Possible to go too heavy on calisthenics?

[NJFighter91]

I only have access to calisthenics and no weights except a few plates. If I do pushups, pull-ups, squats, etc. with a set/rep scheme of 3x5, is that good to gain strength without going too heavy with lots of weight on my back?

[Obdeboondocks]

yes, just increase the reps over time and youll get stronger. whether youll get bigger is another question, and based on what you asked i dont think you want to get bigger right?

[yrrej]

You can do 1000 push-ups a day, no problem, if you could actually do 1000 push-ups a day.....

[Pork Chop]

Gaining size 101:
lift heavy (good percentage of 1RM)
lift for hypertrophy (10 to 12 rep range)
eat a lot (1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, or kg of bodyweight if u don't want to have bowel problems)


If you are not doing the 3 of the above you probably won't "go too heavy".

[NJFighter91]

Well, yeah, my main goal is to get stronger. Would 3x5 be good for strength done 5x a week?

Gaining size 101:
lift heavy (good percentage of 1RM)
lift for hypertrophy (10 to 12 rep range)
eat a lot (1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, or kg of bodyweight if u don't want to have bowel problems)


If you are not doing the 3 of the above you probably won't "go too heavy".

Is it possible to gain mass if doing lower reps like 5 or even higher reps like 30?

[Pork Chop]

I'd always heard 3x5s a good scheme for fighters. You gain maximal strength without taxing the CNS too much and without placing your priority on hypertrophy. Still, diet is the main crux of it and if you're not eating a lot then you're probably not going to gain much size. Rest is important too, with the amount of boxing training you're doing it'd be pretty hard to pack on weight.

5 reps is around the range that I do.

[PunchDrunk]

For strength, 6 reps and down. 5 times a week at that kind of resistance is too much though. Twice a week is fine, then do higher volume at a lower resistance on the remaining days.

What kind of exercises are you doing, I'm curious?

[NJFighter91]

For strength, 6 reps and down. 5 times a week at that kind of resistance is too much though. Twice a week is fine, then do higher volume at a lower resistance on the remaining days.

What kind of exercises are you doing, I'm curious?

So Tuesday and Thursday could be the 3x5 days? And Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday are higher rep/set days.

The exercises I do are Pushups, Sit-Ups, Squats, and Pull-Ups.

[PunchDrunk]

So Tuesday and Thursday could be the 3x5 days? And Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday are higher rep/set days.

The exercises I do are Pushups, Sit-Ups, Squats, and Pull-Ups.

For situps, I'd go a little higher rep, since they're mostly slowtwitch. 3x10, but hard enough that you literally can't perform enymore reps. And remember to add an exercise for your back as well.


How do you make your pushups hard enough, that you can only do 5 reps? Add weight?

[NJFighter91]

For situps, I'd go a little higher rep, since they're mostly slowtwitch. 3x10, but hard enough that you literally can't perform enymore reps. And remember to add an exercise for your back as well.


How do you make your pushups hard enough, that you can only do 5 reps? Add weight?

I still haven't experimented with harder bodyweight moves like one armed or planches so I don't know about those yet. But to get 3x5, I usually add 2 25 lb. plates.