My Uni gym has a dip station but they are angled and not parallel. Parallel all the way >>>>> As a result it's been hard to get to do dips when I can, im going home from uni now and I'm gonna start hitting dips more frequently. I did them yesterday. High-ish volume bodyweight and tried some sets with additional weight. My shoulders and chest are so pumped right now. That stretch you get on the chest is unparalleled
I'm just about to change my training completely. Bored of the gym, just don't want to do it no more or at least for the moment. Decided to give a try high volume bodyweight calisthenics. I'm new to this, usually had weighted pullups and dips in my regular workouts, but I'm about to try high frequency, high sets and reps, low rest as well. I can only imagine how tough it will be mentally, but over time I should get used to it. Also wonder if it will somewhat mantain my muscle as long as I'll go close or directly at failure.
Was pressed for time today and gave this a shot. Complete upper body pump. Arms, traps, lats, pecs, shoulders exploded. Made it to 20 dips but the last few rounds could only manage 8 pull ups. Lots of fun and now I have a new challenge!!
@Erik Awwad general physical preparedness aka the shit you do to increase your work capacity to make you recover faster and handle more volume (sets ,reps and weight and maybe shorter rest periods over time )
Back in the days I started with 10 pullups and 2 dips, and worked back and forward (8 pulls, 4 dips, 6 pulls, 6 dips, 4 pulls, 8 dips, 2 pulls, 10 dips) I miss this! I did this years ago. Thanks for the reminder Alex!
I follow your channel closely but I’m not interested in weight training so this kind of video is very appreciated! Makes me feel better about my choice of doing body weight only. Of course I’ll never achieve the level of someone like you but as you know for most people being intermediate is more than enough. Thank you
@Big bankie Bobby the cost was the primary factor, social anxiety was another factor, most gyms are also more bodybuilding oriented with useless machines, I don’t like gym bros, I think the compound movements are dangerous for low back. I feel like bodyweight movement would be like a home cooked meal that doesn’t taste quite as good as fast food but doesn’t have all the nasty chemicals. For pure performance I know it’s hard to beat the barbell but I think for most people basic calisthenics is great. The problem is most people don’t know how to program the basic movements beyond the first 6 months and that’s why I like what Alex is showing.
@@zwip778 Honestly, some things i disagree with but I think that's an excellent take...bodyweight is like a home cooked meal. May not be as delicious as eating out but you feel greater satisfaction when accomplished and you learn body awareness which IMO you literally do not at all get with primarily lifting weights. I really understood how much leverages can take you. I applied my calisthenics knowledge to weightlifting and it's been amazing. I initially didn't want to go to the gym for the social anxiety and whatever but now I enjoy it. I don't get out much now and even if I have my headphones blasting, just having other people around in that environment is good for the mind and body. Also, don't be too harsh on the gym bros. They may look dense but a lot of them are really nice guys haha Since doing loads more weights and calisthenics I learned what my body reacts to better. Never really liked bench as I prefer a deep stretch and such but since trying to improve my bench I have liked it more and more now. DOn't be afraid to try new things, they always help even if its knowing that you don't like them. One thing I realised is that I"m only going to do barbell back squats for quads. No extensions or anything, squats is enough for me. I use weights as a benchmark to see if I've gotten stronger but I mostly do hybrid training
@@kklh7918 You make some very good points and I do tend to be close minded so I have to watch out for that. I think at this point I could get over some of my initial concerns (gym vibe and fees) but there are some stuff that I still think I prefer in body weight training although I have to admit that I only started a year ago and didn’t have the best luck in terms of injuries so I’m still gaining a lot of strength/muscle with simple moves but maybe in a year or two my opinion will change. For example comparing pushups to bench press, I don’t like the idea of resting my back on a bench. I prefer the whole body connection with the core activated you get during push ups. Even when doing pull ups I don’t let my legs just flap around but try to maintain a hollow body position. I’m sure there are ways to keep whole body tension while benching such as arching the back or others but it looks weird and unsafe to me. It may be perfectly safe but it just looks less natural to me and I could be completely wrong. Another basic move that I prefer in body weight is the inverted vs dumbbell/barbell rows. It’s almost the same move but no lower back strain. Knowing how common lower back issues are, I think I’d rather stay with the inverted row. Another advantage in the inverted row is that you tend to cheat less the movement. Right now I get a lot of benefits doing simple stuff but I understand that for more advanced lifters, weights may just be easier to progress with.
Gym people are generally nice people. I’m a physical therapist- Compound movements strengthen your back by strengthening your muscles, and connective tissue. Strength and stability especially in the lower body and is supreme for back health. I do calisthenics at over 200 lbs like human flags etc. also do weighted Cali - and lift weights. Social anxiety is something that will only hold you back. Good to challenge yourself mentally as well as physically vs stagnating by staying comfortable.
@@DrTopLiftDPT although I think your response is correct I think that he is correct in the sense that if you follow a proper routine of progressively overloading on the compounds such as deadlift and squat you can definitely injure your lower back. Of course these muscles are strengthened but at risk vs. Reward some people opt out. I squat and it’s amazing but I don’t deadlift anymore. I do other exercise that work the same posterior muscle and hamstrings. It’s a bit longer but I like it
I've done high volume calisthenics now for maybe one year and got better gains than in the gym. Now I'm back in the gym and my gains in the gym are also getting better because my body can handle a lot more volume
I love your Calisthenics videos. I was wondering if you ever plan to make a Calisthenics progressive program for strength? Thank you for your awesome channel.
thank you for this alex, btw you're very lucky to have a park of this quality - mine has a dip station type of deal instead of the long bridge type thing you got going.
Been super setting dips and pull ups ever since I heard you mention how good they work together. Never done the ladder, looks really tough but I’m going to give it a try. Thanks for the content, great as always
Works for calisthenic guys. Progression is the driver of gains. Adding weight is not the only way to progress. Progression means to in someway increasing the demand on your body. Progression works best when one holds all but one variable constant and focuses their entire intent on progressing that one variable. In this example it's getting the next set. So how would one progress this? First, I'm old school (Dr. Ken/Nautilus style) so I would go pull-up dip, but that's a small thing. Make sure you can honestly get to 10 pull-ups and 20 dips. Once there you can choose to increase the ladder i.e 11 and 22 or go back to 1 pull-up and 2 dips and start another ladder. If you choose this you stay w/ the second ladder until you get it to 10 and 20 also. I personally would not rest between ladders, but if you do no more then 2 mns. The rest between ladders could be something you decrease as a way to progress. Maybe you first work up to 3 ladders w/ 5 mns. rest between ladders. Then you work on decreasing that rest between ladders as your next progression. One finale idea. Don't get stuck on this as just a body weight/calisthenics only modality. You can take this same idea to the gym and do say low pulley row and bench.
This workout is perfect for busy people. You have no excuse! With a bit or practice you can pull that off in 10-15min. Let's say one hour max if you do 3 rounds
Hey Alex. A couple of questions: 1. If you fail to complete any of the sets, should you end the workout there and try to achieve more reps next time or should you rest a few seconds and grind the reps (rest pause style) until one reaches the 10/20 goal? 2. Should this be done 2-4x/week in substitution for all upper body work or as a complement? Thanks!
I know this video is a month old but I decided to give this workout a try since I mainly do low volume calisthenics. I managed to get up to 9 pullups and 18 dips and never in my life have I been so exhausted. I managed to power through it but had to finish the workout with a rest-pause fashion. Nevertheless, I hope the minimal rest time and high volume will supplement my training for Weighted Calisthenics and strength moves.
Never underestimate the GPP! Alex has been advocating it forever, but not that many people do it outside of strongman, most people are just into the gym, do their lifts, go home, but they leave alot on the table by skipping gpp work.
I did 100 pull ups with 50 lbs. 260 total lbs with body weight. Rope chin ups, and bar neutral, wide, and Supinated included. I was hoping someone would do that challenge from my channel.
I got myself parallel bars and a pull up station during the quarantine.Since then, the gyms have opened, but due to time restraints, I only get to go 3 times per week, and I've been looking on how to implement my home set up to my normal lifting routine.This seems like a good way to add some volume to my training, without interfering too much with the barbell workout (as long as I don't take the ladders to absolute failure, I guess), so thanks for that.Greetings from Greece.
Years ago I got a gym rat friend of mine who thought body weight training was easy to try something similar. He failed miserably at the pullup/dip ladder and then when we tried the squat/sprint ladder I thought he was going to die
Hey Alex, i was wondering if you've ever seen Ironwolf and his workouts, and what you think of his style of training. Would it possible to combine his method with the proper nutrition to actually build muscle and aesthetics?
Well Iron Wolf is the perfect exemple, he show that it's possible. Just look at his body. But you will need to eat a lot more, Iron Wolf's workout are very taxing, you burn a insane amount of calories.
Ngl bench has help and so has rows for my home workouts, but it wasn’t until I did my dips and pull ups better and more intense when the gains started coming. I can’t do 10 pull ups straight but I’ll get there same with 20 straight dips.
Even though this workout is good, I don’t think it is better for hypertrophy than doing moderate volume and high intensity. I know that volume is also a key driver for hypertrophy, but u can’t ignore going almost or to failure on each set. What do u think about it?
Alex has evolved so much through time its like he had different personas lol. Kidding aside, I dont know about yall, others had zyzz or david laid to motivate them. I had alex from alphadestiny.
@@sbd8106 Lmaooo & fair, it's cool to have fitness inspirations who put out educational stuff but it never hurts to have some cheesy zyzz sikkunt or Ronnie Coleman workout motivation videos going
What are the actual benefits of gpp? Won't doing this compromise recovery? Like how would you do this workout 2-4 times/w whilst also training upper body in the gym 2-3 times/w? Would you reduce volume in the gym to compensate for this
oh i can vouch for this, 20 min you can be destroyed, upper body wise, the lats and upper back get absolutely fried because they get heavily used on both dips and pullups
Just give this a try today at the end of my workout sessions. I didnt have a parallel bar at home so I use my gymnastic rings for the dips, have to say I overestimate myself. I give myself a target to do it until 12 dips and 6 pull ups, and ended up with 8 dips and 4 pull ups. Cant say I'm doing this with zero rest since I stop every 3 to 10 seconds before continue the workout, but I will come back here to give progress until I get the full 20 dips and 10 pull upsn
Im a fat intermediate going for a super stacked bear mode look and I finally ordered a band. I will take my pullups and lats seriosly from now on and since I have good lat genes and strong rows I’m taking that wideness to the max
@@AlexLeonidas What frequency and rep range would you recommend for someone who can do just a few bodyweight pullups? The band gives maybe 15kg of resistance so I could do maybe 6-10 reps
Interesting combo that will work well for many people. For anyone who can’t do dips or pull-ups, there’s some good progressions to follow to improve those abilities. Love including calisthenics in a training program. 💪
I tried this for 1 round for today because i want to workout quickly right now. 10 rings dips and 10 pull ups is the last.I think I finished it on 25 mins or 30 mins.
I'm doing this 4 times a week but with few secs rest between sets. 5th day i do 8 sets of 20 push ups and 10 pullups. 6th and 7th rest but few forearms work. What do you think of this? Ty
And if it become too easy, before doing a 2nd round, just add few more reps. 12 pull ups-24 dips all the way up to 15 pull ups-30 dips if you have the strenght and endurance !
Hey Alex, I want to do Nucleus Overload on my triceps. Should I do that and also do my arms training, or stop the triceps training and only do the nucleus overload for a month?
Unfortunately I cannot perform dips because I have a posterior unstable shoulder joint. Might need surgery or intense shoulder rehab before I return to pressing movements.
what advice for people, who dont really retract their scapula while doing presses or dips? is it necessary? surely for injury prevention, but in terms of bodybuilding and strength building (actually asking for a friend)
Dude, don't compare Alex with Chris Heria. Alex produces good content for youtube and seems to be a nice person. Chris Heria makes video on "workouts to burn belly fat", he produces a type of content aiming at deceiving begginers.
Hey Alex, the past few workouts I had some pretty bad headaches while training and I don't really know what the cause can be. I tried drinking more water but still that didn't help
People need more water than they think. Try a gallon of water and eat a few tbsp of salt. I would also eat some sugar and carbs before workouts, a tall glass of orange juice and a dark chocolate bar. And then make sure you are getting your sleep in. 8-10 hours. Could also be muscle tension in your neck/traps. Try to message those muscle groups with a foam roller, or get someone else to do it with hands. Also make sure you have your general nutrition on point, protein and calories. And use blue light blocking glasses. Also getting up early, but with 8+ hrs sleep.
I'm a powerlifter and my conditioning is too shit and my program is volume heavy to the point where I take about 3-4 hours per training session. Please do a vid on how do I add conditioning to my program so I cut less and less time to my overall training sessions.
1) starting small with like 5-10min of low intensity cardio and gradually building it up 2) off season you could make it a priority to build back up to your numbers but with less rest, making cardio a priority, etc. or just a program thatll let you focus more on conditioning while maintaining strength 3) supersetting your accessories
I think adding weight to this could start to hurt your recovery. Remember Alex is only using this as GPP. I suppose if you did this as one of your regular upper body sessions then that could work.
You're looking great bro ! A question do you think your traps got smaller when you stopped doing all the rack pulls? I think your traps were more jacked
Hey Alex I remember you mentioned that squats tend to be better for carryover to the deadlift than the other way around. Does this still hold true between a low bar squat and a sumo deadlift, using the same foot stance on both
I can’t do that many dips and pull ups? Is it okay to just circuit training quickly back and chest without full failure as a way to boos work capacity also? Dip pull up pushups rows chest press and cable pull up machine?
Yup ! Im around the same size and strength as him in the upperbody, but with a larger frame (taller) I have bigger arms, he has better delts tho. I love to do Bench back to back with Pull-ups and Dips back to back with Rows and similar blends. I use it as a mann workout though and throw in one delt focued lift accesory and one arm focused accesory alternating biceps , triceps and forearms from workout to workout. The time my lats were at my absolutte widest and my body the best I did this in a week. Look at the low volume thou; Monday Close Grip Bench - 125 x 50, 225 x 20, 315 to 440 x Max rep
Monday Bench as above Pull-ups Ladders 1-2-3-4-5-1-2-3-4-1-2-3 then going up to about 15 at the end when I progressed Lateral Raises - 6 sets of 6 with RP15 Strict BB curl - Either 4 sets of 8 or 6 sets of 3 every other time. Heaviest I did was 200 for 3 reps Ab work - 4 sets lower, 3 sets upper abs Thursday Weighted Dips - BW X 20, +45 x 15, +90 x 10, +135 x 8, 180 - 220 added for Max Seated Rows - 5 sets of 8 or 6 sets of 6 with RP12, going to fail on last set One Arm Extensions Triceps DB - 22 x 50, 44x25, 66x12, 90xMax withouth failing Forearm work - 3 sets of Reverse Curls then 3 sets of Wrist Curl. Up to one heavy set then two backdown set This got me at my best Ive been withouth steroids in the upperbody. Didnt do leg work at this time. Nowadays I do Pistol Squats weighted , but I back doen if they get big and just keeps the weight at the same, Im not trying to get huge legs, and legs grow very easy , and in my opinion dosent look good. Many look narrow in the shoulders with too big legs. I love the 1980 Gunnar Rosbo look or Robby Robinson. Mike Mentzer also looked crazy Thats only for upperbody tho
As a calisthenics guy, I used to do this but I went from 1 pull up and 2 dips to 10 pull ups and 20 dips and all the way back down to 1 pull up and 2 dips. It's a fun way to train but I got a bit tired of if because it's so repetitive, but it sure is a good challenge. I would add: time it and always try to beat your record
I became familiar with ladder style of training from IronWolf RUclips channel. It's really simple and effective. Have you ever come accross his channel? Would be great to get your take on his style of training, it's really hardcore.
replace pullups with body rows if not strong enough for all 55? or regress to bosyrows when form is garbage. No rest, this is crazy my form on the pulls would be dumpster fire level gawdayium
I'm 32. I started weight training at 30. I get little injuries here and there, I think it's because I started late and the reality is I'll never have an easy time like someone who started younger. I'm seriously considering changing everything. Doing mostly a calisthenics focused program with dumbells and bands for some accessory. I just don't have fun using a barbell and being scared of injuring myself every time. I also don't have access to a trainer and I can't easily afford to fix a major injury, so it doesn't make sense to lift a barbell. I want to do something I can do in my 60's and 70's. I don't want to be huge either, I just want to be healthy.
Hey Joe, I'm in your EXACT same situation! I'm 30 and I started to work out just a couple (maybe 3) years ago, and I feel that I started late too... I actually did use weights just for little time in the beginning but I switched shortly to bodyweight training but unfortunately I get some injuries here and there anyway... ...that's way I'm trying to keep it the simplest as possible but in the same time in the most efficient way, like pull ups & dips supersetted 2x-3x a week. I noticed that stretching a lot even the days after the workout, cold showers (however starting with warm water) and some arnica gel sometimes help. I wish you the best my friend!
For under $120 you can build one if you have access to a saw and a drill + hole saw. Buy 16 ft of 4x4, 15 ft 1 inch pipe and a couple 2x4 for bracing. If you want more info, comment. You can also build dip bars from PVC but unless you're handy with tools, it's more time and cost effective to buy one online, especially if you intend to put more than 225 lbs on them.
I can’t do 1 pull-up how can I progress. What’s the best advice you can give? I hear so much shit about negatives I’ve been following your novice program for 3 months. I started doing pull-ups at the end on workout B but it was affecting my workouts. I’ve used bands, I’ve trained with callisthenics 4 months prior to joining gym. Still couldn’t get a pull-up. Lost 20lbs I’m at 250 6ft 2. I’m still trying to lose weight but pull-ups are just really hard
Dips is so underrated exercise. Started doing it few months ago, my chest and triceps blew up.
Same, dips and weighted dips have been game changing for me
What's your routine please ?
Ring Dips ftw
same bro,im even getting that horseshoe tricep look
My Uni gym has a dip station but they are angled and not parallel. Parallel all the way >>>>>
As a result it's been hard to get to do dips when I can, im going home from uni now and I'm gonna start hitting dips more frequently. I did them yesterday. High-ish volume bodyweight and tried some sets with additional weight. My shoulders and chest are so pumped right now. That stretch you get on the chest is unparalleled
I'm just about to change my training completely. Bored of the gym, just don't want to do it no more or at least for the moment. Decided to give a try high volume bodyweight calisthenics. I'm new to this, usually had weighted pullups and dips in my regular workouts, but I'm about to try high frequency, high sets and reps, low rest as well. I can only imagine how tough it will be mentally, but over time I should get used to it. Also wonder if it will somewhat mantain my muscle as long as I'll go close or directly at failure.
I think you'll be genuinely surprised (in a good way) with how your body transforms. Calisthenics hits different!
Check out old school calisthenics channel has some great high volume routines
@@Forrestarabian not really.
Maybe try some of Iron Wolf's routines
@@Forrestarabian hahhhahahahah, nah bro... dont get all vegany on us man
Was pressed for time today and gave this a shot. Complete upper body pump. Arms, traps, lats, pecs, shoulders exploded. Made it to 20 dips but the last few rounds could only manage 8 pull ups. Lots of fun and now I have a new challenge!!
Hell yeah man!!!
This is a very hardcore workout to be considered gpp in my opinion
@Erik Awwad general physical preparedness aka the shit you do to increase your work capacity to make you recover faster and handle more volume (sets ,reps and weight and maybe shorter rest periods over time )
Yeah, I would call this an upper body hypertrophy workout lol
This training is a mix of cardio with bodybuilding. It gives you both! Plus GPP to me, means muscle and cardio combined
One of my favorites is 10 Down: handstand push-ups & chin ups superset
Back in the days I started with 10 pullups and 2 dips, and worked back and forward (8 pulls, 4 dips, 6 pulls, 6 dips, 4 pulls, 8 dips, 2 pulls, 10 dips) I miss this! I did this years ago. Thanks for the reminder Alex!
Interesting scheme!
All the ogs remember this exact place in your older videos like 6 years ago haha ❤
Much love to all the OGs!!!!
@@AlexLeonidas lmao i love that video, the 5 rep hulkamania
@@AlexLeonidas I discovered your channel today. I got lots of great information.
I follow your channel closely but I’m not interested in weight training so this kind of video is very appreciated! Makes me feel better about my choice of doing body weight only. Of course I’ll never achieve the level of someone like you but as you know for most people being intermediate is more than enough. Thank you
@Big bankie Bobby the cost was the primary factor, social anxiety was another factor, most gyms are also more bodybuilding oriented with useless machines, I don’t like gym bros, I think the compound movements are dangerous for low back. I feel like bodyweight movement would be like a home cooked meal that doesn’t taste quite as good as fast food but doesn’t have all the nasty chemicals. For pure performance I know it’s hard to beat the barbell but I think for most people basic calisthenics is great. The problem is most people don’t know how to program the basic movements beyond the first 6 months and that’s why I like what Alex is showing.
@@zwip778
Honestly, some things i disagree with but I think that's an excellent take...bodyweight is like a home cooked meal. May not be as delicious as eating out but you feel greater satisfaction when accomplished and you learn body awareness which IMO you literally do not at all get with primarily lifting weights. I really understood how much leverages can take you. I applied my calisthenics knowledge to weightlifting and it's been amazing. I initially didn't want to go to the gym for the social anxiety and whatever but now I enjoy it. I don't get out much now and even if I have my headphones blasting, just having other people around in that environment is good for the mind and body. Also, don't be too harsh on the gym bros. They may look dense but a lot of them are really nice guys haha Since doing loads more weights and calisthenics I learned what my body reacts to better. Never really liked bench as I prefer a deep stretch and such but since trying to improve my bench I have liked it more and more now. DOn't be afraid to try new things, they always help even if its knowing that you don't like them. One thing I realised is that I"m only going to do barbell back squats for quads. No extensions or anything, squats is enough for me. I use weights as a benchmark to see if I've gotten stronger but I mostly do hybrid training
@@kklh7918 You make some very good points and I do tend to be close minded so I have to watch out for that. I think at this point I could get over some of my initial concerns (gym vibe and fees) but there are some stuff that I still think I prefer in body weight training although I have to admit that I only started a year ago and didn’t have the best luck in terms of injuries so I’m still gaining a lot of strength/muscle with simple moves but maybe in a year or two my opinion will change. For example comparing pushups to bench press, I don’t like the idea of resting my back on a bench. I prefer the whole body connection with the core activated you get during push ups. Even when doing pull ups I don’t let my legs just flap around but try to maintain a hollow body position. I’m sure there are ways to keep whole body tension while benching such as arching the back or others but it looks weird and unsafe to me. It may be perfectly safe but it just looks less natural to me and I could be completely wrong. Another basic move that I prefer in body weight is the inverted vs dumbbell/barbell rows. It’s almost the same move but no lower back strain. Knowing how common lower back issues are, I think I’d rather stay with the inverted row. Another advantage in the inverted row is that you tend to cheat less the movement. Right now I get a lot of benefits doing simple stuff but I understand that for more advanced lifters, weights may just be easier to progress with.
Gym people are generally nice people.
I’m a physical therapist- Compound movements strengthen your back by strengthening your muscles, and connective tissue. Strength and stability especially in the lower body and is supreme for back health.
I do calisthenics at over 200 lbs like human flags etc. also do weighted Cali - and lift weights.
Social anxiety is something that will only hold you back. Good to challenge yourself mentally as well as physically vs stagnating by staying comfortable.
@@DrTopLiftDPT although I think your response is correct I think that he is correct in the sense that if you follow a proper routine of progressively overloading on the compounds such as deadlift and squat you can definitely injure your lower back. Of course these muscles are strengthened but at risk vs. Reward some people opt out. I squat and it’s amazing but I don’t deadlift anymore. I do other exercise that work the same posterior muscle and hamstrings. It’s a bit longer but I like it
I've done high volume calisthenics now for maybe one year and got better gains than in the gym. Now I'm back in the gym and my gains in the gym are also getting better because my body can handle a lot more volume
How to program high volume calisthenics?
I absolutely love these videos. When I feel off about the gym, I love doing high rep challenges to get me back engaged
I love your Calisthenics videos. I was wondering if you ever plan to make a Calisthenics progressive program for strength? Thank you for your awesome channel.
100% going to make a full calisthenics program. Thanks for your support!
@@AlexLeonidas when is that coming alex 😭
His last set is what my first set looks like. I have a long way to go
A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step
Keep grinding my dude
Yeah Alex is like the final form
My boy Alex, back at it again, there you go
thank you for this alex, btw you're very lucky to have a park of this quality - mine has a dip station type of deal instead of the long bridge type thing you got going.
Been super setting dips and pull ups ever since I heard you mention how good they work together. Never done the ladder, looks really tough but I’m going to give it a try. Thanks for the content, great as always
Works for calisthenic guys. Progression is the driver of gains. Adding weight is not the only way to progress. Progression means to in someway increasing the demand on your body. Progression works best when one holds all but one variable constant and focuses their entire intent on progressing that one variable. In this example it's getting the next set. So how would one progress this? First, I'm old school (Dr. Ken/Nautilus style) so I would go pull-up dip, but that's a small thing. Make sure you can honestly get to 10 pull-ups and 20 dips. Once there you can choose to increase the ladder i.e 11 and 22 or go back to 1 pull-up and 2 dips and start another ladder. If you choose this you stay w/ the second ladder until you get it to 10 and 20 also. I personally would not rest between ladders, but if you do no more then 2 mns. The rest between ladders could be something you decrease as a way to progress. Maybe you first work up to 3 ladders w/ 5 mns. rest between ladders. Then you work on decreasing that rest between ladders as your next progression. One finale idea. Don't get stuck on this as just a body weight/calisthenics only modality. You can take this same idea to the gym and do say low pulley row and bench.
This workout is perfect for busy people. You have no excuse! With a bit or practice you can pull that off in 10-15min. Let's say one hour max if you do 3 rounds
Hey Alex. A couple of questions:
1. If you fail to complete any of the sets, should you end the workout there and try to achieve more reps next time or should you rest a few seconds and grind the reps (rest pause style) until one reaches the 10/20 goal?
2. Should this be done 2-4x/week in substitution for all upper body work or as a complement?
Thanks!
I know this video is a month old but I decided to give this workout a try since I mainly do low volume calisthenics. I managed to get up to 9 pullups and 18 dips and never in my life have I been so exhausted. I managed to power through it but had to finish the workout with a rest-pause fashion. Nevertheless, I hope the minimal rest time and high volume will supplement my training for Weighted Calisthenics and strength moves.
Never underestimate the GPP! Alex has been advocating it forever, but not that many people do it outside of strongman, most people are just into the gym, do their lifts, go home, but they leave alot on the table by skipping gpp work.
Definitely, being able to handle more volume is a gamechanger
Nothing more satisfying than seen perfectly done pullups 🤤
I did 100 pull ups with 50 lbs. 260 total lbs with body weight. Rope chin ups, and bar neutral, wide, and Supinated included. I was hoping someone would do that challenge from my channel.
🎵 You down with GPP
Yeah you know me 🎵
Don’t ask me why but that kept playing in my head while watching this video
Why?
@@SirWetBiscuit She said don't ask!!
I got myself parallel bars and a pull up station during the quarantine.Since then, the gyms have opened, but due to time restraints, I only get to go 3 times per week, and I've been looking on how to implement my home set up to my normal lifting routine.This seems like a good way to add some volume to my training, without interfering too much with the barbell workout (as long as I don't take the ladders to absolute failure, I guess), so thanks for that.Greetings from Greece.
Years ago I got a gym rat friend of mine who thought body weight training was easy to try something similar. He failed miserably at the pullup/dip ladder and then when we tried the squat/sprint ladder I thought he was going to die
Your arms and shoulders seem to have improved good work!
Thank you Markus!
Thanks markus
Hard work always pays off
Yup
Hey Alex, i was wondering if you've ever seen Ironwolf and his workouts, and what you think of his style of training. Would it possible to combine his method with the proper nutrition to actually build muscle and aesthetics?
Well Iron Wolf is the perfect exemple, he show that it's possible. Just look at his body.
But you will need to eat a lot more, Iron Wolf's workout are very taxing, you burn a insane amount of calories.
Ngl bench has help and so has rows for my home workouts, but it wasn’t until I did my dips and pull ups better and more intense when the gains started coming. I can’t do 10 pull ups straight but I’ll get there same with 20 straight dips.
Don’t give up I used to get max 8 pull-ups now I’m at 11-12...let’s gooooooo
We were waiting for some park/street workout from you Alpha! Reminds me of Team Semi channel! It’s fire 🔥 BASIC REPS AND SETS!!!
Even though this workout is good, I don’t think it is better for hypertrophy than doing moderate volume and high intensity. I know that volume is also a key driver for hypertrophy, but u can’t ignore going almost or to failure on each set. What do u think about it?
Tried this yesterday. Great idea man! Gonna see what other combos work well together.
Alex has evolved so much through time its like he had different personas lol. Kidding aside, I dont know about yall, others had zyzz or david laid to motivate them. I had alex from alphadestiny.
why not both? Zyzz is the legend who started the aesthetic revolution
@@jacobhate i was too young and not into fitness still during zyzz era. goodluck against the hawks lol.
@@sbd8106 Lmaooo & fair, it's cool to have fitness inspirations who put out educational stuff but it never hurts to have some cheesy zyzz sikkunt or Ronnie Coleman workout motivation videos going
og walkout angle as an easter egg right here
Nice, was going to my cardio tomorrow but I think I’ll try this at the calisthenics park as a extra upper body session .
What are the actual benefits of gpp? Won't doing this compromise recovery? Like how would you do this workout 2-4 times/w whilst also training upper body in the gym 2-3 times/w? Would you reduce volume in the gym to compensate for this
Just did this today and it’s the real deal.
Hell yeah man!!
Nice. Did dips and pullups today with my routine. Lovely.
oh i can vouch for this, 20 min you can be destroyed, upper body wise, the lats and upper back get absolutely fried because they get heavily used on both dips and pullups
Alex which equipments are must if I wanna build home gym,kindly make a video about that
Power rack, barbell, bench, weights and bands
Just give this a try today at the end of my workout sessions.
I didnt have a parallel bar at home so I use my gymnastic rings for the dips, have to say I overestimate myself.
I give myself a target to do it until 12 dips and 6 pull ups, and ended up with 8 dips and 4 pull ups.
Cant say I'm doing this with zero rest since I stop every 3 to 10 seconds before continue the workout, but I will come back here to give progress until I get the full 20 dips and 10 pull upsn
Im a fat intermediate going for a super stacked bear mode look and I finally ordered a band. I will take my pullups and lats seriosly from now on and since I have good lat genes and strong rows I’m taking that wideness to the max
You got this bro!! Bear mode pull-ups is serious
@@AlexLeonidas What frequency and rep range would you recommend for someone who can do just a few bodyweight pullups? The band gives maybe 15kg of resistance so I could do maybe 6-10 reps
Interesting combo that will work well for many people. For anyone who can’t do dips or pull-ups, there’s some good progressions to follow to improve those abilities. Love including calisthenics in a training program. 💪
Ohh man finally a calisthenics vdo. Was requesting you for so long. Thanks god 👍
I tried this for 1 round for today because i want to workout quickly right now.
10 rings dips and 10 pull ups is the last.I think I finished it on 25 mins or 30 mins.
Iron Wolf does some really good ladder bodyweight workouts
His are by far the most intense. Crazy how he can go for well over an hour without resting much. Truly inspiring.
I'm doing this 4 times a week but with few secs rest between sets. 5th day i do 8 sets of 20 push ups and 10 pullups. 6th and 7th rest but few forearms work. What do you think of this? Ty
I'm going to implement this into my calisthenics Routine stay shredded 💪🏾👌💯
And if it become too easy, before doing a 2nd round, just add few more reps. 12 pull ups-24 dips all the way up to 15 pull ups-30 dips if you have the strenght and endurance !
Been following you for years and your arms look better than ever man! You always had great forearms but upper arms weren't like this
Hey Alex, I want to do Nucleus Overload on my triceps. Should I do that and also do my arms training, or stop the triceps training and only do the nucleus overload for a month?
Unfortunately I cannot perform dips because I have a posterior unstable shoulder joint. Might need surgery or intense shoulder rehab before I return to pressing movements.
Big man doing calisthenics. Pure power.
what advice for people, who dont really retract their scapula while doing presses or dips? is it necessary? surely for injury prevention, but in terms of bodybuilding and strength building (actually asking for a friend)
if your back isn't tight, you're going to stall out on the press at a pretty light weight. in terms of muscle growth, it isn't particularly relevant
Made the mistake of waiting till after I benched to try this out. Only made it to round 12/6
This is what I exactly do.A ladder up to 10, then down to 1. For some days I pair dips+Pull-ups, and pike push up+Chins.
Next workout use a similar regimen but do push UPS and underhanded grip for pull ups... boom. Is simple and cool video bro!
Hell yeah GPP, more of this content pls or point me to more of it that you can recommend.
Alex, no ofense bud...but what do you do to have these amazing bbbbttttsssss
Shoulders looking nice and round
That must hurt next day !! Calisthenics just like Chris Heria , good one Alex
Chris Heria🤡😨🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
Dude, don't compare Alex with Chris Heria. Alex produces good content for youtube and seems to be a nice person. Chris Heria makes video on "workouts to burn belly fat", he produces a type of content aiming at deceiving begginers.
@@Gabriel-ds6ru let’s respect everyone
I don't respect him bc he doesn't respect his viewers
Hey Alex, the past few workouts I had some pretty bad headaches while training and I don't really know what the cause can be. I tried drinking more water but still that didn't help
Should I rest for a week or are there other things I can do about it
People need more water than they think. Try a gallon of water and eat a few tbsp of salt. I would also eat some sugar and carbs before workouts, a tall glass of orange juice and a dark chocolate bar. And then make sure you are getting your sleep in. 8-10 hours.
Could also be muscle tension in your neck/traps. Try to message those muscle groups with a foam roller, or get someone else to do it with hands.
Also make sure you have your general nutrition on point, protein and calories. And use blue light blocking glasses. Also getting up early, but with 8+ hrs sleep.
@@spinge8026 thanks
I love this content man!!!
Great workout man, looks like fun!
You inspire me always 🥰💪
Let’s get it !
Was waiting for Calisthenics content! Hope more is on the way!!!
More is definitely on the way!! Stay tuned homies
@@AlexLeonidas definitely man!
I'm a powerlifter and my conditioning is too shit and my program is volume heavy to the point where I take about 3-4 hours per training session. Please do a vid on how do I add conditioning to my program so I cut less and less time to my overall training sessions.
Too long its junk volume
1) starting small with like 5-10min of low intensity cardio and gradually building it up
2) off season you could make it a priority to build back up to your numbers but with less rest, making cardio a priority, etc. or just a program thatll let you focus more on conditioning while maintaining strength
3) supersetting your accessories
progressive overload idea. Once you can do this, start doing it with 10lb on a dip belp
I think adding weight to this could start to hurt your recovery. Remember Alex is only using this as GPP. I suppose if you did this as one of your regular upper body sessions then that could work.
Do cold showers / ice baths / cold exposure affect hypertrophy and strength gains?
And same question for hot / cold alternating exposure?
No, but cold exposure affect cardio.
You can gain cardio with cold exposure.
Look about cold exposure and cardiovascular system
Does this workout activate your chest? Or does this not count as a chest workout and you would do additional push ups?
You're looking great bro ! A question do you think your traps got smaller when you stopped doing all the rack pulls? I think your traps were more jacked
Yeah they were a bit bigger when I was specializing with yoke training but they've still maintained quite nicely! I like their size
Hey Alex I remember you mentioned that squats tend to be better for carryover to the deadlift than the other way around. Does this still hold true between a low bar squat and a sumo deadlift, using the same foot stance on both
Im going to try this right now!
MY MAN
Would you recommend replacing pull ups and dips with push ups and rows if you can't do pull ups and dips in that kinda volume yet?
Absolutely!
I did this workout yesterday without having watched the video beforehand. What can I say besides great minds think alike😉
Alex, do you recommend having a volume and intensity day for calisthenics as well? Thank you
Yes he does recommend this with the weighted pull-up
Thought I can do it.Couldn't do it.Humbling expierence(going to the park after few months everything has changed)
You'll get there man! Glad you gave it a shot
Is a one armed chin-up equivalent to doing your body weight for a single in weighted chins?
I can’t do that many dips and pull ups? Is it okay to just circuit training quickly back and chest without full failure as a way to boos work capacity also? Dip pull up pushups rows chest press and cable pull up machine?
Yup ! Im around the same size and strength as him in the upperbody, but with a larger frame (taller) I have bigger arms, he has better delts tho. I love to do Bench back to back with Pull-ups and Dips back to back with Rows and similar blends. I use it as a mann workout though and throw in one delt focued lift accesory and one arm focused accesory alternating biceps , triceps and forearms from workout to workout.
The time my lats were at my absolutte widest and my body the best I did this in a week. Look at the low volume thou;
Monday
Close Grip Bench - 125 x 50, 225 x 20, 315 to 440 x Max rep
Monday
Bench as above
Pull-ups Ladders 1-2-3-4-5-1-2-3-4-1-2-3 then going up to about 15 at the end when I progressed
Lateral Raises - 6 sets of 6 with RP15
Strict BB curl - Either 4 sets of 8 or 6 sets of 3 every other time. Heaviest I did was 200 for 3 reps
Ab work - 4 sets lower, 3 sets upper abs
Thursday
Weighted Dips - BW X 20, +45 x 15, +90 x 10, +135 x 8, 180 - 220 added for Max
Seated Rows - 5 sets of 8 or 6 sets of 6 with RP12, going to fail on last set
One Arm Extensions Triceps DB - 22 x 50, 44x25, 66x12, 90xMax withouth failing
Forearm work - 3 sets of Reverse Curls then 3 sets of Wrist Curl. Up to one heavy set then two backdown set
This got me at my best Ive been withouth steroids in the upperbody. Didnt do leg work at this time. Nowadays I do Pistol Squats weighted , but I back doen if they get big and just keeps the weight at the same, Im not trying to get huge legs, and legs grow very easy , and in my opinion dosent look good. Many look narrow in the shoulders with too big legs. I love the 1980 Gunnar Rosbo look or Robby Robinson. Mike Mentzer also looked crazy
Thats only for upperbody tho
Did 2 rounds to 4/8 this morning thst was enough . The no rest is hard
I do weighted dips and w pull ups i ll continue to do them for 2 monthels and i ll see the results
Can you add squats to this ladder too for a full body GPP workout?
Hey man how do u bulk and still get abs cutting is hard bro geting abs is tough
Never though to do my pull up/dip supersets like this
As a calisthenics guy, I used to do this but I went from 1 pull up and 2 dips to 10 pull ups and 20 dips and all the way back down to 1 pull up and 2 dips. It's a fun way to train but I got a bit tired of if because it's so repetitive, but it sure is a good challenge.
I would add: time it and always try to beat your record
That's what's up!!!!
I became familiar with ladder style of training from IronWolf RUclips channel. It's really simple and effective. Have you ever come accross his channel? Would be great to get your take on his style of training, it's really hardcore.
Love his channel!! One of the realest I've ever come across after years of being in this fitness scene.
Gonna add this to my 5x5/4x4-6 m,w,f
The pull ups kill me at the sixth set 😭
Yesterday I couldn't even close my hands after the seventh, had to rest
replace pullups with body rows if not strong enough for all 55? or regress to bosyrows when form is garbage. No rest, this is crazy my form on the pulls would be dumpster fire level gawdayium
God... This might actually be my next upper body day. Throw in some rows and yeah
What are your thoughts on adding in body weight squats to this workout? Or jump squats?
It would be a nice tool for building additional work capacity, while giving the upper body a bit of rest. Great idea, honestly.
@@AlexLeonidas thanks!
I'm 32. I started weight training at 30. I get little injuries here and there, I think it's because I started late and the reality is I'll never have an easy time like someone who started younger. I'm seriously considering changing everything. Doing mostly a calisthenics focused program with dumbells and bands for some accessory. I just don't have fun using a barbell and being scared of injuring myself every time. I also don't have access to a trainer and I can't easily afford to fix a major injury, so it doesn't make sense to lift a barbell. I want to do something I can do in my 60's and 70's. I don't want to be huge either, I just want to be healthy.
Hey Joe, I'm in your EXACT same situation! I'm 30 and I started to work out just a couple (maybe 3) years ago, and I feel that I started late too... I actually did use weights just for little time in the beginning but I switched shortly to bodyweight training but unfortunately I get some injuries here and there anyway... ...that's way I'm trying to keep it the simplest as possible but in the same time in the most efficient way, like pull ups & dips supersetted 2x-3x a week. I noticed that stretching a lot even the days after the workout, cold showers (however starting with warm water) and some arnica gel sometimes help.
I wish you the best my friend!
Dips are the squat of the upper body amazing exercised
If i had that set up in my nearby park…
For under $120 you can build one if you have access to a saw and a drill + hole saw. Buy 16 ft of 4x4, 15 ft 1 inch pipe and a couple 2x4 for bracing. If you want more info, comment. You can also build dip bars from PVC but unless you're handy with tools, it's more time and cost effective to buy one online, especially if you intend to put more than 225 lbs on them.
Your pump it's amazing.. Better do only this and no weights
That's not very savvy
I can’t do 1 pull-up how can I progress. What’s the best advice you can give? I hear so much shit about negatives I’ve been following your novice program for 3 months. I started doing pull-ups at the end on workout B but it was affecting my workouts. I’ve used bands, I’ve trained with callisthenics 4 months prior to joining gym. Still couldn’t get a pull-up. Lost 20lbs I’m at 250 6ft 2. I’m still trying to lose weight but pull-ups are just really hard
Because negatives work
This is a great workout I'm definitely trying it
I do equal number of reps but overload the dips with resistance bands. The lockouts are really hard
i'm just mind blown he can do 90lbs pullups for 14 reps