Calisthenics For Athletes 

Thank you, brother. I appreciate the kindness. I’m glad you enjoyed. 🙏

100 km :) Very well thought out content with on bells and whistles. Thanks Mr. K

HAHA

Awesome description

Yeah!

That would expain the world going to s@#t

Looks like a guy with no legs who is in need of a shirt and some shorts.

Gabo, I appreciate that so much brother. You do the same. Thank you. 🙏

GOATS recognizing GOATS. 🔥💪🏻

Yeah same. I’ve trained martial arts with untrained dudes who are fit. And they are a handful. Once they train up, they are monsters.

@@Kboges yep

More awesome content/knowledge. Hard to master a sport without mastering control of your own body 1st! Form/technique are much easier to adhere to when you have strength from calisthenics as your base. In contact and/or combat sports it's considerably easier to control your opponents body when you have complete control of your own. That's something weights alone miss in my humble opinion.

Beautiful

Dude I second this. Im a 5'5' guy playing futsal against 5'10', 6' footers as a CB but most of the time they'll tell me off saying Im roughing them too much. The thing is most of the time I dont have any intentions to do so whatsoever.. 50/50s are a breeze

@@Jack_huntakilla that’s great! I am the opposite of you a 6’2 forward, skinny but ripped. They think they can bully me off ball and they quickly find out they can’t. Neymar is my favorite player so I favor his style of play. Keep it going brother!

I play soccer, too! How do you balance callisthenics and soccer practice without burning yourself out?😮I‘m still trying to find the middle ground between doing too much and too little off the pitch.😊

@@juliag28 Great question, no right answer and I am not a professional at all. I can only tell you what works for me and some people I have observed. I am 6’2 tall and only weight 165lb not impressive at all. My main focus has always been cardio, tons of running different distances and speeds to help me with soccer and even jump rope. I do what I can manage in calisthenics, I do push ups (as active rest) after each mile, or after each sprint, I do a lot of body weight stuff which doesn’t affect my recovery as much as weights. Honestly bro, the more you do calisthenics, the more work capacity you get. You will get used to it and your sport. Make sure you are eating well and sleeping and drinking water. I am more focused on calisthenics now that I am older and don’t aspire to be a professional athlete anymore. Sometimes I start off with sets of 5x5 pull ups, walking lunges for 2 mins, or rows on a bar, all my body weight. When I feel I can’t go any more or my form is suffering I stop. I believe in performance failure, it helps with burn out. Honestly this channel has the best advice, nothing I can say that he didn’t cover yet. I hope that helps, keep balling. Remember it’s not about how well you are doing, it’s about how long you are doing well. Do what you can consistently and you will know when it’s time to do more.

Dude this is awesome. Exactly what I’m talking about. Keep up the training and when you get back into karate you will be good to go.

@@in3audio932 hahaha! Indeed it is! But when I said “toothbrush“ I meant as regularly as brushing teeth, not necessarily in the morning and before sleep! 👍

Lololol. Brush my teeth calisthenics, toiletsthenics, whateversthenics. Creativity and discipline goes a long way ;) Also, get the Stairs for big .I.

100%. Makes you more resilient.

I hope so. Alex is the man.

Fitnessfaqs (daniel vadnal) needs to put Kboges on his podcast!

Hahah thanks man! Daniel has reached out a few times to get me on the podcast and I'm extremely honored by that because he is, in my opinion, top tier fitness content and an extremely nice and humble guy. I feel bad for saying no, but as I explained to him, I really don't want to do anything to expand my online presence beyond the channel. While I do want to grow the channel, I want that to happen all organically, and I don't have any ambitions around being more well known or more prolific on the internet. I know it's kind of confusing, but I'm kind of a reluctant RU-vidr and private by nature. I just want a normal life and don't want to dive into the social media stuff.

@@Kboges I think your viewers would like to know more about you and who's the man behind the camera, what's his story, but then again, your training philosophy and video style maybe reflects exactly that personality, and without it we wouldn't have your videos the way they are. Nothing but respect!

⁠@@Kboges That would’ve been great to see you on that podcast but keep doing what you’re doing bro. I love your approach to your channel and I’ve gotten the vibes since I’ve been watching you that you are not in this for spoils or fame. Just quality advice, content, and conversations with like-minded people in the comments.

@@asgmto For sure. I'm happy to share personal stories with individuals, and I'm an open book that way, I'm just not a fan of doing that on a mass level.

Perfect example. People who get into martial arts with 0 fitness background are in a really rough place.

How many reps per set? And how much time of rest between sets?

@@deadsilence--9478 5 sets of 20 diamonds Started with 5 sets of 15. Sounds easy but controled full rom is hard. Usually take 90 seconds to 2min rest. Pull ups im currently on 4 sets of 8 also controled and full rom with 90 sec to 2min rest

I appreciate that, Brad.🙏

Thanks, Joe! I’m glad you enjoyed. I appreciate the support!

100% this and it’s such an under-appreciated benefit of being fit. You can handle more sport specific training at a higher quality when you are in shape.

I’m glad you enjoyed!

That is exactly it. It doesnt need to be complicated. Being in great shape is better than being in bad shape. Simple as that!

Happy Easter, Bobby. Thank you for the kindness and support. 🙏

It’s my pleasure! Thank you for watching.

That is totally true in my experience.

Thank you! It’s my pleasure. 🙏

Awesome! Yeah it’s easy to chase fatigue but it can get you into trouble real quick. Focus on quality and the rest will take care of itself.

Heck yeah! So happy to hear that. Glad you enjoyed and thank you for the feedback.

My pleasure! Thank you for watching 🙏

So happy to hear. Glad you enjoyed. Thank you for the kind words and the views!🙏

Well said. When I was into lifting and coaching lifters, I pretty much always had them do BW exercises for accessory work. I got many people to a 315 bench with very simple benching routines and lots of push ups as accessory. I think basic Bw and weighted calisthenics are super useful for guys who are pursuing strength on the barbell.

Well done! That’s a big benefit to training, no doubt. So happy to hear it has helped you out, dude! Keep at it💪

Thanks! Yeah I’m finishing up a weighted cycle. Haven’t done one with this much focus in a while. It was a nice change.

Ahh happy to hear that! I’m happy to hear it has helped you 🙏

John, that is so true and a great way to put it. Great hearing from you🙏

Yeah. I get the same in kickboxing and clinch work. I think a lot of people don’t understand how tiring it is to fight on your feet. For a lot of people, it their legs that get smoked. Trying to stand up, be light on your feet, and move well when you legs are dead is just about impossible.

Exactly. Tyson is a great example. Lots of other boxers did the same. Pretty incredible, really.

He also box and ran alot

​@@TetrisPimp That's an interesting question: how much of Tyson's (or any champion-level athlete) success was from general exercise, and how much of it was from sport-specific movements? You'd think practicing ONLY boxing would eventually make you as good at boxing as your DNA allowed. Although that might take more time than you have.

Heck yeah! Good to hear. Keep it up and take it slow.

I appreciate that very much! Thank you!

I think the best way to deal with this is through slow and controlled/ paused movements. Video tape yourself so you can identify the part of the ROM that is funky and see if you can make the connection to it with your mind so you can correct.

Hahah heck yeah! Thank you, Leonard!

Exactly. Dan John and Jim Wendler produce some top tier content. I’m a fan of both. This is a BOX 45 lbs vest.

Well said, brother.

Exactly! Lots of over complication. People have been in amazing shape and have been incredible athletes before “functional” training ever came on the scene.

Yeah that makes sense, but pump isn’t the best way to assess stimulation. More ROM with more tension in the lengthened position might give you greater growth stimulus but less of a pump.

Haha dude I don’t think I deserve that title but I really appreciate it 🙏🙏

Thanks! Daily, full body. 2-3 sets with some horse stance training.

Exactly this! I think most people underestimate just how much of an advantage it is in lifting to have a calisthenics background. Your starting point will be higher, your response better, your control better, and your body more resilient.

Volume is going to be dependent on the individual, but 1-3 sets daily works well for many people. A basic push/pull/leg approach is the foundation. It’s not where you should stop if you want to be the best athlete you can be. As for what your body needs beyond this, it’s going to depend on the body. But for general health, I look at it like this… a 75 year old guy who can do 30 push ups, 10 pull ups, a set of 100 atg squats… he’s going to be very fit and doing pretty well.

Ah I see. I think 3-4 sets works for me assuming my sets are taken close to failure. I just needed an idea on how to spread my volume throughout the week. And because I train every other day, I need an amount of volume that would help me reach the optimum amount of weekly sets. I could train everyday, but I think every other day (making it 4x a week) is preferable since I have a rest/active rest day in between sessions. Thank you for replying, I rarely see creators who cares much about their audience as well as their content. And the info you share is very helpful for individuals who want to train without a gym and just straight calisthenics. More power 🫡

Hey Dan, it's really going to vary from individual to individual. A 65 year old guy just starting out is going to approach training VERY differently from an 18 year old gifted athlete with 10 years of training under his belt. As for how much volume you need... it's tough to say. Most people will take great gains between 10 and 20 sets per week, but that doesn't mean you can't make great gains below that. Plenty of people do.

Thank you so much Kyle! I haven’t worked out for around a year and am trying to transition back to it slowly. Lastly, how many minutes would you recommend to rest between sets? I know I’m asking too much but I really appreciate your efforts to reply to me.

I do! I like the a lot. I don't use them at home because I have gymnastic rings, but when I travel, I often seek them out in hotel gyms. I'm a fan. Not sure I would have much to add to the topic, as I think most of my content would apply to suspension trainers. It's still just a matter of hard sets and controlled movement.

Dude this is so good to hear! Awesome work brother. Keep it up and let me know how your progress goes. I can’t wait to hear back!💪

@@Kboges Thanks man, I love your approach because its not just about looking good. Its a full spectrum full body health. I was the generation that had the plastic Sears beach press. Biceps and chest for a new Polo was our objective. To refocus on joints, flexibility has actually improved my life more than weight loss. Thank you all you do. You truly understand the body and the connection to real health. God Bless. John

I also have Hiatus Hernia are there any thing which should I consider. As I have noticed while doing the light weighted Squats I do feel some discomfort in my chest. Even while doing the hanging leg raise.

Both will work fine. Of volume is equated, outcome is likely to be similar. I like small daily workouts for the reduced impact on my schedule and lower time investment. Also really great for fatigue management and movement quality.

I have had really good results with DUP for managing fatigue. I’ve done tons of linear periodization in the past and it works, but I like daily fluctuations.

Haha thanks man! Gotta get to SoCal for the weather. The palm trees are an added bonus. 😂

Calisthenics is a name much older than “push up”. It refers to exercises done with your BW and comes from the Greek words Kallos sthenos. A push up is just a variety of calisthenics exercise. 💪

That is such a great point. Not every GPP exercise is a good fit due to the recovery demand. Well said, dude.

I think it's a good way to go. Zone 2 should feel like a warm up, so I see very little interference.

I really like it for push ups. Not so much for pull ups.

Likely doesn’t make a difference. The biggest thing is the big picture: if are you eating sufficient calories, macros, and micros to support your goal.

@@Kboges what are optimal calories, macros, and micros for a 6 foot 1 190 lb male that's skinny fat?

Yeah. Check out “reverse Tyler curls” using a flexbar. Check out some RU-vid videos to see if it applies to you.

I like! For lifters, I usually like to put the calisthenics at the end so as to not fatigue before the weights but I’m big fan of combining the two.

I’ve ever had any issues with triceps tendonitis. Golfers elbow from 1 arm chins and too many chins though. Pronated and neutral grip are totally fine.

I never thought about it. Kyle is like the modern day Mentzer.

@@AdonisTheGreat198 The Mike Mentzer of Calisthenics, it’s a great fit.

@@kingnomadxv3251 Yeah. I'm only 15 & I'm still feeling better training w/ Kyle's method. I realized I didn't care about skills, but I only cared about getting bigger/stronger/more conditioned. The basics get all those jobs done. Push ups, pull ups, Wall HSPU, inverted rows, squats/lunges, sprints.

Thanks, my friend !🙏

I think they are alright. I think the biggest shortcoming is the lack of ROM. You can elevate the hands to increase it, but then it becomes less accessible for more people. Push ups and dips are really solid, in my opinion, and can build a good strength base with which you can use to expand the ROM of the pike and HSPU. For people not quite there, I look at it as a potentially valuable supplemental exercise.

Yeah for me, I just love training outside. Pull ups and push ups have always been my favorite exercises. I like to train higher reps due to muscle endurance and conditioning adaptations, I like to train outside, I like the reduced injury risk (I haven't ever been significantly injured by a calisthenics exercise aside from some elbow tendonitis), and I like the accessibility; I can do them anywhere. I don't have any issues with weights, so I'm not dogmatically anti weight or anything like that. I was recently at a hotel gym, and lifted weights just for fun, but when I'm at home, I would rather just jump on a pull up bar.

Absolutely! They are awesome. I used to do them in my 20's but suffered 2 injuries to the same knee that has left my patella kind of permanently sensitive, making them a no-go for me at this point.

Yeah I found the same. When I stopped lifting my joints felt better immediately.

See if there is a work around, but go get this checked out by a sports doc or a pt.

Hi brother,I also had forearm tendinitis while doing pull ups so what I did was hammer curls with super lightweight weights for 2 sets of 25 to 30 reps everyday to get as much blood flow to the tendon.I slowly increased the weight from 10 lbs to 25lbs for a span of 4 months with no pain.I do pull ups now and my forearm tendinitis is gone!!

Hard to replicate heavy loaded hinges. You can get some strong hamstrings with hanging leg raises, single leg decline bridges, and nordics. Low back is definitely a weak pain though, but back extensions are pretty solid for low back, hamstrings and glutes.

@Kboges thanks! Don't mind using weights where necessary, but just checking in case there was anything I'd missed. Congrats and thanks for the superb content as always. Legendary channel with integrity.

So good to hear, Ryan! That is GPP doing its thing!

I think they can be really useful for sure. I think dips and extended ROM push ups are a more direct way to hypertrophy just because pike and hspu have a pretty small ROM. Of course you can extend the ROM, but then you run into scalability issues since even like variations are pretty tough when performed through extended ROM. So it’s not that I think they are “bad” but I think they have some issues that warrant some considerations. Getting beastly at HSPU is a legit way to build a strong upper body, but they just are not accessible to a lot of people. I think for those who don’t do them, they can still build an awesome physique.

@@Kboges thank you!

Good question. It makes more sense to equate them along hard sets. Whether you are doing a set of 10 or a set of 20, the stimulation to muscle growth is the same as long as the set is taken to or close to failure. Rep range is irrelevant in that context. A single set can be counted as a unity of volume regardless of rep range.

I’m a little over 6’1” and about 183 in this picture.

@@Kboges Thanks. I’m trying to keep some realistic expectations here. I’m 6’2”, 181, 15% body fat. One month ago, I was 191 and 19% bf with a noticeable gut, but going completely zero carb (from nearly zero carb) plus a 90 hour fast changed that (in fact, I dropped as low as 175, much to my vanity’s displeasure). I’m attempting to regain a little lost muscle and even add some lean muscle mass with body weight compounds (pull-ups, ring chin-ups, dips) and isolated resistance exercise. The biggest obstacle is being 67 y.o., but I’m still in decent shape and have worked out for years. I recently did over a year of HIT which added obvious lean mass. I’m continuing that workout style with the new regimen. Your videos are extremely helpful and insightful. Thanks again.

Haha yeah I had essentially no time to train. Literally got back from the doctors office, had about 18 minutes to train. No time to change but didn’t want to get the shirt sweaty. 😅

@@Kboges Looking like the ideal husband for many women out there 😂

@@jty1999hahahaha trust me, I have my faults. For instance, I’m still working on not leaving my socks on the floor. It’s harder than it sounds. 😂

@@Kboges I feel that. Do what you gotta do, we appreciate the content!

Exactly! I’ve talked to a lot of guys who experienced the same thing. Also, a lot of lifting is skill and being comfortable with the movements. Once you have that established, the strength gains from calisthenics transfer over way better.

Thank you, freedom!