---
title: 'BEGINNER CALISTHENICS WORKOUT'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=geUKI-2uWaY'
video_id: 'geUKI-2uWaY'
date: 2026-06-28
duration_sec: 479
---

# BEGINNER CALISTHENICS WORKOUT

> Source: [BEGINNER CALISTHENICS WORKOUT](https://youtube.com/watch?v=geUKI-2uWaY)

## Summary

This video presents a complete beginner calisthenics workout, starting with a warm-up focused on blood flow and wrist mobility. It then guides viewers through push-ups, pull-ups, inverted rows, and tricep dips, with progressions for each exercise to accommodate different fitness levels.

### Key Points

- **Blood Flow Warm-Up** [00:34] — Jumping jacks, jogging, or skipping to increase heart rate and blood flow.
- **Wrist Mobility Exercises** [00:53] — Wrist flexor/extensor stretches and rotations to prepare wrists for calisthenics.
- **Shoulder Mobility** [01:34] — Use a resistance band or stick for shoulder dislocations and rolls to improve mobility.
- **Scapular Engagement in Push-Ups** [02:27] — Focus on scapular retraction (pull shoulder blades back and down) and protraction (push away from spine) during push-ups.
- **Push-Up Progressions** [03:01] — For beginners, do negative push-ups (eccentric phase) for 3 sets of 5-8 reps; use incline if needed.
- **Pull-Up Progressions** [04:17] — Four progressions: bar hang, scapular pulls, chin-to-bar hold, and negative pull-ups.
- **Inverted Rows** [05:56] — Do 3 sets of 8 reps with 2-minute rest; adjust difficulty by changing ring height or leg position.
- **Tricep Dips** [07:14] — Do 3 sets of 8 reps; if too hard, do negative dips for 3 sets of 5-8 reps.

## Transcript

[Music]
there are two main elements to a warm-up
blood flow and Mobility
calisthenics involve a lot of hand
balancing movements so a main priority
is to warm up our wrists
risk to the foundation of all
calisthenics exercises and have the
potential to move at different angles
and directions when warmed up properly
so to prepare them for our workout these
are the two main exercises to do
starting off with blood flow jumping
jogging or skipping on the spot is the
quickest way to get warmed up and blood
pumping through your body if you have a
skipping rope definitely use that or
just keep it simple and jump on the spot
until you feel nice and warm
wrist flexor and extensor stretches now
these stretches Target the muscles on
the front and back of our forearms hold
your wrists in different positions on
the floor for one to two seconds make
sure your hands are constantly moving so
your fingers are facing you they're
facing away from you facing inwards
towards each other so they're constantly
moving you'll feel the stretch in your
forearms as your wrists start loosening
up moving on to wrist rotations rotating
your wrists in circles is the best way
to bring blood flow to the area do this
for 10 to 15 seconds
Now using a resistance band or literally
anything like a stick or piece of
clothing we are doing shoulder
dislocations followed by shoulder rolls
doing these will improve your shoulder
Mobility as well as stretch the muscles
and ligaments around your shoulder
blades
do each warm-up for 10 to 15 seconds
until you feel any tightness release
keep in mind you should not feel
fatigued during your warm-up because you
don't want to be tired before you even
start the workout so make sure you're
warmed up enough before we start the
workout
[Music]
now if you can do these easily you're
going to do a three sets for eight to
ten reps
but we're not going to be lazy and have
bad form when we do these we want to
make sure our scapula is engaged so we
are getting the most out of the exercise
so no banana backs instead you want to
focus on retracting and protracting your
scapula
this is protracted
this is retracted
when retracting your scapula think of
pulling your shoulder blades back and
down towards your spine while
protracting your scapula is pushing them
away from your spine this is how your
push-up should look the entire time this
might feel uncomfortable at first but
the more you're consciously correcting
your form over time the easier it will
feel now if push-ups are too challenging
what you will do instead are negative
push-ups a negative is The Eccentric
part of the movement in this case the
down part of your push-up is The
Eccentric to do a negative push-up you
are going to lower yourself slowly until
your chest touches the ground don't try
to push yourself back up since this is
just a negative we will only focus on
The Eccentric part of the movement do
this for three sets of five to eight
reps or to the most amount of reps that
you can and take as much rest as needed
in between your sets now if the negative
push-up is too difficult you should
start on an incline to make them easier
basically a wall will be the easiest
version of this then you can gradually
go down to a stool or a platform to a
chair so you're lowering the incline
each time to make it more difficult to
eventually the floor
next we are doing a Pull exercise and of
course pull-ups are the best example of
this as a beginner I don't expect you to
do five to ten pull-ups but if you can
then you can do your working set of
Pull-Ups for three sets of five to ten
reps or until failure now for complete
beginners you will be doing four
progressions which will help you work
your way up to your first pull-up for
your first progression we will be doing
the bar hang you might also refer to
this as a dead hang this is a whole body
isometric strength exercise these will
build the necessary stability and
strength in your shoulders arms and back
which will dramatically help you in your
pull-ups depending on your level do this
for five to ten seconds or until failure
scapular Barb course this progression is
a mix of the bar hang and scapular
retraction so retract your scapula while
hanging on a bar have your shoulders in
line with your ears when doing depending
on your level do this for five to ten
reps or until failure third progression
chin to Bar hold you can use a
resistance band or a platform to help
you get your chin to the bar
this is an isometric exercise since
you'll be holding the top position of
the pull-up aim to hold this position
for five to eight seconds or until
failure now our last progression is the
most important one and cannot be skipped
negative pull-ups as we talked about
before a negative is The Eccentric part
of any exercise in this case the last
phase of the pull-up is The Eccentric as
you are going down from the bar to do
your negative you must slowly descend
from the top of the bar you can use a
band or a platform to help you jump to
the top position of your negative your
body weight will be enough resistance to
challenge you on your way down do this
for three sets of five reps
inverted rows will help you build your
back strength which will benefit your
pull-ups as well as your posture like
you did in your push-ups you want to
retract your scapula while doing your
rows make sure your elbows are going
directly behind you and not flaring out
too far to your side and keep them close
to your body
be conscious of your scapula being
engaged during the entire exercise your
row should never look like this so if
you feel your back losing its scapular
retraction roll your shoulder blades
back into position and continue your
rows
the height of your rings will dictate
how difficult your rose will be for
example the lower you are to the ground
the harder they will feel and the taller
you stand the easier they will feel
having your legs bent will also help you
perform your rows easier thus strictly
having them straight will make it more
challenging for complete beginners stand
up taller while doing your rows focus on
squeezing your back at the top of each
row
do these for three sets of eight reps
with two minute rest in between sets to
make it more challenging lower your
rings so you walk closer to the floor
with your legs straight you can keep
your legs bent or straight out depending
on your level doing the three sets of
six to eight reps
now we have tricep dips we're finishing
off with a push exercise use any
platform where your arms can bend at 90
degrees when doing your dips make sure
to also engage your core your dips will
be easier if you bend your legs and more
difficult with them straight out so
depending on your level you can choose
to have them straight or bend do these
for three sets of eight reps now if
tricep dips are too difficult you're
going to do tricep negatives just like
we did in every other exercise we're
doing The Eccentric part of the movement
do this for three sets of five to eight
reps
[Music]
foreign
[Music]