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GymnasticBodies Project

The GymnasticBodies Instagram account contains over 7000 posts of bodyweight exercises, gymnastics strength training and flexibility/mobility work. But the problem is all this information is unorganized and can only be viewed in chronological order. And as you know, I have a knack for organizing large swaths of information and I was feeling the need to satisfy an inner craving to do something like this again, as I had done with the Mobility Project, Floreio Project, Hamstring Flexibility Guides, Comprehensive Handstand Tutorial, and so forth.

So who better than me that has a blog, dual monitors, a 90wpm typing speed, a keen understanding of (and love for) bodyweight training, in combination with a deep understanding of the human body, to organize all this information? You know who! Anyway, without further ado, I present to you the most organized list of calisthenic-focused exercises you could find on one page!

Note: I didn’t list any uninteresting photos, or redundant posts, or any boring “basics” we’ve seen a billion times. A post made the cut only if the demonstration was clean and the exercise is effective and not superfluous in my opinion. Because of this, most of the content didn’t make the cut, but the ones that did, are pretty great. Almost all of the posts are reposts from other accounts, so you may get into multiple rabbit holes of other peoples content if you search further as well.

L-sit, V-sit and Manna Related

L-sit /V-sit related
- L-sit Lifts
- Advanced L-sit
- V-sit Lifts with Band
- V-sit Straddle
- Straddle-L Demo
- L-sit to Candlesticks
- L-sit walks
- L-sit swivels and straddles with block (last 2 exercises in video)
- L-sit Partner Assisted (alternatively remove support from each leg momentarily)
- Supplemental to L-sit
  - Seated Pike Leg Lifts (my tutorial)
  - Seated Straddle Leg Lifts (one leg at a time or both)
  - Seated Straddle Leg Lifts with 2 Blocks
  - Seated Pike and Straddle Lifts with 2 blocks
  - Seated Unilateral Leg Lifts with block
  - Pike Push throughs
  - V-Up with a Bar
Manna Related
- Middle Split Hold
- Middle Split Hold to Manna
- Elevated Middle Split Hold
- Manna wall slides (looks cool but hardest thing to enter, lol)
- Manna wall slides with ankle weights
- Manna partner assisted
- Manna partner assisted (by lifting feet with knees at their back)

For More Check Out Advanced L-sit, V-sit, Manna and Straddle L-sit Progressions

Handstand Related

Beginner HS Work
Handstand Drills
- Wall Runs (hand to opposite elbow)
- Wall Runs (Hand to Same Shoulder)
- Wall Runs (Hand to Waist)
- Tuck HS shape with mats
Press HS Drills
- Box Press Drills
- Wall Straddle Press (really hard on the wrists, turn them out, lower slowly)
  - Pike Press and Straddle Press with Float for a moment
- Pike Press Walks
- Wall Facing Straddle Press Hold
One Arm HS drills:
- Parallette shifting (hard to setup for)
- Using Blocks
Handstand Demos
- Straight arm L-sit press to Handstand
- Bent arm press HS
- HS walks on Parallel bars
- Pike Press HS
- Freestanding HSPU
- Plow Pose to Handstand Pushup to Other things
- Straddle Press HS
- Crow Pose Press
- Zombie Press
- L-sit to Full Planche / L-sit Press HS
- Negative Stalder Press Negative (starting out against a wall)
HSPU
- Chest to wall HSPU (Almost perfect execution, hands far from wall, feet barely touching, always pointed, preferably nose to floor for more range, cause crown to floor is less than 90 degree elbow bend)
- For More Info Check Out How to do Pike Pushups with Perfect Form and Setup

For More Check Out The Most Comprehensive Handstand Tutorial

Core/Ab Specific

Bodyline Drills
- My follow along video for the 5 bodyline drills
Plank Variants
Reverse Plank Variants
- Ag Walks (requires furniture sliders)
- Ag walks with bands
Core Workout
- - 10 reps single leg lift (both reps are 1 rep)
  - 10 pike extensions
  - 10 hll’s
  - 10 l-sit lifts
Long/Prone Hollow Hold
- Hollow Long Pushup Variation
- Single Arm Prone Hollow Hold
- Front support tuck to planche (first vid)
- Arch/hollow snaps (Really funny looking)
General Core Stuff:
Hanging Leg Lifts
- Toes To Bar
- Russian Leg Lifts
- Kip Extensions
  - My Tutorial on Kip Extensions
- One Arm Hanging Leg Lifts
  - One Arm Lift to Meat Hook
- One Arm Hanging Leg Lifts, just being able to do 5 of these is very beastly.
- Straddle Leg Lifts
Dragon Flag (BodyLevers)
- Core Combo: Dragon flag variations (single leg extensions, tuck to full repeats, dragon flags.)
- Intermediate: Dragon Flag Walks
- Advanced: Dragon Flag with straight arms
  - Straight arm dragon flag
- For More Info Check Out My Dragon Flag Tutorial

Legs

Rolling Deck Squats
Weighted Cossack Squats
Skater Squats
Sissy Squat Negatives
Leg Extensions (aka falling tower)
- Another Demo
Top of Ankle Squats
Glute Ham Raise
- Another Demo
Rocking Pistol Squats
Weighted Pistol Squats (mitigates lack of ankle flexibility)
Wall Facing Squats (excellent for forcing chest up)

Pulling

General Pulling
- Watch My Vids on How to do Proper Pullups and How to do Pullups If You Can’t Do Any
- Hanging Scapular Rolls
- Towel Pullups (good training for grip needed for rope climb)
- Towel Assisted One Arm Chin
  - Mantle Pullups
- Archer Pullups
- Nanners (Pull up, pull over, reverse, maintain chin over bar)
- Strict Bar Muscleup
  - Strict Ring Muscleups
- Foot Supported Bar Muscle Ups
- Bulgarian Pullups
- Yewkis (Pull up into bent arm front lever)
Front Lever Related

Pushing

General Pushing
- Watch My Tutorial On How To Do Proper Pushups
- Scapular Dips
- Deep AF Dips (Shoulder to Bar)
- Elbow Lowers
- Pseudo Planche Pushups
- Rings Pushups (easier to harder: basic pushup, bent arm ring fly, straight arm ring fly)
- Pelican Pushups
- Tuck Planche Pushups
- Dead Planche Press
- Straight arm Ring Fly
- Tuck Planche to bent arm full planche

Planche
- Planche leans with furniture slider (last exercise)
- Parallettes: Tuck Planche dip to bent arm planche
- Frog (half straddle) planche
- Partner assisted planche lean to bent arm planche
- Front Delt Raises

Dips
- Band Assisted Ring Dips
- Korean Dips (using momentum helps a lot here)
  - Band Assisted Hefesto
- Bulgarian Ring Dips
- Dip to Tuck Planche (and arch ups, MU to tuck planche, chicken wings, dip to tuck.
- L-sit Ring Dips

Hollowback press
- Bowers (aka hollowback press / 90 deg ppushup)
- Straddle hollowback press

Shoulder Isolation Specific

Dislocates/Inlocates
- Watch My Tutorial on Skin the Cat and German Hangs
- Foot Supported Ring Dislocate
- Skin the cat all the way around
- Skin the cat air walking (showy move, not difficult)
- Skin the cat and dislocate/inlocate with feet through bar (supinated grip)
- Dislocates on Flying Rings
- Weighted Dislocates
- Prone, overgrip dislocates
External Shoulder Rotation:
- Cuban Rotations
- ER with a Band

Multiplane Movements / Prehab
- Lat Flies

Glutes and Lower Back

Glutes and Lower Back
- Arch Ups (hard to setup for typically, Reverse Hyperextensions are better)
- Arch Ups using GHR
- Arch Ups with Twist
- Easy Variation
- Stall bar Stretches
- Inverted Pike Stretch on Stall Bars (you can pull this off on childrends playgrounds or ladders, too)
- Another one, better progression
- Pike flexibility progression
- Different ideas
Glute Isolation
- Wall Leg Lifts

All Things Flexibility & Mobility

Flexibility: Wrists
- Wrist warm up
- Palm Pulses / Fingertip pushups
- Pronation/Supination Stretch
- Ulnar/Radial Deviation in Plank
- Pushup to Fingertip Hold
- Gold Tutorials Of Mine:
  - Palm Pulse Progressions (my tutorial)
  - Back of Hand Wrist Pushup Progression (my tutorial)
  - How to avoid wrist pain in yoga and bodyweight exercises
  - Dealing with Wrist Sprains
Flexibility: Shoulder Hyperextension (needed for german hang, manna, back lever, skin the cat)
- Weighted Piked Shoulder Extension (10 repetitions with a 10 second static hold)
  - same but with a barbell video
  - same but with a partner pushing further
Flexibility: Hips
Flexibility: Thoracic extension/ Backbending
- Back extension against wall
- Resisted thoracic rotation with a looped band
- Cat Cow with Hands Elevated (My Tutorial)
- Band Assisted Locust Pose with bands at feet
- Band Assisted Locust Pose with band at arms
Active Flexibility / Mobility: Shoulder retraction
- Wall extensions (sit in a squat against wall)
- Prone Angels
- Bent arm External Rotation and Straight arm Retraction

Flexibility: Thoracic Extension/shoulderflexion(lats)
- Push another in hang (this surprisingly requires a lot of effort by the partner if you’re heavier than them)
- Hanging Cobra
Flexibility: Front Splits
Flexibility: Middle Splits/Pancakes
- Kettlebell Weighted Splits
- Intermediate: Pancake Side Stretch (1st half)
- Advanced: Middle Split Roll Through
Flexibility: Pancakes
Flexibility: Pike
Flexibility: Bridge

Fun Stuff with a Partner

Parallel Bar, Climbing Rope, Stall Bars, Human Flag and Unclassified

Parallel Bar Specific
Climbing Rope
- Dynamic Pushup and Rope Plank Holds
Stall bar strength
- Reverse leg lifts
- Russian Leg Lifts
Side Lever / Human Flag Drills
Unclassified

Change Log: Last Updated July 30, 2019

July 30, 2019

Published v1.0
Extremely well received on reddit with 3000 upvotes making it the top 10 posts of all time.

July 23, 2019

Up to Date Since July 23, 2019. Went As Far back as November 1, 2017, probably around 5000 posts. Chrome and Firefox would have memory issues loading that much on the endless scroll but Brave Browser held up like a champ. Have amassed close to 300 quality posts thus far.

April 28, 2019

Started compiling.

Want More? Check out my other compendiums!

The Most Comprehensive Handstand Tutorial
How to make ANY Bodyweight exercise more or less difficult
The GymnasticBodies Project: Complete organization of GB’s content.
The Floreio Project: Complete organization of Ido Portal’s content.
- The Floreio Project: Combining Floreio Movements: Stringing floreio movements together
The Mobility Project: Organizing mobility-related content of many experts.
Hamstring Flexibility Guides: Four guides from beginners to advanced
MobilityWOD videos organized by muscle, body part and exercise
The best damn Acro-Yoga videos for beginners

GymnasticBodies Project

Want More? Check out my other compendiums!

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