Get Strong & Flexible with Calisthenics 5 Days a Week
Training calisthenics 5 days a week has allowed me to reach my strength and flexibility goals while enjoying the summer.
Today, I will take you through my actual Calisthenics Week of Workouts – Summer Edition. ☀️
Welcome, I’m Summerfunfitness. I am a self-taught calisthenics athlete with no gymnastics experience. Through calisthenics training, I have developed a beautiful, abundant life filled with movement and freedom (from the gym, that is, from taxes…not so much).
Do you have to train Calisthenics 5 days per week?
I am striving to be a professional athlete, so if you don’t have the desire to train 5+ days a week, that’s all good. No need to compare yourself to me when we have different goals. My Free 3 Day Calisthenics Workout Plan might be better suited to your lifestyle.
BUT…
If you want to get good at calisthenics, handstands and flexibility, you must put in the time and effort. Which requires more than 3 days a week of training.
Should You Train Calisthenics 5 Days a Week Year-Round?
As the seasons change, I adjust my work schedule, productivity levels, food, and training focus. North American culture promotes hustling and 100% productivity levels every day of every year – on a never-ending cycle…and I’m not about that life as it leads to burnout and terrible work-life balance.
My practice of flowing with the seasons ensures I stay fit and mobile year-round while allowing me to fully enjoy my life!
Build in the winter ❄️
Winter is my time to build my foundation. I train hard, increase my flexibility, develop my business, and focus on analytical work so that in the summer, I can play outdoors, camp, connect and focus on creativity.
Play in the summer ☀️
During the summer, I try new sports, explore my creative side, deepen community connections, play and put less emphasis on my fitness goals. Summer is the time to reap the benefits of all I created in the winter. I still work hard, but I play harder.
If your summer schedule is different than your winter schedule, know that it is OKAY, as long as you have intentionality behind your choices.
To decide whether I’m going to play that day or go for a workout, I do a quick mental evaluation as to which will bring me long-term success and happiness – and decide that way. Some days, this means doing a no equipment calisthenics workout in the middle of a rock in the river to enjoy the sunshine while working on my fitness goals. That’s the nice thing about training calisthenics. You can literally workout anywhere 🙂
Calisthenics Week of Workouts
How I structure my workouts on busy weeks
I create performance-based goals for myself, which simplifies my workout structure. Knowing what I’m trying to achieve helps me to develop a training regime that matches my goals.
To stay motivated and consistent with my training, I rewrite my goals in my journal a few times weekly. If I don’t do this, I quickly lose sight of my overall vision.
I include a mobility goal (for focused stretch sessions), a push goal, a pull goal and a skill goal. Here are my current…
Long-Term Calisthenics Goals
- 10 muscle-ups in a row
- Hold a one arm handstand for 10 seconds
- 10 handstand push-ups in a row
- Drop into the middle splits without a warm-up
- Easily touch my hands to my feet in a backbend (right now, it takes me 30 mins to get into)
My 5-Day Calisthenics Workout Split This Week
5 Minute Morning Stretch
In the summertime, my workout length decreases, which unfortunately means the amount of time I have to stretch declines. To compensate for this, I added 5-10 mins of stretching before starting my work day. This allows me to maintain my current state of flexibility while waking my body up for a day sitting at a computer screen 😛
In the wintertime, I focus on expanding my range of motion. In the summertime, I focus on maintaining it.
Need help? Here is a follow-along warm-up routine >
In December 2021, I designated Mondays as Muscle-Up Mondays to stay consistent with my training. At the time, I couldn’t do one muscle-up; today (Sept 2022), I can do 7 in a row.
I am super grateful I set this intention for myself because, to be honest, it can be hard to train on Mondays. I’m a very committed person, so once I say something out loud, I stick to it, which means training every Monday whether I feel like it or not.
Tuesday: Handstand + Push Day
Some of my goals for the year are to:
- Hold a modified one-arm handstand for 10 seconds
- Hit 10 handstand push-ups in a row
I ues these goals as the framework for programming my calisthenics workouts. Today, I focused on improving my handstands (for my one-arm handstand goal) and strengthening my bent arm pressing strength for the HSPU (handstand push-up).
Workout Options:
Perfect Your Handstand with this Workout Routine >
Handstand Beginner Workout Routine >
Calisthenics Push Day (no handstands) >
The handstand bars I use in my workouts are from Pull Up & Dip. Discount Code: Summerfitness10. The wrist position on the bars is far more accessible than when flat on the ground; this makes moves like negative handstand presses, regular handstands and L-sits more attainable for a calisthenics beginner. They are a must have piece of calisthenics equipment.
Wednesday: Weighted Calisthenics Leg Workout
I settled on a quick weighted calisthenics leg routine that would build my glutes and flexibility all in one, so I could work on my goals but still get outside before the sunset.
For more significant muscle building, check out my Calisthenics Leg Workout for Strength >
Thursday & Friday: Play Day’s
Like I said before, I was super focused on play and community connections this week (what with it being the end of summer). So I took two rest days to play sports and hang out in the sunshine.
Saturday: Handstand Day
This was my favourite training day of the week. I felt less rushed and more in tune with my body.
The 10-Try Rule
When attempting a new skill (something that requires a lot of technique rather than brute strength), I give myself 10 tries before moving on or “giving up.” Often, by the 8th try, I’ll have made significant progress. This was the case today when I achieved my best-ever Hollow Back Handstand after a rocky start.
If you’re trying a new handstand variation, a new trick on a skateboard, or a new yoga pose, give yourself 10 full tries with a good amount of rest between reps. Even if you don’t get it by the 10th try, you’ll have significantly more practice under your belt than if you had given up on the second attempt.
Sunday: Human Flag Day
The human flag involves pushing and pulling, along with significant core engagement. These components help me work towards all of my calisthenics goals with just one movement.
Fixing Imbalances
If you watch the video, you’ll see that one side of my body is significantly weaker than the other. For this reason, training the human flag is a MUST, as it’s clear that I need to balance my strength from side to side. Training the human flag is how I plan to do just that.
Calisthenics 5 Days a Week
If you’re serious about getting strong and flexible, you should try to fit in calisthenics at least 5 days per week.
I hope showing you my realistic week of workouts, and my methodology behind summer training makes you feel inspired and motivated.
I update my website weekly with free calisthenics workouts, so bookmark this tab to stay consistent with your training!
Home > Calisthenics Workout Plan > Calisthenics 5 Days a Week