In the world of calisthenics training, resistance bands are a popular tool often used to assist with basic and tension-based exercises like pull-ups, dips, muscle-ups, planches, and front levers. But are they really effective, or could they actually be holding back your progress more than helping it? In this article, we'll take a closer look at the pros and cons of using resistance bands in calisthenics. What are resistance bands really for?

Calisteniapp v25.4.0: A New Era in Your Training Introduction At Calisteniapp, we have been working intensely over the past few months on something truly big: a complete redesign of the training program planning system. Our mission is to make your experience more personal, flexible, and intelligent, truly adapting to your needs and lifestyle.

Hyrox races have quickly become one of the most popular sporting events today, growing exponentially with more and more people taking part. These competitions combine functional exercises with running, testing both cardiovascular endurance and physical strength. Typically, Hyrox races include stations with exercises like rowing, skiing, sled pushes, weighted lunges, and more, all interspersed with running segments. The result is a full-body, high-demand challenge.

I recently publishedan article about how to increase your reps in basic calisthenics exercises, and many of you asked me to make one explaining how to increase the amount of time you can hold static or tension-based exercises. So, let’s dive into it. To quickly recap and give a bit of context: in that previous article, I explained that the optimal way to increase your max reps in an exercise is simply by accumulating a high volume of reps and sets of that exercise throughout the week. Do you need a different approach for static exercises?

Hyrox is a hybrid competition that combines running with functional exercises like wall balls, burpees, sled push and pull, and rowing. Calisthenics—bodyweight training—can be a perfect complement to your Hyrox prep, helping you boost your strength, endurance, and overall performance. The Basics When you're just getting started with Hyrox training, the priority is building a solid base of strength and muscular endurance. Basic calisthenics will help you master fundamental movements that are key in the competition.

Over the years, as I’ve shared content, coached people, and managed our app, there’s one question I’ve heard over and over again: “Yerai, I’ve hit a plateau in my routine or program and I just can’t make any progress—what can I do?” Interestingly, almost everyone who asks me this question is making the same exact mistake. The good news? It’s easy to fix, and I’m going to show you how. The Most Common Plateau Mistake

Every now and then, I get questions abouthow to increase the number of reps in a specific exercise. What’s interesting is thatpeople 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 repsin 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.

For a while now, I’ve been working on improving my weighted exercises during training—weighted dips, muscle-ups, squats, and pull-ups with added weight. It’s a really rewarding challenge and a well-rounded training method that keeps me motivated to push myself to the limit. I’ve been sharing my workouts on social media, and one of the recurring comments I’ve gotten from Streetlifters (the specialists in weighted calisthenics) when they saw me doing pull-ups was to try loosening the chain so that the weight plates hang lower—around foot or ankle level. At first, I didn’t really get why they were so insistent about this… until I tried it.

Daniels Laizans is one of the greatest legends in calisthenics history—an athlete who defined an era, created his own style that influenced countless athletes, and won numerous championships at all levels, including multiple world titles. But in recent years, he has been surprising us not for his competitive achievements, but for his incredible physical transformation. How is it possible that Daniels has undergone such a change? What has he done to achieve it? Could it have happened naturally, or is there a chance he took shortcuts?

After spending a lot of time analyzing, studying, and testing the best strategy for gaining muscle mass based on current training knowledge, scientific studies, and recommendations from top professionals, one thing has become clear to me: To achieve muscle growth, you need to provide the muscle with a stimulus close to muscle failure, with a volume of sets that ensures this stimulus reaches all muscle fibers. That's why I came up with a simple routine to achieve this optimal stimulus, which I'll present below.

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. Where does this image come from? 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.

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