If you don’t already know Fitenium is a free, mobile, video-based social network for athletes who train strength or bodyweight exercises. At Fitenium users can share the progress they make from training and following a good calisthenics diet. Download it here.

One of the factors that most attracts people to bodyweight training is its simple nature. You don’t need to join a gym and you don’t need a lot of equipment either. Only with your body and at most on the bars of your nearest park to start training and obtain “gains” of strength and muscle mass. However, considering that in calisthenics and street workout our body is our main tool to exercise, it is even more important to maintain it in an optimal state to gain control over it. That is why we are going to help you with the principles of the calisthenics diet so that you can progress as much as possible in a natural and healthy way.

We defend 4 principles when designing a calisthenics diet, which are the following. It is nothing complex or sophisticated, no supplementation or precooked food is used, the strategy for success is based on these four pillars.

Avoid junk food, prioritize natural foods.

Obesity is an increasingly widespread pandemic in the world. Many Spanish-speaking countries are in the highest positions in the hateful ranking of countries with the highest obesity rate, highlighting the cases of Mexico and Chile, with rates above 25% in the case of Chile and a worrying 32% for the North American country, only surpassed by the United States.

Currently there is a tendency to overuse processed foods that do not contribute anything and are more expensive than the sum of their ingredients and, although we are very clear that a food should not be demonized because it is processed (a yogurt, for example, is processed and can be very healthy), for our calisthenics diet whenever we have doubts it is better to opt for foods with as short a list of ingredients as possible.

It is clear that we are interested in maintaining a low fat percentage for the practice of calisthenics and for this, sugary foods or foods high in saturated fat will provide a very high amount of calories and very little satiety. Of course there are sugar-free soft drinks and they are not a bad option to drink from time to time, but our recommendation will always be to drink water.

Take your protein! Calisthenics diet needs it

Whether we want to gain muscle mass or lose fat, protein plays a very important role in both processes. It is true that if we are in a stage of fat loss, in order to maintain all the lean mass possible, the grams of protein per kilo of weight. You can expand more information in our two articles on how to lose fat and about how to gain muscle mass, but to summarize about the consumption of fat in both phases, it is normally recommended to consume between 1.8 and 2.5 grams of protein per kilo of weight, tending to the ceiling if we are in the definition phase and to the floor if our goal is to win fat.

Where to get that protein? It’s not complicated, there are many quality sources available within real food. The most common option is meat, but we must not forget the protein available in other foods such as eggs, dairy, fish… or if you are vegan there are options such as legumes, soy and others. In the following table we can find a protein reference per 100 grams of various foods.

Chicken breast: 23gr
Turkey breast: 24gr
Lean beef: 22gr
Lean Pork: 22gr
Serrano Ham: 36gr
Stuffed Loin: 38gr
Tuna Steak: 24gr
Tuna: 21gr
Salmon: 21gr
Mackerel: 15gr
Sardinas: 24gr
Octopus: 15gr
Calamar: 16gr
Egg: 13gr
Egg whites: 11gr
Whole Milk: 8gr
Lechi Seeds: 8gr
Skimmed Milk: 8gr
Fresh Cheese: 12gr
Semi-cured cheese: 23gr
Cured Cheese: 25gr
Old Cheese: 25gr
Fresh Shake Cheese: 8gr
Queso Quark: 12gr
Lentils: 25gr
Chickpeas: 19gr
Beans: 21gr
Textured Soy: 50gr
Peanut: 30gr
Almendras: 25gr
Anacardo: 22gr

Regarding whey protein, despite the fact that it is a processed food, we believe that it can be useful for people who have difficulties reaching the protein weight they are looking for. Vegans generally have a much more difficult time than omnivores, so whey protein is even more useful in this case. However, do not worry, the Frank Medrano diet is vegan and is a benchmark in the world.

Of course, if your economy allows it and you have access, we recommend buying grass-fed meat, free-range eggs, free-range chicken, etc… the flavor and fairer treatment of animals are worth it.

Finally, if we are in a stage of fat loss, we must bear in mind that some of these foods (salmon, nuts, cheese…) apart from protein, have a high amount of protein, they are also rich in fat of quality, which are necessary for a balanced diet, but are caloric and therefore we recommend eat them in moderation.

Carbohydrates and dairy, how to manage them?

Although protein is perhaps the most key macronutrient of all, carbohydrates provide the energy that a good calisthenics diet requires if you are to perform on the bars.

While many people are against adding grain and dairy to the diet because they supposedly promote intestinal inflammation, a large number of other athletes take milk and gluten with no problem. In general, from Fitenium we recommend that you take both if you do not have any intolerance and they feel good, but if you constantly have bad digestions, try to stop taking them to see if they are the reason.

On the other hand, we must be careful with the carbohydrates we choose. We must prioritize slow-digesting or complex carbohydrates, which fill us up for longer and do not create insulin spikes. Some of them are tubers, rice, pasta, bread or cereals taking care that they are integral. Ideally, they should be low in sugar and high in fiber to go to the throne like clockwork :).

What about the fruit and vegetables in the calisthenics diet?

If you have doubts about eating fruit or not eating it, eat it. It is a very healthy food with an enormous nutritional contribution, perfect for a calisthenics diet. In addition, they are generally low in calories and create great satiety, so it is difficult to screw up your caloric deficit with apples.

However, it is true that other more caloric fruits such as bananas or grapes should be taken because they are nutritionally quite good but in moderation. I wouldn’t worry too much about the sugars in the fruit, since they are naturally present in the food and not added as in so many processed foods.

Regarding vegetables, eat all you want and more, the more varied the better.

conclusions

We must take care of our body above all, but if it is our training tool, even more so. It is key for a calisthenic to be low in fat to progress in exercises with your own body weight, for which we must try a moderate and high protein intake, the first step is to avoid junk food. In general there are many sources of real food with quality protein, but nothing happens if we help ourselves with a protein shake.

If you don’t already know Fitenium is a free, mobile, video-based social network for athletes who train strength or bodyweight exercises. At Fitenium users can share the progress they make with their calisthenics training at home. Download it here.

I am sure that it is not the first time that you consider starting to train constantly to improve your health and physical condition. You have gone to a gym and it may even be that you have paid several months in advance. You started out very motivated, but you have a complicated routine, little time and in the end you end up leaving the gym aside. You wonder what has gone wrong and you get frustrated because you have failed in your goals. Perhaps your best option is to train calisthenics at home if you don’t have time to train.

It is quite likely that you are not familiar with how to train calisthenics at home, but do not worry because in this article we will share with you tips and routines for calisthenics at home. You will have no excuse because the routines are done quite quickly, they are adaptable to your level and some do not require any type of material that everyone does not have at home.

For those who are not familiar, calisthenics is a training method in which you use your body and gravity to work your muscles, using repetition exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups or squats as well as tension exercises such as planks or “levers”. Normally to train calisthenics you need some minimum equipment that is a pull-up bar and parallel bars. However, to start calisthenics at home we will recommend exercises that do not require any specific material.

exercise progressions

In the gym, you usually progress through a progressive overload system, that is, you repeat the same exercise by adding more weight, repetitions or series. In calisthenics, it is true that you can weigh yourself down with many exercises, but especially for beginners, it is advisable to start with versions of the exercises.

Exercise 1: Push-ups

Level 1: Knee Push-ups

Level 2: Incline Push-ups

Level 3: Normal Push-ups

Level 4: Decline Push-ups

Exercise 2: Squats

Level 1: Partial Squats

Level 2: Parallel Squats

Level 3: Deep Squats

Level 4: Single Leg Squats

exercise 3: backgrounds

Level 1: Bent Knee Dips

Level 2: Straight Leg Dips

Level 3: Horizontal Funds

Level 4: Parallel Dips (equipment is required for this exercise)

Exercise 4: Burpees

Level 1: Burpee with Chair

Level 2: Burpee in two counts

Level 3: Burpee in one beat

Level 4: Full Burpee

How do I know what level I am at? When you can do a set of 20 repetitions of each of these exercises, you’ll be reasonably ready to move on to the next level. The case of the squat is quite different from the others since the squat on one leg is very dependent on the balance and ankle mobility that you have more than on strength. We recommend that you visit our Calisthenics Leg Training article so you can see other options for progress by doing bodyweight squats.

routine

To train at home easily and quickly, we recommend doing a circuit of the aforementioned exercises. Depending on your level you will opt for one level or another of each exercise and a number of repetitions. A simple progression that we like is to gradually increase series and repetitions until we level up in each exercise, returning to the initial number of repetitions. We will start with 3 rounds of 8 repetitions of all the exercises (except the squat, which will be double the repetitions), resting one minute between rounds and if we have managed to do the 3 rounds of 8 repetitions of an exercise without failing in any round, we will go up 3 repetitions ( or 6 in the case of the squat). Each home calisthenics exercise progresses differently, and we can go more advanced in some exercises than in others. Once we’re able to do maximum reps, we’ll add a fourth set to make sure we can move to the next level. The progression will be like this.

Once we can with this, we will move on to the next level of exercises.

Once we are able to do this calisthenics routine at home, we can go back up.

And finally, we would come to this routine.

If you are able to do the last routine, it can be said that you have a fairly high physical level and you are a lover of training, so it will not be a big problem to join a gym to continue progressing.

conclusions

You can start training with my little material is to improve, for this, calisthenics exercises at home are your best option, and with this routine you can progress until you reach a fairly high physical level.

The tuck sit is one of the basic isometric exercises that will allow you to train the muscle groups necessary to evolve to other more advanced positions such as the L-sit and the V-sit.

With the tuck sit you will work the deltoids, triceps, the core abdominal area, and deltoids. In this article we will review which are the most common progressions to achieve it and how you can find the guide you need in the Fitenium app to carry it out.

Strengthening routine for the Tuck sit

Below you can find a strengthening routine to achieve the strength necessary to attempt the Tuck sit. Completing these exercises will not guarantee that you will be able to carry out the exercise, but they will help you prepare your muscle groups and obtain a minimum level of strength with which to advance in the specific routine.

Try to do this routine for at least two weeks, three days each week to get the muscle tone needed for the specific routine.

If you want to continue your training and get results, we advise you to follow this strengthening routine for free through the Fitenium app where you have this routine and many more at your disposal.

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Specific routine for the Tuck sit

To get the Tuck sit you will not only need strength in all the muscles involved. You need to find the right balance and know how to maintain the scapular posture to get up.

With these exercises that we will give you now, you will be able to follow a routine to nail the Tuck sit.

1/ Stand up Keeping BOTH feet on the ground

The Tuck sit can be performed on parallel bars, on the ground and on rings. Although if you are starting, we recommend that you carry out the exercise on two parallel bars as they will help you maintain balance, you will not have such a high muscular demand on your wrists and you will be able to gain a few more centimeters to hold your body off the ground.

• Try to get up keeping your legs stretched out in front of you. The goal of this exercise is to get your shoulders down enough so that they can carry partial weight of your body.
• Repeat this exercise several times and make sure that you maintain a vertical spine from the floor to your shoulders.
• Maintaining a correct position in the upper part of your body is essential to continue your progression.

Remember that you can find your personalized training program in the Fitenium app. You will not only find the exercises that you should perform each day, but also visualizations of how to perform them, notes on training programs, rest times and much more.

2/ Stand up Keeping only one leg on the ground

During this exercise the objective will be to progressively increase the weight that you are carrying on your body when you stand up.

• Sit down again with both legs stretched out in front of you and try lifting your entire body and one leg. If you are not able, you can flex the leg that you are lifting.
• Repeat this exercise several times, changing legs and try to maintain a minimum of 3 seconds in the raised position.
• Remember that you must maintain verticality in the upper part of your body to continue your progression.

3/ get the tuck sit

This is the final exercise in the Tuck sit progression.

• Sit back down with both legs bent in front of you and try lifting your whole body up. If you can’t go back to step 2 or increase the intensity in the strength routine above.
• At first you will notice tremors throughout the body, especially in the arms since for the first time you are maintaining all your weight. Try to find your balance and keep the position stable.
• Once you are able to stay suspended, work on improving the verticality of your back.
• Progressively increase your Tuck sit time by recording yourself on video with the Fitenium app to track your progress and execution technique.

Follow your progress on your profile in Fitenium app. You will have at your disposal all kinds of metrics about your progress and evolution, exercises performed and calendar. Also, if you wish, we can send you training notifications and personalized emails with your progress.

conclusion

The Tuck sit is one of the first isometric exercises where you will keep your full weight lifted using your upper body. Following the strengthening routine and the specific one, you will soon achieve the Tuck sit, although you should not be discouraged if you are not capable during the first weeks of training. All isometric exercises require a good physical condition to be able to carry them out.

The Tuck sit will also open the doors to more complex exercises such as the L-sit and the V-sit. In fact, if you can do the tuck sit you are probably only a few workouts away from being able to do these as well. In fact, if you are able to do the L-sit you are probably only a few workouts away from being able to do these as well.

The L-sit is one of the most important isometric exercises. Don’t think of the L-sit as an easy exercise that is within everyone’s reach; to pull it off you will need a good amount of strength from head to toe and a good level of flexibility to control it.

Do not be intimidated by the L-sit either, since with the necessary training and perseverance you will be able to achieve it. First of all we recommend you to make a structured progression starting with carrying out the Tuck sit. First of all we recommend you to make a structured progression starting with carrying out the Tuck sit.

With the L-sit you will work a large part of the muscle groups in the body since it is a very complete exercise: shoulders, triceps, the abdominal area of the core, the pelvic area, quadriceps, and deltoids. In this article we will review which are the most common progressions to achieve it and how you can find the guide you need in the Fitenium app to carry it out.

Strengthening routine for the L-sit

Below you can find a strengthening routine to achieve the strength needed to attempt the L-sit. Completing these exercises will not guarantee that you will be able to carry out the exercise, but they will help you prepare your muscle groups and obtain a minimum level of strength with which to advance in the specific routine.

Try to do this routine for at least two weeks, three days each week to get the muscle tone needed for the specific routine.

If you want to continue your training and get results, we advise you to follow this strengthening routine for free through the Fitenium app where you have this routine and many more at your disposal.

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Specific routine for the L-sit

To get into the L sit you’re going to need proper balance and maintaining scapular posture to lift yourself up.

Follow these exercises to get the L-sit.

1/ Stand up Keeping BOTH feet on the ground

The L-sit can be performed on parallel bars, on the ground, and on rings. Although if you are starting, we recommend that you carry out the exercise on two parallel bars as they will help you maintain balance, you will not have such a high muscular demand on your wrists and you will be able to gain a few more centimeters to hold your body off the ground.

• Try to get up keeping your legs stretched out in front of you. The goal of this exercise is to get your shoulders down enough so that they can carry partial weight of your body.
• Repeat this exercise several times and make sure that you maintain a vertical spine from the floor to your shoulders.
• Maintaining a correct position in the upper part of your body is essential to continue your progression.

Remember that you can find your personalized training program in the Fitenium app. You will not only find the exercises that you should perform each day, but also visualizations of how to perform them, notes on training programs, rest times and much more.

2/ Stand up Keeping only one leg on the ground

During this exercise the objective will be to progressively increase the weight that you are carrying on your body when you stand up.

• Sit down again with both legs stretched out in front of you and try lifting your entire body and one leg. If you are not able, you can flex the leg that you are lifting.
• Repeat this exercise several times, changing legs and try to maintain a minimum of 3 seconds in the raised position.
• Remember that you must maintain verticality in the upper part of your body to continue your progression.

3/ Perform the tuck sit

Up to now the routine has been the same as that we mentioned for the Tuck sit.

• Sit back down with both legs bent in front of you and try lifting your whole body up. If you can’t go back to step 2 or increase the intensity in the strength routine above.
• At first you will notice tremors throughout the body, especially in the arms since for the first time you are maintaining all your weight. Try to find your balance and keep the position stable.
• Once you are able to stay suspended, work on improving the verticality of your back.
• Progressively increase the time of the Tuck sit by recording yourself on video with the Fitenium app to follow your progress and execution technique.

3/ Tuck sit with one leg extension

• Once you’ve secured the tuck sit with acceptable technique and can hold it for at least five seconds, try slowly straightening one leg until you reach full extension.
• Repeat the exercise slowly, keeping your leg fully extended for at least 2 seconds each time. Every second that you stay with your weight lifted will help you strengthen all the necessary muscles, do not give up.
• When you are able to keep one leg straight, try the other leg until you are able to hold at least 5 seconds on each leg. Ideally, you should be able to hold each leg for 5 seconds before hitting the ground.

4/ L-sit

You almost have it! Keep working steadily and you will get it.

• Start in the tuck sit position and very slowly try to extend your hips forward by twisting your arms with your elbows in. Hold this position for at least 10 seconds.
• Little by little, try slightly extending both of your legs until you are able to straighten them completely.
• It is very important that you work on improving the final position of the L-sit since the drop of the legs is one of the most common mistakes.
• Record yourself on video with the Fitenium app to improve your execution and keep track of the time you keep with your L-sit.

Follow your progress on your profile in Fitenium app. You will have at your disposal all kinds of metrics about your progress and evolution, exercises performed and calendar. Also, if you wish, we can send you training notifications and personalized emails with your progress.

conclusion and tips

The L sit is one of the most relevant isometric exercises with which you will train almost all muscle groups in your body. Following the strengthening routine and the specific one, you will be able to reach the L-sit if you train hard, although you should not be discouraged if you are not able to achieve it during the first weeks of training. All isometric exercises require a good physical condition to be able to carry them out.

Here are some tips for the correct execution of the L-sit

• Keep your shoulders drawn down.
• Your back should be straight when you are up.
• The chest should be high and out
• The knees must be locked in full extension.
• The toes should be pointing out.

The L-sit will also open the doors to more complex exercises such as the V-sit, the handstand and the plank. In fact, if you are able to do the L-sit you are probably only a few workouts away from being able to do these as well. In fact, if you are able to do the L-sit you are probably only a few workouts away from being able to do these as well.