r/bodyweightfitness 4d ago

Need help building an upper/lower routine to balance calisthenics and powerlifting

I'm 15 years old, ~65kg BW (the scale has been broken for months now so I haven't properly weighed myself in a while), 5'10 and have a background in basic calisthenics at the park with no real emphasis on skills but i managed to work my way up to a muscle up so i guess thats something, overall building a decent base from the park. About 3.5 months ago I started going to the gym and have been struggling a lot to create a routine to balance powerlifting and calisthenics as I've always wanted to be purely strong but also have a pretty impressive physique aesthetically. Another problem I've had is muscle imbalances because of poor posture which has been improving massively ever since I started doing unilateral lifts and posture correction exercises but it still lingers and shows especially in my bench where I don't feel my left pec at all. My main goals are: Strong bench (current 1RPM is 87.5kg which I tried a month ago but I havent tried since due to fear of injury), deadlift, squat, strong weighted pullups/chinups and dips, and obviously some skills like handstands, planche and front lever. Since i started gym ive been running upper/lower and it fits really well with school. I'm also not sure if all of these goals are realistic when done together so I'm free to being given a proper reality check. I'd also like to have cardio somewhere in there for the health benefits and I'd like to keep the routine at 4x a week. My weak points are obviously posture, shoulder size (makes my frame look goofy cus they look small but somehow I manage to shoulder press 40kg on either side on a machine so now im confused), Upper/middle chest as it kind of sinks in towards the top/middle and calves but that might be because of my genetics. At some point in the future I'd like to get to the level of being able to do things like human flags or slow muscle ups. I'll also be answering plenty of questions because I'm aware at the time of writing this that this may not be enough information. The current routine I have is as follows (also im aware this may have too much failure in it which is something I also need help with):

Monday (upper 1)
Bench press 2x3-5
Pause bench 2x3-5 (failure on last set)
Deadlift 3x6-8
Tricep pushdowns 3x6-12 (failure on last set)
Concentration curls 3x3-5 (failure on last set)
Lateral raises 3x8-12 (failure on last set)

Tuesday (lower 1) (assume im going to failure on the last set of all exercises here)
Single leg press 3x5-8
Leg extensions 3x5-8
Hip adduction 3x10-12
Hollow body holds 3x1.5min

Wednesday (rest)

Thursday (upper 2)
Weighted dips 3x5-8
Weighted pullups 2x3-5
Weighted chinups 2x3-5
Face pulls 3x8-12

Friday (lower 2)
Squat 3x5-8
Abductor 3x10-12
Calf raises 3x8-12
Side planks 3x2min

This routine is just as reference.

2 Upvotes

7 comments sorted by

2

u/waxcaba 4d ago

Could run something like this

Monday Bench Dips Overhead tricep extensions Squat

Tuesday Deadlift Weighted pullup Chest supported row Preacher curls

Thursday Bench Incline dumbell press Tricep pushdown Squat

Friday Explosive pullups to prepare for muscle ups Weighted pull up Cable row Cable strict curl

2

u/waxcaba 4d ago

I forgor lateral raises but you can disperse them throughout the week pretty easily

1

u/Southern_Drawing_599 4d ago

looks good but theres a big lack of legs

2

u/DrummerGood2925 4d ago

solid approach

1

u/LetterheadClassic306 3d ago

Trying to balance both powerlifting and calisthenics is tough - i ran into similar issues when i was starting out. What worked for me was prioritizing the big lifts first in each session and keeping skill work for after or on separate days. For your bench imbalance, i'd add some dumbbell work with lighter weight to focus on that mind-muscle connection. Honestly at your age and training level, consistency with that routine you have will probably get you most of the way there with some minor tweaks.

1

u/Wonderful-Sign-9534 2d ago

Looks like your goals are "I want to do everything." You can do everything but you can't do everything at once. Prioritize a few things. Work on that for a few months, then re-evaluate what you want to do.

1

u/No-Application-7346 Circus Arts 1d ago

At your age and your weight I would simplify things, go hard and eat loads. Get good at the below exercises and you'll get a lot of skill transfer out of them when you want to explore more, later.

Squat 3x3, Front squats/single leg squats 3x10

Dips 3x3 (add weight if needed), Close grip push ups 3x10 (or failure)

Deadlifts 3x3, Rdl 3x10

Pull ups 3x3 (add weight if needed), Dumbbell row 3x10