Free 3 Day Calisthenics Workout Plan

A 3-day calisthenic workout plan is ideal for calisthenics beginners, people who participate in a sport (such as rock climbing), or just generally busy people who don’t have much time to workout.

It ONLY takes 3 calisthenics workouts per week to get closer to your fitness and mobility goals.

Excuse me…I made an error. “Only” working out 3 days per week isn’t the right way to put it…training calisthenics 3 times per week is a big accomplishment-especially if you’re starting your workout journey.

I will guide you on this new, exciting (and a bit scary) bodyweight training journey!

My name is Summer. I taught myself calisthenics as an adult – so I know the amount of uncertainty and nervousness that can come with learning a new skill.  Having gone from calisthenics beginner to advanced athlete, I can tell you – it’s so worth it.

“Building strength and coordination in your body unlocks incredible freedom to try new things, move through life easier, and stand confidently in your body.” – Summerfunfitness

Who Should Use This Calisthenics Workout Plan?

This calisthenics program is excellent for people who already have an athletic hobby but want to get stronger and more mobile.

Calisthenics is the perfect complement to many sports. You can use your calisthenics workout plan to balance out the strength gained from your sport. For example, if your sport primarily uses your legs (e.g. soccer), you may want to use calisthenics to build your upper body strength. Alternatively,  you could choose sport-specific calisthenics exercises to improve your performance in your sport.  This could include working on sissy squats, pistol squats or middle splits as a soccer player.

Sports + Calisthenics Workout Schedule

• 3 days climbing, 3 days calisthenics training
• 3 days skateboarding, 3 calisthenics training
• 2 days training legs,  3 days calisthenics
• 3 days yoga, 3 days calisthenics…

The options are endless!

What if You Only Have 3 Days to Workout?

If you are training 3x per week, I urge you to consider having daily step goals and movement goals on your off days. Here’s what that would look like:

Beginner Calisthenics Workout Schedule

Sunday:
7 Min Core Routine
Monday:
3x Day Calisthenics Workout Plan  + 10 Min Walk
Tuesday:
Stretch + Core
Wednesday:
3x Day Calisthenics Workout Plan + 10 Min Walk
Thursday:
Stretch + Core
Friday:
3x Day Calisthenics Workout Plan
Saturday:
40 min walk

3 Day Calisthenics Workout Plan Options

Your calisthenic workout split should be dependent on your goals. Whether your goals are weight loss, strength gains, or skill acquisition, your program should match your needs. For example, if you are in a sport that trains your legs quite a bit, you could consider only training your upper body and core on your workout days.

If I were training for a sport and only had 3 days to work out, I would do the following split:

Monday: Pull-ups & Splits
Wednesday: Push-ups & Bridge work
Friday: Legs & Handstands

I would superset my “main lifts” to increase total workout volume in a short period. Here are some general calisthenics workout splits for training 3x per week:

• Full Body 3x per week
• Push Day, Pull Day, Leg Day
• Upper Body, Lower Body, Upper Body

Or you can just follow the Calisthenics Workout Plan listed below 🙂

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Free 3 Day Calisthenics Workout Plan

Today we will be covering just one option for a 3-day Calisthenics Workout Plan. Exercise modifications are included for beginners – to advanced. Over a few months, you should focus on jumping up to the next progression. For ideal results, stick to this one program for six (6) weeks. 

How to Format Calisthenics Workouts

If you plan to structure your own 3 day calisthenics program instead of using the one listed above, you must first know a bit about structuring a program.

The “main lifts” in calisthenics are:

• Dips
• Pull-ups
• Push-ups
• Squats
• Core
• and more… 

If you are ever in doubt of what to train, refer back to the 12 Fundamental Calisthenics Exercises. DON’T OVERCOMPLICATE things (I’m guilty of this). You do not have to do ten (10) exercises per session (3-5 exercises are a good amount). Keep it simple! Work on the basics.

Workout Structure for Calisthenics

1. Mobility
2. Skill Work
3. Workout
4. Mobility/Flexibility/Cool Down
   

Structuring your workouts in this manner ensures you are working on your strength, mobility and calisthenics skills each and every workout. This is especially important if you are only training 3x per week.

The length of time spent on each type of movement is dependent on your goals and your time availability. Mobility work could just be 5 minutes – or it could be 40! It all depends on what your body and goals require.

Mobility

For calisthenics, a great place to focus your mobility efforts is on your shoulder mobility, as shoulder mobility dramatically affects your ability to perform calisthenics skills such as handstands. Check out my Handstand Warm-up, Bendy Back Workout, Full Body Warm-up or Middle Split Routine.

New to mobility? Start here!

If I  were to hand you the most universally beneficial (in my opinion) mobility exercises it would be:

1. Deep squats
2. Cat & Cows, or Cobra pose if you aren’t comfortable with Cat Cows
3. Shoulder Mobility
4. Core
5. Some sort of spinal twist

Take these recommendations and move through each one for 8-20 reps at the start of your session, holding each pose for no longer than 3 breaths per rep.

At the end of your session do the same movements but slower and for longer (less reps overall, more time spent in the position).

Stick to your main mobility focus for at least six (6) weeks. It takes quite a bit of time and intention to improve mobility. In my experience, six weeks is a good benchmark to see gains.

Skill Training

Pick a calisthenics skill that you would like to work on consistently.
Spend 5-10 minutes after mobility working on your skill longer if you have the time. Twenty (20) minutes is ideal for skill acquisition.

Here are 4 calisthenics skills to master as a calisthenics beginner. These skills do not require equipment, making them easy to train in any location.

1. Crow Pose

2. Forearm Stand

3. Croc or Single Arm Croc

4. Handstand

Don’t forget, working out 3x per week is a HUGE accomplishment. If you are just Getting Started in Calisthenics, check out this post or do my In Gym Beginner Calisthenics Workout.