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Stage 3: Advanced
Unlock advanced movements.
Introduction
After completing the basics stage, you should have enough strength and control to progress
to more advanced skills.
Goals
This stage has 3 main goals:
Acquire new skills
Maintain your existing skills
Explore different styles of calisthenics
Above all, keep unlocking new skills without getting injured.
Programming
In this stage, you usually stop doing a full-body split. Instead you choose two skills you want to unlock and then
dedicate most of your time to those skills.
For example, you can choose the one-arm pull-up and planche. And all the exercises you do will be related to those
two skills.
Not enough information
I have very limited information about this stage, because I am still learning myself.
Overview
List of playlists grouped by category:
Push
One-arm push-up - builds unilateral pushing strength.
Ring push-ups - builds pushing strength and shoulder stability.
HSPU (Handstand push-up) - builds advanced vertical pushing strength and overhead control.
Core
Dragon flag - advanced core strength and body control.
Plyometrics
Plyometric calisthenics - a style of calisthenics focused on explosive movements.
One-arm push-up
Archer push-up progression
Archer push-ups are a great progression toward the one-arm push-up.
Some people turn their hands while doing archer push-ups, but this increases coordination demands and makes it harder to keep tension throughout the body.
For better stability, it is usually best to keep both hands turned out the whole time.
Careful with your elbows
Archer push-ups place a lot of pressure on the elbows. Make sure you have enough conditioning in your straight arms.
One-arm push-up progression
There are many ways to work toward a one-arm push-up. For example, knee one-arm push-ups.
But my favourite method is to gradually reduce the assistance of the supporting arm by extending it further out and eventually lifting it. This better mimics the mechanics of a true one-arm push-up.
One-arm push-up technique
Most people do not realise the one-arm push-up has many progression levels. The difficulty gap between the easiest variation and the strictest version is large.
Often people try the hardest version first, fail, and give up.
If you can do around 20 regular push-ups, you can probably perform at least one of the easier one-arm variations.
Ring push-ups
Ring push-ups are a push-up variation performed with your hands on gymnastic rings.
The instability increases the demand on your chest, shoulders, triceps, core, and shoulder stabilisers.
Rings on the floor push-up progression
This is probably the most controversial push-up variation, mainly because it looks dangerous.
But that is usually because people start with the hardest version first, and I am guilty of that too.
Remember that in calisthenics, whatever skill you are aiming for, there is always an easier variation. You just have to find it.
HSPU (Handstand push-up)
The handstand push-up is a traditional calisthenics exercise that develops vertical pushing strength, overhead control, and balance.
It combines the strength of a shoulder press with the body control of a handstand,
making it one of the main advanced pushing exercises in calisthenics.
Beginner HSPU workout
The handstand push-up (HSPU) is another exercise that establishes your place in the calisthenics community.
It is even harder than the handstand, because now you need not only balance but also the shoulder strength to lift your entire body weight.
You do not strictly need a strong handstand before starting HSPU training, but being able to hold a handstand for 5 to 10 seconds makes the process much easier.
Dragon flag
The dragon flag is an anti-extension exercise, like a plank. In fact, you can think of it as a more advanced plank progression.
It builds core strength and teaches you how to align and control your body when your feet are off the ground.
Because of that, it can be considered a progression toward the front lever.
Dragon flag progression
I am still learning dragon flags myself, so there is not much information here yet.
For now, use this video to understand the different variations.
Plyometric calisthenics
At this stage, you should have built enough conditioning in your joints and connective tissues
to begin exploring
power calisthenics
, also known as plyometric calisthenics
.
This style focuses on performing bodyweight exercises explosively to develop speed, power, and athleticism.Manage the extra stress
Plyometric calisthenics puts much more stress on your body than traditional calisthenics.
Volume management is critical.
Superman push-up progression
The superman push-up is one of the hardest variations. It builds a huge amount of explosive power.
I strongly suggest mastering each progression before attempting the final version.
Knee jump progression
Not for beginners
Do NOT do knee jumps as part of a normal beginner program.
Unless you are specifically focusing on plyometric (jump) training, knee jumps add little value and mostly carry risk.
There are better alternatives, such as box jumps.
This video is here only for those who specifically want to learn the movement. You can safely skip it.
Plyometric circuit
This is an example of a plyometric (jump-based) circuit, mainly for cardio.
But as I mentioned before, there are better alternatives. Do it only if you are interested in plyometrics.