Beginner Full Body Calisthenics Workout - No Equipment

Hey guys, how are you going? I hope you all had a fantastic holiday period and an amazing New Year's and you're ready and raring to go for 2020. So for the first video of the year I decided to do a much much much requested video which is a full body beginners calisthenics workout. Now this has come from my 12-week program which has been designed for people who are new to exercise and beginners in this field, so if you don't have any prior experience don't worry you can definitely still do this workout and you do not need any equipment and you can do it in the comfort of your own home which is fantastic. So the way this video is going to be structured today is that we've got a quick warm-up, we've got the main workout in the middle and then we've got a quick cool-down stretch at the end as well. So with the main workout what I'm going to do is I'm going to take you through all the different exercises and we're going to discuss the correct form and then also some progressions and regressions for each exercise which just means you'll know how to make it easier or harder depending on your fitness level. The idea is it's a circuit style workout so each of these exercises are going to be performed back to back with as little as or no break in between each exercise until you get to the end and you'll have a one minute rest and then you're going to come back around to the beginning and repeat that circuit again and we're going to do the circuit three times or four times if you have the time available to you. So before we started I just wanted to quickly discuss something that I know a lot of you guys have picked up on and I do get a lot of messages about and something that I've noticed as well which is that a lot of beginner calisthenics routines that you'll see on YouTube or on the internet are already quite advanced in what they're asking people to do so it can be a little bit disheartening when you go to do a beginner calisthenics workout and they're asking you to do things like regular push-ups or bodyweight dips as a beginner. So this is something that I find particularly frustrating and I don't like the idea that anybody would feel disheartened or have their confidence knocked by trying to learn some of the fundamental exercises and then going to a beginner workout and being told they're expected to already know how to do push-ups on their toes or to be able to do bodyweight dips because that's absolutely crazy. So I designed this 12-week program with beginners in mind knowing that I have been and often do regress back to being a complete beginner and I know when I started I would have found this workout really challenging myself. I couldn't even do push-ups against the wall or plank for five or ten seconds so I have designed it with that in mind and I hope that anybody would feel included in this and that they can achieve something. That being said if you do find this workout challenging and you're struggling with some of the exercises still that is totally fine do not berate yourself just pick some regressions make the exercise a little bit easier for yourself and then just stay consistent with your training and you will get there in the end. Right I have definitely spoken enough so we are going to get into the workout and we're going to start with a quick warm-up. So today we're going to start so when you're doing these you want to try and keep your core engaged and as high as possible I'm going to complete 10 repetitions okay now we're going to move on to some inchworms so from a standing position you're going to bend down and put your hands on the floor and then you're going to walk out in front of you to a plank position now remember with this one again to keep your core engaged okay now we're moving on to some planks with pike taps so in a plank position you're going to take your right arm and lean back into a pike shape and tap your left toe and then you're going to switch arms to the opposite foot make sure to try and stick your bum up into the air so you're getting a nice stretch through your back next we're going to be doing some thoracic bridges so you're going to come onto your bum and you're going to plant your feet on the floor and push your hips up and then simultaneously you're going to bring your right arm up and over your head so you're getting a nice big stretch all the way down the posterior chain which is all the back of your body then you're going to switch arms and make that reach bigger every time those hips up nice and high and the final exercise we're going to do for our warm-up is just a bit of mobility work for a squat so I want you to come down into a low squat position and if this is comfortable you can just stay here keep that chest up nice and high and the weight is in your heel or if you can reach your arm up above you and twist then you're going to do this and open up the chest and work on the shoulders as well just make sure you're staying in that low squat keep that chest up as high as possible drive those knees out and the weight is in your heels so the first exercise that we're going to do today is incline push-ups so you need to find a surface that you can push from that is going to enable you to do an entire push-up which means you're going to be able to get your chest all the way down to the surface with this exercise the lower to the ground you are the harder this exercise is going to be so here I'm adjusting the height and I'm making it higher which will make the exercise slightly easier for me I have made a video which I'll link up above about push-up form but just some quick recaps is to keep your core tight squeeze your bum and you want to keep your body in a straight line with your hands slightly wider than your shoulders and your elbows coming out at 45 degrees from your body and then aiming to get your chest down to the surface that you're pushing from once you've found a surface that's right for you you're going to perform between eight and ten repetitions okay next up is tricep dips so you can either use a coffee table or the side of a sofa or even the bottom of a staircase for this one and you're going to face away from whatever surface you're pushing from and place your hands just slightly wider than shoulder width apart and then you're going to lower your body down until your elbows are bending at 90 degrees really think about pushing your elbows to the back of the room and then when you come up you want to squeeze your tricep which is the muscle at the back of your arm if having your legs extended is too difficult then you can bring your legs in and then take some of the body weight off which will modify this and make this slightly easier and again you're going to perform between eight and ten repetitions okay we're going to take it into some lower body now and do some body weight squats so we're going to start by taking our feet hip distance apart and pointing your toes and knees out slightly in the same direction now i want you to focus on sitting back into your squat and trying to keep your chest up as high as possible while keeping the weight in your heels really focus on keeping your core engaged throughout the whole movement just imagine that someone's going to come and punch you in the stomach and you would tense your core that's what you want to be doing so this is just another angle so you can see where my feet are placed and my chest is up nice and high and i'm going to squat down really think about keeping your whole body tight as you come up through that movement and drive up through your heels once again you're going to perform between eight and ten repetitions and if you want to make this harder you could always add some weight or make into jumping squats okay a little bit more lower body we're going to work on some body weight lunges so with lunges it's important to think about creating two 90 degree angles with your legs and keeping your chest up nice and high so you're going to think about taking a nice big step forward and pushing up through that front heel and squeezing that quad at the front as well when you get to the top try to really control the movement and to do this what you want to do is keep your core nice and tight so you're going to perform eight to ten repetitions on one leg and then you're going to switch to the other leg again trying to hit those two 90 degree angles and pushing up through that front leg try to focus on form here and not speed it doesn't matter how fast you go but just really focus on mastering the perfect form and thinking about the movement as you perform it this is just another angle so you can see where my knees are placed so i do try to think about slightly pushing my knees outwards to make sure that i'm strong and balanced and also getting the most out of the movement and protecting those knees okay we've done upper body and we've done lower body so we're going to move into a bit more core work now starting with a side plank so you've got a couple of different options here because these can be quite challenging if you're new to exercise so this is the easier option you're going to have your bottom leg bent on the floor and your elbow is going to be directly beneath your shoulder now if this is still too difficult you can take the arm away you don't need to have your arm facing up towards the ceiling and you don't have to raise your leg either all you need to do is focus on bringing your hip up towards the ceiling this is your slightly harder option so you're going to stack your feet and yet again another harder option by holding your leg up in the air always the same thing though you're always going to be focusing on having that hip reaching the ceiling okay so once you've found the position that's right for you you're going to stay here for between 30 and 40 seconds and then once you've completed that we're going to switch sides and do the other side when you're setting yourself up in this position just remember to try and keep your elbow and shoulders your hips knees and ankles all in the same alignment okay time for one of my favorite exercises which is a hollow body hold or a boat hold if it's modified so with this one when you're setting yourself up if you lie down on the floor naturally you're going to have an arch in your lower back and the goal is to really minimize that by tilting your pelvis upwards and pulling your belly button down towards the floor and keeping your core tight from there you're going to raise your legs up and you're going to point your toes this is going to be your easier option which is called a boat hold having your hands down by your side if you want to make it more complex you're going to reach your arms behind you the lower you are to the ground the harder this exercise is going to be and what you really want to think about is constantly pushing that lower back into the ground yet again here's your slightly easier modification and you're going to hold this for between 30 to 40 seconds moving into another core exercise we're going to work on some leg raises so you're going to have your hands down by your side again pushing your lower back into the ground and with straight legs you're going to lower down to the ground but bring them back up before they touch the ground so this exercise can be quite challenging especially if you're new to exercise or a beginner so to make this easier you can sit on your hands and it'll just give you a little bit of assistance when raising your legs up still remember to keep your core nice and tight and to breathe throughout the entire exercise if this is still too challenging you can modify it again by remaining sitting on your hands but instead this time drawing your knees in towards your chest once again once you know the modification that's right for you going to perform this for between 30 to 40 seconds okay and for our final exercise today we're going to work on some dorsal raises which are to strengthen the back and the whole posterior chain which runs down the back of your body so you're going to lay face down on the floor and you're going to extend your arms straight out in front of you and raise them up on the floor now if this is enough then you can stay there or you can do what i'm doing here which is to pull your elbows back and squeeze your shoulder blades while you peel your chest away from the floor when you get to the top you're going to hold it for at least one second before you go back down and try not to touch the floor in between if you want to make this a little bit harder you can now start to raise your toes off the floor when you come up really really drawing on all the back muscles the lower back and the shoulder blades once again you're going to perform between 8 to 10 repetitions of this nice and slow and controlled all right once you've completed your workout we're going to do a quick cool down stretch so to start you're going to come face forward on the floor i'm going to place your hands beneath your shoulders and extend your arms up into upward facing dog from there you're going to wrap your toes under and push back into downward facing dog and really try to think about getting your heels down onto the ground and pushing the ground away with your hands while dropping your head in between your arms okay bring that right leg forward into a low lunge unhook that back toe lean into your front leg and you can sweep your arms up and over now we're going to switch legs so left leg comes forward unwrap that back toe lean in and arms come up and over again okay we're going to come up into a wide stance standing position and with straight legs you're just going to run your hands from your left to your right toes then standing upright you're going to take one foot behind the other interlace your hands above your head lean over to the left and then over to the right and then we're going to switch foot and do the same thing so over to the right this time and then over to the left and then finally just going to take your feet together and you're going to try and touch your toes or the floor okay guys look who's joined me for the outro this is Alfie if you've not met him before and he is very popular over on my instagram account but i hope you enjoyed the workout and if this was your first opportunity to do bodyweight training i hope that you have enjoyed it and you're as passionate about it as i am now and if you have any questions or comments then please feel free to leave them down in the comments below and i have a question for you guys which is if you would prefer to see this video as a follow-along workout so where i do the exercises in time with you and i will repeat all three circuits with you and so if you do think that would be a better way to film it then again just leave me a comment or thumbs up the video just so i know and i will do that next time otherwise if you have any questions about my 12-week program that starts on monday the 6th of january but it also runs quite regularly so you can head over to my website and check that out and i also offer one-to-one coaching on there as well and finally if you guys do any of these exercises and record it or if you're practicing your handstands anything like that then i would love to see it so either send them to me via email or you can head over to my instagram and tag me in it because that is the best part of my job is seeing you guys do amazing things so please please please definitely tag me in it if you do i would love to see that otherwise thank you so much for watching i hope you enjoyed this and i will see you in the next video have a great day