#65 - How To Design The Perfect Calisthenics Program - Dr Yaad Mohammad
Feb 27, 2025
auto_awesome
Dr. Yaad Mohammad, a medical doctor and calisthenics expert with over a decade of experience, dives into the art of crafting the perfect bodyweight training program. He tackles common workout pitfalls and explains the role of body composition in performance. Discover the benefits of strategies like 'maingaining,' and the impact of creatine in calisthenics. Dr. Mohammad emphasizes 'greasing the groove' for skill mastery and debunks myths about push-pull balance, all while sharing personal insights that will elevate your training game.
Periodization is essential for calisthenics as it ensures structured strength and hypertrophy cycles for optimal performance and recovery.
Strategically managing bulking and cutting phases in calisthenics challenges athletes to balance body weight with skill development to enhance performance.
High-volume training is crucial for hypertrophy in calisthenics, enabling muscle growth through consistent sets and reps, even under fatigue.
Deep dives
Understanding Periodization in Calisthenics
Periodization is critical in calisthenics training to achieve optimal strength gains. Many practitioners fail to consider longer-term planning, often focusing only on weekly routines, which limits their potential. The podcast emphasizes the importance of macro and mesocycles, mirroring concepts utilized in other strength sports, such as powerlifting and bodybuilding. By adopting these periodization structures, athletes can better manage training volume and recovery, ultimately allowing for more structured strength and hypertrophy cycles.
The Role of Bulking and Cutting Phases
The concepts of bulking and cutting phases, common in strength sports, can be complicated in calisthenics due to the necessity of body weight for many movements. During bulking, athletes aim for a caloric surplus to gain muscle, whereas cutting involves creating a deficit to reduce fat. This dual focus can be problematic as excess body weight might hinder certain skill development, making it challenging for athletes to perform complex movements effectively. The discussion highlights how strategically separating hypertrophy and strength training can enhance performance, particularly when considering body weight considerations.
Importance of Volume in Hypertrophy Training
Hypertrophy training in calisthenics places significant emphasis on volume, defined as the total number of sets and repetitions performed. Research suggests that increasing volume, rather than lifting maximum weights, is crucial for muscle growth. The podcast explains that high-volume training can be executed even under fatigue, making it more accessible than typical strength training sessions that require full readiness. Understanding this concept allows athletes to prioritize volume to stimulate muscle growth effectively without overexerting themselves.
The Complexity of Strength and Skill Work
Calisthenics requires a delicate balance between strength training and skill work, as the latter can be even more demanding. Skills such as planches and front levers involve intricate movements that require mastering body angles and balance. When performing strength training concurrently with skill work, the accumulated fatigue can negatively impact performance. The podcast urges athletes to be strategic about their training focus, suggesting that isolating skill practice may yield better results without dragging performance down due to fatigue.
Creatine's Role in Calisthenics Training
Creatine is highlighted as a potentially underutilized supplement in calisthenics, offering benefits for strength and recovery. The discussion reveals that while creatine may cause weight gain due to water retention, it can enhance lifting capacity and overall workout performance. This compound allows athletes to perform more work and recover faster, especially during hypertrophy cycles. The podcast promotes a practical approach to supplementing with creatine, suggesting usage during specific training phases while being mindful of its impact on skill-focused cycles.
Dr Yaad Mohammad is a medical doctor with over 10 years of calisthenics experience. Bodyweight training programs are not easy to design. If you want to keep making progress and get stronger, you've got to train smart and hard. Today you'll how to create your own program with periodisation, understand the impact of body composition on bodyweight exercise performance and much more. . (0:00) - Why your workouts aren't working! (6:44) - Should you bulk or cut? (18:52) - Benefits of 'maingaining' (24:10) - Creatine in Calisthenics (28:12) - Best way to design a program (37:22) - How long to follow the same workout? (47:33) - Grease the groove is magical (1:04:59) - The myth of push-pull balance (1:08:58) - Important lessons to know
