How to learn calisthenics in 5 minutes a day
How to learn calisthenics in 5 minutes a day
Can you practice calisthenics skills in 5 minutes a day even at home or work? Here’s how to make the most of short bursts of calisthenics training.
How long does it take to learn calisthenics skills
Calisthenics training is a powerful way to get stronger, learn new skills, and build a physique. But here’s the problem: we’re all busy. Life is packed full with work, home life, chores, appointments, and other obligations. It’s not always easy to carve out an hour for a workout, especially if you have to travel to a gym.
That’s why calisthenics is an amazing training style when you’re time-poor. Calisthenics – the art of mastering your own bodyweight through strength training movements – can be done at home with minimal space and equipment. And, yes, we’d argue that you can learn and practice calisthenics skills in 5-minute bursts.
Can you do calisthenics every day
Is it OK to do a calisthenics workout every day? Yes, it’s fine to do short calisthenics workouts or skills practice every single day if you want to. Calisthenics is low-impact and uses your whole body. So you could do “pull” movements one day, “push” the next, and core or lower body the day after that.
And this article isn’t suggesting that you do 5 minutes of calisthenics every day for the rest of your life. But we’d like to show you how you can learn and master key calisthenics skills in very short blocks of time.
Can you learn calisthenics skills in 5-minute blocks
Let’s say you’ve got 5 minutes between work calls. Can you really get a meaningful amount of calisthenics skills work done in that time? Yes! One of the great things about calisthenics is that you can focus on the technique and strength needed for one movement or flow at a time.
5 minutes is plenty of time to warm up and then practice scapular work, pull up progressions, and work on a few sets of full pull ups. The same applies to push-ups, l-sits, planche work, handstands, and dozens of other calisthenics skills.
How to practice calisthenics in 5 minutes
There are loads of calisthenics skills and movements you could practice in 5 minutes during the day. It will depend on what equipment you’ve got (if any) and what you want to work on. Here are a few things we’d suggest:
Pull ups (you’ll need a wall mounted pull up bar or portable pull up rack)
Pull ups are a fundamental upper body “pull” skill to master. Pull ups, and all the progressions that you’ll do along the way, will build strength and stability in the muscles and joints of the anterior chain – the shoulders, chest, core, wrists, scapulae, and serratus anterior.
Pull ups teach you to engage the muscles like a chain throughout the whole body, and give you the opportunity to drill posture, alignment, form, hip elevation, core strength and more.
In 5 minutes of pull up training, you could work through: scapular retraction, scapular pull ups, jumping or negative pull ups, full (strict) pull ups.
Push-ups (use parallettes, resistance bands, or no equipment)
Push ups are the ultimate no-equipment, do-anywhere calisthenics skill that transfers well to more advanced movements like planche and handstand. You can do push ups with no equipment, or use a set of parallettes to get more range.
In 5 minutes of push up training, you could work through: box and kneeling push ups, wide, standard, or diamond push ups, banded push ups, tempo work, Hindu push ups and push into tuck (or L-sit) for an advanced option.
Handstands (use parallettes, a wall, or no equipment)
There are lots of other things you could learn or practice in 5-minute blocks – these are just three ideas to spark your imagination.
Handstands build great shoulder strength and also work your back, arms, wrists, and core. Kicking up in to a handstand works your legs and hips. Handstands transfer well into other calisthenics skills like planche work and lever work.
In 5 minutes of handstand training, you could work through: hollow body hold, diamond push ups, frog stand, pike push ups, wall handstand, wall walks, and handstand hold.
5 ways to find 5 minutes for calisthenics training
1 In the morning before you start work
2 Between work calls or meetings
3 After work before you get on with your evening
4 Whilst dinner is cooking
5 Before bed instead of watching TV
Gravity Fitness is your one-stop shop for calisthenics equipment, motivation, and info so you can explore calisthenics on your own terms. Take a look at our online store for parallettes, pull up racks, resistance bands and everything else you need to train calisthenics on the go.
