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One of the biggest criticisms of calisthenics training is the typical accusation of not training legs in calisthenics. This can be due to several reasons, moving our body weight is a challenge for our upper body, however, our lower body is already used to supporting all our weight, so to do a calisthenics leg workout you have to be more imaginative and use other movement patterns that stimulate our lower body well.

It is true that the most efficient method of training legs is through loads, but do not panic because that does not imply that if we do not have heavy material at hand we cannot do a calisthenics leg training that will also help us not only to gain strength and hypertrophy but to improve other equally important aspects such as balance and mobility

In this article we are going to teach you several very interesting leg exercises to add to your calisthenics leg workout and we will finish by proposing a very interesting routine that is not very well known that we promise will create a killer calisthenics leg workout.

In our list of exercises we are not going to talk about the basic leg exercises such as the Squat, Lunge or Gluteal Bridge, since we assume that you already know these exercises and as we previously mentioned, as soon as we have some strength they will quickly fall short. . Remember, as Yerai Streetworkout, committed to calisthenics leg training, says: “Don’t be a palisthenic.”

– “Pistol” squat: the basic leg After training with body weight, it can be difficult to master it and we recommend starting to do it with assistance to gradually gain strength and work on ankle mobility, which is key to maintaining balance when executing this squat, but once we have it, it is an exercise brutal for our lower body that has nothing to envy to a squat with loads. If they fall short or are too difficult, don’t worry, we have several simpler or more demanding proposals depending on your level.

– “Sissy” squat: this variant of the squat is little used but has a lot of potential to develop our anterior chain since it focuses almost all the work on our quadriceps. It is a complex exercise strong and we will have to work on our mobility to progress in it, but it is undoubtedly very undervalued for leg work.

– “Shrimp” squat: if for some reason the “pistol” squat falls short, an even more advanced version is the “shrimp squat” or shrimp squat in its Anglo-Saxon name. This exercise is also dominant for the quadriceps and special care and control must be taken when dropping the knee, since if we hit the ground when going down uncontrollably, we can injure our kneecap due to the impact.

– Hawaiian squat: this alternative to the pistol squat is quite curious and requires a little less force, since the hip is involved in the movement. In this variation, the foot of the non-working leg rests on the knee of the working leg, albeit a little awkward, but in the end it’s more stable than it looks.

– Skater squat: this type of squat is also easier than the pistol, since we move the center of mass forward and we will have more balance. Like all the squats that we propose, it requires the anterior chain, that is, the quadriceps, and we must also be careful when touching the ground with the knee since we do not want to hit this joint violently.

– Dragon Squat: the most difficult of all, a challenge of strength, mobility, flexibility and balance. You only have to see it to realize that it has a very complex technique. This exercise is very very complete, since in addition to exercising our quadriceps, the way in which we go down makes us also work the abductors, buttocks and hips. Without a doubt, if you manage to control this squat, you are a master of calisthenics leg training.

– Isometric squat: to add variety to our calisthenics leg training, we can opt for exercises that are not measured in repetitions but in time. Try holding the parallel squat with your back against the wall and let me know how your quads turn out. This exercise is a perfect finisher for our leg routine and is highly recommended. There are also other versions of this isometric squat working facing the wall or simply holding the parallel squat without a wall.

– Nordic Curl: all the exercises that we have proposed are dominant of the anterior chain, and we cannot forget our hamstrings and biceps that also need their dose of work. Our favorite for training the posterior chain of our leg. Although it is quite difficult to perform the entire exercise, we can begin to progress in this exercise by inserting negative repetitions into our calisthenics leg routine with the help of a partner to hold our ankles.

– Cossack squat: although this exercise also touches the anterior chain of the leg, it is highly demanding on the adductors, gluteus, and hip flexors, so we recommend it for the posterior chain of the leg. This exercise is especially good for improving hip mobility and flexibility, but it also adds stimulation to our lower body.

Glute Bridge / Unilateral Hip Thrust: in weight training the exercise par excellence for the gluteus is the Hip Thrust but, taking into account that in calisthenics we are not going to use loads, the method that we will use to increase the stimulus is doing it with one leg, increasing the stimulus through higher relative load and instability.

With these exercises, you have all the tools you need to create a demanding calisthenics leg workout for when bodyweight squats and lunges fall short.

To get an idea of the difficulty of the unilateral squats and progress in them, the order of difficulty is as follows: < <, < <. Did you think that pistols were the most complicated unilateral squats? When you master them you will still have half of the progression left!

Bonus: The Ballet Squat Routine.

Perhaps at first glance it may not seem so, but ballet dancers have a highly developed lower body since it is essential to perform the pirouettes of their choreographies. We know of cases such as the action hero and martial artist Jean Claude Van Damme who attended ballet classes to gain mobility and strength in his lower body. He went so far as to say that “if you are capable of surviving a ballet training you can endure the training of any sport”.

That is why we are going to propose a very simple training but that ensures stiffness in our entire lower body since it is very demanding and we probably have not trained that way in our lives. Jon Yuen proposes it and as we said it is a challenge for our legs.

The routine is very simple and simply consists of doing squats in the 5 ballet positions, known as “pli”.

• Squat in 1st position:

• Squat in 2nd position:
  
• Squat in 3rd position:
  
• Squat in 4th position:
  
• Squat in 5th position:
  

I have recorded these videos myself and the technique can be improved, I am working on it! The main advice when doing these squats is to keep your trunk straight and your knees out. I know it’s a bit counterintuitive, but these squats work like that and they’re great for our mobility. The way I execute this routine when I don’t have time or material to train legs with loads is a simple 5×5, that is, five sets of five squats.

We hope that with this article we have dispelled the myth that calisthenics does not train legs and everyone who reads can get ideas for original and challenging calisthenics leg workouts beyond endless sets of bodyweight squats and lunges.

Thank you very much for reading and see you at Fitenium!

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 you make from training, so we look forward to seeing your progress with your favorite 3-day gym routine. Download it here.

When it comes to progressing in the gym, there is a lot of noise about what is the ideal number of optimal training sessions. Most gym users train 4 or 5 times a week, although there is scientific evidence that suggests that we will enjoy most of the benefits of exercise simply by training 2 times a week. If you are one of those people who does not have a lot of time and can only train a couple of times a week, we recommend that you review our article on training protocols in two sessions. However, there are also a large number of people who have time to train 3 times a week and there are also a large number of very efficient protocols to progress without spending more days. In this article we will present several examples of a very complete and efficient 3-day gym routine.

Why go to the gym for three days?

Both hypertrophy and strength gain do not occur while we train, but in the subsequent process of recovery from our training. Training is just one more piece in muscle development. That is why a 3-day gym routine is a great option for people who do not have much time to rest and barely get 5-6 hours of sleep. Of course, those rest days do not imply lying on the sofa, but we can take advantage of it to do some cardiovascular training, stretching, perhaps a foam roller routine or simply be active that day. Light bodyweight training may be a good option, but never go above a 5 or 6 on the scale of perceived exertion.

So don’t be afraid to limit your progress and use any of our three day gym routines!

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Routine 1: Full body

If this routine already sounds familiar to you, it is because we already recommended it in our 3-day Fullbody Routine article. It is one of our favorite divisions and we recommend it to anyone starting to train. It’s a great way to familiarize yourself with the gym basics of the Bench Press, Squats, Deadlifts, and Military Presses. Anyone who starts out in the gym with this routine is going to progress like a rocket.

When organizing the routine, we recommend leaving at least one day of rest between each training session, the most common division being to train Monday, Wednesday and Friday and rest Tuesday and Thursday, but we can do it however we want.

That being said, this is the 3-day fullbody type gym routine.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

You can track your training much more effectively using the Fitenium app where you can train this routine for free. You will not only find the exercises that you must perform each day, but also advanced visualizations to follow your progress and achieve results.

Access the Fitenium app where you can train this routine for free.

 

Rutina 2: Push – Pull – Legs

This routine for three days in the gym is the little sister of the 6-day Pull – Push – Legs for people with a lot of time to train and with good rest. As usual in this type of divisions, multi-joint exercises are prioritized to optimize each series that we do in the gym. In this case, the routine is divided into a push training (push) in which we do movement patterns in which we move the weight away from us (bench press, military press, French press…), another pull training ( pull) in which we draw the weight towards us (rowing, facepull, chin-ups…) and a leg day in which we work on both movement patterns.

This routine is very interesting for people who combine the gym with other sports, since it allows them to conveniently organize their leg day according to their stipulated rest. As always, we recommend leaving a day of active rest between training sessions, since every time we visit the gym it will be quite demanding.

Day 1 – Push or Push

Day 2 – Pull or Pull

Day 3 – Leg

Access the Fitenium app where you can train this routine for free.

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.

Routine 3: Torso – Pierna – Fullbody

This three-day gym routine is a variation of the previous one in which we give more weight to the lower body. In the end, our legs are almost 50% of our muscle mass, so it makes sense to give them about half of our training. This training is very interesting to obtain a balanced physique and it places a lot of emphasis on strength, since the third day is exclusively a basic training.

Perhaps the only problem could be that training so much strength can interfere with other sports goals, so this routine is ideal for people who want to progress in strength, aesthetics and don’t have much time.

Day 1 – Torso

Day 2 – Leg

Day 3 – Full Body

Access the Fitenium app where you can train this routine for free.

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.

Routine 4: TRX and elastic bands to train at home

Not all of us have the same obligations and many people are limited to training at home, but that should not be a reason to stop training since we also have an exercise routine 3 days a week for which you only need some suspension system and our body weight to do our training.

All those mothers and fathers who have to keep an eye on them while working out, this routine is for you!

Day 1: Chest – Triceps

Day 2: Back – Biceps

Day 3: Legs and Shoulder

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Create a training habit with Fitenium app. Look at this training calendar. Do you think you can match it? With Fitenium you can achieve it. You also have the option to record your execution on video to follow your technique and avoid injuries.

conclusions

Doing a 3-day gym routine is more than enough to gain strength and muscle mass. What’s more, some studies even suggest that it may be an optimal number of sessions with adequate volume and rest. However, we cannot forget that much of the progress comes from the diet, whether we want to lose fat or if our goal is to gain muscle mass.

With all these possibilities, the only thing that stands between you and getting fit is your own perseverance and the motivation of a community of athletes like you and me who share their workouts, you don’t even need a gym. Good luck in this adventure, you have just taken the first step to change your life!