Calisthenics is often lauded for its scalability. The fact that individuals of all fitness levels can adopt this workout makes it all the more appealing. What’s even more intriguing is its lack of reliance on any equipment. All it asks for is your body’s weight and performing the exercises in the correct form and frequency.
When you first step into a training session or get assistance from an instructor, they’ll lead you to warm-up and some basic calisthenics moves. This will get your body used to mild movements and lubricate the joints so they’re ready for exercise. One of the major downsides of a sedentary lifestyle is the gradual loss of natural flexibility. This particularly impacts the stabilizing muscles around your joints, which increases the risk of long-term health issues (1).
Calisthenics acts as a knight in shining armor for all individuals who are going through this phase. It kickstarts the muscles and prepares the body for better movement. This guide walks you through the easiest calisthenics moves and breaks down the science behind them in a beginner-friendly format.
If you’re just getting started with bodyweight training, the good news is that calisthenics doesn’t have to be intimidating. In fact, many of the easiest calisthenics moves for beginners are simple, effective, and require no equipment – just your own bodyweight and some space to move.
Some of the best starter moves include:
These moves are considered entry-level and are among some of the most common moves that are found in daily life. This makes them an ideal foundation for building strength and coordination for beginners. A 2022 survey by the American College of Sports Medicine ranked bodyweight training as one of the top 10 global fitness trends (2). This illustrates just how accessible this form of exercise is.
Even celebrities like Chris Hemsworth and Zendaya have credited calisthenics-style training as part of their fitness routines, which demonstrates that these beginner-friendly exercises can help develop strength and contribute to your body’s overall health, wellness, and appearance. Starting here ensures you build the fundamentals before you move on to advanced skills, such as muscle-ups or handstands.
Read more: No Weights, No Excuses: Good Calisthenics Workouts You Can Do Anywhere
The difficulty of calisthenics comes down to a number of factors. If something is easy for someone, this doesn’t mean it’s easy for every individual. Calisthenics is seen as a great beginner option due to the fact that you’re just using your body weight and not adding in any external loads. When external loads (dumbbells, kettlebells, machines, etc) are presented, the likelihood of injury is increased. Weighted exercises add additional strain to your muscles and ligaments and without proper form, you can injure yourself. The bodyweight aspect of calisthenics is why it’s considered an ideal way to crawl into a consistent fitness routine. It’s actually one of the most beginner-friendly ways to start working out. As mentioned above, the best part of calisthenics is that you use your bodyweight as resistance. You can scale it up or down, depending on your fitness level (3).
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Furthermore, according to structured analysis, the perceived difficulty of calisthenics varies based on several personal factors:
However, don’t give up when you face any of these hurdles. You can overcome these obstacles by seeking help from a certified trainer or an authentic platform like BetterMe. They can help you find the workouts that will suit your fitness level and help you reach your fitness goals without injury risk.
The answer here depends on what you mean by “hard”. Both gym workouts and calisthenics challenge the body in unique ways, but the type of difficulty varies.
As mentioned above, calisthenics is all about using your body weight and gravity to build strength, balance, and mobility. Many of the exercises you will already know, such as squats, push-ups, lunges, and crunches.
When you start calisthenics, you’ll notice a wide range of moves. Some are super beginner-friendly and need no equipment at all, such as squats and planks, while others are more advanced and may use a pull-up bar or rings, such as pull-ups and muscle-ups. This makes calisthenics flexible enough for both beginners and seasoned athletes.
Most of us get a gym subscription when we need to lose a few pounds. However, you should understand that gyms are more than that.
A gym gives you access to various equipment, such as treadmills, dumbbells, barbells, and resistance machines, that can target specific muscle groups or help with cardio training. Unlike calisthenics, where you rely primarily on your body weight, the gym allows you to adjust weights easily and follow structured programs for strength, endurance, or fat loss. This doesn’t mean that you can’t use calisthenics and see similar results, it’s just that the gym tends to give you more variety and an easier ability to manipulate the weight for any exercise.
The gym is a controlled environment that can simplify tracking progress, particularly if you’re aiming for quick and measurable results.
Muscle growth (hypertrophy) comes when you progressively overload your workouts. This involves manipulating the rep range, sets, duration, intensity, or weight of a workout. The gym makes progressive overload easy. You simply pick up a heavier weight the next time around.
The table below illustrates how difficulty levels compare when doing calisthenics and gym, from different aspects:
| Aspect | Gym Workouts (Weights and Machines) | Calisthenics (Bodyweight Training) |
|---|---|---|
| Progression | Easy to track, just add more weight | Progression through variations and leverage |
| Learning Curve | Shorter, as machines guide movement | Steeper, requires mastering form and control |
| Strength Gains | Allows heavy loading quickly | Gains come slower, but build joint stability |
| Skill Requirement | Low - most movements are simple | High - skills such as handstands take practice |
| Accessibility | Requires gym access and equipment | Needs little or no equipment |
| Impact on Joints | Can be high if heavy loads are used improperly | Can be low if focusing on controlled moves |
| Versatility | Wide range of machines and weights available | Versatile progressions, but needs creativity |
As shown above, calisthenics has a lower impact on joints, which is one of the many reasons why it may be better for beginners. You can go to the gym, ask a trainer, and use a simple machine such as a treadmill or bike, but calisthenics doesn’t have space restrictions or any cost associated with it. This makes it a convenient option for people with time or space constraints.
If your main goal is straightforward strength gains and steady progression, the gym is often easier as you can add more weight to track your improvement. On the other hand, if you’re drawn to enhancing body control, exploring creative movements, and building functional strength, calisthenics may seem more challenging initially. However, many people find it more rewarding in the long term.
Read more: Сalisthenics Workout Results: 5 Real Changes to Your Body
Varying between gravity-defying holds and explosive moments, calisthenics shows you don’t need a gym full of machines to build the body of your dreams. Before you leap into hardcore exercises, you must understand that every athlete starts with the basics. You can even perform a quick calisthenics sequence in your lounge or office. It just requires the right form and some space to move around.
When you’ve mastered the fundamentals, here are some basic calisthenics exercises you can do:
Jumping Jacks
High Knees
Glute Bridges
Side Leg Lifts
Wall Sit
These are just a few examples of some of the basic calisthenics moves for beginners. If you feel your body is ready for advanced moves, you could consider performing exercises such as mountain climbers, the bear crawl, and leg raises.
Getting started on a workout program is all about staying consistent. It may seem like a lot of work in the beginning, but feel free to go at your own pace and focus on getting yourself better. Remember, it’s those who are slow and steady who win the race.
The workout structure will depend on your fitness level and what you want to achieve with exercise plans. Generally, a beginner calisthenics workout may look like this:
Rest for 30-60 seconds between exercises if needed.
Repeat once.
This workout includes some basic calisthenics moves. When you feel ready to switch to more advanced exercises, you should talk to a certified trainer. They can guide you to the form and frequency that will suit you better.
Calisthenics may be reliant on bodyweight exercises, but that doesn’t make it easy. Learning and improving these movements takes time, consistency, and patience. Some exercises feel simple right away, while others can take months or even years. That’s part of the challenge, and it’s also what makes it rewarding.
Improving at calisthenics doesn’t happen overnight, but minor adjustments to your training can help you progress steadily. A few practical ways to build your strength (and confidence) are:
It’s commonly assumed that progress in calisthenics comes from piling on more reps or longing for heavier weights. However, when you start exploring further layers of this regime, you discover that calisthenics emphasizes making smart adjustments to how you perform exercises in order to keep challenging your body.
The following strategies may come in handy:
Instead of increasing weight, tweak your body’s leverage. Switching your body position, such as progressing from push-ups to archer, diamond, or decline push-ups, creates new muscle stimuli without external loading.
Slowing down the movement makes even familiar exercises feel significantly harder. For example, a deliberately slow archer push-up engages your muscles more than the standard version. Similarly, reducing the rest time between sets can elevate the intensity without changing the exercise.
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Performing complex variations with fewer reps is more effective than completing large sets of easy ones. Performing 30 pistol squats with good form is just as stimulating as 100 bodyweight squats.
Advanced moves have a higher risk of misuse if they’re done poorly. Don’t move on to the next progression until you’re confident your form is rock solid. This ensures safe and sustainable progress.
Trying new variations is both practical and fun. Switching exercises keeps training engaging and mentally stimulating, which may keep you consistent in the long term.
A calisthenics beginner must be cautious about every step they take. Even though it has some of the easiest moves, you may end up injuring yourself if you don’t learn the correct form. Platforms such as BetterMe can help you understand the right moves in the comfort of your own home.
Strength and weakness are both relative terms. It looks different for everyone. Just because you’re weak doesn’t mean you can’t do calisthenics and just because you’re strong doesn’t necessarily mean you’re automatically a calisthenics expert. We all start somewhere. The beauty of bodyweight training is that it meets you where you are. You can start with simple variations such as wall push-ups, knee push-ups, or assisted squats, and gradually build strength. Anything in the fitness realm takes time, but with consistent effort, you can accomplish any goals you set. Height can influence leverage in certain exercises. For example, taller individuals may find pull-ups or planches more challenging due to their longer limbs and a higher center of gravity. That being said, it’s not a barrier. Proper progressions and patience can help tall athletes excel in calisthenics and even benefit from their reach in skills such as muscle-ups. Beginner-friendly calisthenics has a lot of foundational exercise movements. One move that comes to mind is the wall push-up. It allows you to practice proper push-up form without overloading your muscles. Other beginner-friendly movements include incline push-ups, bodyweight squats, and dead hangs, all of which lay a solid foundation for harder skills. However, as we’ve discussed throughout this article, difficulty is subjective and what’s easy for one person isn’t easy for all. Many people consider the planche to be one of the toughest skills as it demands extreme core strength, shoulder stability, and balance to hold your body parallel to the ground. High-level skills such as the front lever or one-arm pull-up are also quite challenging and generally take years of dedicated training.Frequently Asked Questions
Am I too weak for calisthenics?
Is calisthenics harder for tall people?
Which is the easiest calisthenics pose?
What is the hardest calisthenics skill?
Calisthenics has helped people up their fitness game in a matter of weeks. Take the example of a study published in Isokinetics and Exercise Science 2017 journal. In just 8 weeks, they found that people who trained with calisthenics became much stronger and fitter without using equipment. They increased their push-up numbers by 16% and nearly doubled their pull-up strength with a 39% increase. They also improved their posture and lost body fat, while the group that didn’t train saw no real changes (10).
This shows how calisthenics can be a fruitful addition to any workout regimen. When you adjust the difficulty level according to your fitness, you may notice improvements in both your physical and mental health.
If you’re new to fitness, calisthenics offers you a flexible and sustainable way to become stronger at your own pace. Over time, these small steps add to real progress, which makes it a training style you can grow with for years to come.
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