Why You Shouldn't Train Your Core For Calisthenics
Calisthenics consists of mostly compound exercises like pushups and pullups, which makes it very hard to not train your core indirectly. It always kills me to see a 5 min six-pack workout, because if you’re trying to learn the front lever or v-sit you can’t be doing bicycle crunches over and over again. These exercises I will discuss are the only ones you need to build a strong core for calisthenic skills.
Ab Exercises
So, I will start with the easiest variation and progress to the hard ones. Must need calisthenics Ab exercises skill are as follows:
Plank: Plank is a great beginner exercise that you should do if done right. Make sure to depress and protract the scapula, and squeeze your butt. I would focus on harder skills once you can do this on your fingertips. Make sure not to hold this exercise for more than 30 seconds. You don’t want to be holding a plank for two minutes, that is way too long. I’m pretty sure the world record is 4 hours or something like that, but when it comes to building strength you want high intensity with a low duration. Once you can do the fingertip version you will have mastered this exercise.
Hollow body hold: Great for handstands and overall developed abdominals. You can do holds, jack knife variation, or the rock back-and-forth variation. Just make sure to squeeze the abdomen and arms locked next to the ears.
Skin the cat: Skin the cat is often used to build strength for the front lever and back lever. It can also be used as a mobility exercise to stretch out the shoulders for the back lever in the German hang variation. All you need is a set of rings or a bar in a tucked or straight legs position.
Pike compression: Helps build ab and hip flexor strength for the L-sit and v-sit. When doing the pike compression make sure you sit near a wall. The closer you go to your feet the harder the exercise is. I recommend doing it on your fingertips because it requires less flexibility.
L-sit: L-sit is a beginner ab exercise everyone should be able to do. There are two different variations(depressed and protracted), depending on your goals will depend on what variation you should focus on.
Dragonfly: Legendary dragonfly exercise used by Bruce Lee to help develop the core for the front lever. I would first focus on eccentrics, then as you build strength I would do raises for 3x5 sets.
Hanging leg-raise: Another great exercise for the front lever. There is a 90-degree variation and the toes to bar. As you progress go for the toes-to-bar exercise. You want to first start with your scapula retracted for the 90-degree variation, but for the toes to bar focus on bringing the toes all the way up.
Front Lever raise: Front lever raises help you build strength for the front lever. If you can’t do this, then you can do dragonfly eccentrics or raises. Make sure to have your scapula in a retracted position and keep the arms straight.
When doing eccentrics for the hard exercises, slow the movement for about 2–8 seconds. This way you can hold the muscles under contraction for growth.
Conclusion
While your core is essential, you don’t have to do a thousand different exercises to get a strong core for skills like the front lever. If you enjoyed this article, please give it a like.
