Lately, I've been thinking about those messages we see on social media, where some influencers try to sell us the idea that training—whether at the gym or in the park—is a daily struggle, an epic battle against suffering and inner demons. This trend of dramatizing workouts caught my attention, turning them into something unnecessarily epic that, in my opinion, pushes a lot of people away.

I've seen people talk about training as if they were fighting an internal war—wearing hoodies, headphones, dark clothing, and taking on such a serious attitude that they look like they’re starring in a war movie. The idea being sold is that every set is a fight against yourself, that going to the gym is like facing an invisible enemy. And sure, there are moments of real effort, those times when an exercise gets tough or you're pushing close to failure. But in reality, training is a very different experience.

For me, working out is something enjoyable and positive. In many gyms, you have air conditioning and a comfortable environment, and in the park, you get the freedom of being outdoors. Once you're into your routine, the atmosphere changes—you can relax, listen to music, chat with friends, or even laugh at a failed rep. It’s not about constantly battling yourself; it’s about taking care of your body and mind.

For example, if someone enjoys playing soccer or basketball, they wouldn’t say, "Today I had to go play, fought my demons, and won the battle." They just enjoy the game. I don’t think we should see training as something painful or excessively difficult. Yes, some exercises are demanding, but we don’t need a constant struggle narrative to justify the effort.

I'm concerned that this dramatic and negative image might end up discouraging those who haven’t yet discovered the joy of training. It’s not about denying discipline or effort, but about avoiding extremes that turn something so positive into an emotional burden. Training isn’t a daily war—it’s a hobby, a way to feel good about ourselves.

I personally go to the park with a smile, greeting people, enjoying every set, knowing that even if some reps are harder than others, I’ll always feel satisfied in the end for having done something good for my body.

At the end of the day, let’s stop romanticizing suffering and embrace the idea that training is, above all, fun and rewarding.

If you want to enjoy training, remember that you can check out the workout programs available on 

Training Isn’t a Battle—It’s a Joyful Experience

Progression in Handstands: From Balance to Perfection

One of the most common mistakes I’ve observed in skill training is the obsession with achieving the strictest and most perfect technique from the very start. It’s common to see people attempting a handstand with fully locked arms, ears aligned over the biceps, head between the shoulders, a completely straight back with posterior pelvic tilt, extended legs, and pointed toes—without even having learned how to balance first. In other words, they try to perform the hardest version of the handstand without going through the essential phase of “learning to do it wrong” progressively.

The Mistake of Seeking Perfection from the Start

When someone aims to execute a handstand with all these technical details from day one, the result is often frustrating. It’s like trying to play the violin and expecting to produce a virtuoso melody from the first note. Failing to reach that ideal leads to months—or even years—of unsuccessful attempts, making it feel like no progress is being made at all.

What truly helps us advance in handstands is learning to hold the balance without obsessing over every technical detail right away. I remember when I first started—I learned to sustain a handstand simply by getting into a vertical position, even if my elbows were slightly bent, my back curved, my knees flexed, and my gaze fixed on the ground. This “imperfect form” allows for small victories, daily progress, and, most importantly, keeps motivation high.

Natural Progression: Small Adjustments, Big Improvements

Once you can consistently hold your balance, it’s time to refine the movement. Little by little, you’ll work on:

Aligning your head between your shoulders.

Straightening your back and improving your posture.

Each of these adjustments contributes to a more polished technique, but they can only be mastered after developing basic balance. This progressive approach makes learning more realistic and rewarding, avoiding the long period of frustration many people experience when trying to be perfect from the start.

It’s important to note that this progressive method is ideal for most self-taught calisthenics athletes. Interestingly, when it comes to children, strict technique can often be learned more quickly, as their physical capabilities and ability to absorb new movements are very different. However, for an adult or a beginner in calisthenics, focusing on balance and accepting a less refined execution at first is the key to progressing steadily and safely.

If you’re just starting to learn the handstand—or any other technical skill—don’t get caught up in the ideal of absolute perfection from the beginning. First, learn to balance, celebrate each small victory, and, over time, you’ll refine all the details that make up a clean and effective technique. Remember: real progress is built step by step, and every mistake is an opportunity to improve.

I hope this approach helps you and encourages you to enjoy the learning process. Keep at it—steady and consistent!

If you need a training program to learn the handstand, you can check out the one available in our 

Progression in Handstands in Calisthenics: From Balance to Perfection

One of the most important values in calisthenics is respecting strict technique when performing exercises, including full range of motion.

Over the more than 20 years of development that modern calisthenics has had as a sport, we have always taken pride in the cleanliness of our movements and the beauty of our execution compared to other sports or training methods.

Exercises like pull-ups, dips, push-ups, muscle-ups, planches, and more—if they weren’t done properly with clean technique, they weren’t considered worthy of a calisthenics athlete.

However, there are some exercises, or specific technical details of certain exercises, that have gone unnoticed and have been performed incorrectly for years—even by advanced athletes—without anyone calling it out. These mistakes happen even in competitions, with multiple judges carefully watching the competitor, yet they aren’t penalized.

That’s why today I want to highlight these exercises to raise awareness of this issue and ensure calisthenics stays true to its values and continues improving as a sport. Beyond simply pointing out the mistakes, we’ll also explore why this happens and how to fix it.

Full Range of Motion in Straight Bar Dips

Whenever the technical specifications for this exercise are given, the rulebooks all state that the elbows must reach at least 90 degrees. It is always specified: the arms must bend until forming a 90-degree angle at the elbow joint.

And that makes sense because it’s a simple and objective way to measure whether the movement has enough range without being shortened to cheat. Another common standard is that the bar should touch the lower chest or xiphoid line, but this is much easier to manipulate. Depending on how much you bend at the hips, you can touch this line with very little range of motion or with the correct full range.

It’s similar to what happens with powerlifters in the bench press, where they arch their back so that the bar touches the chest with minimal movement. Or, for example, it reminds me of push-ups—if we said the standard was touching the ground with the nose, some people would just move their head forward to achieve that with minimal range.

That’s why I believe the 90-degree elbow angle should remain the reference, but it actually needs to be enforced. Currently, even in the most prestigious competitions that emphasize proper technique, this requirement is often ignored, and athletes perform straight bar dips with a very reduced range of motion.

It’s obvious why this happens: with a shortened range of motion, the reps are faster. And if athletes see that nothing happens, that they aren’t penalized for this incorrect execution, they naturally won’t sabotage themselves by doing them the slower, proper way. So, until judges enforce what’s written in the rulebook and require proper execution, this will continue.

To correct this, all it takes is a slight hip flexion, avoiding an upright position, which immediately allows for full range of motion. It’s a very simple adjustment, yet it transforms the exercise from having a limited range to a complete one. In fact, some rulebooks already specify that the hips must be flexed at 45 degrees, but even this isn’t always enforced.

Full Extension at the Bottom of a Pull-Up

Any experienced calisthenics athlete, any competition rulebook, and any judge will tell you that a proper pull-up requires full arm extension, reaching full lockout at the elbows.

Yet, once again, this is something that doesn’t happen in competitions, even in the strictest ones.

Endurance athletes have developed a way of performing pull-ups with a certain circular body motion—a technique or rhythm that allows them to perform reps at high speed while maximizing their effort for the best results. However, this circular rhythm prevents full elbow extension, as it would disrupt the flow of movement. But that’s not what the rulebook says, and judges shouldn’t allow it.

When we say “fully extend the arms” or “lock the elbows,” we don’t mean “almost fully extend the arms” or “almost lock the elbows but not quite.” It’s obvious that full elbow lockout means reaching the point where the arm is completely straight and the elbow joint can’t extend any further—that’s why it’s called “lockout.”

Again, this issue comes down to speed—endurance athletes aim to complete reps as quickly as possible to win. And once again, if judges allow it, they will continue doing reps this way.

To fix this, judges must be stricter, and athletes should find ways to perform pull-ups as fast as possible while still fully locking out their elbows. This presents some challenges since momentum and inertia change when doing them with the proper technique instead of the circular style mentioned earlier.

Lockout and Range of Motion in Dips and Push-Ups

I won’t go into too much detail here because it’s essentially the same issue as with pull-ups. Both logically and according to every rulebook, dips and push-ups should require full elbow extension—not “almost fully extended” or “almost locked out,” but completely extended and locked.

Yet, once again, this standard is often ignored.

In dips, judges are also often too lenient with the 90-degree requirement, and it’s not fully enforced. Sometimes, they try to solve this by placing a fist under the athlete to ensure they lower enough to touch it. But from what I’ve seen, this doesn’t usually work—either the judge places their fist at a height where the athlete doesn’t actually reach 90 degrees, or, if they do place it correctly, they eventually adjust it upwards to match what the athlete is used to doing.

In other words, instead of enforcing the rulebook, judges end up being lenient and allowing the usual “almost 90 degrees.” I believe it would be simpler for the judge to visually assess the movement, warn the athlete if they aren’t going low enough, and if they don’t comply, simply not count their reps.

Finally, squats have a similar issue regarding knee flexion to at least 90 degrees.

All rulebooks generally state that you must reach or surpass this angle. However, when we talk about hitting 90 degrees, we have to visualize the central line of the athlete’s thigh—the position of the femur relative to the ground. And, once again, what typically happens is that athletes get close to 90 degrees but rarely meet the standard, and almost never surpass it.

The solution is the same as in the previous cases: as long as judges are lenient, athletes will find ways to be as fast and competitive as possible. So, once again, it’s up to the judges to enforce the rules.

If you need training programs to help you practice these exercises (and perform them with strict form), 

check out the ones available on Calisteniapp

In conclusion, as we can see, athletes have a certain responsibility to be honest with their strict technique and full range of motion, especially outside of competition. However, it’s also true that the competitive scene often sets the standard that other athletes follow. That’s why it would be great if judges and competitions placed more emphasis on enforcing the rulebook and staying true to the values of calisthenics.

There’s one specific case where I think this is much more strictly enforced: Streetlifting, or weighted calisthenics. In this discipline, judges are much more careful to ensure athletes strictly follow the rulebook. Lockouts, range of motion, and other technical aspects are far more respected, and judges are not as lenient.

Of course, since Streetlifting competitions are based on a single repetition, it’s much easier to enforce strict standards. Meanwhile, in endurance competitions, there’s a frantic pace where athletes are performing dozens or even hundreds of reps as fast as possible.

We’ll see if, over time, we improve in these areas and continue building and refining such a beautiful sport as calisthenics.

Calisthenics Exercises That Even Advanced Athletes Do Incorrectly (And How to Fix Them)

Over the more than 10 years I’ve been posting content about calisthenics and training in general, I’ve made many mistakes—some of which I really regret.

You see, there are certain exercises or specific techniques that I repeatedly recommended or demonstrated in my videos and articles, only to realize over time that they were incorrect, not ideal, or even potentially harmful.

Today, I want to go over five exercises or techniques that I explained incorrectly and how they should actually be done.

When I first learned how to do one-arm push-ups, I discovered that if you spread your legs wide, placed one foot forward with the sole on the ground, it became relatively easy to perform them.

It didn’t occur to me that this was not a strict form and that they could be done much cleaner—I was only focused on the range of motion. Plus, when lowering, I would do a sort of lateral hip bend that helped me complete the movement.

I kept doing them like this for years, and to be fair, most people who post videos of one-arm push-ups do them the same way. That’s why it took me so long to realize my mistake.

Recently, however, I discovered that they can be done much more strictly and cleanly by following these principles:

The legs can be spread apart, but both feet should stay in line, with the toes on the ground, and without one foot being ahead of the other or bending the knee.

The supporting hand should remain on its respective side, not centered.

The hips should not bend or tilt when lowering—there should be a straight line from the back to the legs.

When I tried doing them this way, I realized they were 

 harder, and I still wasn’t able to do them with perfect form. But I was excited to have a new challenge to work on with consistency and discipline.

When I first became comfortable with the muscle-up, I quickly realized that it could be done more cleanly by pulling up with both arms simultaneously and keeping the knees straight.

Later, when endurance competitions introduced stricter rules, they required minimal forward swinging and no leg raises—even with straight legs. It was as if there was a wall 50 cm in front of the bar that you couldn’t touch. This made sense, so I adopted it.

And that was it. To me, that was a strict muscle-up, and I demonstrated it that way for years. But there was one detail I hadn’t noticed: the hip flexion during the transition at the top.

Even if you meet all the cleanliness requirements I mentioned earlier, if you flex your hips as you transition over the bar—causing your chest and head to move forward—you break the movement into two parts.

However, if you try to keep your head and chest back while pulling, without excessive hip flexion, the movement becomes much smoother and more fluid. That’s how I now perform strict muscle-ups.

If you want to learn and refine your muscle-up to achieve strict form, I recommend using our 

"Your First Muscle-Up" program available on Calisteniapp.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, for years, the "butt wink" in deep squats has been demonized.

Across the fitness world, it has always been viewed as something harmful to avoid—and I fell into that belief.

The truth is, the butt wink is a natural, anatomical movement that occurs when you reach the deepest range of a squat. If you try to force your lower back to prevent it, you can end up with a strain and pain in the area (which I personally dealt with for years).

If you’re doing deep squats, a slight butt wink at the bottom is not a problem—as long as it’s not excessive or forced.

When I first learned the planche, I was just happy to hold it in any way I could. Later, as I refined my form, I focused on locking my elbows—and then on posterior pelvic tilt.

At the time, I understood that to achieve a clean planche, I needed to tilt my pelvis backward so that my lower back lost its natural curve and became flat.

And so I did. I learned to apply pelvic tilt and eliminate lumbar curvature in my planche holds.

The problem was, this approach wasn’t entirely correct.

For people with a very pronounced lumbar curve—where their lower back visibly arches and their legs are angled slightly upward when doing a planche—posterior pelvic tilt 

However, for people who naturally maintain a more neutral position, with only a slight lumbar curve, applying excessive pelvic tilt isn’t necessary.

The goal should be to keep a straight line from the back to the legs. With my old technique, where I applied posterior tilt, my legs always ended up dropping slightly, making my body form a concave shape rather than a straight line.

Two of the most basic exercises—and I did them wrong for years.

For pull-ups, I used to focus on physically getting my chin over the bar, which led me to push my head forward on every rep. This made the movement look awkward and caused my shoulders to rotate inward, compromising scapular retraction.

 your chin over the bar, but instead just reach bar height while keeping your head back, you can perform a much cleaner pull-up—maintaining scapular retraction and keeping your chest slightly lifted.

As for push-ups, I used to aim for full range of motion, making sure my nose touched the ground in every rep. The problem? My head was sticking forward, so when my nose hit the ground, I still hadn’t reached full range.

To fix it, all I had to do was ensure that my head stayed in line, maintaining a straight posture from my back to my neck. This way, I could achieve full range of motion by touching the ground with my chest instead.

I hope this article helps you avoid these mistakes. Remember, you can train with these exercises using our workout programs available on 

5 Calisthenics Exercises I Taught Incorrectly (and Now Regret)

, we’re always working to bring you the best training tool possible. That’s why we’re excited to introduce this update, which includes new features and improvements that we’ll go over below.

But before that, we want to congratulate everyone who completed the 

! It’s been a true display of discipline and daily effort. This challenge has helped us kick off the year in the best way possible, and now it’s time to use that momentum to keep training consistently and reach our goals. Also, just a quick reminder that the Reset Mission is saved under the "Challenges" section, so you can take it on whenever you want.

This update will be rolled out progressively to all users, so if you haven’t received it yet, you should see it in the next few days.

 We noticed that entering these values when creating custom routines wasn’t as smooth as it should be, so we’ve simplified the process. Now, with a single click, you can enter the number you want, making the experience much more fluid.

 These were the only routines that didn’t have a detailed and easily accessible workout history. That’s now fixed, so you can check your past training sessions in detail.

 You can now create and modify workout logs easily.

To edit: Go to any workout log → options menu (three dots) → edit.

To create: Go to any session → options menu (three dots) → create log.

 The search menu now lets you find workout sessions and sort them by estimated duration. This way, if you’re short on time, you can pick the session that best fits your schedule.

Fixed an issue preventing some users from viewing exercise videos.

Fixed an issue with supersets: Resolved a problem that occurred when accessing a superset exercise from the thumbnail of the next exercise.

Improved workout recovery in offline mode.

Fixed an issue with notification counter updates.

We hope these changes make your experience with the app even better and help you stay consistent with your training. We’re already working on more updates and improvements, so stay tuned!

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