Athletic Calisthenics = The Perfect Combo?

Massive thanks to Anytime Fitness in Bicester for letting me film at their gym!

Combining two or more styles of training is a simple way to make your training more comprehensive and effective.

One of my favorite combinations is to mash together a calisthenics training program and an athletic training program. That means taking the exercises that you might normally give to a football player or basketball player and combining them with calisthenics.

Calisthenics and athletic training are a match made in heaven for a few reasons. Both prioritise strength:weight ratio and can be performed with minimal added resistance.

Calisthenics doesn't offer quite as much for the legs as some other forms of training, whereas athletics focusses on legs in a big way. Athletics also offers cardio and explosiveness, whereas calisthenics builds a more rounded physique.

Combining these two styles is pretty straightforward. In many cases, you can simply make your athletics training your "leg day" while borrowing a few rotational exercises or HIIT drills to add to your upper body routines.

And another great form of athletic training? Simply engage in sports! Adding a regular game of football (soccer) on top of your training can do wonders for your overall performance.

What do you think about this? Is it a good match? What other forms of training work well together? I think powerlifting and kettlebell training are also an awesome pair, which I'll talk about soon!

[FitLabb]

💯% agree that a balanced approach combining calisthenics w/ other modalities will generally result in the best results for long term health, injury prevention, overall fitness & performance, & even muscle size & strength. 💪

[JaxBlade]

Preaching facts!! Those combinations you mentioned are as perfect together as peanut butter & chocolate… & now excuse me while I get this workout in to indulge on just that

[Exalted_Example]

Jan 2020 i was 388lbs, now i'm 165.

I've been training calisthenics with some kettlebell and isolation work since the beginning.

Went through all the progressions, from wall push ups, to inverted push ups. Now, i can almost do a front lever on gymnastics rings - which was one of my three 'ultimate' fitness goals.

Feels amazing.

[yfaewwegfawg]

I agree so much with your beginning points. I now do a mix of yoga, kickboxing, military calisthenics, and some strength lifts, and I find each one makes up for another one's lacking points. It is also very fun too to keep it varied!

[BacatauMania]

Please include mobility training into this discussion. Preventive physiotherapy, flexibility training, stability issues, feet strength, etc.

[Jake-yvcr]

I'm a swimmer that goes to the gym and enjoys calisthenics, a great balance

[mesmory]

I am literally doing this. It just feels so nice and beneficial. I do calisthenics and exercises from the knees over toes guy and mobility/flexibility exercises. They fit so well together. I like this approach because it helps me with my explosive leg strength for volleyball or basketball as well as upper body strength.

[universalcrazy]

I do martial arts, calisthenics, and some bodybuilding training. It's a good and surprisingly fun way to train ( for me at least). Also combined with Mike Mentzer's way of training (heavy duty) it doesn't take hours and hours to train per week like most if not all bodybuilding programs. It's a good overall program that I've been experimenting with for a couple of months now.

[Xanthan]

Your comments in several videos about rotational strength have boosted my confidence a lot. I come from a martial srts background, but have never had an aesthetic body. I thought I was weak. But realizing what I'm actually strong at sheds that insecurity and lets me push forward on gaining strength in other areas. Thanks.

[Benutzername]

Love the little touch of classic 'calisthenics music' in the backround. Very detailed, as always.

[bxla]

facts!!! functional movements are key. amazing video once again

[ninjasrose]

I LOVE your whole ethos on the approach to training. No dogmatic rule book, just fun whilst being ultra efficient!

[rylangrant]

Good timing for this video. My son is starting his freshman year in HS and went out for the soccer team. They take it *far* more seriously than any of the youth league soccer that he grew up playing. His cardio test results were underwhelming after a summer of Fortnite, but after a few weeks of intense pre-season training with the team he also started to develop shin splints and some knee pain.

I wanted to help him improve his cardio without further pounding his legs (he gets enough of that during regular practices), so I put together a program of calisthenics focused on upper body and core in a HIIT format (alternate rest-work cycles for time, not reps). We've started doing this workout together on days that he's not practicing with his team. It's too early to speak to results, but we're both sweaty and out of breath at the end and he has confirmed that it doesn't aggravate his shins.

[mostlyimportant]

I kind of do this already, but I always figured calisthenics was just working with bodyweight. Another thing that isn't mentioned in this video which I think is not that complicated to tag along is weighted calisthenics, doing the same movements as before, but adding weight to them to become even stronger in those areas

[jordanthornton]

*Excellent! I appreciate how you make such a consistently strong case for the types of fitness mentality which nourish genuinely lifelong health, performance, playfulness and aesthetics.*

It's always refreshing to listen to your training philosophy and reflect on the ways I could further integrate additional areas of strength into an even more holistic movement lifestyle! It's something which really resonates with me as someone who enjoys training Muay Thai, calisthenics and supplementary strongman/barbell movements throughout each week.

Thank you, once more - game changing teachings!

[robertburtchell]

I’ve been a huge calisthenics person, but I’ve also been following a few strongmen lately. Adding their stuff with my calisthenics has been amazing! Strongman seems to be underrated as well when it comes to conditioning and lower body/upper back and grip strength

[t-roy]

Awesome video. I love my calisthenics workouts. Combining them with this athletic style or some sport specific training will also help keep things fresh mentally.

[sebastianosleah]

Loving this series of combination practices videos.

[murfrnr]

Not sure if I have ever commented before, but I have been a long-time subscriber and watcher. You are the best on youtube, sir! So informative, such detail and consideration for everyone's circumstances and fitness abilities. And you can back it all up by being in peak physical shape and demonstrating these principals yourself. Your style of accessible, minimal functional training as the foundation of your fitness resonates with me so much. I am the weirdo at my local park dragging an old tire "sled" around, doing pull ups on the playground and running hills. Much love, and props. It has been fun to see you doing some notable collaborations lately too. So worth it. Sky's the limit for the bioneer!

[basslinger]

I think my challenge is there are so many great and time-proven concepts, programs, and philosophies out there, so much to select from; I'm currently doing red delta project Grindstyle Calisthenics and some kettlebell work and some deadlifts, in addition to trying to get to BJJ at least twice a week, so full schedule, but powerlifting and KBs is definitely a worthy topic, thanks for your time!