Troy Hurst holds a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Carroll University. He is a physical therapist specializing in both athletic and vestibular rehabilitation with an emphasis on performance running.
A general workout plan supplemented by a healthy diet and overall lifestyle can help a person get in shape (1). However, if you have specific goals to build muscle and strength, things need to go by a strategic plan.
Calisthenics or bodyweight exercises can be a good starting point for those who wish to bulk up.
Your body alone can provide enough resistance to achieve the goal of building muscular mass. There is no need to sign up for an expensive gym membership for the weights and complex machines.
A calisthenics workout plan for mass for beginners can help you bulk up while providing your body with more than just nice-looking muscles. You will also notice improved strength and endurance as you build those muscles (2).
This article takes a deep dive into how you can build your muscles and what tips you can follow to ensure everything runs smoothly.
A 6-day calisthenics routine is a structured workout plan designed to build muscle and strength without requiring a gym or extensive equipment. This program utilizes bodyweight exercises, making it ideal for home training.
The routine incorporates a progressive overload approach, allowing you to gradually increase the intensity by adjusting reps, sets, or exercise difficulty as your strength improves.
A pull-up bar is the only equipment calisthenics experts recommend, though some exercises offer alternatives if you don’t have access to one.
A planned and strategized calisthenics program to build muscle mass is challenging and meant for intermediate to advanced athletes.
You or a coach can adjust the exercises, sets, and reps to match your fitness level.
Day 1: Upper Body Push (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps)
Day 2: Lower Body (Legs, Glutes)
Day 3: Pull (Back, Biceps)
Day 4: Core & Abs
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Day 5: Full Body Strength (Focus on Explosiveness)
Day 6: Upper Body Push & Pull (Mixed Day)
Day 7: Rest/Active Recovery
Note: Don’t overwhelm yourself in the initial stages of any workout plan.
This calisthenics workout plan is very challenging and for intermediate to advanced athletes. Beginners will require significantly less volume.
It is best to start with a 3-day total body plan focusing on the basic movements with no more than 10 sets per week per movement (For example, no more than 10 weekly sets of each: upper body push, upper body pull, lower body, and core).
Want a more extended program? Read our article here for a 12-Week Calisthenics Program Guide: Exercises, Tips, and Frequently Asked Questions.
Read more: 3000 Calorie Vegan Meal Plan: Bumping Up Your Caloric Intake The Right Way
Of course, you can!
Resistance training can increase muscle mass if the program is well-designed and you consider other lifestyle factors. Muscular hypertrophy relies on adequate volume, intensity, and recovery, with progressive overload to continually provide a training stimulus that will encourage musculoskeletal and neuromuscular adaptations.
Even if you lay out your training plan perfectly, you will not reach your full potential if you are not consuming a diet that supports your training and allows your body to recover and build. Similarly, adequate sleep and rest is a crucial component of muscular hypertrophy.
Some of the critical training factors that lead to muscular hypertrophy include:
It is a strength training strategy in which you gradually increase your workout intensity.
A more scientific definition of this concept is that you slowly increase the stress on your muscles and nervous system (5). The progressive overload principle is one of the primary principles of calisthenics, which practitioners use to increase strength performance and hypertrophy gains.
You can do this by:
Compound exercises in calisthenics can be efficient because they simultaneously work on multiple muscle groups (5). The fact that they can be done anytime, anywhere, and involve different muscles makes them a practical part of any routine.
Compared to single-joint exercises, performing compound movements is a convenient and time-efficient way to enhance muscle growth.
A 2017 study in Frontiers in Physiology involving young men revealed that exercises targeting multiple joints were more effective for increasing strength and cardiorespiratory fitness than single-joint exercises (6).
Some exercises you can include in your compound bodyweight workout plan to build muscle are:
Eccentric training focuses on the lengthening phase of a muscle contraction. When you perform an exercise, there are typically three phases:
Eccentric training emphasizes the last phase, where you lengthen the time your muscles are under load.
For example, in a standard push-up, the eccentric phase is when you lower your body back towards the ground. By slowing down this phase, you increase the time your muscles are under tension, which can lead to more strength gains and muscle growth.
A 2014 study concluded that eccentric muscle actions have distinct characteristics compared to concentric or isometric (constant length) contractions, which could lead to specific adaptations (7).
Eccentric contractions produce more force for a given angular velocity than others. Additionally, they require less motor unit activation and use less oxygen and energy to make the same muscle force as concentric contractions.
Despite popular opinion, calisthenics and bulking have a long history. The modern military uses calisthenics, and the soldiers from ancient Greece also used calisthenics to become stronger. The bulking phase in calisthenics can bring tremendous perks for the users, given that they follow the correct methods.
A strategic plan can help you to bulk with calisthenics:
Some people believe calisthenics can only decrease body fat and build endurance. But, it is not valid. A proper diet, a balanced workout routine, and progressive overload can help you bulk.
Calisthenics can be hypertrophy or strength, depending on your chosen exercises. The dynamic and compound movements of calisthenics need a great deal of strength. And using the proper techniques, you can add enough resistance to improve muscle size and strength.
The breakdown of calisthenics for strength or hypertrophy is as follows:
You can build strength by focusing on exercises requiring few repetitions and more intensity. For example:
You can design your workouts for hypertrophy by following this 3 steps calisthenics workout plan for mass:
Whether the resistance comes from barbells, free weights, or your body weight – it does not matter. What matters is that resistance provides enough tension and force to overcome and produce a muscular hypertrophy effect.
The brain does not differentiate where the resistance comes from.
It only recognizes that there is resistance to overcome and that it needs to generate force through your muscles (8). Therefore, there is no need to worry about calisthenics physique vs bodybuilding because either can effectively stimulate muscle growth.
Read more: Intermediate Calisthenics Workout Plan: Make Your Own Plan with These Tips from Experts
You can practice a calisthenics workout plan for mass at home or anywhere with enough space! Whether calisthenics or gym-based strength training is better for bulking depends on individual goals, preferences, and training style.
Each method has its strengths, and the effectiveness of one over the other for bulking can vary depending on how you approach it.
Calisthenics emphasizes full-body movements and coordination, enhancing functional strength and flexibility alongside muscle growth.
This training style builds lean muscle mass while improving balance, control, and mobility—qualities that gym routines may not focus on as heavily.
With that said, bulking typically requires progressively higher resistance levels, which may be easier to achieve with weights.
As you advance in calisthenics, reaching the same resistance level as with weights requires modifications like adding:
These additional modifications require more creativity and planning, resulting in a steeper learning curve.
Both calisthenics and gym training can effectively support bulking, but each suits different approaches. Weightlifting offers a straightforward way to achieve your goal of pure muscle mass through consistent and scalable resistance. However, calisthenics may be a better fit if you want to build lean muscle mass with improved functional strength.
Ultimately, combining both approaches can yield the best of both worlds: using calisthenics for strength, mobility, and foundational work while supplementing with weights for additional resistance and targeted hypertrophy. This hybrid approach can create a balanced physique that’s strong, muscular, and functional.
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Your body needs a balance of macronutrients to support itself with calisthenics.
The 3 main macronutrients are protein, carbohydrates, and fats. You need them all for calisthenics and your overall health.
Most people with active lifestyles looking to build muscle mass should aim for a moderate to high protein intake from various sources. Then, divide the rest of your calories between carbs and fats, remembering that fats have more calories per gram than carbs. There is no need to eliminate carbs or fats.
Focus on a balanced, nutritious diet consisting primarily of whole grains, root vegetables, lentils, beans, fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, and dairy.
Protein powder can also help you meet your daily protein goals.
It is best to consult your doctor or dietician when discussing your nutritional needs.
The “big 3” calisthenics exercises are: Absolutely! Twenty minutes of calisthenics can be effective if you focus on high-intensity exercises and maintain good form. Short, focused workouts can be more beneficial than longer, less intense sessions. Maximize your time by incorporating compound movements that engage multiple muscle groups, like push-ups, pull-ups, and squats. Consistency and intensity are crucial. If you push yourself and maintain a routine, you can achieve significant results even with shorter workouts. No set number of reps is “too much” for calisthenics. It depends on your fitness level and goals. However, doing extremely high reps (over 50 per set) without proper form or rest could lead to burnout, overtraining, or injury. It is best to focus on quality over quantity and listen to your body. Following a workout, your muscles require carbohydrates and protein for repair. The quicker you can replenish them, the faster your recovery will be. Milk offers a convenient and hydrating source of both carbohydrates and protein, making it an excellent option to consume right after exercising (18).Frequently Asked Questions
What is the big 3 calisthenics?
Is 20 minutes of calisthenics enough?
How many reps is too much calisthenics?
Is milk good for calisthenics?
Calisthenics deploys your body weight to build mass. The exercises involved in calisthenics should be carefully structured to achieve particular goals. For instance, if someone aims to bulk up, they must incorporate proper training volume, intensity, recovery, and progressive overload.
Above all, stay consistent and set clear and achievable goals. If you’re new to calisthenics, start slowly and build gradually. You’ll be surprised at how much progress you can make in your physique and overall health!
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