A beginner calisthenics routine (full-body, 3 days a week)

Most beginners fail not for lack of effort but for lack of a plan — they do random push-ups and squats, never track anything, and drift. This is a complete full-body calisthenics routine built for beginners: three sessions a week, every major movement pattern covered, and clear progressions so you always know what harder looks like. It needs only a pull-up bar and, ideally, a resistance band.

Warm up first (5 minutes)

Never skip this. Five minutes of light cardio to raise your heart rate, then joint prep for the wrists, shoulders and hips, then a few easy reps of the first exercise. A proper warm-up is the cheapest injury insurance there is, especially for the shoulders and elbows that bodyweight training loads heavily.

The routine

Do all five exercises in each session, 3 sets each, resting 60 to 120 seconds between sets. Pick the hardest variation you can do for clean reps in the target range, and stop each set a rep or two short of failure.

• Pull (horizontal or vertical) — bodyweight rows or band-assisted pull-ups, 3 sets of 5 to 10. Progression: negatives, then full pull-ups.
• Push (horizontal) — push-ups, incline if needed, 3 sets of 8 to 15. Progression: decline, then diamond, then archer.
• Legs — bodyweight squats, 3 sets of 10 to 20. Progression: split squats, then Bulgarian split squats, then pistol progressions.
• Push (vertical) — dips with feet supported, 3 sets of 5 to 12. Progression: full dips, then weighted or ring dips.
• Core — plank or hollow hold, 3 sets of 20 to 45 seconds. Progression: leg raises, then tuck front lever work.

The weekly schedule

Run the same full-body session three times a week — for example Monday, Wednesday and Friday — with at least one rest day between sessions. Full-body three times a week beats fancy splits for beginners because it practises each pattern often, which is exactly what you need while your nervous system is learning the movements.

How to progress

• Add reps each week until you reach the top of the target range.
• Then add a set, or slow the tempo, before jumping to a harder variation.
• Only advance a variation when the current one feels controlled with reps to spare.
• Track every session so you can see the numbers climb — progress is slow enough that memory will lie to you.
• Take an easy deload week every 4 to 8 weeks.

This is general fitness information, not medical advice. Warm up, progress gradually, and if anything hurts sharply, stop. Run this consistently and within a few months you will have your first pull-up, cleaner push-ups, and a real base to build skills on.