okay so i’ve been trying to get full pushups for a couple weeks now and have noticed small improvement. this is probably going to sound really stupid but bear with me. If i just keep doing pushups, even though they’re really bad and honestly can barely be considered push ups, will i actually get better and improve or should I try other exceesizes to help me improve? If so, what else should I be trying. I know that everyone says to do incline push ups, and i’ve tried, but i’ve noticed more progress from just doing repeated “half-push ups”. I’m very much a beginner and kind of just building from the ground up.

I'm 22M 1,76m 74kg. My body isn't that weak but isn't that strong, tho I'm actively working in my job. I want to start doing gym to build my body, and wanna know if 10 months of hardwork is enough to get my upper muscles not especially remarkable but clearer shape only (i have some belly fat but manageable), like focusing on those muscles especially (6 packs, chest, triceps and biceps, avant bras, shoulders)

If you know anything please tell me about your experience or something you witnessed before

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I'm a 20-year-old guy, and I've been working out on and off for a while, but I always seem to lose focus eventually.

The thing is, I often find training boring, whether it's bodyweight training or lifting weights. I work an office job and live in a small town, so being in great shape doesn't really make much of a difference in my day-to-day life. It's not like I need to be fit for my job or any other part of my routine.

I know there are health benefits to exercising, and I'd like to build a good physique, but those reasons don't always feel strong enough to keep me motivated when training starts feeling like a chore.

Has anyone else experienced this? How did you manage to stay consistent when you realized that getting in shape wasn't really necessary for your lifestyle?

I'm especially interested in hearing about habits, mindsets, or practical methods that helped you develop discipline and keep training even when you didn't feel like it.

I'd appreciate any advice or personal experiences!

Some bodyweight exercises I feel I have a very clear "failure" level.

For example, for regular pull ups with an 8kg weight, I can do about 10, maybe squeeze in 1-2. After that I can really feel the "weakness" in my back, arms and shoulders and cannot do any more complete sets. (I sometimes do "drop sets", maybe squeeze out another 5-6 reps unweighted, followed by 5-6 eccentrics).

But other bodyweight exercises I really feel unclear. It seems I can do way too many reps and am not sure if I'm fully exercising the muscle. I eventually stop just because of feeling out of breath or general fatigue. In theory I could push through the pain (and sometimes do) but it's just extremely unpleasant and punishing and I worry it will overly fatigue my body.

For example, I can do about 50-75 lunges with an 8kg weight before feeling very weak in my knees and puffed out. I begin to feel weak around 50. Then if I really push through the breathless feeling I can sort of squeeze out another 25 or so. Sometimes I actually do this and continue till about ~75 total. Eventually my form begins to break down. I seem to have a similar 50-75 rep range with other exercises like 8kg weighted sit ups.

Maybe my form needs a bit of work sometimes. For the lunges, it's generally Ok, but I notice I arch my back a bit sometimes. Also maybe I need to try and keep my legs more straight; for some reason my feet seem to always want to face outward and maybe this is not good for my form.

Would you suggest increasing the challenge somehow to reduce the number of reps?

My 8kg weight referred to here is my backpack. Do I need to add weight? Get a bigger backpack? Or should I be going for other dimensions like power/speed or increasing range of motion or different movements?

For abs I'm thinking maybe I need to do more leg raises with higher range of motion. For lower body, I'm thinking probably pistol squats and/or weighted single leg lunches (those I really do seem to max out at 25).

Curious to get your thoughts. Thanks

I want what everyone else wants. to be healthy, strong, and have a good physique. Theres billions of people that want to look like their favorite anime character, and I’m in there somewhere too.

but I don’t want to just day dream about it. I want to DO it. I have the resolve and the time, but there’s too much information to filter.

there’s too much “do this exercise” then “NOOO don’t do that exercise, it’s missing too many muscles do this one instead” then it’s “actually, that exercise was good stick to it then progress to that other exercise.” “actually, forget all those exersises, you only need ‘this’.

im genuinely not trying to make excuses I’m READY to actually do this. I didn’t wait until new years, theres not a girl I’m trying to impress, and I have the resolve to work without motivation, I just want to stop being a loser that makes excuses for why he can’t do something. but Im paralyzed with information, and don’t know how to just start.

i just need direction.

Female. 23. 5'7". 145lbs.

Okay- Being so fr fr- I had an eating disorder in 2021. I lost 30 lbs in 2 months (went from 155-125lbs) and lost my period about two months into trying to recover. But it was like- Quasi recovery?

Over the years I've been trying to find the right balance of exercise and eating. I started weightlifting in 2022-2025 where I was able to gain to about 135lbs where I stayed for that period of time. I was able to gain some strength but I would always stall and my composition still wasn't where I wanted to be and I still wasn't having a cycle. I was weightlifting 5-6x a week and would either speedwalk or run during that time for cardio also 4-6x a week. I was eating 1500-1800 calories during that time.

I started the RR last year but I was walking at 3-4mph for 1-2hrs every day and I was a nanny to two littles so they kept me on my toes (and the baby was 35+ lbs by the time I left🥵)

All this time, I never looked as muscular as I wanted and I would ALWAYS stall in terms of how far I could get in workouts. I've never been able to get past more than 2-3 progressions in an exercise before I stalled and adding volume just meant I would hit failure all the time and fatigue.

This year, I cut back on the walking, I did bodyweight fitness of some form or the RR (bodyweight routines I did that weren't the RR were comparable in terms of volume) for 5-6 days a week (3x full body routine 3x skill day/mobility) and 30 min of dance cardio 6x a week and tried to eat 2000-2100 calories a day because I was really trying to get my period back and hopefully put on some muscle.

I gained up to 145lbs and I hate my composition rn (I look like the photos of "skinny fat") I haven't gotten much stronger still and I STILL don't have my cycle back-

So- Idk- Cut back even more-?

I've stopped tracking food altogether. Just eat when I'm hungry stop when I'm full kind of system as I work with my dietitian while prioritizing protein. It's felt like more than I was eating before but I wouldn't know in terms of calories or anything.

I changed my workouts to a bodyweight routines (Nalamoves app since I have a Swedish ladder which that program is built around) 5x a week with maybe 1hr of Pilates or yoga on the skill and mobility days of that routine and NO cardio.

And tbh- I really just don't want to get any fatter because I know progressing in calisthenics can be harder if you're heavier- But maybe I haven't been building strength or muscle because my body hasn't been allocating energy towards that when it won't even ovulate. And I REALLY want to progress in my strength and start to develop real skills and get a few pull ups for once (I can't do ONE)-

I felt like I thought I was doing everything right but maybe I was just all wrong.

Has anyone been here? I would love to hear from some ladies. Can I finally build muscle, recomp a bit and get stronger in this stage? I'm so frustrated feeling stuck in my progress.

Hello, I just started lifting on 8/24. I am fairly athletic in the sense of playing sports and quickness but was never really in the weight room until I decided to change it in August. I’ve always liked pull-ups and thought it was such an impressive stunt to whoever does it. I see people in my gym who’ve been here for years and add weighted plates and it’s just fascinating. I wanna get there some day. Anyway, I’m just looking for some basic tips on how to improve my form/reps/etc. I always try to do one unassisted set, and then use the assisted for my remaining sets. I weigh 165 and use 40lb assist if it matters. Appreciate it :)

Link: video here

I recently got back into bwf after years of break, and I am in bad shape.

I have a power tower and using it three times a week (M/W/F) which for me at 40 is enough!

However, I work from home and actually it's right next to my desk. So the opportunities for me to do more are very good!

Is there anyone who advocates or suggests a different approach to the three days per week, where I use it daily, or really is that recovery period essential?

I must admit at 40 I do feel a bit like two days recovery is more appropriate (it's Wednesday today and I am still a bit stiff from Monday!).

I've been lifting weights in my basement for years. Not trying to get huge, just trying to maintain myself physically as I age (approaching 50). I do a very simple routing, 4 sets of reverse lunges with dumbbells, 4 sets of incline benches with dumbbells, then the next day 4 sets of inverse rows with hanging circles on straps, and three sets of reverse pull ups since I can't get a real pullup, even after over a year. I do this twice a week.

The legs/chest day takes a solid 45 minutes (lunges just wipe me out) and the back day takes about 20. I FUCKING HATE LIFTING WEIGHTS. I do it, consistently I might add, only for the health benefits. I hate the time it takes. Even though my goal is not to be huge or anything, sometimes lack of incremental progress is frustrating.

Since Im really just trying to maintain strength and age in a healthy way, would body weight workouts/calisthenics be more focused?

Has anyone made this switch? Is there reason to stick with weights?

Hello, I’ve been doing calisthenics for about a year, and my maximum number of pull-ups is around 10–11 reps.

Recently, I decided to start a training program consisting of 7 sets of around 7 reps. My goal is to add one rep to my first set, which would give me 1 set of 8 reps followed by 6 sets of 7 reps. Then, at each workout, I’d try to add one more rep to one of the 7 sets, gradually working my way up to 7×8, then 7×9, and so on.

I’d like to know whether this is a good training strategy or not.

P.S. I chose this 7-set approach because I can’t really go beyond 7–8 reps per set without my forearms becoming too tired to handle longer sets across multiple sets. Since I want to increase my maximum number of pull-ups and build muscle, I feel that doing a higher overall training volume might be more beneficial than doing just 4 sets of 8–9 reps.

Hello! To make a long story short, I've found that the usual stuff like lifting weights or doing planks, push-ups etc. is so incredibly boring that I just can't get myself to do it regularly. I don't expect exercising to be fun all the time, but I want to do something that's at least kind of fun. I really like climbing stuff, since there's a real goal and progress I can see, I gotta actually think about what I'm doing, it engages my whole body, etc.

The issue is that I have a history of knee injuries. The root problem has been fixed via surgery, and I can do things like running or jumping to an extent, but I don't want to overdo it. It's not painful, I'm just afraid of injuring myself again and going back to square one.

Be honest, would it be stupid to try a climbing gym? I don't want to do any crazy stuff, just kinda go in, climb up and down and leave. I guess I'm just really anxious and want reassurance, or an alternative if someone has one.

I’ve been doing calisthenics for a year. Right now, I can do 15–20 pull-ups, about 40 push-ups, and 20–25 dips. I also use resistance bands and a 10 kg kettlebell. I want to bulk up for a few months to gain as much muscle mass as possible. I'm not looking for legs, I do them on 1 day of week. Considering my current maximum numbers, what would be an effective calisthenics and resistance band workout program designed to maximize muscle hypertrophy? What are the ideal exercises, number of reps, number of sets, rest periods, and weekly frequency?

Edit : Sorry for misunderstanding, English is not my first language. I want to say I do legs 1 time in a week because of that upper and lower days are different program. I don't want to leg program suggestion. My current program is Push-Pull-Rest-Push-Pull-Leg&abs-Rest. Every program has 5-6 movement and nearly 15-20 sets.

Does the RR apply to those who have been working out for years in the gym but never tried full calisthenics? I've been workout out for 4 years and has fairly good strength, can do weighted dips, weighted pull ups and heavy squats as well as heavy cable crunches.

What I lack is mobility and stability when doing rings as I've mostly used machines and cables in the gym. For mobility, I am unable to sit upright with my legs straight (imagine L sit but just sitting) my body looks like __ not |__.

Do you recommend to pursue the RR as is or do I have to do modifications to focus of my weaker points?

Im trying to lose weight currently and as I do so I want to be able to work on my body weight exercises. Currently im 360 pounds, about 6 foot 7 inches tall. Tryna lose the weight and get better at push ups but for the last few weeks despite working on different push up variations im still stuck doing 5 standard push ups. Any other workouts BESIDES push ups that I can work on to help increase that number? Im thinking lf adding planks and dips but i could use some other suggestions as well. Dips are incredibly hard for me and I cant do any pull ups.

i dont see anyone doing it this way, and it could be right/wrong but i am curious if it works? and if not, why?

since bands are used for progression for planches.
And usually we do straddle planche as part of the progression but with bands at hips/waist pulling u up. Then gradually do thinner and thinner bands.

With proper basic strength, would it be a good idea to do full planche with bands on ANKLES (skipping straddle), which is a lot easier than bands on waist.
then i slowly progress from bands at ankles to knees
to hips?

I just wanted to bring up that since I’ve been doing this for almost two months now, my pain in all those areas have been significantly reduced. I mainly have been doing cat crawls, and lizard crawls up and down in my house from my living room to my kitchen which is a little less than 20 ft. I wish I could have taken some before photos of my forearms and some afters because they’ve gotten a little bigger, and also my posture improved a little. I have noticed that makes doing incline push-ups easier for me. I feel like a ninja doing them and it’s really fun

The usual advice for statics is to build holds at each progression, something like 3 to 5 sets of 10 to 15 seconds before moving on. But plenty of people swear by dynamic work for the same skills instead: front lever raises, ice cream makers, tuck planche pushups, slow negatives out of a harder position.

Holds seem to stall for a lot of people at some point, and adding dynamic work often gets things moving again. What I can't tell is whether that's the dynamic work itself or just more total volume.

What have you seen work?

1. Mostly holds, dynamic work didn't add much
2. Mostly dynamic, holds were just for testing
3. A mix, holds first while fresh and dynamic after
4. Depends on the skill, lever and planche behaved differently

And if you switched approaches partway through, what made you switch?

I’m curious to hear what movements other people struggled with the most when getting into calisthenics.

Some exercises look relatively simple when you watch someone else do them, but when you actually try them yourself, you realise how much strength, balance, mobility, and coordination they require.

I am learning the dragon and it is haarrd. The balance and control it takes to perform the movement properly make it much harder than I initially expected. It’s one of those exercises where having enough strength isn’t necessarily the only challenge but also technique and mobility

I have also come to realise that I excel at moves that other people dislike and vice versa.

So what was the most difficult move you’ve learnt or are learning and why? Was it a lack of strength, balance, flexibility, technique, or just getting the movement to feel natural? And how long did it take you to get comfortable with it?

I need to do regular targeted hip strengthening exercises but I keep slacking of since I find rubber band exercises so annoying to do. I like exercises where there's a clear goal with each rep. For example with glute bridges I know the goal is to get a straight line from knees to shoulders. I can also like ones where there's no clear end point if there instead is a clear point of failure, for example needing to keep my balance.

So what else than glute bridges do you recommend? I hope I expressed myself clearly. I don't normally write about exercise and English isn't my first language.

i have started working out and i dont know what the best way to lose fat and gain more muscle. like i have been working out for a year and i saw some progress in the begening but now i dont see any more progress. i have been grinding and still not much, so like im unable to do much because i am only twelve years old. a lot of people that i ask just say that i need to keep going and doing ehat i am doing. and its been two years and i have gotten really far but the progress stopped coming like a few months ago. and i cant do much dieting because my family usually just ends up getting fast food like three times a week. and im happy with my progress but i am only twelve and i know i can do much better fro now and when i get older

I don’t have a video so sorry about that. But I’m asking if there are any tips or tricks I can try to focus on when performing pull ups.

I have worked out on and off for the last 10 years and I can do 3 sets of 6-8 pull up’s just fine. But I feel like over this decade, I only have really used my back and Lats like I’m supposed to literally just once in my life. The rest feel like shoulders and not back or lats. Not sure how to explain it. I have recorded myself in the past and my form looks fine, comparable to the form of videos posted here. But in terms of muscle activation, I feel like I struggle in the pull ups specifically.

When I do the body weight rows, I can easily feel my proper muscles activated, when I do dip, I can also feel my proper muscles activated. It’s just pull up’s that I struggle with.

Any help?

I’m not at the gym at the moment and I don’t have access to one as I’m traveling but as soon as I can, I’ll record a video so I can show my form.

In the meantime, any words that can help me focus on proper muscle activation? When I first started doing pull up’s, I used the scapular pull ups video that was part of the OG beginner routine and that demonstration and talking about it helped. I guess I’m looking for something like that for regular pull ups. Thanks in advance!

Six years ago (2019-2020), I did high volume pull ups training, ~400+ pull-ups in one hour and 20min session. To reach this level, I took me around two years. I was 28-30 years old at the time and 93kg. My "record" was 43 sets of 8 reps with 30 seconds pause between sets.

Fast forward today, I'm 35 years old, 195cm 104kg with 22% body fat (measured at doctors office) and no training for years.

For the last two months, I'm back at training, around 2-4 times per week (before, I was able to go for 5 sessions per week). Currently, my training structure and numbers looks like this:

Pull ups 1:

3min rest

Pull ups Pyramid 1:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (For every done rep I pause for 5 seconds)

3 min rest

Pull Ups Pyramid 2:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (For every done rep I pause for 5 seconds)

5min rest

Dips 1:

3min pause

Pull Ups Pyramid 3:

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 - After each set 30 seconds pause

3min pause

Parallel pull ups on Monkey bar (more biceps focused):

3min pause

Dips 2:

20, 19, 18, 17, 16... 1 - after each set 90 seconds pause

End of training.

Total : ~250 pull ups and 262 dips, all done in 1h 20min

When I originally started with calisthenics years ago, I don't even remember how I looked, I only got comments here and there that my back were larger. I cannot even recall if I had visible abs, I think I did since I was leaner. Also, back then I didn't hit my macro nutrients at all, I was eating junk food mostly.

Now, I do keep my macros, and for sure I'm caloric deficit. I have a belly, not big and a lot of body fat around trunk, especially its ugly once Imin seated postion.

I'm worried thst I'm doing too much of endurance training instead of hypertrophy training. I look countless video, Dr. Mike Renesance Periodization on YT, and the conclusion is hypertrophy is anywhere between 5-30 reps as long as you hit almost to failure. Also, there needs to exist progressive overload and increased time under tension.

Regards macros now. An example of a 3 meal day looks like this:

Breakfast

50g of oats with milk, tuna can drained, 40g scoop of whey with 250ml of milk.

Lunch:

200g of cooked turkey breats, 40g of whey with milk

Dinner

150g of cooked chicken breats, 40g of whey and 200ml of low fat greek yogurt

As you can se no carbs at all.

So, the question for more experienced practicioner. What should I do to maximize hypertrophy and not go "astray" on endurance path?

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Hey everyone!

I want to get stronger overall, not just for aesthetics or lifting heavy weights, but to become genuinely strong and capable in everyday life.

One of my specific goals is to be able to comfortably lift and carry another person in different ways, especially a princess carry (holding someone horizontally in front of me), but also carrying someone over my shoulder or on my back.

I'm a beginner and still have a lot of strength to build. I have access to a gym with basic equipment, dip bars at home, and a crate I can load with water bottles for improvised training.

I'd appreciate advice on:

Which muscle groups and exercises matter most for carrying people.

How to build strength in my legs, glutes, back, shoulders, arms and core.

Whether I should prioritize squats, deadlifts, rows, pull-ups, loaded carries or other exercises.

How to train specifically for the princess carry and similar positions.

Whether grip strength, core stability and conditioning are particularly important.

How many days per week I should train and what a good beginner routine would look like.

How to progress safely without injuring myself or the person I'm carrying.

Any exercises I can do at home with dip bars and a loaded crate.

I'd like to become strong in a practical, functional way, while also building muscle overall.

If you were starting from scratch with access to a basic gym, what training plan would you recommend?

Any advice, routines or resources would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi,

I have recently started the recommended routine and am past the point where it is recommended to use a barbell and do squats with that if possible. I have just moved from Bulgarian Split Squats (8 reps) to Beginner Shrimp Squats and have found that I can barely do a single Beginner Shrimp Squat with good enough form making it hard to bridge the gap between these two exercises.

I have access to barbells and a squat rack/bench about 2-3 times sporadically throughout the week (sometimes more or less) and I generally don’t know if I have access until the day of.

I wanted to know if moving my squats to whatever days I have access to the equipment and doing weighted squats would be better or worse than just continually trying to do Beginner Shrimp Squats on the usual schedule since I don’t think I can do a full Beginner Shrimp Squat and weighted squats would let me increment the weight up more granularly.

The worst case for the sporadic seems like there could be periods where I do squats 3 days in a row which seems suboptimal for recovery, but I’m not sure.

Thanks! :)