Skinny Fat Calisthenics: Exactly How to Build Muscle and Strength

Cardio and weight training are the first things that come to mind for people looking to fit. That’s especially true for skinny fat individuals with a high body fat percentage and low muscular development.

But would another form of resistance training bring similar results, or is our only hope based on gym training? In today’s post, we’ll go over calisthenics, if it works well for skinny fat individuals, and what that means for you.

Let’s dive in.

What is Calisthenics Training?

Calisthenics is a term that consists of two parts: kállos (beauty) and sthenos (strength). The practice refers to beautiful and graceful movement, and the objective is to master your body and its physical abilities. Interestingly, the practice has roots as far back as Ancient Greece, and countless people throughout history have used it to build their bodies and maintain good health.

These days, most people know calisthenics as street fitness, which refers to workouts you perform outdoors (parks, beaches, etc.). The type of training is based on using your body for resistance instead of lifting weights. For example, you perform push-ups, dips, and other similar movements instead of the bench press to strengthen your chest, shoulders, and triceps. Other notable exercises within calisthenics include pull-ups, lunges, planks, and sit-ups.

Calisthenics also includes more advanced movements like muscle-ups, handstand push-ups, planche, and human flag. Mastering any of these requires tremendous dedication, effort, and hard work.

Does Calisthenics Training Work For Skinny Fat Individuals?

Calisthenics receives a fair amount of criticism because it doesn’t offer as many options for leg training and the exercises get easy after a while. Both ideas couldn’t be further from the truth because calisthenics is a fantastic form of resistance training for skinny fat individuals.

First, you can do plenty of good leg exercises with little to no equipment to strengthen and develop your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. We’ll go over specific recommendations below.

Second, calisthenics exercises are not easy, and there is always room to improve. Even if you’re incredibly strong and can bang out a set of 30 pull-ups, you can always wear a weight vest to challenge yourself or perform more challenging variations like chest-to-bar pull-ups and muscle-ups.

The problem with calisthenics training is that it feels intimidating for beginners. Most people who practice calisthenics seem to defy gravity and flow almost with no effort from one pose to the next. Reaching that level often feels impossible to a beginner who can barely do a few push-ups. Luckily, that isn’t the case. Regardless of where you stand now, hard work and consistency can get you far.

What Benefits Does Calisthenics Provide For Skinny Fat Beginners?

1. Muscle Growth & Strength Gain

While many people idolize specific training approaches for muscle and strength gain, various workout styles can make us fit. So long as you stress your muscles adequately, you can get bigger and stronger with traditional barbell training, bodyweight workouts, dumbbell-only exercises, etc.

Calisthenics training is a perfectly viable approach to training for muscle and strength gain because it covers all the necessary criteria:

• Accumulate training volume
• Push hard but leave a rep or two in the tank on most sets
• Perform a variety of movements for all major muscle groups
• Train in a variety of intensity zones, doing light and heavy sets
• Hit your muscles groups one to three times per week

Plus, calisthenics is a sustainable approach you can leverage for as long as you want. There are more than enough good workout plans you can use.

2. Balance and Athleticism

A notable benefit of calisthenics training is that it improves your balance. The reason for that effect is that the majority of movements you perform require moderate to high core engagement for you to maintain your balance. Even something seemingly simple like push-ups requires core activation to keep your spine neutral and pelvis aligned with your torso. The more you perform calisthenics movement, the stronger your core musculature becomes and the more balanced you are.

Another considerable benefit of calisthenics is that you become more athletic. Aside from developing your core, this type of training teaches your muscles how to work together, which is valuable for various sports.

3. A Sense of Progression

Calisthenics can be frustrating initially because most activities feel out of reach. But, as you start training and gain some momentum, you establish a sense of progression. Whether you get closer to a full muscle-up, do a couple of more reps on the pull-up, or hold a plank for five extra seconds, progress makes you feel great and motivates you to keep training.

Plus, there is always room for improvement in calisthenics, and you will never feel like you’ve mastered the sport. 

4. Freedom

The fourth significant benefit of calisthenics is that it brings about freedom. For one, you can approach calisthenics in various ways, pick from countless exercises, and follow a schedule that fits your availability. Second, calisthenics allows you to train and get fit with little to no equipment, freeing you from the gym. 

How to Start Calisthenics Training Today (Beginner Routines Included Next)

As with all things, starting is about getting familiar with the basics. Forget about the exercises that require super-human strength for a moment and start with the following:

• Pull-ups/chin-ups
• Inverted rows
• Dips
• Bench/chair dips
• Push-ups
• Crunches
• Lying leg raises
• Bodyweight squats
• Bulgarian split squats
• Lunges
• Glute bridges
• Plank
• Hollow holds

You can also include some conditioning work in the form of:

• Burpees
• Mountain climbers
• Jumping jacks
• Jump rope
• Running

Of course, the above movements also have levels, so it’s vital to do variations you can manage. You shouldn’t force yourself to do exercises you’re not ready for because that puts you at risk of injuries. Plus, there are better ways to progress, which we’ll go over below.

Two Simple Beginner Calisthenics Routines

Picking good exercises is the first step, but we need to organize them into a decent routine if we want to get anywhere. The following are two routines that will get you started and lead to muscle and strength gains, so long as you’re consistent and push yourself.

Routine 1

Band-assisted chin-ups - 2-3 sets of 5 to 12 reps (2-3 mins rest between sets)
Incline push-up - 2-3 sets of 5 to 15 reps (1-2 mins rest between sets)
Bodyweight squats - 2-3 sets of 5 to 15 reps (1-2 mins rest between sets)
Hollow holds - 2-3 sets of 10 to 60-second holds (1.5-2 mins rest between sets)
Glute bridges - 2 sets of 15 to 25 reps (1-1.5 mins rest between sets)

Do the above routine three times per week: Monday-Wednesday-Friday, Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday, or however you can, based on your schedule. Always give yourself at least a day of recovery between workouts.

Routine 2

Inverted rows - 2-3 sets of 5 to 12 reps (2-3 mins rest between sets)
Burpees - 2-3 sets of 5 to 12 reps (2-3 mins rest between sets)
Incline push-up - 2-3 sets of 5 to 15 reps (1-2 mins rest between sets)
Elbow plank holds - 2-3 sets of 10 to 60 seconds (1.5-2 mins rest between sets)
Glute bridges - 2 sets of 15 to 25 reps (1-1.5 mins rest between sets)

The second routine is suitable to do at home if you feel anxious to train in public or the weather doesn’t allow it. The only hiccup is that you have to find somewhere to do inverted rows at home. Supporting yourself on a sturdy table or desk can work. Alternatively, invest a bit of money in a home pull-up bar and perform band-assisted chin-ups instead.

Like the first routine, give yourself a day of recovery between workouts.

Rest day ideas to stay active:

• Stretch your muscles
• Do 20 to 30 minutes of low-intensity cardio (jogging, bike ride, etc.)
• Walk at least 5,000 steps

A Few Words On Warming Up

People often complicate warming up unnecessarily, and I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t worry that much about it. Yes, you should do some form of a warm-up to raise your core body temperature, get yourself in the mood for training, and improve your performance. But, you don’t need a complex sequence that takes 20 minutes to complete.

Start with some form of low-intensity cardio like walking, light jogging, or high knees for a couple of minutes. Once you’ve warmed up a bit, continue with some dynamic stretching, and begin your workout. It’s best to warm up slightly longer when training in the morning or if it’s particularly cold. 

Progression With Calisthenics Training: Why and How

Progressing with your training is crucial for long-term muscle and strength gain. The workout you do today might cause a disruption that leads to improvements, but you cannot do the same thing forever and expect to keep seeing results.

The principle of overload suggests that to gain muscle, get stronger, or develop athletic characteristics, we must place increasingly more stress on our bodies through sound training principles and intelligent progression tactics. For instance, if you’re doing three sets of five pull-ups now, that number should be higher months down the line.

Here are six ways to progress with calisthenics training:

1. Do more reps
2. Do more sets
3. Perform more challenging exercises
4. Introduce external load
5. Leverage resistance bands
6. Recover less between sets

Here is a look at each:

1. Do more reps

The first way to create overload is to do more reps, provided you maintain good form. I recommend logging your workouts and monitoring how many reps you’re doing, striving to increase the number over time.

2. Do more sets

The second good way to increase the stress on your muscles is to do more working sets. For instance, if you follow one of the above routines and start with two sets per exercise, you can gradually bump it to three, even four.

3. Perform more challenging exercises

The beauty of calisthenics is that you can always find movements to fit your athletic level. But it’s essential to modify your routines over time by selecting challenging enough exercises. For instance, you can begin with incline push-ups but gradually transition to classic, decline, weighted, and even plyometric push-ups as you get stronger.

4. Introduce external load

Another good way to create overload is to add external resistance for some movements. For instance, if bodyweight pull-ups or push-ups feel too easy, one option is to wear a weight vest for additional resistance.

5. Leverage resistance bands

Using resistance bands is a fantastic way to make specific exercises more challenging. For example, you can take a looped band, place it behind your back, wrap it over your hands, and make push-ups more challenging. You can use a looped band to create an overload for squats, Bulgarian split squats, and other movements.

You can also use resistance bands to make exercises more accessible. As recommended in the above routines, you can perform band-assisted pull-ups. Tie the band over a pull-up bar, let it hang like a noose, step over it, and do pull-ups. Doing so will take some of the resistance away, making the exercise easier.

6. Recover less between sets

Recovering less between sets is another beneficial tactic for creating overload. Doing so allows you to complete your sessions quicker and forces you to work harder because your muscles get more fatigued. As an added benefit, you also work on your cardiovascular health and aerobic capacity more effectively. Plus, you’ll burn some extra calories that can help you lower your body fat percentage, provided you also take good care of your nutrition.

Conclusion

There you have it: everything you need to know about calisthenics for fixing the skinny fat look. As you can see, getting started doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Start small, be consistent, and you will gradually develop yourself into a great athlete, capable of impressive calisthenics exercises.