There are so many different types of workout programs out there that it can be difficult to decide which one is the best for you. It is important to choose a program that is challenging, progressive towards your goals and also one that you will enjoy and be able to stick with.
In this blog post, we will discuss some of the most popular types of workout programs. We will also help you figure out which program is the best for you!
Let’s get it on!
✨Different Types of Workout Programs
💥Strength Training
One of the most popular types of workout programs is strength training. Strength training can help you build muscle, lose fat, and improve your overall health. There are many different ways to do strength training, but some of the most common methods include lifting weights and using your body weight AKA calisthenics.
Strength training is straightforward. It helps you develop the amount of your body to produce force against resistance which can be either external, like weights, or internal, like your own body weight. The benefits of strength training are many. It helps improve bone density and decreases the risk of injuries. Furthermore, those who engage in strength training tend to have better posture and a lower body fat percentage.
Building strength is crucial for many functional movements. It also helps improve everyday activities, like carrying groceries or playing with your kids. However, strength training can be challenging, and it is important to make sure that you are using the proper form. Otherwise, you could injure yourself.
Strength can also be used for optimizing your performance for specific movements and challenges such as strength-based calisthenics movements such as :
- 👊 Planche – Planche Ultimate Guide
- 👊 Front Lever – Front Lever Ultimate Guide
- 👊 Dragon Flags – Best 4 Dragon Flag Progressions
- 👊 One-arm pull-ups – One-arm Pull-up Progressions
If you are new to strength training, it is important to start slow and gradually increase the amount of intensity depending on your skill level.
Read more here: 📍How to Progress in Calisthenics
💥Aerobic Training
Aerobic training is another popular type of workout program. Aerobic exercise, also known as cardio, is any type of physical activity that increases your heart rate. Some examples of aerobic exercise include walking, running, swimming, and biking.
Aerobic exercise is important because it helps improve your cardiovascular health. It also helps to increase the amount of oxygen that your body can use. Aerobic exercise has been shown to improve mental health, increase lifespan, and decrease the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Aerobic training is a great way to get your heart rate up and improve your overall health. However, it is important to listen to your body. If you are new to aerobic exercise, it is important to start slow and gradually increase the intensity of your workouts.
Read more here: 📍Cardio vs Calisthenics
💥Interval Training
Interval training is a type of workout program that alternates between periods of high-intensity and low-intensity exercise. Interval training can be done with any type of aerobic exercise. For example, you could walk for one minute and then run for one minute. Or, you could swim for two minutes and then rest for one minute.
Interval training is a great way to improve your cardiovascular health and increase your overall fitness level. Interval training has been shown to improve mental health, increase lifespan, and decrease the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
A popular interval training is called HIIT or High-Intensity Interval Training. It’s an effective cardio workout that’s also effective for fat loss in a very short amount of time. Thanks to the high-intensity and minimal “rest” (quoted because you’re still moving) periods, workouts are generally less than 20 minutes.
Check out this effective fat loss cardio HIIT: 📍20-min HIIT to Lose Weight and Burn Fat
💥Athleticism Training
Athleticism training is a type of workout program that helps you develop the skills and abilities needed to excel in sports. This can help you improve your speed, power, agility, coordination, and balance.
Athleticism training is a great way to improve your overall fitness level and increase your sporting performance. Most individuals train this way to improve their sport because the attributes trained are transferable to most dynamic sports such as foot ball, basketball, wrestling and more.
💥Flexibility and Mobility Training
Flexibility and mobility training is a type of workout program that helps you develop the muscles’ and joints’ capacity to move with less restriction which is needed to perform everyday activities. Flexibility and mobility training can help you improve your range of motion, increase your joint stability, and decrease your risk of injury.
Flexibility and mobility training are great ways to improve your overall fitness level and increase your ability to perform everyday activities.
These types of training are generally associated with yoga and pilates. However, calisthenics can also be considered a form of flexibility and mobility training.
Read more: 📍Flexibility vs Mobility
💥Sport-specific Training
Sport-specific training is a type of workout program that helps you develop the skills and abilities needed to excel in a particular sport. Sport-specific training can help you improve your speed, power, agility, coordination, and balance.
Sport-specific training is a great way to improve your overall fitness level and increase your sporting performance.
The type of sport-specific training you need will depend on the sport you want to excel in. For example, football players will need different types of training than basketball players. However, all sport-specific training programs should be designed to improve your overall fitness level and decrease your risk of injury.
Now that you know the different types of workout programs available, which one is the best for you? The answer depends on your goals. If you’re looking to improve your overall fitness level, any of the above workouts will be
✨Different Types of Calisthenics Training
Bodyweight training is a type of workout program that uses your body weight to provide resistance. This makes it an ideal form of exercise for those who don’t have access to gym equipment or free weights.
🔥Muscle-building Training
A common myth is that bodyweight training cannot build muscle. However, this is far from the truth.
YOU CAN BUILD MUSCLE WITH BODYWEIGHT ALONE.
Most people are unable to build muscle with calisthenics because they were not able to maintain the correct level of progressiveness in their bodyweight training. You need to induce progressive overload by using the progressive principles of calisthenics.
In addition, you can also use common muscle-building principles from weightlifting to calisthenics to promote superior hypertrophy gains.
Read more here: 📍How to Build Muscle Mass Using Bodyweight Only
🔥Endurance Training
Calisthenics can also be trained to build endurance. Now endurance can be placed in different forms. You can build general aerobic endurance which is the ability to maintain a lower heart rate while performing low-moderate intensity movements such as walking, running, and other bodyweight cardio exercises for an extended period of time. This type of endurance can help facilitate fat loss and build cardiovascular endurance.
Or you can build muscle endurance which is similar but while performing general resistance exercises such as push-ups and pull-ups. Muscle endurance is crucial for overall development and functionality because it lets you move against resistance for longer periods.
To train for muscle endurance, use an exercise that you can consider as lower intensity and aim for 15 or more reps per set. A 2019 study shows that this is still an effective way to build muscle as long as you train close to failure.
🔥Fat loss Training
Going back to the first type of endurance training which trains the cardiovascular aspect, a study that tackles the effectiveness of fat loss between three exercise protocols (Resistance training vs Aerobic training vs a Combination of both) found that aerobic training is the most effective for fat loss.
But take note that along with this fat loss comes the loss of lean muscle mass. You need to train some form of resistance training like calisthenics so you can still build muscle or retain muscle while going through your fat loss journey.
Read here: 📍Why is Calisthenics So Effective for Fat Loss
🔥Strength Training
Calisthenics build amazing relative strength. Relative strength is the ability to move your body or a certain load in relation to your body weight.
For example, if you can do a one-arm chin-up with ease then that’s relative strength. Because you are able to move your entire body weight using only one arm which is already impressive on its own. Another example is if you can do a human flag. That’s also relative strength because you’re able to hold your entire body weight using only your hands while being horizontal to the ground which is already impressive on its own.
But just because calisthenics build relative strength doesn’t mean it can’t help you increase absolute strength. Absolute strength is the ability to move a certain load period. It doesn’t matter if it’s your body weight or not.
What matters is that you’re able to increase the amount of force that you can produce which can help improve your performance in other physical activities such as running, jumping, other sports, and daily functions.
Read more: 📍What It Means to Be Strong in the Real World
🔥Hybrid (Calisthenics + Weights)
However, if you’re advanced enough, you can also train with a hybrid training plan. This type of training combines calisthenics and weighted training.
The goal of this type of training is to help you build absolute strength which can then convert to relative strength.
This means that the focus will be on building muscle and increasing your one-rep max which can also help you with building specific strength for your desired calisthenics strength-based skills.
For example, weighted pull-ups can massively help you towards one-arm pull-ups.
While we love calisthenics, we don’t hate weights at all. In fact, we love all forms of movement!
Read more here: 📍How to Combine Weights with Calisthenics for the Ultimate Strength Gains
🔥Mobility and Flexibility Training
Bodyweight training can be adjusted to suit flexibility goals. Whether you want to work on your flexibility for a sport or specific discipline such as dancing, or just to be able to move freely, calisthenics can help you develop this aspect.
In addition, one major advantage of calisthenics is its innate nature to improve mobility.
Mobility is the ability to move a joint or group of joints through its full range of motion. Since calisthenics exercises focus on the full range, you also get to have absolute control over your movements which are excellent for moving freely and pain-free.
Learn more here: 📍5 Easy Ways to Start Mobility Training
🔥Rehabilitative Training
When our bodies aren’t moving the way it supposed to move (i.e. when sitting in front of your computer for hours), our brain sends signals of pain.
🤕 Pain and aches due to lack of movement, weaknesses, tightness, and overuse can be cured by movement. Even though it seems counterintuitive, the movement helps facilitate recovery which is supported by studies.
Calisthenics’ natural movements and progressions can help alleviate pain and improve movement which is essential for daily function.
Moreover, since it’s a form of resistance training, it also helps build muscle which can further support your joints.
Learn more here: 📍How to Treat Injuries with Calisthenics
🔥Skills Training
What calisthenics stand out in terms of fun and having a great sense of fulfillment is skill training. There are various calisthenics skills that you can train for which are not only visually impressive but will also make you feel like a badass.
Skills training helps with coordination, proprioception, and balance which are essential for daily function and other sports.
Proprioception is the ability to sense the position of your body in space which is key for movement.
While calisthenics skills seem like the end goal, the process of learning a skill is already an amazing accomplishment since it can also help you develop strength, build muscle, and stabilize your joints.
In The Movement Athlete app🤳, skills are broken down into simpler segments so you can make faster and safer progress.
🤔Which Workout Program is Best For You?
Picking the right workout routine is important to reach your fitness goals whether they are weight loss, strength, or flexibility related.
Each type of workout has its own set of benefits that can help you achieve your desired results.
The best workout program for you is the one that fits your goals, schedule, and lifestyle.
But regardless of your goals and type of workout, we highly recommend developing your calisthenics fundamentals first!
This will help avoid injuries, set you up for success, and make sure you have a solid base to progress.
Learn other calisthenics programs here: 📍The Best Calisthenics Programs on the Internet (UPDATED)
📌Takeaway
There are many different types of workout programs out there, and it can be difficult to decide which one is the best for you. However, by taking into consideration your goals, fitness level, and schedule, you should be able to narrow down your options and find a program that is perfect for you!
If you need help figuring out which program is best for you, then we recommend opting for a PERSONALISED and ADAPTIVE calisthenics training program.
This type of training provides you with holistic development in a fun, effective, and safe way.