9 Calisthenics Beginner Mistakes That KILLED My Progress

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This video is about the top beginner calisthenics mistakes I made in my first year or so of training. Some of these tips might seem like common sense to some while they’re not so obvious to others.

I should have started off this video by saying "I am not a calisthenics master." I've never said I was on my channel and I don't think I'll be saying that for a long, long time. Calisthenics is essentially elite gymnastics mixed with old school bodyweight exercise. It's a journey that can take years - even decades - to truly master, and I'm barely 5 years in.

As a calisthenics beginner I made many mistakes. These vary from not treating my calluses and letting them tear, to overtraining and even carrying the "bodybuilding mindset" with me and being reluctant to try a new style of training.

When you’re starting calisthenics, you need to be aware of these potential problems you’ll encounter. It’s common to get excited and try to hit the ground running without paying close attention to the the things that might be holding you back. I hope at least one of the 9 mistakes I discuss in this video is helpful to you.

If you find the advice useful, or just want to support my channel, please drop a like on the video and subscribe if you're new.

As always, happy training!

-Ryan

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[edvinaleksandrov]

wow a teacher, an astronaut, a postman and now a callisthenics athlete

[SayuriYaki]

0:41 Negleting calluses (gloves or file them)
2:19 Not adding weight sooner (add weight/progression if >8 reps)
3:24 Cheating on ROM (full ROM is needed later for more skillful exercises)
4:39 Not using progressions (use steps to achieve hard movements)
6:17 Not using assistence (bands etc are cool)
7:15 The bodybuilding mindset (do strength, skill, mobility, flexibility, balance > pure muscle size gains, do 3-5min rests 5-8 reps > high volume weight training)
9:08 Training too often (6/week for looking muscular and shredded, 2-3/week for real skill and strength, if you train a movement/muscle group rest that for at least 1 day)
10:38 Inconsistent Programming (stick to one program/plan, tweak little! if you hit plateaus)
11:38 Not training mobility (needed for more skillful exercises)

[KarmasAB]

You know this fellow is honest cause he didn't force it to 10

[knowledgesaiyan]

When Johnny Sins turned fitness guru. 😂😂😂

[joshuabush]

I'm so guilty of program hopping.. usually trying to incorporate too many exercises due to fear of missing out!

[zaheedhasib]

No more "Johnny Sins" comments, the channel has grown a lot. Keep up the great work.

[tylerk.]

My tip for calluses is become a landscaper. My hands now have built in leather gloves after 10 years of shovels and pitchforks. Lol

[malky_malk]

Honestly really solid advice, im just starting out (almost 3 months) and its always good to learn from people older and wiser than you, cause that experience is irreplacable, you made me realize that Im making some mistakes that are easily correctable but make a huge difference and in a few months when im more advanced im gonna look back and think about how I was able to progress so fast because you shared your knowledge, I appreciate you man

[pnchong]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge, experiences, and journey. You have given me encouragement to continue my own journey.
I am 68 years old, and basically "deskbound" for years. Some 3 months ago, I could not even hang on a bar for even 5 seconds! My shoulders would hurt. I persisted. Now I could hold on to the bar for more than 40 seconds. Then I learned to "jump" to hold on to the bar, and the place where my tendons meet the muscles would hurt. Now that pain is gone. I am beginning to be able to do a chin up (not a pull up) from a dead hang. And so on.
Ditto for things like push ups and variants, plancks, etc
Now I thank you for your advice on mobility, and calluses.
Where can I buy such gloves?
I know that at my age, I am not going to progress as fast as when I was 18 years old. But even at my age, I am making a difference to my old body!

[anjimim]

Thank you. (Don’t know your name, sorry) but I’ve been following you for a few days and now - after over 3 months of no activity except walking outside - I’m about to actually do instead of just watch you. I’m 70 and 1 week and still fit and I love that you are inclusive

[rishbhardwaj]

This is such a good video! So well thought out and actually good advice! Additionally, there's no shouting / complaining about you doing it all wrong. Just plain simple speak.

[jacob]

As a climber I embrace the calicus but they still need sanding down to avoid skin pealing/ripping off. Sports/ climbers tape is good for protecting some fingers from forming them

[Pacmkr]

Great insight, had to learn a lot of these the hard way. One mistake I made is not starting sooner and trying to perfect a plan before even trying it. I think doing something slightly wrong is much better than not doing anything.

[jonharvey]

Great advice dude. I would also have mobility as my number one as well. I achieved pretty decent bodyweight strength in my mid twenties. Could do handstand push ups with ease. Ring muscle ups were pretty easy and also front and back levers but I did no mobility work and now I'm in my early thirties with fucked shoulders, weak and sore elbows. No bloody grip strength and I can just barely do a pull up. Work that mobility people.

[realanli]

This is really helpful, I have tried to do a free hand stand for two years and still not being able to do it. I will check out your skill breakdown and try again

[PrettyBoyRyan]

This was really informative. You inspire me to continue training when it's easy to slack off so thank you for explaining so much to an analytical overthinker like myself lol.

[stormilha]

Not only found it helpful, I fount it speaking to me as a 30+ who recently started training! Thanks man!

[warabill]

Really good tips, good job ! I hit a plateau in my press to handstand at the moment, i feel like i'm overtraining, i'm gonna try one rest day in between. I post from France !

[muhammadziaurrahman]

Dude, you help me a lot for my calestetic
I'm a beginner and for real, the way you explain everything really help full

[Tina-utuv]

I didn't know I needed this advice until I watched it. All the things that have been roadblocks for me were mentioned here. Especially switching up programs and not working on mobility. Thank you for this! Looking forward to diving into your channel.