These are the best workout routines for beginners.
So if you want to:
- Build real muscle.
- Begin your training based on your level.
- And become stronger than you've ever been.
Then you’ll love these 14 calisthenics beginner routines for Bar Brothers.
Let’s get started.
Introduction:
Preparing For Your Calisthenics Training
It doesn't matter if you are beginning your calisthenics journey...
...at home, at a park or in the gym...
When it comes to body weight training, your body is the BIGGEST tool.
But somehow a lot of beginners are afraid they will not build muscle.
Afraid that they NEED weights.
For example, a quick look at Reddit shows that most people are surprised that calisthenics training can build muscle:
And it's not the only place where people are afraid they will NOT get any results.
The same questions are asked on Quora:
So just to quickly remove your doubts...
...which you most likely will have as a beginner.
According to the well-respected Journal for Strength and Conditioning, calisthenics push-up training can increase muscle thickness and strength similar to weight training.
So:
"YES, you can build muscle with calisthenics."
Which also means you can get injured if you start too heavy.
Jumping into any of these routines can lead to pretty sore muscles.
(Which is a mistake we made back in the day.)
Instead, make sure:
- you warm up for your calisthenics training;
- bring plenty of water for better performance;
- and give yourself a few breaks if this is your first time.
Sorry about that, I know you came for the routines.
But I'm responsible for making sure you don't get injured.
So you can still do and enjoy calisthenics 10+ years from now.
Hopefully until you are old and grey.
(That is, if you aren't yet.)
Chapter 1:
Full Body Routines
Being a beginner doesn't mean that you shouldn't work hard.
But it means that you should work SMART.
Going from sitting on a couch or behind a computer to actually doing muscle ups is like shifting from riding your bike with training wheels to jumping into a racing car.
That's something you wouldn't recommend to any beginner.
Would you?
Let's take a good look at the routines first and design a plan that allows you to slowly transition from training wheels to racing speed.
The Routines
The Routines
The Routine
The Routines
The Routine
Chapter 6:
7 Day Workout Plans For Bar Brother Beginners
So what do you need to do now?
You have the routines.
But I'm sure you'd like to know when to use what routine and how to use them in a balanced way.
I've written a few 7 day plans based upon what you believe your current level of strength is right now.
But first a few questions:
Is this your first time starting calisthenics? Start at level 1.
Have you done Bar Brother training before? Start at level 2.
Have you done this type of workout before? And do you have an active life in general? Start at level 3.
Have you done this before? Do you have an active life? Are you crazy? Start at level 4.
In all honesty, I'd rather have you be a little conservative in your choice and feel like you could have done more after your first workout.
Than to have you lay on bed for the entire day, because you are completely destroyed.
As with everything, too much of a good thing can also be a bad thing.
It's all about the right dosages.
Don't be afraid to be a 'Rookie' or a 'Beginner', before you become a 'Master' or a 'Beast'.
Level 1: Bar Brother Rookie
You are new to this calisthenics thing.
You want to be a Bar Brother, but aren't sure yet about how to start.
You need a simple plan to begin in a safe and well constructed way.
You are willing and realize that training at least 3 days a week is necessary to make consistent progress.
Day | Routine |
|---|---|
Monday | No equipment |
Tuesday | Rest |
Wednesday | Leg Routine |
Thursday | Rest |
Friday | Let's Go |
Saturday | Rest |
Sunday | Rest |
Level 2: Bar Brother Beginner
You are just getting started, but want to challenge yourself with a bit of intensity.
Your rate of recovery requires you to have rest days in between workouts.
Motivation comes quite easily, but you need a bit of a jump start every now and then.
An extra day of cardio will help your overall recovery of the past week.
Keep in mind that on your body still needs time to adapt.
Day | Routine |
|---|---|
Monday | No equipment |
Tuesday | Rest |
Wednesday | Leg Routine |
Thursday | Rest |
Friday | Let's Go |
Saturday | Fat Removal |
Sunday | Rest |
Level 3: Bar Brother Master
You are beyond the level of a beginner, who has just dipped his feet into the water for the first time.
You are ready to jump in and submerge yourself into calisthenics.
You will need less rest, because the recovery rate of your body is significantly higher than that of a beginner due to a history of training.
6 days of training followed by 1 day of rest.
Day | Routine |
|---|---|
Monday | No equipment |
Tuesday | Leg Routine |
Wednesday | Let's Go |
Thursday | Leg Routine |
Friday | Let's Go |
Saturday | Fat Removal |
Sunday | Rest |
Level 4: Bar Brother BEAST
You don't make any concessions when it comes to training.
You like to lean beyond your edge and your friends probably think you are nuts for doing so.
You have a high drive and don't need to be motivated.
This plan will suit you well.
Just make sure you focus on your recovery.
Proper sleep for calisthenics and high quality calisthenics nutrition are essential.
6 days of hardcore training followed by 1 day of deep rest.
Day | Routine |
|---|---|
Monday | No Equipment |
Tuesday | Let's Go + Leg Routine |
Wednesday | Fat Removal |
Thursday | Let's Go + Leg Routine |
Friday | No Equipment |
Saturday | Let's Go + Leg Routine |
Sunday | Rest |
Bonus: Bar Brother Video Routines
While these routines and the subsequent plans are great, feel free to customize them to your own specific needs.
Want to use a certain routine instead of another?
Go for it!
View this plan as a blueprint of a house.
Stick to the foundation, but what you put into the house is up to you.
Beyond these 7 days you can transition into:
Be A Beginner With A Plan
You have a goal.
What do you think you need to have to make that goal a reality?
Riding your 'bike with training wheels' won't cut it.
You've tried and you know, that's why you came to this post in the first place.
Throw away the 'training wheels'. Start using a plan.
A plan with routines that are customized to your personal needs.
A plan that maintains its quality for longer than a day.
A plan that takes time to come to completion, but once completed leads to a complete transformation.
From plan to reality, it takes 6 months to build a Rolls Royce and only 13 hours to build a Toyota.
What plan would you rather have?
*Fist bump*
Now I’d like to hear from you:
Are you going to try any of these 14 routines?
Or maybe you have a question.
Either way, make sure you get your download and leave a quick comment below right now.
PS. Special thanks to www.madbarz.com for the high quality routines.
Hey there! I have a question,what does Let’s go and No equipment refers to ? Thanks.
Hey Ilker,
Great question!
You can find the routines in the post.
Beast mode ON!
excellent work Rich, thank you…
great guide for beginners like me…
Hey Burak,
Thanks for your comment! Much appreciated.
Keep up the good work.
Beast mode ON!
Hi there. As i told you in another post i’ve been doing the begginer’s routine for the past two weeks. Mainly i’m doing the no-equipment routine. I wanted to ask you a couple things:
1) Where it says max planck mountain climbers i’ve been doing 30 sec of plank and 100 mountain climbers (50 with each leg), since i feel like i wouldn’t able to maintain the amount i do in each cycle if i do ALL the mountain climbers and planck i can each time. Is that a good cap or should i try to push myself harder?
2) i’m kind of not very good at flexibility (yet) so the pike push ups are kind of hard, most of all the position. I’ve replaced them with push ups with my feet on a chair, maintaining the 8 repetitions cap (can only do 6 or 7 right now). Is that a good replacement for the excersice until i get more flexibility on my knees ann body in general? Should i replace them with another thing? Do you have any flexibility excersices in the site?
I know it’s a long text, sorry for stealing your time 😛
Anyway, i feel a good change. My body feels better, i almost couldn’t do the push ups in all the sets and had a rather hard time doing the excersices. I can already feel the improvement after only 2 weeks.
Thank you.
Beast mode ON
(Well, kinda. Surely getting there. Sooner rather than later)
Hey Juampa,
Great questions.
1) Yes, do what works for you.
2) Yes, search flexibility and you’ll find what you are looking for ;).
Keep up the good work!
Beast mode ON!
Hey Rich,
Good guide to someone who being hard to approach to Calisthenics like me.
I have questions.
There is no abs workout day in any level when do I need to do?
What if that workout routine doesn’t hard anymore what do I do?
Hey Choi,
Great question!
With these routines you work your abs, no need to focus on those specifically.
For abs, make sure you pay extra attention to your diet:
http://www.barbrothersgroningen.com/calisthenics-meal-plan/
If the routine becomes too easy, move on to the next level:
http://www.barbrothersgroningen.com/calisthenics-workout-plan/
Beast mode ON!
I have one more question.
There is 5 Upper body workouts routine and 5 Full body workouts routine but there is only Let’s Go, No Equipment routine in 4 schedule of each levels.
So when, what routine?
Does level 3 work on abs also? I’m trying to lose belly fat will that workout plan help me lose belly fat?
Hey Emmanuel,
Great question.
To lose fat you need to adhere to a caloric deficit. You cannot outwork a bad diet.
It’s all about nutrition.
Read more here: http://www.barbrothersgroningen.com/calisthenics-meal-plan/
Beast mode ON!
hey bro i just started and want to see what you think of my weekly training schedule: monday no equipment tuesday abs workout Wednesday rest thursday fat removal Friday rest Saturday rest and sunday full body shock workout please give me your advice it will help greatly.
Hey Dean,
Great question.
It is difficult for me to give you feedback without knowing what your goals are ;).
If your goal is to workout, clearly this is a much better choice than that of the average couch potato.
First set your goals and then make a plan.
Beast mode ON!
also one more quick question i am finding the shuttle press up super hard i cant do it makes me angry each time i cant do it so please could you give a step by step of how to do it i cant find anything on google about it except a few 5 sec videos of people doing it so any help will be great thanks
Hey Dean,
Work on regular push ups and dips first.
Those will give you the pushing power for more advanced moves like the shuttle press up.
It’s all about taking it one step at a time. You don’t run a marathon if you can’t walk. First learn to walk, then run and then after tons of training do a marathon ;). Get the idea? Patience my friend, you have time.
Beast mode ON!
man Rich you are the best. i only got into calisthenics a couple of weeks ago and all week i’ve been watching youtube vid after youtube vid reading article after article and I had this huge list of exericses that “i should be doing” literally dozens of them and I chopped them up into 3 lists so I can do mon/wed/fri but then when the days come I forget what half of the exercises are, get the names confused, and it just felt a mess. there’s so much information out there and so many opinions it’s nice to finally find a site that’s nice enough to provide some nice clear pre-made workout plans for you to stick to while you build yourself up.
again thanks so much.
Hey Tomm,
Thanks for your feedback! It means a lot.
It’s truly difficult to find a way in the ‘information overload’.
These routines are a great place to start, I’ve used them often at the start of my journey.
The most important thing here is to START. Don’t be paralysed by all the information out there.
First start and upgrade as you move forward. Don’t look for the perfect plan, just start digging…you’ll find your way to the gold if you keep doing it long enough.
Beast mode ON!
Hey there.
Awesome routines! However, I wont be able to work out more than 3 times a week. I have done CrossFit, regular weightlifting, and the “full body” routine before, so I feel like I am a bit above the beginner stage. Is there any combination of those routines that will make up for a good week with 3 days of workout? I play soccer on the side, so I will get enough cardio. I am a quite skinny guy, so I am looking to build some muscles.
Hope to hear from you.
Best,
AJ.
Hey AJ,
Thanks for your feedback!
You can definitely combine the routines as you wish, or move on to the next month.
To build muscle just a good routine will not be enough however, you need to stick to the 3 fundamentals:
http://www.barbrothersgroningen.com/muscle-growth-calisthenics/
Beast mode ON!