Best Calisthenics Exercises: 15 Moves with Video Demos

The best calisthenics exercises cover useful movement patterns at a difficulty you can train and repeat. This selection includes pressing for the chest and triceps, standing leg work, hip extension, trunk control, upper-back work and conditioning. Each movement has a video from our own app library.

For every exercise, you will find its main muscle emphasis, why it belongs in a routine, a starting amount of work and a way to progress. The dose tables are editorial examples for generally healthy adults learning these movements. They are separate from the app’s authored timed sessions.

Learn an unfamiliar movement with one set first. The tables show a two-set practice option once the selected version is comfortable. Rest around sixty to ninety seconds between strength sets, or longer when needed; the burpee entry allows more recovery. For alternating movements, a per-side number means that amount on each side.

Choose a small subset for one visit rather than all fifteen exercises. Stop a set while the intended movement is still controllable, and reduce the range, amount or variation when needed. Pain or an unusual symptom is a reason to stop and get appropriate individual advice.

The CDC’s adult activity guidance provides a general strength-training framework of at least two days per week and describes sets of eight to twelve repetitions. Our smaller learning amounts, brief holds and conditioning bouts below are editorial starting options, not a tested prescription for every person.

After two practice visits at the top of a suggested range feel controlled, increase one feature: repetitions, a short pause, a longer hold or an appropriate variation. Keep the other conditions familiar so the new workload is clear.

Wall push-ups train the chest, triceps and front shoulders while letting you learn a press from a standing position. They earn a place in a beginner routine because you can practice the pushing action before supporting the full body on the floor. ACE’s push-up guide explains the muscles involved in pressing.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the push up progression for beginners.

• Stand an arm's length from a wall and place your hands slightly wider than your shoulders.
• Bend your elbows and bring your chest toward the wall, then push away while keeping your body straight.

Knee push-ups develop chest and triceps pressing strength with support through the knees. They bridge the gap between learning the movement and a full floor press, while still asking the shoulders and trunk to support the body.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the calisthenics for women.

• Come into a modified push up position by drawing your knees and toes on the floor and stacking your hands under your shoulders
• Inhale as you lower and exhale to press the floor away as you return to the top

Push-ups build upper-body pushing strength through the chest, triceps and front shoulders. The abdomen helps hold the body steady as you lower and press. This makes the movement an efficient home strength choice: one exercise combines pressing with a supported trunk position. NASM’s push-up guide explains the pressing muscles and support variations.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the push up progression for beginners.

• Start in a high plank with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width and your body in a straight line.
• Bend your elbows and lower your chest toward the floor, then press back up without letting your hips sag.

The squat trains the front thighs and glutes as the knees and hips bend and straighten. It supplies a basic standing leg-strength pattern that also appears when sitting down and standing up. It belongs beside upper-body pressing so the session includes meaningful leg work.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the bodyweight squat variations.

• Bring your hands to prayer position, sit your hips back and lower into a strong squat before driving through your heels to stand tall while dropping your hands down to your sides
• Breathe in to lower down, and exhale to lift you up

Reverse lunges train the quadriceps and glutes while each leg takes a separate turn as the main support. The backward step adds coordination and balance to leg-strength practice. They complement a two-leg squat by giving each side its own workload.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the reverse lunges vs split squats.

• Step one foot back into a lunge, then drive through your front heel to return to standing
• Keep your chest lifted and lower with control rather than dropping into the movement

The glute bridge trains hip extension: the glutes lift the hips while the hamstrings assist. It adds a hip-focused movement to a routine built around squats and presses. The back-lying setup also gives you leg work without keeping weight through the hands. The University of Texas at Austin’s home strength guide also lists glute bridges as glute and hamstring work.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the calisthenics leg workout.

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Press through your heels and lift your hips until your shoulders, hips, and knees form a straight line, then lower slowly.

Bird Dog trains the trunk to stay steady while the opposite arm and leg move. The abdominal and back muscles resist unwanted rotation, with the glutes and shoulders assisting the reach. It adds coordination and trunk endurance to a routine without relying on repeated crunching. NASM describes Bird Dog as an opposite-limb trunk-stability exercise.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the calisthenics back workout no bar.

• Start on all fours with a neutral spine and your core engaged.
• Extend one arm and the opposite leg, pause briefly, and switch sides without rotating your hips.

Dead Bug develops abdominal control as the opposite arm and leg travel away from the body. The useful challenge is resisting an unwanted back arch while the limbs move. It is a floor-based option for learning that task without loading the hands. NASM’s Dead Bug guide explains that anti-extension task.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the calisthenics core workout.

• Lie on your back with your knees bent and raised and your arms extended upward.
• Lower one arm behind your head and the opposite leg toward the floor, return, and switch sides while keeping your lower back down.

Sitting Ab Crunch trains abdominal strength through a seated curling action combined with leg movement. The abdominals work as the ribs move toward the pelvis, while the hip flexors contribute to drawing the legs in. It supplies a dynamic abdominal exercise alongside holds and controlled reaches.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the calisthenics core workout.

• Place your hands behind you and gently bend your elbows as you lower and open and close your legs, then crunch your legs back in
• Bring your ribs toward your pelvis instead of pulling forward with your neck

The forearm plank trains abdominal endurance by holding the trunk steady against gravity. Shoulders, glutes and legs contribute to the supported position. It belongs in this selection as a hold-based core exercise, alongside moving tasks such as Dead Bug or a crunch.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the calisthenics plank progression.

• Place your forearms on the floor with your elbows under your shoulders and extend your legs behind you.
• Engage your core and glutes and hold a straight line from head to heels without dropping your hips.

The Prone Y-Lift trains the upper back and shoulders through a small overhead arm lift. It gives a press-heavy home routine a different shoulder-blade and arm action. The low-load floor movement is useful for controlled upper-back endurance; substantial pulling strength needs a separately loaded pulling exercise.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the calisthenics back workout no bar.

• Lie on your stomach with your arms reaching diagonally forward to form a Y shape.
• Draw your shoulder blades together and lift your arms and chest slightly, then lower slowly.

Jumping jacks add a rhythmic conditioning bout using coordinated arm and leg movement. The repeated takeoffs and landings involve the calves and legs while continuous movement raises the breathing demand. They provide a simple way to add short cardio intervals when jumping suits you.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the low impact calisthenics.

• Stand tall with your feet together and arms down.
• Jump your feet apart as you raise your arms overhead, then jump back to the starting position.

Mountain climbers combine moving legs with upper-body support and trunk control. The abdominals stabilize the plank while the hip flexors drive the knees forward. They add a conditioning element to a floor routine while asking you to maintain the supported position as the legs move.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the reduce wrist loading calisthenics.

• Press firmly through your fingers and stabilize your core, then drive your knees forward one at a time with a steady rhythm
• Keep your hips level with your shoulders and switch legs quickly while breathing steadily

Burpee Push-Up combines a full floor transition with pressing and a return to standing. The chest and triceps perform the press, the legs move the body between levels, and the trunk links the actions. It earns its place as a demanding whole-body conditioning choice after those components are familiar.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the burpee variations.

• From standing, hinge down, place your hands on the floor, and send your feet back into a plank.
• Perform a push-up, return your feet to your hands, stand, and repeat the full sequence.

Plank Jacks add repeated leg opening and closing to a hand-supported plank. The trunk and shoulders maintain support while the hips and legs move, combining core endurance with conditioning. They offer a more dynamic option once a stationary plank and controlled landings are manageable.

Follow the demonstration below and the app’s movement steps. For more on this movement, use the calisthenics plank progression.

• Jump your feet out and back together while maintaining a strong plank
• Keep your hips level and think about moving from your legs rather than bouncing through your shoulders

Choose the version you can control in each row. Practice one exercise at a time, completing its sets before moving on. Start with one set per movement when learning; use the listed two-set option on a later suitable visit. Allow recovery between demanding training days.

Should I do every movement in one workout? Select a suitable subset or an authored app routine. Combining every demonstration creates a different workload with repeated pressing and hand-support tasks.

Which are the military classics? Jumping Jack, Mountain Climbers, Burpee Push-Up and Plank Jacks are included here alongside foundational strength and control choices. The military calisthenics overview and women’s overview explain the broader routine structure.

Where are pull-ups? This selection uses the current demonstration library. For substantial pulling resistance, identify a suitable separately taught exercise and setup. Our weights comparison explains that loading choice.