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The Essential 6 Month Calisthenics Workout

Plan For Bar Brother Beginners
 Bar Brother Rich  Calisthenic Beginners, Calisthenics Workout

Let’s get real here.

You are someone who acts, not someone who talks.
You want to work your ass off.
Day in, day out…
 
But you also want to know how you can do this as efficiently as
possible.
Which is just as important as working hard.
The problem is that you are new to this and there are tons of
routines, but which should you do?
 
The good news? This question has been asked over 10.000 times.
The bad news? There isn’t a one-size-fits-all for everyone.
While it differs per individual, I believe that with this 6 month
calisthenics workout plan you’ll be pretty much covered as a
beginner.
Keep what is useful, discard what is not and add what works best
for you.
Ready to go from a beginner to a BEAST?
 
If you are reading this, it’s because you -just like many other
people- have asked yourself 1 simple question:
How should I begin Bar Brother Training?
I have decided to set up a simple 6 month plan for calisthenics
workouts which an absolute beginner can use to start training.
And to take the first step towards passing the official Bar Brother
exam.
Every month has its own challenge and things aren’t going to
become easier.
But you are going to get stronger…
 
 

The Requirements To Start With The 6

Month Calisthenics Workout Plan
 
In order to prevent injuries or become demotivated on this
plan,there are certain requirements which you will need to
meet first.
It will help smoothen your transition from one month to the other.
To start this six month schedule you need to be able to do:

 5 push ups
 5 pull ups/chin ups
 5 knee raises
 5 dips
 5 squats

 
Bonus Routine:  Lacking the strength for these exercises? Need to
start from scratch?
Don’t worry about it.
If you don’t have the basics down yet, you might need to work on
those skills first.
There is nothing wrong with starting at 0.
You can find a complete starter guide with a 15 minute full body
routine for absolute beginners to start working on the
foundational exercises.
Including a description on how to do them correctly.
Click here to download the guide
 
You can also find some posts addressing the different
progressions:

 Find a push up progression routine here

 Find a chin up progression routine here
 Find a dip progression routine here.
 Find a leg raise progresion routine here.

 
If you meet these requirements, prepare for six months of body
weight training.
Once again, I emphasise that this plan should be considered a
blueprint to a new body and is not a be-all end-all thing.
Whatever you put into your ‘calisthenics workout’ plan is up to you
as long as you use the right foundation.
Or you might find yourself using one that does more harm than
good.
And we don’t want that to happen.
 
So where do you start?
You probably know that it’s not an easy question to answer.
Generally you would benefit more from overdoing the basics than
you would from progressing too fast.
Be conservative and humble. Slow and steady beats fast and
impatient.
 
Wanting to be too cool and skipping the basics will lead to injuries.
It’s better to underestimate than to overestimate your level of
strength.
It will pay off in the long run…BIG TIME.
 
 
Practical Training Tip: Progress does not work the way you think
it does. 
You will have periods on this plan where if feels like you are
making gains every single day and then you will have periods
where it feels like nothing is happening.
That’s because in reality progress has a very different path than
you probably think it does.
 
 
Knowing this as a beginner, will allow you to deal with periods of
little improvement.
And it will keep you motivated, because you know that when you
hit a plateau you are heading for a leap.
As you move forward on this plan this will be a very familiar
pattern.
Keep it in mind.
 
I don’t want to sound like the guy who keeps you on a leash.
But I’d like to take my responsibility and make sure that you get
most out of this plan.
By managing your expectations and by making you aware of
possible pitfalls.
Let’s go!
 
 

Month 1: The Full Body Workout Plan

 
 

Your Workout Schedule

 
In a weekly plan, your workouts would look like the following
diagram.
Assuming that you start on Monday.
With in between each day of exercise a rest day for you to recover.
Keep in mind that this is the bare minimum amount of training you
will need to get consistent results.
 
 
Optionally you can add more days for leg routines, but training at
least 3 days is a minimum.

In the first month the focus is on getting your body used to

calisthenics training.
By doing a full body routine you hit all the muscles.
This means the 5 big muscle groups:

 Back
 Chest
  Legs
 Abs
 Arms

 
If you don’t have a pull up bar, use the no equipment
routine instead of the full body routine.
If you have serious muscle soreness find out which 5 things you
can do to keep training.
This is your first month of training so don’t expect any major
results, remember how many years it took your body to become
the way it is right now?
 
You can’t expect that to change in 1 month can you?
Just keep in mind that the first month is about adaptation of the
entire body.
Make sure you do a proper warming up before every routine to
prevent and prepare yourself for injuries.
Minimize your time between exercises as much as possible, take
your rest between your cycles (1-3 minutes).
 
This month you lay your foundation for the other 5 months.
Keep in mind that training yourself into an imbalance here will lead
to issues later.
While you might not notice it and feel like you are doing the same
thing over and over, things will be changing in the first month…
fast.
Or as mister Myagi from the Karate kid would say: “Wax on, wax off”.
 
 

Training Tip: Don’t Forget Legs And Feel Free To Add

Variety
 
If doing this routine 3 times a week (or more) gets a little too
boring and you want to do something else, just pick one of the 14
bar brother beginner routines or plans to add to the fun and
intensity.
Just keep in mind that you want to hit all the 5 major muscle
groups in a balanced way as much as possible.
If you feel like this is too easy you can add more days or continue
in the next month.
 
If you want some more variety or train more than 3 times a
week, add a leg routine.
Training both legs and upper body has shown to lead to increased
levels of testosterone (which is good for overall muscle growth),
compared to only training your upper body (study)
The leg exercises will definitely be sufficient for someone who only
has time to workout 3 times a week and needs a full body
workout.
 
 
Month 2: Let’s Go Workout To Develop
Upper Body Strength
 

Your Workout Schedule

 
 
By now you should have developed some additional push and pull
up strength.
In this second month the focus is on pushing your strength even
more and building both your upper body and triceps, which you
will need for a good muscle up.
 
 

Training Tip: Focus On Quality Over Quantity

 
It’s cool to say that you can do 10 pull ups.
But there is a huge difference between 10 bad pull ups and 10
good pull ups.
Drop the ego and the need to feel cool and stick to quality instead.
You will be way stronger and injury free down the road.
 
And if you really feel like you need to do a lot of bad quality
executions.
Month 4 will show you why quality is important.
The hard way and I don’t want that to happen.
So start focusing on high quality, as soon as possible.
 
 

Month 3: Combining Workouts To Reach A

New Level Of Intensity
 
 

Your Workout Schedule

 
 
 
This month is going to require a lot of effort since you are really
going to a significantly higher level of calisthenics workout
intensity.
Your upper body needs to start developing the strength to start a
muscle up routine, which will be of a significantly higher level than
you are used to.
 
The reason why the Full Body Routine is placed first is because I’d
rather have you do the basics perfectly and be exhausted for the
Let’s Go than to have it the other way around.
Better basics equals less injuries.
As you progress through the month and increase your strength
you might want to alternate both or start with the Let’s Go routine
first.
That’s up to you.
 
 

Training Tip: Use A Deload Workout Week To Refuel

 
During this month in the last week before you transition to month
4, I want you to take 1 week where you basically do only 50% of
what you normally do.
It’s called a ‘deload week’.
And it’s a tool you can use to allow your body to ‘supercompensate’
for all the adaptive pressure you have been putting on it.
As a result you’ll become even stronger by doing less for a
short amount of time.
 
Look at it as refueling and repairing yourself completely.
To start fully energized and filled with fuel again.
Make sure you can do these routines with the right technique and
quality or the next month is going to be discouraging.
Which it will probably be anyways, but that’s part of becoming
stronger.
Finding your limits and redefining them!
 
 

Month 4: Muscle Up Hunt For The Bar

Brother Requirements
 

Workout schedule
 
 
In this month your primary focus should be on the muscle up
hunt.
Just make it a priority to do this routine with high quality, no shitty
repetitions.
If you are having some serious difficulties with your typewriter pull
ups, replace your Let’s Go Routine with one of these shoulder
routines.
Or just give yourself more time.
You really need to be obsessed at this point, because this is going
to be your most difficult month yet.
 
You might not want to hear this, but a big part of progressing is
realising that you actually suck.
Not a little bit, but big time.
Once you accept and embrace that you are a beginner again, you’ll
be ready to go to the next level.
If you want to keep progressing indefinitely, never stop with
‘being a beginner’.
 
 

Training Tip: Use Exercise Progression And Aim For 5

Repetitions In A Cycle
 
Always aim for 5 reps for 3 cycles at least where possible.
If you are unable to do 1 rep of the given exercise, regress to an
easier progression.
Instead of typewriters do wide grip pull ups for example, minimum
of 5 reps in the given amount of cycles.
 
If you can do 1 typewriter, do 1 and regress to 4 more wide pull
ups.
If you can do 2 typewriters, do 2 and regress to 3 more wide pull
ups etc.
Always aim for those 5 reps of 3-4 sets.
The same rule applies for clapping pull ups. Replace clapping pull
ups with normal pull ups until you’ve developed enough strength
for the explosive force.
It will be a bit of trial-and-error. You’ll discover where you need to
take it down a notch and where you can add a more.
 
Doing these exercises with high quality standards will make
transitioning to more advanced moves much easier.
If you have difficulties doing these, chances are that you have been
doing some of the previous months with less quality that you
should have.
If you can do all of the above muscle up hunt moves for at
least 5 reps of 3 cycles, you will have enough strength for the
next month.
This is definitely a month which can take you longer to complete
depending on your development and baseline strength.
Patience is key.
 
 

Month 5: Muscle Up Progression To Get Your

First  Clean Muscle Up
 
 

Your Workout Schedule

 
 
This month the training is going to change a little, because right
now you should have the fundamental strength to do all the basic
full body exercises.
In addition to that, you have developed upper body strength to
progress into a muscle up by doing the muscle up routine.
 
So what you can do now is focus on the muscle up technique and
some shoulder strength by doing:

 60 seconds of shoulder activation

  60 seconds of transitioning
 Optionally: 5 eccentrics

 
Do this 3-4 sets and then progress into the muscle up routine or
stick to just this.
If you don’t have the strength to do an additional upper body
routine, progress into the full body routine or add a leg routine.
You can add some variety here, just make sure you spend plenty of
time on the ‘skill part of the muscle up’ which is mainly in the
transition and proper activation of the shoulders.
 
 

Training Tip: Focus On Skill Through High Volume

Repetitions
 
One of the major reasons why people never get their first muscle
up, despite having the strength to do so is because they are
lacking the skill.
Or the ability to activate the right muscles at the right time, which
in reality is also a function of strength.
But to keep things simple we’ll refer to it as skill.
 
Things such as the muscle up transition need to be hardwired
in your brain.
Your body needs to recognise the ‘transitional moment’ without
you having to consciously think about it.
How? Repetitions. Repetitions. Repetitions.
Those repetitions will accumulate over time and before you know
it, you don’t even need to think about it any more.
It just happens.
Once that’s the case, you are ready to face the Bar Brother
requirements for beginners.
 
 

Month 6: The Bar Brother Beginner

Challenge To Set The Base For The Official
Challenge
 
 
This is the Bar Brother Beginner Challenge, consisting of:

 4 muscle ups
 15 dips
 20 pushups
 10 jumping squats
 10 leg raises
 4 muscle ups
 3 minute time limit

 
Now it’s time for you to do the calisthenic beginner  challenge.
Make sure you do a good warming up and go for it, six months of
hard work will surely allow you to pass this.
There is no doubt in my mind.
My suggestion is that you stick to the workout plan in month 5
during this month, while trying to do the beginner challenge at
least once a week as shown in the workout schedule.
 

 
My piece of advice for passing the challenge?
Get a group of friends who join you in your training and make it a
goal to try the challenge at least once.
Support each other.
It builds a bond. A strong body and a strong character.
Because in the end it’s not about what you can do, but about
who you become because of it.
 
 

Training Tip: Rest Better To Work Harder

 
On this workout plan you might reach a point where you feel like
resting is for weak people.
Well, the proper amounts of rest are the only way you’ll get strong.
You need to realise that the harder you work, the harder you need to
rest.
 
Muscle construction DOES NOT happen when you train, it
happens when you rest.
If you want to train 5-6 days a week, you need to focusing on ‘high
quality’ rest.
How? Sleep is the most potent anabolic activity known to man. Yes,
you build more muscle while sleeping than with anything else.
 
But only if you force the muscle to adapt while you are awake.
What do you need to do to optimise this? It’s simple, but not easy.
Sleep at least 8 hours a night.
Make sure your nutrition is in check and focus on specific exercises
and nutrients that promote recovery.
Especially when you start having sore elbows.
Don’t make excuses when it comes to working out.
And don’t make excuses when it comes to resting,  but only after
you’ve earned it.
 

A Summary Of The Calisthenics Workout Tips For

Beginners
 
Here is a short recap of the tips you need to learn by heart:
Training Tip 1: Don’t Forget Legs And Feel Free To Add Variety
Training Tip 2: Focus On Quality Over Quantity
Training Tip 3: Use A Deload Workout Week To Refuel
Training Tip 4: Use Exercise Progression And Aim For 5 Repetitions In A
Cycle
Training Tip 5:  Focus On Skill Through High Volume Repetitions
Training Tip 6: Rest Better To Work Harder
 

What Do You Need To Do After You Have

Passed The Beginner Challenge?
 
So you’ve decided to go all the way?
Well…you’ve taken the first step. In reality that wasn’t a step.
It was a leap of faith. You might still be a beginner, but not the
beginner you were before you started.
I’m sure you aren’t planning to stop anytime soon.
So what’s next?
 
Continue training for the official challenge, which you should be
able to do in the following 6 months.
Upgrade your training to the 12-week workout system by Lazar
and Dusan.
And keep in mind that training is one part of becoming stronger
and that the other part is a healthy calisthenics diet.
The healthier you eat while on this 6 month training schedule, the
stronger you will be at the end of it.
And the better your results.
 
Even small changes in your daily habits and diet can have
enormous effects.
And the sooner you get started, the sooner those goals of yours will
start becoming real.
Just like the dream of the person you want to be.
 
Beast mode ON!
 
Now I’d like to hear from you:
Did you like this post?
Or maybe you have a question.
Either way, leave a quick comment below right now.
 
 

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1,709 thoughts on “The Essential 6 Month

Calisthenics Workout Plan For Bar Brother
Beginners”

Comment navigation
Older Comments

1. AJAZ AHMED

August 2, 2018 at 3:43 pm

hi i m from india & i have a que. for 3rd month nd the que. is that how many sets we have
to do both these routines in the month 3rd??

REPLY

1. BAR BROTHER RICH

 August 6, 2018 at 10:24 am

Hey Ajaz,

Great question! Read the post ;).

3-4 cycles.

*Fist bump*

REPLY

2. RAYMOND

August 9, 2018 at 5:18 pm

As far as the diet goes should I incorporate whey protein?

REPLY

1. BAR BROTHER RICH

August 14, 2018 at 9:55 am

Hey Raymond,

Read this post:

http://www.barbrothersgroningen.com/bar-brothers-diet-protein/

*Fist bump*

REPLY

3. YASH

August 12, 2018 at 12:24 pm

Hey man,

Loving the content, already started my own progress book after reading through the
beginners ebook you have available and as of tomorrow I will be working my way through
the beginners routine.
I want to know if the $47 price tag attached to further resources would give me access to
everything as a one off payment?

Thanks, keep doing what you do!

Yash

REPLY
 1. BAR BROTHER RICH

August 14, 2018 at 9:58 am

Hey Yash,

Great question! Much appreciated.

Yes, it’s a one-time payment or life-time access to the videos and tutorials.

Keep up the good work and enjoy the journey.

*Fist bump*

REPLY

4. THÉO

August 12, 2018 at 7:05 pm

Hello! Thank you for this wonderful plan!

I’m wondering: can I add some reps in month 3 or is it preferable to stay at the number of
reps that your recommend ?

I mean, I’m easy with 6 pull ups, so every weeks, I try to add one or two reps on each
exercise, is it ok ?

Thank you!

REPLY

1. BAR BROTHER RICH

August 14, 2018 at 9:59 am

Hey Theo,

Great question!

Definitely, read the post on reps

here: http://www.barbrothersgroningen.com/repetitions-strength-mass-
endurance/

*Fist bump*

REPLY

5. MICHAEL

August 13, 2018 at 8:08 pm

 Hey,
For month 4, should we be able to do all those reps before we move on to month 5? Or if
we can just do 5 reps of each then we can move on?

Also, for month 5, it says to do muscle up + muscle up hunt. Does that mean we do as
many muscle ups as we can and then do the muscle up?

Thanks

REPLY

1. BAR BROTHER RICH

August 14, 2018 at 10:00 am

Hey Michael,

Great question!

5 reps is the bare minimum. If you can do more, it’s better.

No, read the post carefully, the (muscle up = a series of progressions).

Enjoy the ride!

*Fist bump*

REPLY

6. OBEIDA BRINKMAN

August 14, 2018 at 8:41 pm

Hello,

I been using barbrothers for a while now. Over a year, And I was wondering if there is a
group of barbrothers in the Netherlands.

If there is, could you please let me know their details.

Thank you in advance.

REPLY

1. BAR BROTHER RICH

August 20, 2018 at 9:19 am

Hey Obeida,

There are multiple. Just google bar brothers + (your city or a city nearby).
 *Fist bump*

REPLY

7. Pingback: How to Get Abs In Couple of Months – DaybyDayGains

8. GIANLUCA

August 15, 2018 at 6:33 pm

Hey!

I’ve just finished month 3 (took me six months!) and now by looking at month 4 I’m feeling
a bit frustrated. The jump from month 3 to 4 is just unrealistic. There’s no way that I’m
doing 10 high chest pull ups or typewriters when I can only do six pull ups.

Is there a progression available on your site?

REPLY

1. BAR BROTHER RICH

August 20, 2018 at 9:18 am

Hey Gianluca,

Great question! That’s right, it’s meant to be frustrating ;). You can find the
explanation in the blog, aim for 5 reps of a given progression or an easier
progression first.

*Fist bump*

REPLY

9. NIKO

August 20, 2018 at 7:40 pm

Hey Rich, is there also a specific routine for the handstand in the same way as there is for
the muscle up hunt? Or do you just recommend following the tips here on the website
with the progressions? If there is a routine, at wich point do you recommend to start
training for the handstand? At the beginner stage or after? Btw keep up the good work
man, very cool posts you place. Groeten uit België

REPLY

1. BAR BROTHER RICH

August 26, 2018 at 11:42 am

 Hey Niko,

Great question! You can start with handstands whenever you want, you can find
more information here:

http://www.barbrothersgroningen.com/calisthenics/

Thanks a ton!

*Fist bump*

REPLY

10. PROVIDENCE FRANCOEUR

August 23, 2018 at 2:09 am

Hi, would love to start your beginners pgm… I am a olympic weightlifter, I had to slow
down because of health issues, had to cut the weights. I still want to work on my oly lift
and maintain technic but want to make new gains and have fun.can I combine?

REPLY

1. BAR BROTHER RICH

August 26, 2018 at 11:45 am

Hey Providence,

Definitely, it depends on your goals, you can find tons of info

here: http://www.barbrothersgroningen.com/calisthenics/

One does not have to exclude the other.

*Fist bump*

REPLY

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