Today I’m going to reveal how to warm up for your calisthenics workouts.
If you are getting injured all the time, THIS might be just the reason why.
In this post you will learn PRECISELY how you can use your warm up to:
- get results faster
- prevent injuries
- get most out of your training
So without further delay, let’s do this!
More...
The Science Behind Warming Up
According to the Journal for Sports Medicine, warm ups have a positive effect on injury reduction.
As you know by now most calisthenics injuries are upper body related:
How does warm up reduce the number of injuries?
A proper warming up improves your physical performance by increasing your body temperature and flexibility.
And don't forget post workout soreness...
...warming up will probably reduce the muscle soreness in your body the next day.
But your physical performance is just one side of the story.
Warming also improves your mental performance by increasing your timing, motor control and coordination of muscles.
On top of that, you can also time your training to make use of your circadian rhythm.
According to Wikipedia:
Why is this important?
For example, training later on the day around 17:00 will allow you to have access to more muscle strength:
In short, beginning your training warmed up is IMPORTANT to increase your athletic performance...
...and avoid injuries.
Key Takeaway
Your body needs heat and a higher core temperature to prevent injuries and soreness while maximising your strength.
And warming up will activate your body.
Chapter 2:
The Keys To Warming Up For Calisthenics Workout
In this chapter I'll cover the keys of warming up.
You'll discover three simple compound movements to use in your warm ups and what parts of your body you should focus on (and what questions you can ask yourself for injury prevention).
Sounds like a good plan, right?
Compound Movements
When you warm up, warm up your ENTIRE body.
Instead of just a part of it.
How?
By using compound exercises for beginners:
Any of these can be done by anyone for 3-5 min.
When this becomes easy you can:
- change the speed and duration.
- complexity by adding more variation.
- or continue with the 7 effective routines for beginners.
Which means you can and should improve your warm up as you become stronger.
And better.
Improve Weak Spots
Injuries are ALWAYS around the corner.
Especially if you are just getting started.
For example, a speedy Reddit search:
Take this other example of an extremely motivated beginner:
So once again, your warm up is a useful moment to give your weak spots (like your shoulders and wrists) more attention.
That’s why you want to ask yourself:
- Where am I injury prone?
- What are my weaker places?
- Which places on my body do I need to pay special attention to?
Keep in mind:
Your injuries are not just going to disappear.
So, the worst thing you can do is ignore your injuries.
Instead, wrap your joints in exercise.
You will discover something useful....
..what makes you weak now, is EXACTLY what will make you STRONGER.
Chapter 3:
7 Effective Warm Up Routines For Calisthenics Beginners
Now it's time to get into the nitty gritty warm up routines.
Specifically, what exercises you can do and for how many reps and how long.
In this chapter, I'm going to show you PROVEN warm up routines to prevent injuries.
Let's get fired up!
The Beginner Routines
A good warm up or cardio workout contains some low impact exercises.
So we made 7 diagrams.
These are really helpful for anyone looking to start their calisthenics training injury free.
Besides these compound movements, you should also pay attention to old injuries and weakspots.
Here are the effective and safe routines for beginners:
Rope Jumping Tips
Your jumping rope might be the SIMPLEST warm up tool on the planet.
Why?
Because you can take it anywhere.
Unfortunately, that's exactly why most people don't give it the credit it should have.
Here is what it will improve:
- coordination
- explosive strength
- stamina
- timing
There are endless variations.
You can change the speed, jump on one leg or even change the direction in which you are swining.
Want some quick motivation to make sure you warm up done well?
Then don't miss the video below:
Stronger Wrists
As mentioned before your wrists are most likely to get injured first.
Before every workout I recommend you to pay extra attention by doing additional stretches.
Here are the three most important ones:
Do 25 to 50 reps of each.
Why so many reps?
Because your wrists need time and high reps are good for blood flow and recovery.
You can protect your wrists.
Don't make the same mistakes most beginners make.
Warm up!
Don't Skip Your Warm Up
You know by now how ESSENTIAL a good warming up is.
It takes a fraction of your time and can save you a lifetime of issues.
And you don't want to waste time on injuries.
Especially not with the calisthenics goals you have right now.
Does it mean you will never get injured?
There will be situations where you might get injured, but you will be prepared.
You will be ready and fired up.
Because calisthenics training is about preparing your body for whatever it may face.
And coming out...
...victorious.
*Fist Bump*
Now I’d like to hear from you:
Did you like this post? What warm up routine will you try?
Or maybe you have a question about rope jumping.
Either way, leave a quick comment below right now.
Guys , I’m a big fan of yours , and you have motivated me alot , thnx for that. And can u tell me proper diet for calisthenics . Thnxx once again
Hey bro,
Welcome to the movement!
Check out the diet guide. It’s free.
Beast mode ON!
And by the way , how to get those wings on the back , they look really cooll
Hey bro,
You don’t want to focus on just one thing, but you want to fully develop your upper body in order to develop those muscles.
So basically you need to do upperbody exercises. Some focus more on those muscles than others, but balance is more important than just volume or aesthetics.
Check out the 7 day course and the 6 month plan for workouts or the system to get specific advice from Dusan or Lazar.
Beast mode ON!
Thnxx bro , by the way how do I contact them
Hey bro,
You can get the program here and you’ll be able to ask for specific advice if you join the fb group after your purchase:
http://www.barbrothersgroningen.com/the-system-bar-brothers/
Beast mode ON!
Hey
I have a question about the rest. How many times a week to practice and how many days have a break. Can you practice every day? Thanks for the answer. Greetings from Poland
Hey Mateusz,
Welcome to the movement first of all!
It depends on your current level of strength and your current goals.
If you are a beginner, I’d recommend you to start working out 3 days a week and have a rest day every other day.
As you progress, you can increase the number of days. Some people require more rest than others.
Experiment. Start with at least 3 days and build it up depending on your goals and recovery rate ;).
Beast mode ON!
Hi guys, I have had two injuries at work now which have resulted in bilateral chronic sub-acrominal bursitis. This flares up regularly and I was just hoping someone would have some advice as physio and steroid injections haven’t worked.
Hey Jebby,
Great question and I think you just might find your answer here.
Especially in the acromial joint, most issues are related to lack of proper use. Which causes the acromial arch to narrow and as a result causes inflammation on either the bursa or the rotator cuffs.
First of all read this post: http://www.barbrothersgroningen.com/how-to-prevent-and-cure-shoulder-injuries/
Secondly, get the book which is mentioned in this post, it will save you a lot of steroid injections which only address the symptoms and not the cause which is lack of correct overhead activity in 99% of the cases.
The book mentions multiple cases similar to yours, even people with completely torn rotator cuff muscles who have been able to rehabilitate without any type of operation. I don’t want to give you false hope, but if anything other than any type of operative procedure will work, it’s addressed in the book.
Beast mode ON!
Hey guys !
First of all would like to thank you for providing these amazing articles on training and dieting..they are extremely useful. I have read the e-books and have also started the beginner workout plan. I want to learn the tucked planche and have found some exercises for its progression. I wanted to ask you whether to include these exercises with the workout or do them on the rest days. And another thing i would like to ask is about the isometric exercises, should they also be done on rest days or with the workouts. Thanks in advance.
Hey Simar,
Thanks for the positive message, I appreciate it very much!
Definitely possible to do in addition to your exercises, I’d definitely recommend starting off with your planche exercises while your body is fresh, because it’s a very advanced move for beginners. You really want to build it up slowly and focus on protracting your shoulders as much as possible. Check this video for shoulder movement basics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-KybZNQick
Be careful with such exercises, because if your shoulders and wrists aren’t ready you will develop tendonitis VERY easily. Make sure you do a very proper warming up with some wrist exercises in addition to hanging for a bit to relax the shoulder and build the flexibility you will need. Massaging the lower arm is also something I’d recommend.
You can definitely do them on rest days, just make sure you do a proper warming up ;). I’m personally also working on the planche straddle so I know what it takes. It’s a VERY long road, at least 1-2 years if you have a good background and have a good method. If you want to know what kind of progressions to use or are unsure about things let me know. I’ll make a blog post about it.
Beast mode ON!
Thanks again for another awesome article , just wanted to ask when stating out to gain strength , is it important to have rest days ?
Hey Jared,
Great question again!
It really depends on your current level of strengt. Rest is without a doubt EXTREMELY important for strength gains.
It’s actually the moment when your body becomes stronger after a workout, during the workout your body becomes weaker, resting will allow you to overcompensatie and become stronger. This of course is a matter of balance, too much rest will make you weaker.
For beginners, I’d say stick to a 3 day workout intensity with a day rest between sessions, as you progress this will change.
Beast mode ON!
Hi Rich,
Thank a lot for all the content and motivation it has been working for me. Even my family and children changed and they work out.
Now to the point, anti-fragile… I was looking for a “for” word and not “against” one. And the simple solution is the best: AGILE.
Hope this work for you.
B
Hey Bart,
Thanks for the great comment!
Haha, that’s how it should be :D.
Sound quite logical, Fragile —> agile…thanks for sharing!
Keep up the good work and if there is anything I can help you with let me know!
Beast mode ON!
Hi Rich,
I want to know that can we develope great abs with just basic workout or we have to specially focus on abs workouts during basic workout?
Hey Onkar,
Great question!
Read this blog post: http://www.barbrothersgroningen.com/calisthenics-ab-exercise/
Beast mode ON!
Thanks for quick reply.
Loved your article.
Keep motivating. ^_^
Hey Onkar,
Thanks for taking your time to send me a reply.
Hope it clarified some stuff for you.
Beast mode ON!
Hello again Rich,
What should i do if i got sick(cold,fewer)? Should i skip my workout for few days or should i continue my workout with reducing some reps?
Hey Onkar,
Focus on getting healthy first. Your energy is being re-directed to getting you better first, so you will have less energy to train.
That being said however, it really depends on how sick you are.
Beast mode ON!