You are currently exploring the Fundamentals Library, which is designed to provide a basic overview of the topics that are covered in other longer articles. This article is a part of the Exercise Selection section.
Exercises Function
When we select exercises in our training program for calisthenics skills training, we have different goals in mind in terms of adaptations we want to possess.
Most calisthenics skills have some coordination requirements, specific motor skills that need to be practiced. In addition, all calisthenics skills depend on the ability of specific skeletal muscles to generate sufficient torque in specific joints and to resist gravity.
Because bodyweight skills are often complex, each athlete will also typically have their own bottlenecks to skill performance, both muscularly and in terms of coordination, motor learning aspects.
For this reason, within the training session there should be exercises programmed with different objectives in mind, which ultimately contribute to the main objective.
Main, Supplementary, Accessory Exercises
In the context of calisthenics skill training, exercises can be classified into 3 main groups, based on the goal they are designed to achieve.
- Main - Specific to the goal
- Supplementary - Specific to the goal, targeting an individual weakness
- Accessory - Specific to a muscle group / region that contributes to a goal
Main Exercise
The main exercise is the one we will use to acquire the coordination and strength in the exact same context that our goal requires. At this stage we want to be very specific. We want to find an exercise that replicates the requirements of the goal based on all the features we talked about.
Sometimes, this is impossible due to practicality. In that scenario, we have to choose the option that comes closest to what we want to do.
Supplementary Exercise
The supplementary exercise is where we get a link between specificity and individuality. The purpose of this exercise is to target our individual weakness in the main exercise.
To do this, we still want to choose a pattern that is somewhat specific to our goal, but modify it to target our specific weakness. For example, resistance profile or technique to put more demand on specific areas.
Accessory Exercise
In accessory exercise, we want to target and stimulate the individual muscles or their regions that are important from the standpoint of our goal and especially those that are responsible for our weakness. For example, triceps in the handstand push up lock out.
When choosing these movements, we must keep in mind all the considerations that will make this exercise a “good” or “bad” hypertrophy choice for us. This is a subject of an upcoming article.
Let’s take a look at a couple of examples of how hierarchical classification can be applied to calisthenics training with different goals.
Example - One Arm Pull Up
- M - Forearm Assisted OAP
- S - Top Paused Weighted Pull Up
- A - Spider Curl
Example - Weighted Dip
- M - Weighted Dip
- S - Bottom Paused Dips
- A1 - Cable Push Downs
- A2 - Dumbbell Chest Flies
Example - Handstand Press
- M - Box Handstand Press
- S - Handstand Press Walk
- A - Prone Dumbbell Raises
