some technical aspects of their execution. Weighted pull-ups

In today's article we are going to see a quick tutorial so that you can do Russian push-ups and elbow dips today, with a very simple technique. For both movements you have to follow the same process, let's look at it first with the dips. Elbow dips

One of the biggest advantages that calisthenics offers as a training method isthe possibility of working your muscles and doing effective routines without the need for equipment. Although bar parks are characteristic of our sport, there aremany people who train calisthenics at home, simply doing exercises on the floor, on a wall, with a box and almost nothing else But this approach has a small problem, back and biceps training. You see, using only the floor, the wall and some bench or box it is very easy to do super complete push workouts (pectoral, triceps, shoulders, upper trapezius), leg workouts, abdominal workouts, cardio workouts, and so on.

Calisthenics training is usually quite gentle on the joints and very healthy in general, as long as it is well planned and no serious mistakes are made in technique or intensity selection. But, even so, there is a small percentage ofpeople who can see their progress frustrated by the appearance of some pain, discomfort or injury. In today's article we are going to see what is the protocol that I personally apply when I encounter a problem of this type tosolve it as soon as possible, so that it does not affect my training and does not appear again in the future. In my experience, the most common pains or injuries in calisthenics occur in the wrists, elbows, shoulders and the muscles peripheral to these joints. The protocol that I am going to describe below has helped me to eliminate problems of this type and prevent them from happening again, so let's see what it consists of.