The Optimal Method to Increase Reps in Calisthenics Exercises

Every now and then, I get questions about how to increase the number of reps in a specific exercise. What’s interesting is that people often suggest things like adding weight, doing slow tempo reps, adding complementary exercises, or strengthening the involved muscles.

While all of those might have some merit in certain contexts, none of them are actually the most effective way to get more reps in a specific movement.

The best way to reach that goal doesn’t involve exotic or supplementary methods. It’s much simpler: increase your weekly volume of reps for that specific exercise.

So how do you actually go about doing that? There are several ways. Let’s look at some examples for someone who can currently do a maximum of 10 pull-ups and wants to increase that number:

• One way is to do a lot more sets. For instance, you might start with 3 sets of 8 reps, then do 4 sets of 6, and finish with 6 sets of 4. In a single session, that adds up to 13 sets and 70 total reps.
• Another option is doing a cluster set with lower reps—something like 15 sets of 5 reps. That’s 75 total reps in one workout.
• You could also try an EMOM (Every Minute on the Minute) with low reps, like 4 reps every minute for 20 minutes. That gives you 80 reps in just one session.
• A descending ladder works too. For example, a ladder from 10 to 1 gives you 55 total reps in a single workout.
• Then there’s Grease the Groove, which is similar to a cluster set but spread throughout the day. This works well if you have a pull-up bar at home.

As you can see, all of these methods follow the same principle: increase the total volume of reps for your target exercise during each session, and by extension, across the week.

Now, what about exercises where you can only do a few reps?

If you're currently able to do between 1 and 5 reps, here’s what I recommend:

• If you can do at least 3 reps: use the same methods I mentioned before—sets, clusters, EMOMs, or Grease the Groove—but stick to 1 or 2 reps per set.
• If you can only do 1 or 2 reps: work on easier variations or progressions of the final exercise, still using the same methods. Once you can do at least 3 full reps of your goal exercise, you can move on to the next level.

What about all the other methods people suggest?

As for the other ideas I often hear, like adding weight, using tempo reps, or doing complementary exercises—they can work, but they’re not ideal.

Take weighted reps, for example. That approach is more about building strength than endurance. Sure, getting stronger can lead to a slight improvement in endurance, since the two qualities are connected. But it’s not the most efficient way to improve endurance. Doing high-volume reps of the target movement, without added weight, is a much better strategy for that.

Examples of routines

In Calisteniapp, there’s an entire section dedicated to this topic. Just go to the "Workouts / Sessions / Endurance" section and you’ll find 122 free routines that can help you out. If you’re a PRO user, we also offer full training programs like Intermediate Endurance and Elite Endurance, with detailed weekly programming designed specifically to help you improve this ability. Go check it out!

Hope this clears things up and gives you something useful to apply in your own training.

Yerai Alonso