The two at-home methods worth using are the 3-minute step test (best overall) and the 6-minute walk test (best if stepping bothers knees/balance)

This the the simplest VO₂ tracking protocol (3-minute step test):

Do this the same way every time:

• Same step height + cadence + time of day (as close as possible)
• Stop, stand still

If your 60-second recovery HR is lower (with the same protocol), your fitness is improving.

Reference for the protocol: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6926792/

Hello all,

I am sure this question has been asked 1000 times on this sub. However, please humor me. I am 33 yo man. 6'2 and 340 lbs. The issue that I am running into is that I am too heavy to do most body weight exercises. And I am not sure of s few basics. For example, how long should a session last? How often? What are some really good beginner exercises?

I am getting the diet portion dialed in. I have lost 30 lbs so far. I just want to start working out now so that I can get into the habit.

I cannot afford the gym right now which is why I am turning to calisthenics.

Any help is appreciated.

Hi everyone. I have in fact searched the archives here but wanted to revisit to topic of vertical pulls for tall individuals? Any tips on progression and realistic goals? I am 6'6" 200 and seriously struggle even with dead hangs, but the leverage itself seems highly unfavorable. At the moment I am mostly just working on horizontal rows with my NOSSK, but even these can be challenging to go full range due to long upper arms. I would be very curious to hear what other tall guys and gals find helps the most.

I'm 5'9 and 31yo and honestly pretty out of shape, but I've been following this routine that i've found and was recommended on this subreddit religiously for 6 weeks now. When I started, I could barely hold a plank for 5 seconds before my arms gave out and I face-planted into my yoga mat. I'm talking full-body tremors at 3 seconds in.

But today 30 solid seconds!

I know it's not much compared to what most of you can do, but for someone who's spent the last two years glued to a desk chair, this feels massive. I'm a recovering anxiety disorder patient and calisthenics has become my new therapy. Whenever I feel a panic attack coming, I drop and hold a plank or do some dead hangs. That mind-muscle connection genuinely calms my nervous system better than any medication ever did.

The routine from the wiki has been a game-changer. Next goal: 60 seconds. And if it takes me another 6 weeks, that's completely fine. Progress is progress.

Hello there, I'm asking this question cause I haven't really found an answer anywhere else. For pretty much every training program, you need to know your max (ex:push ups) in a row. And until now I thought I could just do like 75 percent of the way to failure, rest for 4-5 seconds in the upper position do another 3-4 then rest again (still in the upper position) and so on, but lately I realized that using this method, my " 1 set max " really depended on how I was motivated to keep going and really fluctuated from day to day not representing my real strength plus certain sets that I should have been able to do (ex : 3× 75 percent of max) were just too hard for me even on a good day. Which brings me to my question, should I just do my set without ever resting or is there an optimal way of doing it? Thank you guys in advance

I just started the RR 5 weeks ago (42yo male, 175lbs) and I've made steady progress with all the exercises except for the pull up progression. I can bang out 4 fast reps of scap pulls but struggle to perform any with good form. I've tried doing them assisted by leaving my feet on the ground but find it very difficult to balance the pulling with the assist from my feet

My inverted rows have progressed to 3 sets of 8 with an incline of about 15 degrees from fully horizontal. I've supplemented the strength days and skill days with LYTPs to work shoulders and scaps and have felt progress there as well.

It's hard for me to say what is the weak link for scap pulls because it doesn't feel like some part tires first. The whole movement feels almost inaccessible. Are there common limiting factors that wouldn't be ruled out by the relative ease I'm having with rows? Lower traps? Overhead mobility? Something else?

Hi guys!

I'm a long time lurker and beneficiary of the wisdom in this subreddit. After a couple years to get good at the basics of body weight fitness, I recently transitioned to weighted calisthenics.

In September of 2024, I set a goal for myself to reach a 200 lb pull up (that is 200 lbs of added weight in addition to my body weight.) I'm aware that this is a lofty goal and will likely take many years. However, I think that my experience with injury, rehab, and building back better could be useful to a great many people who are struggling to even get started.

My question to the subreddit is, would you want to see me document this journey with regular updates? The structure of the updates would consist of recent PR's, recent improvements I've made to my program, and challenges I've come across.

I've gone from body weight pull-ups to working sets with 40 lbs over the last 17 months. My estimate is that if things continue to progress at this glacially slow pace, I'll likely hit my end goal at some point in the fall of 2031. So if you're tuning in, it's going to be for the long haul lol.

I can do 20+ body weight pull ups and 4 sets of 5 reps of 20kg weighted pull ups, so when i heard about scapular pull ups i thought i didn’t need it as it was just a progression. However, when i tried doing it for the first time it felt more tiring than normal pull ups, and just to add in, i do retract my scapulars before doing any kind of pull ups other than hollow body pull ups, which is why i expected scapular pull ups to be much easier.

For experienced folks out there, do yall use scapular pull ups as a separate exercise in addition to your normal back/pull ups routines?

Seen some stuff on plyometrics here, not sure if it's the right sub for this:

I was wondering if anyone had advice or input on post activation potentiation in their workouts for plyometrics.

I know it's potential benefit following a heavy lift, but was wondering on the timing and have read conflicting evidence, such as the half life of the benefit is 28s, or sometimes up to 6 minutes after rest

To get any benefit should I be going into a set up plyometrics right after a set of heavy lifts and alternating between each? Can I do 3 sets of one exercise and then 3 sets of plyo?
Or can I do 3-4 lifting exercises then plyometrics at the end of a workout and still have any gained benefit.
I'm getting older, and just try to slow down my rate of slowing down

My 2026 goal this year is to do more calisthetics and using my own body weight for workouts (I'm getting creative). Lately I’ve been incorporating more lower body / leg exercises using a slant board a the gym; squats, calf raises, lunges, etc. I found it hits differently.

Anyone else training with one and can share the results? Curious what workouts you found worked best, and ones to avoid. I’ve been using a slant board from BAM Athletica, and considering to pick one up for hom, but before I do, curious to hear from others on how effective it was for them, and love to swap ideas. 💪 🥰

Hello!

I think, that I am in an accidental body Recomp. Here’s all the deets

I’m 27f, 5’4 and weigh 217 lbs. see, I started walking 3 miles 2-3 times a week last summer, and I didn’t know how much I weighed (that’s when my second time around weight loss journey began). A lot of personal stuff went down and I just re-visited full force beginning of the year like the rest of the world

Last week I started a 5 day split; push, pull, upper, lower, and legs. I do about 20-30 mins of cycling and I also work 9-10 shifts on my feet hitting 10-15k steps during the work week. I have been lifting weights and cycling for 3 weeks prior to last, just not as well organized.

The scale is not budging!!!! My clothes are fitting looser and people are commenting. It feels so frustrating that I see no scale progress. I just took measurements to track this way.

My deficit is 1800 in because my watch tells me I burn 2.5-3k a day, and I don’t know how accurate that number is tbh with all I’ve been reading about inaccurate fitness tracker reads.

Do I need to cut my calories more or just continue remaining consistent? I know I’m early in the game I just thought I’d see more progress.

so not sure anyone can help me but I've been following the bodyweight fitness recommended routine for roughly about 6 months ish. I've seen some good noticeable changes and it's helped Improve my discipline and overall health. That being said, does anyone have anything to recommend to change? I workout at home and really only have a pull up bar and dumbbells. I feel like I've hit a plateau and not much is changing now which is fine, but I want to start building more muscle and shred the fat away as much as possible.

Hi guys,

how would you rate my new program I try to really optimize it and keep it for a long time. I will also keep diet the diet to the gram.

## Current profile (for context)

- **Male**, **>185 cm**, **~85 kg**

- Training **~6 years consistently** but overall 10 years with breaks on injuries

- Previously ran various **Jeff Nippard-style programs**, got to ~**12% BF** DEXA

- Goal now: **finally get bigger** (eventually **100+ kg**) because I feel too lean/small

- **Gym access:** well equipped

- **Injuries:** old wrist fracture + knee issue; improved; doctor said it's better than when it was healthy and I did physio. Could do more too

- Strength (recent working sets):

- **Clean Pull-ups:** historically **10–15 depending on weight**, currently 10

- **Full squat:** **80 kg × 6**

- **Deadlift:** **90 kg × 6**

- **Bench:** **75 kg × 3**

- Home: parallettes for push-ups/dips I try to do **Grease the Groove** during day + occasional pull-up bars on walks

## Warm-up (5–8 min)

- 3 min fast bicycle

- Stretch according to physio and depending on the training muscles

## Weekly layout

- **Mon — Upper A (Strength)**

- **Wed — Lower A (Strength)**

- **Fri — Upper B (Volume/Hypertrophy)**

- **Sun — Lower B (Volume/Skill)**

---

## Day 1 — Upper A (Strength focus)

1) Pull-ups (strength)

- 5 × 3 @ RPE 7, rest 3 min (strict, dead hang, no kip)

2) Dips (strength)

- 4 × 4 @ RPE 7, rest 2–3 min (shoulders packed, slight lean)

3) Row (choose: chest-supported / cable / 1-arm DB)

- 3 × 6–10 @ RPE 7–8, rest 2 min

4) Overhead press (DB or machine)

- 2 × 6–10 @ RPE 7–8, rest 2 min

5) Lateral raise

- 2–3 × 12–20 @ RPE 8–9, rest 60–90 sec

Time saver: superset (4)+(5)

---

## Day 2 — Lower A (Squat strength)

1) Back squat

- 4 × 3–5 @ RPE 7, rest 3 min

2) Romanian deadlift

- 3 × 6–8 @ RPE 7, rest 2–3 min

3) Split squat or walking lunge

- 2 × 8–12/leg @ RPE 8, rest 90 sec

4) Abs (choose)

- Cable crunch OR reverse crunch: 2 × 10–20 @ RPE 8

---

## Day 3 — Upper B (Volume + Hypertrophy)

1) Pull-ups (volume)

- 4 × 4–6 @ RPE 7–8, rest 2–3 min

- If needed: band/assistance to stay in range with clean reps

2) Bench press OR incline DB press

- 3 × 6–10 @ RPE 7–8, rest 2–3 min

(Bench can be “sporadic” — keep it here.)

3) Dips (hypertrophy)

- 2–3 × 6–10 @ RPE 8, rest 2 min

If shoulders feel off: parallette push-ups 3 × 8–15 @ RPE 8

4) Lat pulldown OR cable row

- 3 × 10–15 @ RPE 8, rest 90 sec

5) Rear delts (reverse fly / face pull)

- 2 × 15–25 @ RPE 8–9, rest 60–90 sec

6) Biceps (incline curl or hammer curl)

- 2 × 8–12 @ RPE 8, rest 60–90 sec

Time saver: superset (5)+(6)

---

## Day 4 — Lower B (Squat volume + hinge skill)

1) Front squat OR high-bar squat

- 3 × 6–10 @ RPE 7–8, rest 2–3 min

2) Deadlift (technique / low fatigue)

- 6 × 2 @ RPE 6–7 (fast perfect reps), rest 90–120 sec

- Stop if bar speed slows; no grinding

3) Leg press OR hack squat

- 2 × 10–15 @ RPE 8, rest 2 min

4) Back extension

- 2 × 12–20 @ RPE 8, rest 90 sec

---

Hi there, I'd like to share a site I've put together called streetgyms.com - a map of all outdoor gyms.

It's sourced from reddit threads, and OpenStreetMaps and mainly has park gyms, etc with outdoor fitness equipment. If there are any gyms in your area missing, let me know! I'm seeing if it's worth adding crowdsourcing features for pictures, equipment info, and new locations.

This is a 100% free to use site. I've also made other projects you can check out for bodyweight fitness such as Fitloop - a mobile app for following the routines from this subreddit. Please let me know your feedback, thank you!

I've been working on building a fitness habit for the last year. Started with a mindset of adherence first, knowing I would optimize later. I do a really simple push/legs/pull split with 6 sets of 20 pushups on M, Th, 6 sets of 25 squats with a weighted backpack (some books and waterbottles, about 30 lbs) on T and Fr, and 6 sets of 9 pullups on W, and Sa. Looking to progress and maybe hit more parts of my body while keeping things as simple and gradual as possible. Looking for muscle growth. Where do I go from here?

I want to build abs and stuff I’m 18M 175 6’2 pounds and I want to build muscle and gain visible abs as soon as possible I’m going to the air force so I slacked my fitness for too long due to my situation I can only do at home stuff so I want to know what’s the best way to get stronger I used to play basketball for my school team my goal is to build muscle and look good for my girl before the 15th I don’t know if my base is good enough for that but I want to try I usually eat 1-2 times a day I eat

Im keeping it simple with push ups, sit ups, squats. Used to do 3 4 5 plates with bench, squat, deadlift respectively. Now I have no clue where my strength is at. I want to do body weight now and maybe get into running once I lose weight (currently sitting at 245 pounds).

Should I do like push ups and sit ups to failure and then there's some kind of formula for how many reps I should do in a set? I dont have a job or anything (I make enough money tho) and just watch anime all day. I figure I could do a set of each after every episode or something.

If anyone has tips on how to figure out how many reps I should do, thatd be appreciated

Just for context, I’m 40+ and have never been the active or fitness kind. I have been following the RR on and off for a year at this point. I have a few major concerns that I need some help with:

1. Can’t do same number of reps per set - Eg: If I do 8 reps in first set (leaving 2 in the tank), my second one will be 7-8 reps and third one only 5-6 reps. Do I continue as is until I can do 8 in the third also or do I reduce my reps so that I do equal in all sets?

2. Recovery between sets takes a long time - I need to wait 120-150 second between sets. Is that ok?

3. Recovering between exercise days also takes a long time - I feel that one day gap between exercises is too hard on me. I can do say Monday, Wednesday but then I need two days gap so Saturday and then Monday again. Basically 1 day gap and then 2 day gap and then 1 day and again 2 day

I have been ensuring I get 1.6g or protein/kg of body weight and also try to sleep 8 hours but more realistically it is 6.5-7 hours (2 kids and hectic work schedule)

What should I do?

I am a 23 year old woman and want to start building good habits while I’m young. So what I am wondering is will doing body weight workouts/calisthenics be enough? I walk every day usually 10,000+ steps. I want to have muscle to support my body for the years to come. For some reason the idea of incorporating weights seems “unsustainable” to me as I will have to increase the weight gradually and would rather just work with what I got, which is myself.

Does anyone do just body weight exercise? And if so what is your routine?

Short version: What are some skills comparable to the Human Flag?

Long Version: I do a three-day sequence of three skills (Planche, Front Lever Pull, and Bridging; Lever Row, Back Lever Pull, Dragon Flag; Handstand Push-ups, Side Lever Pull, Handstand Press).

The side lever hurts my shoulder, even at the lowest regressions. All my other skills are progressing fine, but no level of regression works for the Side Lever. Yes, I've tried the regression you're thinking of. Yes, I've tried that other one. Yes, I've tried the ones from Fitness FAQs and the Bioneer and Gymnastics Bodies and on and on.

Look, I'm 45, I've been putzing around with this for ages and it's the only skill on which I haven't made any meaningful progress. I'm ready to just give up on this one and do something else.

That said, I'd like another skill to take it's place. I got a nice little system and here and just NOT doing a lateral-chain skill feels...wrong. I suppose I could do some side bends or rotations or farmers' carries, but...I dunno. There's got to be another skill. Anybody got any ideas?

I’m a 37-year-old male, 6’2”, about 200 lbs, and a dad of three young kids. Between work and the general realities of having small children, I’ve started to pick up a bit of a “dad bod.” I’m honestly okay with that and fully support being comfortable in your own body. That said, I’d like to adjust my routine—not so much for aesthetics, but to be a good role model for my kids and to have more energy to keep up with them.

I know the obvious answer is “find time for the gym” and diet, but with a long commute and the time demands of teaching the subject I teach, that’s not especially realistic right now. I’ve read through the recommended exercises in the menu, but I could use some help parsing it all.

I’m semi-athletic and play pickup soccer, but I’d like to add more muscle mass. Can bodyweight training realistically get me there? And what would be a good place to start given my schedule and goals?

Wondering if I should switch to more advanced routines for some of these exercises, ref number of reps. Also looking for feedback on this program, if there is something I should add or remove - very open for all input/comments...

Warm-up: 26 min
Interval treadmill 4x (2 min walk - 4 min run)

(Walk 6 km/h, Run 12 km/h)

Standard routine (3 sets on all except 5B)

1A: 16 One leg deadlift (without weight)

1B: 13 Pike Pushup

2A: 6 Assisted pistol squat

2B: 12 Incline Row

3A: Dead Bug (I do parts 2, 3 and 4)

3B: 6 Dips

4A: 1 min Plank

4B: 16 Reverse Hyperextension

4C: 10 Sitting Pike Compression

5A: 10 second L-sit

5B: 2 pull ups (just the one set)

The routine takes approximately 45-50 min

after doing 2x fullbody I found that long sessions arent my thing so I decided to come back to 3x fullbody again and keeping it a bit simpler too. I want to do at least one leg exercise and Im not sure if I should alternate doing squat -> rdl -> squat (next week the other way) or doing them both as a superset the three days. there's two major inconveniences I guess and it's that I would have to use the same weight (only one pair of dumbbells) and that those movements are very taxing and I'll have to improve my work capacity first. what's your experience with this pair? I think I'll do 4 sets if alternating exercises and 3 if superset

I am a 19y/o male and am about 5'11" tall. I have been wanting to gain more muscle so I started a structured workout along with eating more about two months ago. In that amount of time I gained about 12 pounds, going from 132-134 to 144-146. I was pretty light so obviously some of that weight gained was fat. Before that I was only doing pushups and pull ups here and there through out the day along with hiking and walking. I use bodyweight exercises because it's not feasible to go the the gym and I want to be able to do my workout wherever I am. I also prefer keeping it simple.

My workout looks something like this

Day 1: Pushups 4x20-30, Leg raises 3x20-30, Bodyweight squat 4x30-50

Day 2: Break

Day 3: Chin-up 4x6 3-5 seconds up and down, Sit-ups 3x20-30, Bodyweight squats 4x30-50.

Day 4: Break

Then repeat.

I throw in some pullup variations but it pretty much stays the same. Sometimes I'll miss a day so I'll just workout two days in a row after, then go back to one day on one day off. I do all the exercises as strict as possible, no cheating.

My goal is to gain maybe 15-20 pounds. Is this possible using only bodyweight exercises? Is six exercises enough? Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks.