I use "calisthenics" as an umbrella term for exercise which is not heavy weights (except kettlebells) and is not pure cardio. These are exercises which involve bursts of intense cardio combined with muscle use so they contribute to agility, muscle "toning" and "maintenance", power, speed, endurance, coordination, balance - all good things except strength-building.
A good thing about these calis is that they are varied and fun even when they hurt. If it doesn't hurt, you aren't challenging yourself enough. Muscle pain is your friend and ally.
We suggest a total of 1 1/2 to 2 hrs/wk of calis in a 5/hr/week fitness program. There is no need to do them for an hour at a time. Lots of people will do a session of 40 mins of weights and then 20 mins of calisthenics to loosen up. The 2 hours includes 30-second to one-minute rests between sets to catch your breath without lowering your heart rate very much.
We suggest repeating three circuits of each pairing or triplet (3X3 or 2X3) with each individual item to take around 30 to 60 seconds with little to no rest between items in a set so each pairing or triplet takes under ten minutes to complete and recover. Thus about 3-5 circuits in an hour depending on your vigor and fitness. It should take your pulse and/or respiratory rate up to an hour to return to normal after an hour of calisthenics. Your metabolic rate will remain increased for a couple of hours.
Begin with a 5-min cardio warm-up, then some sumos, side stretches, band walks, etc to wake up your body. Below the fold is my list of double and triplet circuits to try. I use each of them every two weeks. Give it a try - you will feel good.
If I were forced to do one part of the Fitness Triad, I would do calis.
nb: Advise no more than one squat routine/day, or burpees and mountain-climbers on the same day. You can do all the planks you want, and mix them up.
Routines below the fold -
1.
Heavy rope slams
Side shuffle
Medicine ball floor slams
2.
Burpees
Elbow plank, floor or on a big ball
Side and/or straight step-ups
3.
Bench squats with or without a hand-held weight plate
Kettlebell swings
inclined pull-ups
4.
Kettlebell (Heavy Hands) Farmer's Walk
Jumping jacks or jump rope
5.
Bench dips
Lunges
6.
Mountain climbers
Jumping jacks
7.
Step-ups with heavy ball press
Straight-arm plank
8.
Ball wall slams (sides and overhead)
Triple squats - 10 regular, ten half, then 30-second hold halfway) - PAIN!
Elbow plank
9.
Push-ups
Squat and press heavy ball
10.
Straight-arm light weights - forward, sides, overhead (scapulars)
High step-ups
Jumping floor slams
11.
Hopscotch (with or without floor ladder)
Walking kettlebell swings
Icky Shuffle (with or without floor ladder)
12.
Short sprints with weight harness (forward X3, sides X3, backwards X3)
Jumping jacks or jump rope
1-minute wall sits
