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Exercises

Calisthenics exercises: the pulls, pushes, holds and skills worth training

Published October 24, 2026

The core calisthenics exercises are the pull-up, the dip, the inverted row and the pike push-up, plus the L-sit and hanging leg raise for your core and the skater squat and Nordic curl for your legs. Once you own 10 strict pull-ups and 15 dips, the archer pull-up, archer push-up and muscle-up take over, and the dragon flag and front lever raise build toward levers. A calisthenics workout covers a pull, a push, a leg move and a hold, three times a week, with each set stopping 1 or 2 reps short of failure.

  1. Pull-Up Lats
  2. Chest Dip Chest, Triceps
  3. Inverted Row Upper Back, Lats
  4. Pike Push-Up Shoulders
  5. L-Sit Hold Abs
  6. Skater Squat Quads, Glutes
  7. Muscle-Up Lats, Chest
  8. Handstand Hold Shoulders

Calisthenics pulling exercises

Pulling carries calisthenics: the bar is where you get stronger the fastest and where the skills live. Build reps on the strict pull-up, balance it with rows, then move to archer pull-ups for one-arm strength and the muscle-up once your pull reaches your chest.

Lats and upper back, vertical pull

Pull-Up

Lats

The pull-up is the strength test calisthenics is built on: every lever, muscle-up and archer variation is a harder version of it. Until you own 8 to 10 strict reps, most of your pulling time belongs here.

How to do it

  1. Hang at arm's length, overhand grip a little wider than your shoulders and your arms fully straight.
  2. Pull your shoulder blades down first, then drive your elbows toward your ribs.
  3. Rise until your chin clears the bar while your legs stay quiet.
  4. Lower all the way back to a straight-arm hang before the next rep.

Cues

  • Shoulders down before elbows bend
  • Chin over, not reaching
  • Full hang every rep

Common mistakes

  • Kicking or swinging to get the last reps: stop the set when the strict rep is gone.
  • Cutting the bottom short: half reps hide how strong you really are.

Swap for: Chin-Up, Band-Assisted Pull-Up, Neutral-Grip Pull-Up

Build a session with Pull-Up

Upper back, horizontal pull

Inverted Row

Upper Back, Lats

Rows balance all the vertical pulling and build the upper back that holds your shoulders steady in dips and levers. Lower the bar and straighten your legs to make it harder; there is always a version you can do for 8 to 15 reps.

How to do it

  1. Set a bar about waist height and lie under it, gripping slightly wider than your shoulders.
  2. Walk your feet out until your body is straight from heels to head, arms extended.
  3. Pull your chest to the bar while squeezing your shoulder blades together.
  4. Lower until your arms are straight again, keeping your hips in line.

Cues

  • Chest to the bar
  • Body like a plank
  • Squeeze at the top

Common mistakes

  • Hips sagging as the set gets hard: bend your knees and finish the set.
  • Leading with the chin: the chest touches, the head stays neutral.

Swap for: TRX Row, Band Bent-Over Row, One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Build a session with Inverted Row

Lats, one-arm pull progression

Archer Pull-Up

Lats, Upper Back

Shifting your body toward one hand while the other arm stays nearly straight puts most of your weight on one side. It is the bridge between 12 clean pull-ups and anything one-armed, and it shows you right away which side is weaker.

How to do it

  1. Take a wide overhand grip, about twice shoulder width.
  2. Pull toward your right hand, keeping the left arm long as it slides along the bar.
  3. Reach the top with your chin beside your right hand.
  4. Lower to the center hang under control, then pull to the left on the next rep.

Cues

  • Working arm does the pulling
  • Assisting arm stays long
  • Same height both sides

Common mistakes

  • Bending the straight arm to help: grip narrower until you can keep it long.
  • Rushing the lowering: the slow way down is where this builds strength.

Swap for: Pull-Up, Commando Pull-Up, Wide-Grip Pull-Up

Build a session with Archer Pull-Up

Pull plus transition to dip, skill

Muscle-Up

Lats, Chest

The bar muscle-up joins an explosive high pull to a dip on top of the bar, and it is the first skill most people chase. It needs a pull-up strong enough to bring the bar to your lower chest and a dip strong enough to finish, so the rest of this page builds both.

How to do it

  1. Hang with a slightly narrower grip than for pull-ups, thumbs around the bar.
  2. Swing your legs slightly forward and pull hard and fast toward your hips, not your chin.
  3. As the bar passes your chest, lean your shoulders over it and turn your wrists on top.
  4. Press out to straight arms above the bar, then lower back down with control.

Cues

  • Pull to the hips
  • Lean over the bar early
  • Fast wrists on top

Common mistakes

  • Pulling straight up to the chin like a normal pull-up: the bar has to travel lower down your body.
  • One arm getting over before the other: train high pulls and straight-bar dips until both sides turn together.

Swap for: Pull-Up, Kipping Pull-Up, Chest Dip

Build a session with Muscle-Up

Calisthenics pushing exercises

Pushing splits two ways. Dips and archer push-ups build the chest and triceps for pressing on top of a bar, while pike push-ups and the wall handstand build the shoulders for upside-down pressing. Train one of each per session.

Chest, shoulders and triceps, vertical push

Chest Dip

Chest, Triceps

Dips are the bodyweight bench press and the finishing half of the muscle-up. Leaning forward on parallel bars puts the chest to work, and adding reps here carries straight over to pressing on top of a bar.

How to do it

  1. Support yourself on parallel bars with straight arms and your shoulders pressed down.
  2. Lean your torso a little forward and bend your elbows to lower yourself.
  3. Stop when your shoulders are just below your elbows or you feel a deep stretch in the chest.
  4. Press back up to straight arms without shrugging.

Cues

  • Shoulders away from ears
  • Slight forward lean
  • Lock out at the top

Common mistakes

  • Dropping too deep with the shoulders rolling forward: stop where you can control the bottom.
  • Bouncing out of the bottom: pause a beat, then press.

Swap for: Bench Dip, Push-Up, Machine Chest Dip

Build a session with Chest Dip

Chest and triceps, one-arm push progression

Archer Push-Up

Chest

Moving most of your weight over one hand turns a push-up you can do 30 times into a set of 8. It builds toward the one-arm push-up without needing weights.

How to do it

  1. Set your hands much wider than a normal push-up, fingers turned slightly out.
  2. Lower toward your right hand while the left arm straightens out to the side.
  3. Keep your body straight as your chest comes down near the right hand.
  4. Press back to the middle and alternate sides, or do all reps on one side first.

Cues

  • Weight over the working hand
  • Helper arm stays long
  • Body stays rigid

Common mistakes

  • Rotating the hips to cheat the depth: keep both hips level.
  • Going wider than you can control: shorten the stance until the depth is full.

Swap for: One-Arm Push-Up, Close-Grip Push-Up, Decline Push-Up

Build a session with Archer Push-Up

Shoulders, vertical push progression

Pike Push-Up

Shoulders

With your hips piled high, the push-up turns into an overhead press for your shoulders. It is how you build pressing strength for the handstand push-up before you have the balance for one.

How to do it

  1. From a high plank, walk your feet in and lift your hips so your body forms an upside-down V.
  2. Bend your elbows to lower the top of your head toward a spot just ahead of your hands.
  3. Keep your hips high so your shoulders, not your chest, take the load.
  4. Press back up to straight arms; raise your feet on a box to make it harder.

Cues

  • Hips high
  • Head in front of the hands
  • Elbows at about 45 degrees

Common mistakes

  • Letting the hips drop until it becomes a normal push-up: stay folded.
  • Flaring the elbows straight out: keep them angled back.

Swap for: Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Handstand Hold, Decline Push-Up

Build a session with Pike Push-Up

Shoulders and balance, static skill

Handstand Hold

Shoulders

A wall handstand hold teaches your shoulders to stack overhead and support your full body weight. Holds of 30 to 60 seconds come before handstand push-ups and freestanding balance.

How to do it

  1. Face away from a wall, put your hands down about a hand's length from it, and kick up one leg at a time.
  2. Lock your elbows and push the floor away so your shoulders reach toward your ears.
  3. Squeeze your legs together and pull your ribs in so your body is as straight as you can make it.
  4. Hold, then come down one leg at a time.

Cues

  • Push the floor away
  • Ribs in, legs squeezed
  • Eyes between your hands

Common mistakes

  • Sinking into the shoulders with bent elbows: shorter holds with locked arms beat long sloppy ones.
  • Arching the lower back into a banana shape: squeeze the glutes and tuck the ribs.

Swap for: Pike Push-Up, Plank, Handstand Push-Up

Build a session with Handstand Hold

Core and lever exercises

Calisthenics core work is about staying rigid and folding hard at the hips, not crunching. The L-sit and leg raise teach compression, and the dragon flag and front lever raise teach you to hold a straight body away from your hands.

Hip flexors, abs and triceps, static

L-Sit Hold

Abs

Holding your legs straight out in front while you support yourself on your hands trains compression, the ability to fold at the hips, which every lever and press to handstand relies on. It also hardens the lockout of your dips.

How to do it

  1. Place your hands beside your hips and press down until your shoulders lift away from your ears.
  2. Lift your hips and raise your legs until they point straight ahead, knees locked.
  3. Point your toes and keep pushing down through your palms.
  4. Hold for time; tuck the knees in to make it easier.

Cues

  • Push tall through the hands
  • Legs locked and level
  • Toes pointed

Common mistakes

  • Letting the shoulders shrug up: press down before you lift the legs.
  • Bending the knees to stay up longer: tuck on purpose, and count only straight-leg seconds.

Swap for: Hanging Leg Raise, Plate Hollow Hold, Lying Knee Raise

Build a session with L-Sit Hold

Abs and hip flexors, dynamic

Hanging Leg Raise

Abs

Raising straight legs from a dead hang builds the same compression as the L-sit, plus grip and shoulder control from hanging. It is the dynamic partner to the L-sit hold, and lifting to the bar is the next step after it.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar with straight arms and your shoulders engaged.
  2. Keep your legs together and lift them by tilting your pelvis up.
  3. Raise your feet to at least hip height, higher as you get stronger.
  4. Lower slowly without swinging into the next rep.

Cues

  • Curl the pelvis up
  • No swing
  • Slow down

Common mistakes

  • Using momentum from a swing: pause in the hang before each rep.
  • Only lifting the legs without the pelvis curling: think about bringing your belt buckle toward your chin.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Captain's Chair Knee Raise, L-Sit Hold

Build a session with Hanging Leg Raise

Whole trunk, lever strength

Dragon Flag

Abs

Lying on a bench and lowering a rigid body from your shoulders is the closest floor version of a front lever's trunk demand. Slow lowerings are hard enough for most people for months.

How to do it

  1. Lie on a bench and grip it behind your head.
  2. Lift your hips and legs until your body points up, resting only on your upper back.
  3. Lower your straight body slowly toward the bench, keeping your hips locked.
  4. Stop just above the bench, then raise back up, or reset and repeat the lowering only.

Cues

  • Body like a board
  • Weight on the upper back
  • Lower slower than you think

Common mistakes

  • Bending at the hips as you lower: tuck the knees until you can stay straight.
  • Resting the lower back on the bench at the bottom: stop just above it.

Swap for: Ab Wheel Rollout, Hanging Leg Raise, Plate Hollow Hold

Build a session with Dragon Flag

Lats and trunk, lever skill

Front Lever Raise

Lats, Abs

From a hang, raising a stiff body up to horizontal with straight arms is how the front lever is built. The raise trains the lats to pull with locked elbows, which no regular pull-up does.

How to do it

  1. Hang with straight arms and your shoulder blades pulled down.
  2. Keep your body stiff and pull the bar down toward your hips with straight arms.
  3. Raise your body until it is level with the floor, or higher if you can.
  4. Lower back to the hang under control.

Cues

  • Arms stay straight
  • Pull the bar to your hips
  • Hips in line

Common mistakes

  • Bending the elbows to help: use a tucked or one-leg version instead.
  • Piking at the hips: the trunk stays as rigid as a plank.

Swap for: Straight-Arm Pulldown, Dragon Flag, Hanging Leg Raise

Build a session with Front Lever Raise

Calisthenics leg exercises

Without a barbell, the only way to load your legs is to put all your weight on one of them or to fight a lowering. The skater squat covers the front of your thighs and the Nordic curl covers your hamstrings.

Quads and glutes, single-leg

Skater Squat

Quads, Glutes

Two-legged squats run out of challenge fast without weight. The skater squat drops your back knee toward the floor on one leg, giving your legs real work with nothing but a counterweight in your hands.

How to do it

  1. Stand on one leg with the other foot behind you, holding a light weight or arms straight out in front for balance.
  2. Bend your standing knee and let your hips sit back.
  3. Lower until your back knee touches lightly down behind you.
  4. Drive through your whole standing foot to stand tall again.

Cues

  • Reach forward as you drop
  • Knee touches lightly
  • Whole foot pushes

Common mistakes

  • Crashing the back knee into the floor: put a pad down and touch it, do not land on it.
  • Standing up off the back toe: the back leg only balances.

Swap for: Pistol Squat, Bulgarian Split Squat, Reverse Lunge

Build a session with Skater Squat

Hamstrings, eccentric

Nordic Hamstring Curl

Hamstrings

Calisthenics programs tend to forget the back of the legs. Lowering yourself from kneeling with your ankles anchored gives your hamstrings a heavy load that bodyweight squats never reach.

How to do it

  1. Kneel on a pad with your ankles held down by a partner or under something heavy.
  2. Keep a straight line from knees to head with your hips extended.
  3. Lower forward as slowly as you can, letting your hamstrings brake the fall.
  4. Catch yourself with your hands, push back up a little, and pull with the hamstrings to return.

Cues

  • Hips stay forward
  • Fight the whole way down
  • Hands catch, legs return

Common mistakes

  • Folding at the hips to shorten the lever: keep knees, hips and shoulders in line.
  • Dropping the last half: lower only as far as you can control, and use a band later.

Swap for: Glute Ham Raise, Stability Ball Leg Curl, Seated Leg Curl

Build a session with Nordic Hamstring Curl

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

Bar and dip bars, building the base

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets39 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar, Dip Bar, Barbells

You can do a few strict pull-ups and dips but not 10 of each, and you want a plan that gets you there before you chase skills.

Three full-body sessions a week give each movement pattern enough practice to get better without running your elbows and shoulders into the ground. Every set stops 1 to 2 reps short of failure, so form holds and you can repeat the work two days later. Each session is about 15 working sets.

Session A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Pull-UpStrict. Full hang every rep. 4 × 3–8 1 2 min
Chest Dip 3 × 5–12 1 2 min
Skater SquatPer leg. 3 × 6–12 2 90 s
Hanging Leg Raise 3 × 6–12 1 1 min

Open Session A in the session builder

Session B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Inverted RowLower the bar as you improve. 4 × 8–15 1 90 s
Pike Push-Up 3 × 6–12 1 90 s
Nordic Hamstring CurlLower as slowly as you can. 3 × 3–6 2 2 min
Handstand HoldSeconds. Against a wall. 3 × 15–40 2 1 min

Open Session B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Session A and Session B on alternating days, three times a week (A, B, A, then B, A, B). Holds are logged as seconds in the rep field.
How to progress
Add a rep each session until you hit the top of every range at the target reps in reserve. Then make the exercise harder: lower the inverted-row bar, raise your feet on pike push-ups, or add a two-second pause at the top of each pull-up.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

10 pull-ups, chasing the muscle-up

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets40 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar, Barbells, Dip Bar

You have 10 strict pull-ups and 15 dips and want your first bar muscle-up and harder pushing.

Muscle-up practice comes first in the session while you are fresh, as short sets 2 to 3 reps from failure, because skill reps done tired teach a bad transition. The strength work after it stays at 1 to 2 reps in reserve. Two upper days and one lower day keep the bar work to about 30 hard sets a week.

Pull
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Muscle-UpPractice attempts. Stop if the transition gets messy. 5 × 1–3 3 2:30 min
Archer Pull-UpPer side. 3 × 3–6 1 2 min
Inverted Row 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Front Lever RaiseTucked if needed. 3 × 3–6 2 90 s

Open Pull in the session builder

Push
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Chest Dip 4 × 8–15 1 2 min
Archer Push-UpPer side. 3 × 5–10 1 90 s
Pike Push-UpFeet raised on a box. 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
L-Sit HoldSeconds. 3 × 10–30 1 1 min

Open Push in the session builder

Legs and Core
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Skater SquatPer leg. 4 × 8–12 1 90 s
Nordic Hamstring Curl 3 × 4–8 2 2 min
Hanging Leg Raise 3 × 8–12 1 1 min
Dragon FlagSlow lowering. 3 × 3–6 2 90 s

Open Legs and Core in the session builder

How to run it
Run Pull and Push on two days with at least a day between, and Legs and Core on a third day.
How to progress
When you can do 3 clean muscle-ups in a row, swap archer pull-ups for weighted pull-ups or add muscle-up sets. Add reps to archers and dips until you reach the top of the range, then slow the lowering to three seconds.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Only two sessions a week

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets27 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar, Dip Bar, Barbells

Work, running or another sport leave you two days for calisthenics, and you want to keep progressing on the main movements.

With two days, every session has to cover pull, push, legs and core, so each one picks one exercise per pattern and does it well. The sets end 1 rep short of failure because there is more recovery time between sessions. About 14 sets a session is enough to keep getting stronger.

Day 1
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Pull-Up 4 × 5–10 1 2 min
Chest Dip 4 × 6–12 1 2 min
Skater SquatPer leg. 3 × 6–12 1 90 s
L-Sit HoldSeconds. 3 × 10–30 1 1 min

Open Day 1 in the session builder

Day 2
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Inverted Row 4 × 8–15 1 90 s
Archer Push-UpPer side. 3 × 5–10 1 90 s
Nordic Hamstring Curl 3 × 3–8 2 2 min
Dragon Flag 3 × 3–6 2 90 s

Open Day 2 in the session builder

How to run it
Do Day 1 and Day 2 with two or three days between them.
How to progress
Use the same rep rule: hit the top of every range at the target reps in reserve, then move to the harder variation, like pull-ups to archer pull-ups.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What are 5 calisthenics exercises everyone should do?

The pull-up, the dip, the inverted row, the pike push-up and a one-leg squat such as the skater squat. Together they cover vertical and horizontal pulling, chest and shoulder pressing, and legs. Add the hanging leg raise or L-sit and you have a full calisthenics workout.

Can you build muscle with only calisthenics?

Yes, as long as each set is hard. Muscle responds to sets taken close to failure, and calisthenics gives you that through harder variations: archer pull-ups instead of pull-ups, skater squats instead of squats. The catch is that the jump between variations can be big, so adding a little weight to pull-ups and dips helps once you pass 15 reps.

Is 20 minutes of calisthenics a day enough?

It can be, if those 20 minutes are hard sets of a pull, a push and a leg exercise rather than easy circuits. Rotate the patterns so each one gets a day off, or do the two-day plan above in two longer sessions instead.

How many days a week should I do calisthenics?

Three full-body days is the best starting point: enough practice to learn the movements and enough rest for your elbows and shoulders. Two days still works if you do one exercise per pattern and push each set to 1 rep in reserve.

How long does it take to get a muscle-up?

It depends on where you start. Most people need around 10 strict pull-ups and 15 dips before muscle-up practice pays off. From there, it comes down to learning the transition, which is why the muscle-up plan puts it first in the session in short sets.

Is there a downside to calisthenics?

Two practical ones. Your legs are hard to load without weights, so you need one-leg moves and Nordic curls rather than squats. And progress comes in jumps between variations, so you sometimes stall until you add load or find an in-between step.