Why Calisthenics Failed You 

Exactly, Raj.

Real

BOOM! 😎💪👊⚔️🎯💯

FR ONG 💯💯

The thing about using weight training that isn't calisthenics is it is an absolute load. If your bodyweight fluctuates, or your body fat percentage fluctuates, it can be harder to have progressive overload with just bodyweight training.

Thank you Josh, I put my money where my mouth is! I swear by the combination of calisthenics + weight training and as you said, the results speak for themselves.

you do look aesthetic lmao

@@blulu8620 No kidding, dude's jacked af

Dude really said he looks like a standard calisthenics athlete 😭

@@ghastly8192huge understatement for sure

Wish you all the best man! I can't imagine regaining consciousness and then someone tells you you were out for five years.

@@MIbra96 thanks a bunch, it's strange just like waking up from sleep but your whole body and world around you has changed overnight

Holy shit 5 years, that must of been crazy waking up and finding out that amount of time has past

@@demolitionist42 yeah I feel like I missed out on a lot of things during my ''prime years''

Dude I wanna know did you have dreams in coma....I wish I knew you I have like a billion questions

Yeah the purists are definitely a problem, holding back their community and most important, themselves!

If "only calisthenics" doesn't work, then why bother doing them when "only weights" surely works.

@@139-b7j because it's fun. It's not all about the body

@@vbnmorbus ...which is irrelevant to a video about calisthenics failing for muscle mass

@@139-b7j both work but they don't work as good as the comination of 'em

Thank you Michael, the community as a whole is always developing and it feels good to change.

@@AlexLeonidas what exercise I can do with a trx ad a cheaper substitute to rings

I weigh less than you (230 lbs) but same idea. The extra bodyweight does matter - makes all my calisthenics work "weighted." Now the trick is to lose 50 lbs and watch the strength-to-weighr ratio explode lol

Daniel's balanced approach is top notch 👍🏻 Oh yes definitely got to add in rings

I appreciate you saying that Sam, I'm doing my best!

Hi, I love ur videos!

@@SlarkySoda hey cool to see you here, Alex is great!

Happy to share my passion with you, keep that momentum going brother 💯

Love hearing this brother!! A lot can happen in a year and I'm glad you're getting great results 💯👍🏻

Thank you brother!! Natural potential is very high for many of us.

@Alex Leonidas yh man fr, if you keep you hopes up, do your research and keep consistent, the results you'll get as a natty can be incredible 🙌. And you're showing that, so thank you man!

can u help me processing the mssage from this video? so what I need to do to is more controlling my motion, adding weight, like weight belt/vest and adding rings right?

I'm honored, Francisco! Also check out those I've interviewed 💯

@@AlexLeonidas hey man I have a question, does training abs help you gain more general strength overall?

@@AlexLeonidas the wenning interview is one of the best on conjugate

Thank you Ozaru!!

for the most part in 2023 i also did BBR program and saw really great results, especially my anterior chain. But im planing to switch to a different split cuz i really want to focus on my legs and its becoming quite boring to follow the same PPL routine 5 days a week. The best bet is upper lower. Ill also incorporate some free weight exercises like OHP, upright rows, EZ BAR tricep extensions, ez bar curls, hammer curls since they are a lot of fun. Ofc ill leave the staple ring exercises in the program like ring pushups, ring rows and probably ring dips since they worked wonders and can be overloaded with weights

The father, son and holy ghost of hybrid calisthenics training

ru-vid.comRvlJuvkHCu0?feature=share this workout get you right fr

Probably not for a lot of my audience which I'm proud of you guys for! Yeahhhhhhh the pendulum setup is OP

@@AlexLeonidas man, i have to try that. Im currently doing deficit sissy squats

leg extensions are the only exercise that works the quads in the short position. You probably should have leg extensions in your program

@@bobithpopit3193 not true you don’t need to work a muscle in it’s shortened position, lengthen and mid are usually more stimulative anyways

@@NDPFitness some of the most reputable hypertrophy coaches all say to have leg extensions in your program. Paul Carter and Dr. Mike Israetel come off the top of my head

That's definitely true! Really builds everything and you can still acquire an aesthetic physique.

I agree completely, and would add that with smart training your joints, mobility and body mass will benefit too. But still I supplement with cardio and some classic barbell movements

Try weighted pull ups and dips, defenitly makes you strong overall

Man this truly sums up the problem!! You're right that it's all about looking cool and going for standard skills, most of these dudes have no idea how to program for lifting let alone general hypertrophy training for calisthenics. The ego part is so true.

@@AlexLeonidas add to this the fact that influencers give out very dumb workouts like circuit training with 5 compound movements and 1 min rest(LOOKING AT YOU BARSTARS)

@@kodokraksasa6564 that will get you fit af though if you train like that

I see calisthenics ego lifting all the time. People getting 10 half-reps while i stick to 6-8 full ROM and dead hang pullups

@@stayontrack yes. and very good cardio/muscular endurance. but it’s much less efficient for bodybuilding than doing controlled reps with fullrom on main movements (push ups dips pull ups progressions etc)

You get it brother!!

Just additional exercises, programmed in a similar way! I'm happy you incorporated those, great choices and I'm not surprised you made insane progress. Keep it up!

🗿🦍

Yup, staying a lightweight for the sake of skills is a big problem! Not ideal for size.

Yup, can quite literally build a natural bodybuilder level upper body!

@@AlexLeonidas for real with proper programming it’s possible

@@RaheemBogle I need a program, cos I don't know wtd I'm doing lmaoo

@@mrpk646 what is your training split at the moment

@@RaheemBogle can you give an example of weighted calisthenics program? mostly hypertrophy oriented

also, any tips or things to do for recovery on a strained chest/peck?

Why is this ? For example why wouldnt u prioritise a bench press as opposed to a dip ?

Great feedback, Adriaan!! Also love that weighted Calisthenics improved your bench 💯

@@AlexLeonidas Amen to that brother💯 Keep up the content, you’re top tier👍🏼

What does your routine combining rings and weights look like?

@@landerval7882 Weighted ring dips, amazing for chest, delts and triceps. The rest is just ring work without weights.

Just requires a bit of creativity!

@@AlexLeonidas also I agree that high rep sets are not optimal for hypertrophy but I had well formed pecs before I even touched weights, thanks to twice daily high rep push ups. Gave me a solid foundation.

Right after I typed this you said all the stuff I typed LOL. Amazing advice bro

@@connn1723 so for example, I'm a skinny girl who is very weak and I can only do push ups with my knees...I should train and train close failure with a lot of reps and then when I hit easily like... 30 reps with no problem I should go for a harder variation like a normal push up ? I got this right?

@@cientifica9150 yes exactly that. You could even move on earlier if you feel comfortable. As long as you're like a rep or so from failure at the end of a set it's great

@@connn1723 i see, thank you so much!!

I find weighted pushups seem to work the hell out of the mid traps, rhomboids, etc. Bench press form requires those to be locked down. I wonder if that's part of why weighted pushups feel so good in comparison.

Bloach is that you ?

@@terryarif3804 perhaps but I like to believe my technique on bench was about as good as it gets. I am not the strongest guy in the world compared to some I have seen bench less weight at a heavier body weight . At 23 I benched 405 for a triple with an obscenely wide grip. At 45 I benched 465 with a grip about shoulder width with a pause. My weight fluctuated between 190-220 during my 20s, 30s and 40s. My programming was always pretty decent in that I never trained with crap speed, crap form outside of overuse from Linear Periodization. When I switched to conjugate they got me hurt too because of rotating band maxing before I could really perform the variation correctly. I think having a open chain with a heavy bar supported by a ball and socket is just a bad recipe for super heavy lifting. Less problematic with a heavy deadlift, row or pull up/down. I base my belief in my programming from the results I made on my other barbell lifts. I just think my bench would only go so high without serious weight gain, The squat and deadlift, despite relatively small legs relative to my glutes and spinal erectors and abdominals increased steadily, other pressing and dips increased and allowed me to bench as heavy as I ultimately did with speed and technique despite long arms. Extended arms fingertip to fingertip is 75 inches. Height is 69 inches. That’s a significant difference so I believe a bench with a closer grip than might be ideal for maximizing the numbers was possible due to the dramatic strength improvements in my triceps lats and glutes (enabled me to bench with a straight bar path on almost a decline as my butt got much larger and my leverage’s improved from overall thickness around my shoulders and elbows. The lats and upper back allowed to get super tight and raised my chest off the bench and allowed me to pull my shoulders way back. The bench became a triceps, lat dominant movement (explanation-while the chest and front delts will always be the most heavily involved, big lats and strong triceps (especially around the elbow) will give you tremendous speed and lockout power with a close grip. The lats, if you properly arch your upper back so that your pecs are not parallel to the floor but almost perpendicular. The lats and tucked triceps work in concert with the chest to explode out of the hole and give you incredible stability around the shoulders). When someone says you can use the lats on the bench other than with respect to lowering the weight that’s not true. If you bench the way I described, the lats expand pushing out and up to help the pecs and triceps drive by giving lift out of the hole. The lats aren’t performing a lat function but if they are big enough and you get tight enough they will expand against and almost under the upper triceps to assist getting the bar moving. That is the whole concept of a bench shirt. The shirt squeezes you back and armpits so tightly that the act of tucking and lowering a heavyweight by activating you lats and imagining pulling it down to your chest springloads the whole area around you shoulders triceps pecs and lats so when you push it’s as if the size of the lats and upper triceps helps the pecs get it moving and your arms quickly take advance of the momentum and catch it like a surfer catching a wave. If you have been surfing on the Pacific Ocean where the waves come in these predictable cycles on a given day, if you wait for the wave it passes through you, if you paddle at the correct angle, with proper speed and timing and pop up at the right time, the fins on your board seem to catch and everything locks in. You know almost in the first second or two if the ride will be easy, better than anything where you and the current are one and the same and you are high close to the break or if you are on borrowed time falling to fast into the hole and the wave is going to barrel roll you or simply fall on top of you (horrible feeling). When you stay tight (painfully tight) as soon as you push the weight follows the perfect path and instantly feels like enough weight to feel comfortable but about 50% of what you’re actually lifting. A great press feels like it right away and you have to catch that momentum and ride it to the top. If you don’t have this feeling you used brute strength with zero skill. If you are strong enough you can get away with this. The best benchers make it look effortless. People make the mistake of thinking an easy bench means it’s 50 lbs plus to light. This is not true. When you are truly a bench press technician you either slam it up or it comes crashing down regardless. A grinder is a result of a near perfect lift getting fucked up just after the sticking point which suggests you are not training by being as explosive as possible every set. Obviously explosive with 135 is not the same as with 315 because if it was the weight would fly out of your hands or yank your shoulders out of the socket, the point is learn the ideal bar path, which requires you to set up properly every set including warm ups and drive throughout the lift. That’s why accommodating resistance works so well with equipment but still very well raw if you learn to press in a straight line. If you are an S curve, minimal set up, not incredibly tight squeezing the bar, trying to bend it in half towards your feet, and tucking your elbows straight line pressing is not for you.

Now that's a serious list of exercises!!

Yo ever try weighted ring dips

@@michaelchristie4756 Yh forgot to mention them. I’ll include them when straight bar dip progress slows down

@@Derwynn for sure dude. I’m not the best at bar dips but I love doing ring dips!!! Fits my anthropometry so much more

@@michaelchristie4756 Chad bro