Description
Achieve your fitness goals with calisthenics—no weights, trainer or gym required
Gain strength, mobility, endurance, and flexibility using simple body movements and nothing more than your own weight. Calisthenics for Beginners provides an all-inclusive training plan that won’t require massive sacrifices to your time, energy, or wallet.
Power through three calisthenic workout programs that progress in technique and intensity as you build a comprehensive understanding of this approachable training method. Then, explore recovery techniques, plus guidelines for creating a workout routine that fits your personal goals and lifestyle. Calisthenics is the workout of choice for athletes of all fitness levels, from weekend walkers to professional sports stars.
Calisthenics for Beginners includes:
- Training for all levels—Endlessly adjustable and customizable calisthenics workouts meet you where you are and serve your unique fitness goals.
- Full-body workouts—This complete, efficient approach to fitness works your whole body with a series of simple movement patterns.
- Variety, versatility, and fun—More than 35 dynamic exercises featuring the progressions, modifications, and variations you need to keep it interesting, challenging, and engaging.
The myth that getting fit requires a gym, a trainer, and even weights has been disproven—calisthenics is the physical conditioning way of the future.
Kate Miller (verified owner) –
This calisthenics strength book is awesome. It includes exercises for level of beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Everything progresses nicely and in a linear fashion, meaning no one is left behind whether it be on accomplishing a handstand or a pullup.
The book then goes into laying out structured workouts for every level. You don’t have to guess at the best combination of exercises or reps- it’s all laid out for you!
I am very happy with this workout book and highly recommend it.
Susan (verified owner) –
I’ve been working out 3+ days a week for the last ~18 months.
With the recent changes to gyms being closed and social distancing my bootcamp HIIT workouts have come to a stop!
I don’t have much equipment at home – yoga mat, resistance O band, 5# weights (I was using 15-25# weights at the gym).
I’ve been following some workouts online but hoping this book would help with some understanding and new ideas/workouts/stretches.
Overall this book is very good.
It has pictures for almost everything- except all of the stretches (this is disappointing).
There are 3 levels of workouts each with a sample workout.
I assumed I’d be on the hardest but some of Those workouts need a hanging bar – which I don’t have.
My gym classes were using most of these workouts so I’m familiar with most of them – but not all.
This book will work for me great and will provide some goals of movements that I’ll be able to strive for as this social distancing continues.
I’m surprised by the level of strength needed for some of these workouts and look forward to challenging myself to be able to complete some of these most challenging moves!
I’m excited about the stretching section and my lower back is often sore – I appreciate that the movements provide notes and tips about making sure I don’t injure myself.
I will be returning to my gym once I’m safely able to but this book will help me physically and mentally until then!
** Thank you so much for taking the time to read my review.
I hope the information that I’ve provided helps to make your decision a little easier.
If you found this review helpful, please click the ‘Helpful’ button below.
Matt C. (verified owner) –
I have been following Matt Schifferle’s work for a long time on his website and really enjoy his work. When i heard he was writing another book I was excited to get to read it. As usual Matt gives a great overview of health and calisthenics in an easy to understand and informative way.
The book is broken down into 4 parts. The first part dealing with overall health and understanding of the body and calisthenics. The second part gives you programing at 3 different levels with really good explanations of the value of the exercises and ways to make them harder or easier. The third chapter goes into recovery and mindset. The final chapter closes out the book well going into creating your own routines and learning more about yourself and your body.
I would recommend this book to a beginner and also to anyone who wants to take a step back to remember why you train in calisthenics and going back to the basics can benefit even the most experienced practitioners.
My only complaint would be going from step 2 to step 3 in the workout projections for many of the exercises is a pretty big jump but as stated before Matt gives good tips on how to make the exercises easier or harder as necessary.
Note: I was provided an advanced copy of the book but in no way did it influence my review.
Tracybeth (verified owner) –
I love how it’s organized, each chapter is color coded. The illustrations are very clear not only showing how to preform the exercise but also shows the areas of the body that is being worked. The instructions are easy to follow.
Lupine Smile (verified owner) –
Calisthenics for Beginners: Step-by-Step Workouts to Build Strength at Any Fitness Level is a good guide designed with all over fitness in mind. Newcomers to exercise should clear the workout routines with their doctor before beginning.
Chapter 1 describes the word calisthenics as a form of physical training that uses a person’s own body weight for resistance. The author goes on to explain the anatomy of the muscle groups, essential equipment, nutrition, and the importance of setting goals.
Chapter 2 includes three levels of programs. The author recommends, regardless of fitness level, starting with the first level. As the book progresses through the different workouts, new exercises are explained and demonstrated through drawings. The biggest issue that I have with the exercise programs are that they cannot be done fully at home. This is because pull up bars, benches, and other equipment are not usually in people’s backyards.
Chapter 3 is regarding flexibility and restoration, complete with different cool down stretches and restorative poses.
The final chapter is titled Onward, describing such subjects as sleep, mental awareness, and planning personal workouts. The final pages are blank workout logs, giving the book an interactive component.
Overall, the exercises are pretty simplistic and easy for a beginner to follow. Those who regularly exercise may outgrow the book quickly.
I was given the opportunity to read Calisthenics for Beginners: Step-by-Step Workouts to Build Strength at Any Fitness Level. I chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.
Delta High School Library (verified owner) –
Calisthenics for Beginners: Step-by-Step Workouts to Build Strength at Any Fitness Level is an easy to read and understand manual for physical fitness that you can do on your own time at your own pace. Clear instructions and simple cut precise illustrations guide you through the exercises. Quite a few of these exercises use only your body, but some require a pull-up bar or similar equipment. Calisthenics exercises work all muscles and build muscles that are often ignored. Helpful and beneficial!
orion the hunter (verified owner) –
This book is a cut above the rest. On the one hand it is not a book that just tells you what exercises to do. This book helps you get in the right mindset to to do the workouts. You don’t need a degree in physiology just to understand it like a lot of similar books do. Matt’s YouTube channel is the only one that I have stuck with through the years for simple effective workouts that work.
Stephen D. Rader (verified owner) –
I was very excited to get an advance copy of this book because I have been looking for a book such as this to recommend to my clients and to use when teaching classes on beginning calisthenics. I’ve also been familiar with the author’s work for some time now and have always been very impressed with it. Matt Schifferle is the founder of the Red Delta Project and author of many intelligent and sensible books and videos on exercise, fitness and nutrition. I have also read and loved his book Grind Style Calisthenics and have benefited greatly from his Youtube videos and podcasts. Matt is also a Progressive Calisthenics Team Leader for Dragon Door.
Calisthenics for Beginners is Matt’s best work yet, and that is saying a lot. One of the many reasons is that the book is appropriate for the absolute beginner, the intermediate level practitioner, and even the advanced athlete. This book could accompany you through your entire calisthenics journey.
Calisthenics for Beginners includes a very sensible preparatory section called “Getting Started”, which defines calisthenics and justifies its use, describes the relevant muscle groups to be developed, and advises the reader on how to prepare for the programs to follow. I especially liked the material on safety and preparation, gear and equipment (which is delightfully minimal for the calisthenics athlete), and how to monitor your progress. But best of all in this section is Matt’s treatment of diet and nutrition. I usually have to brace myself when this topic comes up no matter the context. It’s such a loaded, political and frustrating mix of opinion, dogma, bias and religion. How many times have you encountered extreme dietary advice such as “you must go vegan” or “you must go keto” from people whom you respect in the fitness space? Not so here. Matt gives no specific rules on what you must and must not eat, nor how often and how much. Rather, he gives you a brief but comprehensive set of guidelines on eating right and general nutrition, such as preparing your own food, watching liquid calories, embracing plants and protein, and controlling your “red light foods” (that are unhealthy and difficult to avoid.)
What follows the introduction are step-by-step, progressive exercise programs that employ all of the basic movement patterns that Matt describes: core, hip-driven, knee-driven, push/pull and heart-rate boosting. Level I is “Start Strong”, Level II is “Go Deeper”, and Level III is “Power Up”. And each of these three sections is color-coded on the edge of the page so you can easily turn to them. A very nice touch indeed. Matt then includes a section on flexibility and restoration, followed by exercise programming advice, helpful information about understanding progress and mindset, and sample workout logs. I’m telling you, this book really is all you need.
At the outset of the book, Matt rightly advises that you read the whole thing from start to finish before you begin to follow the program or judge your own abilities or the effectiveness of the exercises. I followed this advice and it was the right way to go. I got a feel for Matt’s unique approach and quickly could see that this was not just another book on beginning calisthenics with the same old exercises and programs that I see over and over these days. The ideas are fresh, the writing is clever and straightforward and utterly lacking in B.S. and the programming is unique and thorough without being intimidating.
One thing that pleasantly surprised me about Calisthenics for Beginners was the choice of exercises. Most beginning calisthenics stick with some sort of basic exercise set such as planks, push ups, pull ups and squats. These are essential but you are missing quite a bit if you stick with just them and their variants. Instead, Matt cleverly includes things like bridging, wall hand stands, and towel hangs for grip strength. Even better, the program includes cross-punching, marching in place, and the almighty squat thrust! These are exercises that my grandfather (if he were still with us) would know and greatly approve of. I love it!
In reading this excellent book I realized a few important things: there are definite gaps in my own programming that I need to fill, I’m really closer to the beginning of my own calisthenics journey than the end, and I have a new go-to resource for my students, clients and myself. Calisthenics for Beginners is a must-read.
–Stephen Rader
http://www.formiseverything.com
Lukas Neuburger (verified owner) –
If you are new to calisthenics or exercise in general this book offers great place to start. You will find a good introduction to many of the foundational movements in bodyweight training organized into three progressively more challenging routines. Each of the three routines combines elements of both strength and conditioning, so you will be training your cardio as well as getting stronger. The book also discusses recovery including chapters on stretching and restorative poses to help you recover from training or even just to unwind after a hard day.
This book does not cover how to build your own routine; adding chapters covering basic program design along with more details on exercise regression/progression technique would be helpful, allowing the reader to move to the next level of training when they are ready.
For some reason only a few of the stretches in the chapter on stretching have accompanying illustrations, a full set of drawings to accompany all of the stretches would be beneficial.
Kathryn Magendie (verified owner) –
I have been working out at home for many years, supplementing with trips to the gym, hikes, running, but now with the stay-at-home ‘orders,’ I work exclusively at home. Though I was a personal trainer for about 6 years, I wanted a refresher course, and maybe some new ideas, or to be sure I was doing a particular newer exercise correctly.
The intro and explanations of calisthenics is good information. However, I don’t like the blue background with white lettering that is used here and there—this is not so easy to read so luckily it’s not used much and perhaps that will be changed with other printings? But there are other hard-to-read areas, like the sage green with white lettering on some ‘bullet points.’
The book does offer some variations of the exercise, and this is particularly good for those exercises that seem to me to be more advanced than true beginner moves. There is also a ‘stay safe’ alert for form, though I wish those were a little more specific and precise—form is one of the most important aspects to exercise, not only for safety but to do the exercise efficiently—more information on form would be better, for those who truly are beginners and know nothing about correct form, but also for those who may need a refresher or don’t know much about form. I was adamant about teaching form—super important.
Some of these exercises in the beginning of the book are not for true beginners to exercise so note that. Like the incline handstand. I think this book may be more for people who have been working out, know basics about form and exercise, and want to try out calisthenics as a different way to train their body. A true beginner will likely have some problems with some of these exercises, but for the most part, they are a good start for anyone IF the beginner modifies and watches their form.
I’d think of some of the level 2 exercises were in level 1, and some in level 1 in level 2, this would be more for the true beginner. But again, I think this book would be geared more towards those who have already been exercising and are seeking a new form of exercise they haven’t done before, and in that way, it’s an excellent guide.
Some of the restorative stretching at the end do not have images and wasn’t sure why, unless those will be added at final printing stage. But over all, the images are provided there throughout the book.
I’m going to enjoy using this book as a refresher and as a guide to my workout. I do calisthenics quite often but have been bored with my routine, and this book will give me some new ideas, and refresh my memory or others.
However, if you are a true beginner to exercise, then this book may not be for you as it may be too advanced for the beginner to exercise itself. If you have been working out and have never done much calisthenics in your routines, then this beginners guide will work well for you.
Debbi (verified owner) –
I received an advance review copy from the publisher.
The timing of this book is superb. I am under a remain at home order, the gym is closed, and delivery times for home exercise equipment are quite long. That said, the book would only be helpful if it is usable. Happily, this is the case. Schifferle has written an excellent guide to calisthenics that can easily be done at home with no special equipment. The author describes this as “for beginners” and that is reasonable since the directions and illustrations are clear and easy to follow. This is not really only suitable for beginners however. Many of the exercises are quite well suited for people at a high fitness level, especially if the suggested variations to make the exercises more challenging.
spanakopita NJ (verified owner) –
SO happy to have this book during the 2020 spring covid19 quarantine. Since I can’t go to they gym this book is most needed! The book is fabulous. Production wise – it’s a paperback with nice thick substantial pages and loads of quality illustrations. The exercises are varied, accessible, effective yet not intimidating. The book is very well organized in sections with a good TOC and index, plus suggested workout plans.
Here, There, & Everywhere (verified owner) –
I ordered this book because I need to find a way to help reduce the fat in my midriff & lower abdominal areas. Let’s face it, after 3 children (2 of those being c-sections) my body needs help.
This book is pretty helpful. The beginning tells you about Calisthenics and how it works, using your “own bodyweight for resistance.”
The book is in sections and starts with the basics (Getting Started) in chapter 1. This chapter covers what Calisthenics is, different muscle groups, gathering the items you’ll need to perform the Calisthenics, diet, goals, & not sabotaging yourself.
Chapter 2 covers “The Programs.” Level 1: Start Strong, Level 2: Go Deeper, & Level 3: Power Up. Basically the levels are beginner, moderate, and pro.
I like how the book describes the positions and has well drawn illustrations. There are different variations to the individual positions depending on your level and how much you want to work a certain area. The illustrations highlight which muscle areas are being worked for the different positions. This is handy because I want to try and work my core more than some other areas, but it’s still good to work more than 1 area.
Chapter 3 “Flexibility & Restoration.” This covers cool downs, restorative poses, & healthy habits.
Chapter 4 “Onward.” This covers rest & self awareness, frustration/ self-doubt, building workouts, keeping a log, & having fun.
Overall this is a great book to have on hand, especially since all the gyms are closed right now. Most of the items required for the Calisthenics are readily available in my house. You can use walls, chairs, bricks, etc. The only thing is not everyone has an excercise/pull-up bar at home. There aren’t too many of these excercises in the book so they can be skipped or try to find an alternative. Other than that, the book is great.
Hooked on Books (verified owner) –
This book is especially useful right now, with many people avoiding the gym and working out at home. Calisthenics are body weight exercises, meaning that equipment needs are minimal. There are a few things needed for some of the exercises, such as a pull-up bar and suspension handles. Chapter 1 covers that stuff and everything else you need to get started. There is a muscle group anatomy chart, which I think is a nice addition to a work out book.
The exercises are in chapter 2 and are divided into three categories: Level 1 Start Strong, Level 2 Go Deeper, and Level 3 Power Up. Each exercise in this chapter is illustrated, and each also has a “stay safe” tip to help you do the exercise correctly. Chapter 3 has a section with cool down stretches – but there are only 2 illustrations in this chapter, which I found disappointing. Three restorative poses end chapter 3, and one of them doesn’t have an illustration. I almost took off a star for the lack of illustrations in chapter 3, but I really felt that the rest of the book is very good and made up for it – I just don’t understand why there aren’t illustrations when the rest of the book has them.
Chapter 4 is titled “Onward” and gives some of the details to help you move forward. There are also workout logs, which can be quite helpful.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
NICHOLAS (verified owner) –
This book could not have come at a more useful time. With the gym closed, this book has become my gym.
The book is broken down into 4 parts. All of them are easy to understand. I particularly like Matt’s structure of the book. The first part provides the reader with an understanding of the body and calisthenics. The remaining parts provide the reader with the workouts, mindset, and understanding of recovery. The book concludes with a very informative and if applied, powerful chapter on keeping a healthy mind.
I was pleased to find that Matt’s approach to nutrition was a wholefood diet. The book really feels like a whole body approach to fitness. Healthy body, healthy mind, and fun workouts.
Note: I was provided an advanced copy of the book, from the Publisher.
Sarah AlAmri (verified owner) –
This is good for basic workouts for various levels of fitness. The workouts also do not require equipment so we can all do them at home when we can’t get to a gym. The pictures are very clear and the workouts are easy to understand. This is a good basic book for these days of trying to keep fit while staying home.
Erika McCowan (verified owner) –
Matt’s book, Calisthenics for Beginners was carefully organized. It starts with ground up foundations and builds the pyramid. Calisthenics are really just skill building with your body, so once you learn the basics like he has carefully lined out, you just start stacking new skills or variations onto the base. Don’t miss his very easy to read and follow instructions and layout. There is no clutter or unnecessary items in this book, which I always appreciate. So get it now and start stacking your skills!
Chance and Ginger Newingham (verified owner) –
I received this book in exchange for an honest review, so an honest review you shall receive:
The pictures and descriptions are great! They are so helpful as I sit on my couch with my feet up and soda in hand. I love to see when the colorful muscles. Maybe those are supposed to entice me to get off my couch, but no go.
In all reality, I have used this book with my elementary school sons. They will flip to an exercise that looks interesting and we do a few rounds.
The explanations are simple and helpful.
T. Hall (verified owner) –
I’ve been following red delta project for a couple of years, and I really like the simple approach to getting and staying fit for a “normal” person, not an elite athlete (which the vast majority of us neither are or want to be). This book sums up the basics of how to start and keep going, and how to progress when you are ready.
Martin T Whalen (verified owner) –
Matt has done a very good job of putting together a comprehensive basics guide to calisthenics. This book not only provides a great starting point for the beginner, it also servers as a reminder to those who have a little more experience that one of the great things about body weight training lies in its simplicity. His progressions are sensible and realistic, and I actually really like the illustrations that were used. The only negative I found was in the lack of illustration in cool down section, it made this section feel a little rushed. All in all I enjoy Matt’s writing style and would recommend this book to anyone looking to incorporate calisthenics into their program.
Pete Kamoutsis (verified owner) –
I have been training in calisthenics for over 30 years and have read dozens upon dozens of books and articles as well as had the honor of training with some of the leading experts in the world. I have learned a lot of useful information and unfortunately a lot of not so useful information. I firmly believe that calisthenics training has allowed me, at age 47 to remain active in martial arts, mountain biking, skateboarding and playing music. Since discovering Matt’s work on YouTube (Red Delts Project) and his books, then implementing his methods into my own training, I have seen great improvements in my strength and mobility. One of the things I really appreciate about this book is how Matt doesn’t over-complicate the programming section. He breaks down the basic movement patterns and gives the reader an easy to follow program for all levels of fitness along with the tools to customize your own programs. Although the title of this book is Calisthenics for Beginners, it is much much more than just an introduction to bodyweight training. This book will not only show you how to build a solid fitness foundation, it will give you the tools to build the walls, wire, plumb and put a roof on! Matt covers all the bases that will help you get the most from your calisthenics journey. From basic nutrition, rest and recovery, programming, the mental side of training and overcoming some of the common pitfalls trainees may encounter. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to get started in calisthenics training or for anyone looking to elevate their current training. Kudos to Matt on another book well done.
Ashley Nestler (verified owner) –
I am new to calisthenics, so I was very excited when I received this book for review. The book has excellent, easy to learn exercises with clear pictures and levels of difficulty. I appreciate how the book is split up by sections regarding how difficult the exercises are, and how various sets of reps are suggested. If you are interested in learning about and practicing calisthenics, then this book is a must-have for you!
Antigone Walsh (verified owner) –
Staying fit does not require equipment or going to the gym. This is a book of calisthenetics. The instructions are clear, variations, tips and warnings are included. The illustrations are excellent. Workouts and logs are included. However many of these exercises asdume a certain degree of fitness. In the first section there is an incline handstand. That is a tough one even for the fittest. Still the book is helpful but use your judgment.
Riven (verified owner) –
I would recommend this for anybody who is a personal trainer or somebody who likes to come up with their own fitness routines. The images are great and there are so many exercises out there it’s great to have this for reference and inspiration. I know why a book when you can look things up on the internet. Well sometimes you don’t know what you’re looking for. And instead of an endless search on the internet, you have everything you need right here. For beginners this is great because you get great instruction. For veterans it’s very easy to modify the difficulty and get creative with these exercises. I thought this book was fun and came up with some modification of my own for a few and even combined some.
Zacharias Castedo (verified owner) –
Excellent resource for beginners looking to explore the word of progressive calisthenics. Shows simple and straightforward exercises, and valuable fitness principles. Matt’s books have helped me to understand the essential role of progression in achieving your fitness goals.
GrandmaBlondie (verified owner) –
I was hoping for a book that was JUST exercises I could do at home without buying equipment. The first ones are like that, but as the exercises advance you start needing straps, etc. IT is well – illustrated, very step by step. Pretty rigorous, even the “beginner” routine, but you can pick and choose. Nicely done book.
Dr. Thomas Law (verified owner) –
Exercise is something all of us need to do. So, much of our modern life is sedentary. We sit at our desk in our cubicles. We sit while we play our games or watch television. It is hard to get up and move around much less start an exercised routine. But that is exactly what the doctor calls for. Matt Schifferle has given us an excellent place to begin.
As Schifferle says in his book, Calisthenics for Beginners, calisthenics is something that requires no equipment, outfit, or special circumstances. You can do it almost everywhere and in any situation. All it requires is an effort on your part.
In the closing of his book he says, “You’ll learn…from personal experience… Resources like this are great places to get ideas, but the real source of knowledge and understanding is to take massive action. Make your plan and take your first step.”
I don’t take “massive action” but I do find that a few calisthenics each day make me feel better. This book has given me new ideas of things I can try until I find those that fit my needs. In fact, that is what Schifferle recommends. Read the entire book from cover to cover. Make a list of those exercises which you think you might like to try and then go for it, using the book as a reference to help you know how to do the exercises appropriately. You have nothing to lose (except maybe a few pounds) and a whole lot to gain.
Upon request the publisher sent me a copy of the book to review.
CNH (verified owner) –
I am a swim instructor and coach. Swimming is a whole body sport, especially needing core strength. We do “dryland” to help build core strength. With the current lockdown (and no access to public pools) my kids are doing a lot more dryland to try and keep their strength up. Unfortunately, I can only see so much on zoom and was worried that kids weren’t doing the exercises correctly. I am recommending this book to my team.
The book starts with explaining calisthenics and how it is (like swimming) the whole package — strength, mobility, endurance and flexibility. There is a brief introduction to muscle anatomy, eating right, fat burning vs muscle burning, and how to manage goals. This section was 19 pages which felt right, giving information that you need without a lot of fluff. The programs (ranked in difficulty from 1 to 3) start on page 27 and continue through 119, ending with a section and blank forms to build your own workouts.
I really like exercises that are presented in the book and the leveled approach. Each exercise gives you how to do it correctly, which muscles are targeted, variations, goals and pitfalls. The pitfalls for me is very important — it calls out common mistakes (like arching your back during core work) which makes the exercise not only ineffective but more prone to injuries.
The book itself is well designed. There is a matte paperback cover with thick pages and a strong binding. The font used is clear and printed in a size that makes it easy to read without feeling like they were trying to fill page space.
I rarely give anything 5 stars, but in this case, it is earned. Highly recommend!
Michael K.J. Popovici (verified owner) –
I used to exercise regularly, but it’s been years since I have done anything in a more formal way as opposed to just walking the dogs. This book has saved my life in a number of ways.
One life saver is that this book doesn’t expect you to be muscle man starting out. It gives a measured, slow progression to building up your body so you’re not killing yourself. I tend to jump in and go overboard with over doing things and this book in a good way cautions to exercise carefully and in a productive, progressive way.
Another life saver is that Calisthenics for Beginners considers the entire body so the exercise, not only being measured, is comprehensive in ensuring the whole person is being built up and balanced ensuring one muscle or body part is over done.
One more life saver is the fact that my mental state and my heart are stronger from the gentle, but encouraging program laid out for the beginner. That in itself is a winner that will encourage you to buy this book and I’m grateful for the publisher permitting me to review and use this book to my great benefit.
M. Heiss (verified owner) –
Basic bodyweight fitness exercises – terrific diagrams and explanations.
The book presumes you have access to a chin up bar – bar, not handles.
“Oh, that’s no problem,” you say to yourself, “I will never do a chin up.”
Other exercises use the chin up bar, too.
Very good stretches. Straightforward directions, good text.
Mom2three (verified owner) –
This book is a great introduction to Calisthenics. It gives you all the info you could possibly need and explains the exercises in a way that is easy to understand. The exercises are all modifiable and you won’t need much equipment so it makes it perfect for working out at home. I am going to be having knee replacement surgery soon, but I wanted to lose a little bit of weight before the surgery so the recovery might be easier, and this book is helping me achieve that.
barry (verified owner) –
The book is promoted as Calisthenics for beginners and it does that job very well. It has definite directions, illustrations and descriptions of all the exercises. For a beginner it is ideal. But I think it is also an asset to anyone who exercises a lot running or doing aerobics etc. It is important to stay limber and sometimes you may go a period unable to exercise. You can put together some excellent basic routines here to make sure you stay agile and fit so that when you return you can breeze through it. Highly recommend this book.
Robert Frye (verified owner) –
My wife was wanting to learn how to build strength and endurance without having to go to the gym. So we ordered this Calisthenics for Beginners book to get her started.
After going through the book my wife said she liked the format in which they wrote it making it very user friendly even for someone like herself with limited fitness knowledge.
She especially liked the beginning of the book where it breaks down the anatomy of your muscle groups, providing information that helped her better understand what areas she needed to be working on.
The book breaks up exercises into difficulty levels where you can start off easy, then work your way into more advanced exercises that require more endurance as you progress forward. There are images of each position so that you get a clear picture of what you are doing.
The book also contains a workout log to monitor the progress of the exercises you’ve chosen to do daily and if you’re switching routines on different days this will additionally help you stay on track.
Finally, there are also suggested cool down stretches to help you complete your daily workouts
My wife suggested we give this book 5 stars because she felt it was so well laid out and easy to follow.
Josh Hillis (verified owner) –
This is a great book for people who are new to calisthenics.
There are three progressive levels, so you can start wherever you are at. Most books start way, way above where most people are, but in this book, the “Start Strong” program has calisthenics movements that anyone can do. As it progresses through “Go Deeper” and “Power Up,” you get to workouts that would be challenging and effective for someone who’s intermediate, as well. You can start at the beginning, and have a lot of room to progress.
The instructions are clear and simple, and the illustrations are wonderful. A total beginner could look at each exercise and know exactly what to do. I think that’s actually what is the best part of this book — it’s just so clear. When someone is starting, they want to know what to and how to do it, as fast as possible. This book delivers.
The movements are great, the programs are smart, and the book is very readable. Highly recommended.
OLT (verified owner) –
No-excuses exercises here. Calisthenics needs no special equipment. All you need is a body and we all have one of those. No need to go to the gym. Your body is with you wherever you are. So the only thing you need, besides this book, is to want to move your body. That’s not quite as much fun as binge-watching something on Netflix.
So here we have exercises you can do at home, most of them without any equipment whatsoever, not even weights. A good many of the ones included here you are probably already familiar with. The nice thing about the book is the layout, the explanations about muscle anatomy and the illustrations that show you the muscles being worked with each exercise.
There are three levels of exercise programs here. If you’ve never exercised much before, you should obviously start with Level 1 and, as you get stronger, can power up to the next two levels.
There is a chapter to show you cool-down exercises, restorative poses, and how to develop healthy habits and mindset and one chapter that gives you advice on how to build your own personal workout program just for you and your needs. Also included are blank workout logs to fill in, resources, an exercise library and an index.
All in all, this is a pretty decent exercise book. Will power, unfortunately, is not included. I would have gladly paid a bit more for the book if it had.
StoneHenge (verified owner) –
Most of the exercises here are easily done at home with nothing more than your body. Some require a household item to help. But then there were the ones that were obviously not something the average person is going to find anywhere in their home, and pull up bar, or other head high stable item to hang and pull on. These made the whole program not as effective since like us, many people aren’t going to be able to do any of these exercises at home.
Since there was no presentation that this could all be done at home with no extra purchases, I did not deduct a star, but I will say I was disappointed.
I loved the color coding of muscles and the anatomy points page of each muscle group. This was very helpful.
I really could have done without the line green font, and the white font inside the line green background. With my old eyes this was not pleasant. While I definitely understand using colors to highlight different things, the lime green was uncomfortable for my eyes. The orange and the aqua blue were both dark enough and bright enough not to cause eye strain. It was just the lime green that was an issue.
The cool down stretches really should have had pictures associated with all of them. A few had drawings, but it’s been a really long time since high school for me, and I don’t remember how to do all these and deciphering some without a picture was a bit of a challenge.
I felt some of these cool down stretches were not appropriate as warm up stretches and I feel that should have been noted somewhere. Or there should have a place in the beginning before the first exercise for warm up stretches.
Overall this is a good solid book for exercising at home with many great ideas. Especially how to not self sabotage, and how to avoid common problems in your health and well being.
ChickenFriend (verified owner) –
This is a nice book to help get exercising into a day without relying on a gym. It starts out explaining various things surrounding calisthenics, including what it is and some basic equipment that will be beneficial(though not completely necessary). The exercises are divided into 3 levels, with an extra one for “flexibility and restoration”. Most of the exercises give illustrations to help visualize the process. In the back, there are some blank exercise logs to help keep track of what you’ve done, along with some extra resource suggestions for if you want more. It’s a nice resource to have handy.
Ruben (verified owner) –
Demuestra cómo ir progresivamente en la calistenia . Y cómo todo tipo de ejercicio requiere constancia . Lo recomiendo por su fácil lectura , ejemplos de cómo hacer el ejercicio .
Dee (verified owner) –
I have not put the plans in effect yet, but in studying the book, it will be very productive to plan a way to gradually learn how to develop and gain strength. This is a very informative book and simple at the same time. Well worth it!
Gary Wiley (verified owner) –
has a exercise plan and is well illustrated
Robert Givvens (verified owner) –
Great beginner’s guide, and genuinely appreciate the mixed graphical and text-based style. My only suggestions for improvements for this book are to spiral bind it so we can flip through it while using it. Second note for new users and as feedback is that the graphics do not usually provide a visually intuitive picture of how to move. Reading the descriptions sometimes leads to a very different motion than the image shows. I think this book could be entirely graphical with the only words being to explain specifics on what’s going on with the body to do it right.
HERBS AND MORE (verified owner) –
So worth it
AnnMichael (verified owner) –
It’s Great For Beginners. Illustratios Are Good! I Returned Because Needed More Advanced
Edwin Velez (verified owner) –
Easy reading and the illustration great
Mr. Nice Guy (verified owner) –
I really liked this authors approach. He lays out the basics without bombarding you extra information or too many useless technical terms for the beginner. The language he uses sounds like that of someone who cares about you and your health, and not like that of someone who’s only looking for personal gain.
Luis A. Bouza (verified owner) –
Good overall review of calisthenics and nutrition. Not much on exercise stacks or body muscle isolation. Good book for those starting out and looking to build on basics.
ang (verified owner) –
I am excited to try out the program I feel like the book is set up in a good way and easy to understand
Dawn Tharp (verified owner) –
A book that provides instruction on how and where to start calisthenics. Love it! Excited to get started! With this new journey!
iheartbooks (verified owner) –
I like a lot of the exercises, they are explained in a useful way, including variations and ways to avoid injury, and each comes with an illustration which also shows muscle groups most involved. Also the book doesnt have extraneous fillers such as ‘nutrition advice.’ It is all about exercise. Be aware, however, that some of the exercises DO require gym type equipment that most people dont have nor want to install, while weights are something everyone has or can use e.g. water bottles as replacement. So my suggestion for next edition of this useful guide is, cut any exercise not doable, say, in a small apartment, and do include weights in the 2-4 lb range.
Dino (verified owner) –
I choose this rating because comparing it to other books on calisthenics that am currently discovering it measures up nicely with a little room for improvement to explore the next steps within a complete study. Great book for beginners, give us enough room to realize success without being too easy.
Hapakid808 (verified owner) –
Easy to understand and a great beginner’s guide to calisthetics
D.E. Dyer (verified owner) –
Calisthenics is a great alternative or supplement to stereotypical resistance and some cardiorespiratory training methods. The author starts with a good discussion on goal setting, an essential component of any program. This is a user – friendly, simple, and unintimidating presentation with an easy to follow format. Illustrations are very helpful. Exercises and progression levels are appropriate and provide a good foundation for advanced practice. I especially liked his important discussion on recovery, a subject often overlooked. I highly recommend for beginners.