All the Keys to Gaining Muscle Mass Practicing Calisthenics

Calisthenics is defined as a set of exercises that focus on the movements of muscle groups and that mostly include self-loading exercises. It is a methodology of great interest to gain muscle but that by itself does not achieve miracles. That’s why we show you all the keys to gaining muscle mass practicing calisthenics.

All the Keys to Gaining Muscle Mass Practicing Calisthenics.

Start with basic exercises.

Basic or multi-joint exercises will allow us to advance towards more complex gestures and gain strength to progress with calisthenics.

Therefore, to condition our body and be able to advance at a steady pace practicing calisthenics, we recommend mastering the technique and being able to properly perform exercises such as squats, pull-ups, triceps dips or push-ups, the practice of which will be essential to control our body. and develop strength as well as muscle mass.

Progress little by little but at a steady pace.

The principle of overload is fundamental in all training to gain muscle, since without demanding more from our body hypertrophy will be impossible.

For this reason, in the case of calisthenics in which we usually do not lift weight or count the repetitions or series of each exercise, we can incorporate changes to our movements that allow us to advance little by little but at a firm pace.

For example, we can perform one-handed pull-ups, go from simple squats to a pistol squat or expand ranges of movements to demand more effort and progress with overload.

Also Read: Burpees- Improve Your Technique and Gain Performance

Complement with an adequate diet.

Training alone may not give results if we do not eat a quality diet that offers everything the body needs to increase the synthesis of new muscle proteins.

In other words, if we seek to gain muscle by practicing calisthenics, it will be essential to add calories to our diet and take care above all of the proteins that the diet offers, since they will be required in greater proportions and we will have to cover around 1.5 grams per kilo of weight per day.

For their part, carbohydrates are required in sufficient quantities to promote the proper use of proteins in our body by offering quality energy to our muscles. And the same thing happens with fats, while vitamins and minerals are essential for our metabolism and neuromuscular system to function properly.

If our wear and tear is a lot and our diet is not enough, dietary supplements may also be necessary to get everything our body needs to hypertrophy.

Don’t forget to rest.

Just as we do in the gym, rest is essential for our body to compensate for the wear and tear that training generates and the creation of new muscle fibers can take place .

Therefore, even if you do not train with loads or with machines but only practicing calisthenics, we recommend not forgetting to rest especially so that our body does not become exhausted and performance does not plummet .

In this sense, it is not only important to rest between one exercise and another or between one series of one exercise and another, but also to leave a day off between intense workouts so that our body can recover. Of course, this can vary from person to person depending on each person’s recovery rate.

Also Read: What is Water Pilates Exercises: Benefits and How To Do?

Take care of your sleep every night.

Sleeping well every night is essential, since it will not only allow us to rest but also hormones that promote muscle gain such as growth hormone or testosterone are produced during the night and stimulated by adequate rest that contributes to reducing levels. of cortisol or stress in our body.

So if we are looking to gain muscle, there is nothing better than taking care of our rest each night by sleeping not only a sufficient number of hours but also achieving adequate quality of sleep.

Keep your motivation high.

Although calisthenics is usually a discipline in which motivation is not lost as easily as in the gym, it is important to keep ourselves stimulated to train regularly and, above all, to be able to respect the keys given above to gain muscle.

To do this, we recommend recording progress, keeping a training diary and  innovating our training by trying new exercises every day and challenging our limits.

These are all the keys to keep in mind if you are looking to gain muscles by practicing calisthenics .