Beginner Calisthenics Workout Plan (3 Day)
Three 10-minute bodyweight circuits a week, built on the movements every calisthenics skill starts from. Full exercise list, sets and reps for each day.
- Days per week
- 3
- Session length
- 15 min
- Exercises
- 24
- Level
- Beginner
- Equipment
- No equipment
Your week
- MonDay 1 · Full-Body Basics
- TueRest
- WedDay 2 · Upper & Core Focus
- ThuRest
- FriDay 3 · Lower & Balance
- SatRest
- SunRest
Free on iPhone and Android, or adjust it in the web planner
The workouts
Day 1 — Full-Body Basics
Move through each exercise once with short rests. Focus on smooth, controlled reps.
About 15 minutes · 8 exercises| # | Demo | Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Push up (on knees)Rest 20s | 1 × 8 | 20s | |
| 2 | Underhand Grip Inverted Back RowRest 20s | 1 × 8 | 20s | |
| 3 | HyperextensionRest 20s | 1 × 10 | 20s | |
| 4 | Bent Leg Side Kick (kneeling)Rest 20s | 1 × 10 | 20s | |
| 5 | Dead BugRest 20s | 1 × 10 | 20s | |
| 6 | Bird DogRest 20s | 1 × 8 | 20s | |
| 7 | Lateral Side Plank (bent leg)Rest 20s | 1 × 20s | 20s | |
| 8 | Single Leg Foot TouchRest 20s | 1 × 8 | 20s |
Day 2 — Upper & Core Focus
Quick circuit to groove basic push/pull patterns and core control.
About 15 minutes · 8 exercises| # | Demo | Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wide Hand Push upRest 20s | 1 × 8 | 20s | |
| 2 | One Arm Towel RowRest 20s | 1 × 10 | 20s | |
| 3 | Lying Leg RaiseRest 20s | 1 × 10 | 20s | |
| 4 | Hip Lift - Low Back Off FloorRest 20s | 1 × 10 | 20s | |
| 5 | Oblique CrunchRest 20s | 1 × 10 | 20s | |
| 6 | Bent Leg Kickback (kneeling)Rest 20s | 1 × 10 | 20s | |
| 7 | Lateral Side Plank (bent leg)Rest 20s | 1 × 20s | 20s | |
| 8 | Dead BugRest 20s | 1 × 10 | 20s |
Day 3 — Lower & Balance
Lower-body patterns plus balance and trunk stability.
About 15 minutes · 8 exercises| # | Demo | Exercise | Sets × Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Diamond Push up (on knees)Rest 20s | 1 × 8 | 20s | |
| 2 | Underhand Grip Inverted Back RowRest 20s | 1 × 8 | 20s | |
| 3 | Bent Leg Side Kick (kneeling)Rest 20s | 1 × 10 | 20s | |
| 4 | HyperextensionRest 20s | 1 × 10 | 20s | |
| 5 | Single Leg Foot TouchRest 20s | 1 × 8 | 20s | |
| 6 | Lunge with TwistRest 20s | 1 × 8 | 20s | |
| 7 | Bird DogRest 20s | 1 × 8 | 20s | |
| 8 | Lateral Side Plank (bent leg)Rest 20s | 1 × 20s | 20s |
About this plan
Three sessions a week, bodyweight only, with a genuine pull in every one. That last part is what separates this from most beginner bodyweight plans, which quietly turn into push-up programmes.
Day one runs knee push-ups, underhand inverted rows, hyperextensions, kneeling side kicks, dead bugs, bird dogs, a bent-leg side plank and single-leg foot touches. Day two moves to wide-hand push-ups, a one-arm towel row, lying leg raises, hip lifts, oblique crunches, kneeling kickbacks and more side plank and dead bug work. Day three adds diamond knee push-ups, returns to inverted rows, and finishes with side kicks, hyperextensions, foot touches and a lunge with a twist.
The inverted row is the exercise to arrange your life around. Any waist-height bar works, and so does a sturdy table edge — lie underneath, grip, and pull your chest to it. If you have neither, the towel row on day two is the fallback: loop a towel around a door handle and lean back. Without one of these, three days a week of pressing with nothing pulling will round your shoulders forward over a few months.
Knee push-ups and diamond knee push-ups are starting points, not a category you are stuck in. Move to a full push-up when every set finishes with your hips in line and your elbows tracking back rather than flaring. Most people get there in four to eight weeks.
Progress by making a movement harder rather than doing more of it. Slow the lowering phase to three seconds, pause at the bottom, narrow your hands, or elevate your feet. Adding a fourth set of an exercise you have outgrown does very little.
Leave a day between sessions. Three hard sessions with recovery beats five rushed ones, and the plan is built assuming you take it.
Train this plan in the app
LoadMuscle carries all 3 routines with a demo for every exercise, and logs your sets as you go, so next session you can see what to beat. Free on iPhone and Android. Want something built around your own schedule and equipment instead? Try the free workout planner.
