There’s no shortage of Calisthenics fitness training programs available online. These range from great to terrible, life-changing to scammy, and unfortunately it usually requires money to find out the quality of a particular course. They tend to use long sales pages and videos, and a lot of marketing hype to sell you on their end-all-be-all system. Reliable reviews for these types of products are pretty rare.
In this article, we’re going to go through a few of these courses, and see if they’re worth the money and time, or not.
I’m going to keep this as concise as possible because at the end of the day all that matters is:
What does the course include?
And, should I buy it, or not?
Note: I won’t be going over any utterly useless or scammy products. Why waste time?
If you want to get the most out of these courses, we recommend you create a calisthenics home gym.
Physique Zero
The Good: This course is condensed, clear, and does a great job of covering the basics of calisthenics, and strength training in general. Would be great for beginners and those looking to get into calisthenics without going all in on a big program or lifestyle change.
The Bad: A bit gimmicky in the marketing and not sufficient if you progress and become advanced.
Recommended?
Physique Zero would be good for beginners and those who want a quick calisthenics primer and workout, maybe to supplement another workout program.
Forbidden Fitness Secrets of a Modern Day Ninja Warrior
The Good: This course actually includes a lots of information I’d never heard or seen before. This includes workouts that are uncommon and also fun to preform, like the stick drills and subtle tweaks on common movements. The exercises are all clearly explained, and so are the progressions as you advance in the course. I really think some of these movements could make a big impact in preventing injuries, and increasing joint strength. This is something a lot of courses don’t cover.
The Bad: The branding and marketing is somewhat gimmicky. Also, this isn’t necessarily a full workout plan, but more like a supplement to pair with another course or more robust regimen.
Recommended?
If you enjoy martial arts style training, and are keen to learn small modifications that beef up basic exercises, this course is worth the money.
Bar Brothers: The System
The Good: The Bars Brothers are one of the biggest names in calisthenics and online fitness training in general. I had the high expectations going into this course, especially after I saw the promo video. It was clear they’re not just selling a product, but a community and lifestyle.
The 12-week course includes weekly videos and extras on things like mindset and nutrition. The nutrition content was surprisingly good, with different diets meant for different body types, as well as recipes for both pre and post-workout shakes.
The course starts with a diagnostic test so that your program is customized to your current level of strength and mobility. This surprised me, and I think it's one of the course's biggest strengths. Advanced calisthenics movements are daunting if not built up to correctly and at the right pace.
The videos and exercises themselves are well designed, and included some movements I wasn’t familiar with, and had fun integrating into my workouts. The mindset videos were also useful, especially on a 12-week course intended for variety of body types and fitness levels.
You can tell these guys really care, and have made calisthenics part of their lifestyle.
The price is totally reasonable for what you get, and there are also a few add ons if you really enjoy the core product.
The Bad: I’ve read in other reviews that some beginners struggle with this program, and have to repeat the early stages. I don’t think there’s necessarily anything wrong with repeating those stages, and going through the course at your own pace. However, if you’re able to do a few pull ups already, and are in decent shape overall, you should have no problem with The Bars Brothers Course.
Recommended?
If I had to choose one course to recommend to someone trying to get into calisthenics training, this would be it. The community is a huge selling point, as is the creators' obvious passion for what they’re doing. The course itself could take someone from nothing to excellent shape in the 12 weeks, and get them ready to design their own workouts as they progress even further.
Warrior Zero Bodyweight Challenge
The Good: This product is intended for men over 40, and I think it succeeds in its purpose. The videos are well made, and the program itself is quite well rounded. It covers major exercises, mental training, nutrition, injury healing and prevention, scaling, and even pbreathing. The scope of the program is its strong point, and it was really nice having so many different areas covered in one place.
The workouts are well designed, and the focus on scaling and training yourself on form in order to get the most out of your workouts was really useful.
The Bad: This is more of a general health and fitness program than a straight calisthenics course for someone looking to get ripped and fit as fast as possible.
Recommended?
If you want basically everything you need in one place, along with a solid program with great scaling, Warrior Zero will work well for you.
Rapid Primal Fitness
The Good: This product is made by the Tapp brothers, who have made a name for themselves as online fitness gurus. They’ve released several fitness related products.
On the one hand, their youtube presence lends them a certain credibility. On the other, one has to wonder why a paid course is worth it with so much similar free content out there. Luckily, this course actually includes a lot of high quality information and video that’s not available in the Tapp Brother’s free content. The course focuses on mobility, coordination and strength, teaching mostly though videos.
Also, the ‘primal’ methodology is pretty cool, and the Tapp Brothers seem to have actually taken it seriously, integrating movements and mindsets that aren’t just standard exercises branded as ‘primal’. The course is well rounded, and the exercises themselves scale well and would be useful to anyone who has struggled with injury or overtraining in the past.
The Bad: This course is pretty expensive and has a focus on athleticism that some might not be interested in. If you’re not interested in working on stretching, mobility, interval cardio etc. then a lot of this course will be wasted on you. Same goes for the sections on nutrition.
Recommended?
For someone looking to buy a product that will help them not just with muscle gaining, but also nutrition, mobility, speed, and athleticism, Rapid Primal Fitness is a good way to go, despite the high price tag.
Calisthenics Academy (Progressive Calisthenics)
The Good: The standout point for the Calisthenics Academy is definitely the gamification they offer in their workouts. This along with the tracking, and community aspect are fantastic for people looking for help with motivation, and the measuring of progress. You can also set goals and time frames for your workouts, making this one of the most customizable calisthenics courses out there.
The workouts and movements themselves are well explained, well designed, and well matched for the users skill level.
On top of that, this course is really affordable.
The Bad: Some of the workouts could probably be built using free content available online. I had trouble loading up some of the materials a few times.
Recommended?
If you’re looking for customizability, community, and a tracking system for your calisthenics workouts, Calisthenics Academy is a good way to go. Of all the courses, it's probably what I'd recommend to a total beginner just looking to get in shape.
Conclusion
There's some value in all of the above courses, depending on what you're looking for. But if you're a moderate to beginner, looking to jumpstart your progress or get into calisthenics for real for the first time, I have three primary recommendations:
3. 'Overcoming Gravity' by Steven Low (For designing your own workouts)
I think the above is a deadly combination, and enough to take an ultra-beginner all the way up to an advanced level and a killer physique.
Note: We earn a commission on purchases of these courses generated through our links. This does not influence our opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of each product.
I know this article is from last year, but I have a question or two. I am a man, almost 60, in good shape, but I would like an exercise program, a complete one. However, I see some programs here require a bar or some other equipment. I am interested esp. in the Warrior Zero program since it targets men over 40. Progressive Calisthenics seems good, too. I am not interested in becoming a top athlete, but I am looking for a well-rounded program that doesn't require special equipment. What do you recommend? Thanks.
Thanks for the recommendations. Really cool.
Just wondering, you did not describe ALL your recommendations, therefore, I'm going to have to replace the undescribed one with what I think is the best based on what you've described.
So I'll replace Overcoming Gravity (the undescribed one) with Rapid Primal Fitness as far as I can see.