If you have limited time and equipment, but want to get in great shape, then the Ultimate 6 Week Calisthenic HIIT Workout Plan is for you. This is a 5 day per week program designed to be done with little to no equipment. It will help you build muscle mass, strength, and tremendous conditioning. I will also include a free PDF download for this program, as well as some nutrition and recovery resources that will help maximize your potential. Keep reading for more.
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last several years, you’ve heard of high-intensity interval training, otherwise known as HIIT. It’s a research proven method of increasing your fitness and muscle mass, in a short amount of time.
As the name implies, it’s high intensity, and you must work hard to see realistic gains. In this program I’ve combine HIIT style training, with body weight calisthenics movements to create a potent training stimulus. Check the overview below for this program.
The Ultimate 6 Week Calisthenic HIIT Program: Overview
- 5 Day split full body routine, with optional 6th day
- Designed for beginner and intermediate athletes
- Includes cardiovascular conditioning work as well as bodyweight movements
- Calisthenics workouts typically last 20-40 minutes in length
- Can be done outdoors or indoors
- Great for functional fitness athletes who can’t get to a gym
I imagine most of you reading this have access to a gym, or have a gym membership, but that doesn’t always mean you have time to get there. Many of my readers have high demand jobs and can’t always get a full gym session in. This is a great program for those athletes.
It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling, deployed, or just have no access to a gym. If you need an effective 6 week calisthenic based high intensity interval training program then this should help. Even if you’re an advanced athlete these workouts can be great to do when you just don’t have time to get to the gym, or if you want a little extra conditioning, apart from your normal strength and conditioning program.
Before we get into the specifics of each week of the program. We’ll cover what each session should look like in terms of a warm up, and cool down. We will also cover how to modify this program if you’re unable to perform some of the more difficult movements.
The Ultimate 6 Week Calisthenic HIIT Workout Plan
The vast majority of these sessions can be done inside or outside, with very little space required. For my athletes, I recommend that they start each workout session, with 3-5 minutes of easy cardio. This could be a brisk walk, jog, or jump rope. You can also use any other piece of cardio equipment you like. The goal here is to warm up the body for the workout.
Next, I recommend some active stretching of each major muscle group you will be using in the workout. If there are a lot of air squats or reverse lunges, then you can practice these movements, focusing on proper technique and full range of motion. I will give you an example of how I do this on a heavy pull up day.
After my 3-5 minute general warm up, I will head to my pull-up bar and execute one good rep. I then walk around for 20-30 seconds, and perform 2 reps. I increase in this manner, by one rep, until I get to 4-6 reps. I never go at a speed where I feel out of breath or I struggle on any reps. My goal is to feel ready for the workout of the day or WOD. This brings me to the specific warm up.
The Specific Warm Up
After my general warm up of each muscle group, I will move onto a specific warm up for the WOD. This is where I practice each workout in the same manner as it’s written. Let’s say we are doing a workout where we have to do 15 minutes of: 5 pull ups, 10 push ups, and 15 air squats.
For this WOD I would do a half round with 3 pull ups, 5 push ups, and 8 air squats. I would then take a small break and probably do one more full round, at my expected pace for the workout. This primes your body for the feel of the workout, and keeps you from starting too aggressively.
All of this warming up might sound complicated, but you really need to get the entire body ready for these types of calisthenics exercises. HIIT workouts are difficult, and you shouldn’t jump right into them cold. For most of my athletes, warming up in this style takes them 5-10 minutes in total. Now let’s talk about the cool down.
The Post Workout Cool Down
This is probably the most neglected aspect of fitness. Research shows that performing a sensible cool down will help you feel better and build more muscle. This is clearly a great way to make quick progress.
The best way to cool down is to go for an easy walk after the workout. The goal is to keep the blood circulating at a very easy pace. This helps clear cellular waste products. It also clears excess lactate from your blood, allowing you to return more quickly to a resting state.
I recommend walking for 10 minutes at a very easy pace. If you have some flexibility issues, or are someone who likes stretching, you can then perform whatever stretches you like after your walk. Make this a part of your workout routine, and you’ll find you feel better, and are ready to train sooner. It’s worth it.
Now let’s get to the specifics of the program. Before we do that, make sure you download the PDF below. I will include all 6 weeks here as well, but I know some folks prefer a PDF.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ULTIMATE 6 WEEK CALISTHENIC HIIT WORKOUT PLAN PDF
The Ultimate 6 Week Calisthenic HIIT Workout Plan
As you’ll see, each week builds upon the previous week. The only real equipment you might need is a pull-up bar. I’ve also included a few cardio specific days in there as well. On these days it’s your choice of movement. You can simply run, jump rope, or use a something like a C2 Rower or Assault Bike. Here’s week one. Make sure you join the email list below!
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The Ultimate 6 Week Calisthenic HIIT Workout Plan: Week 1
I know some of you are yelling at my because the first thing you’re doing in this program is a run. I never promised that you wouldn’t do any cardio did I? If you look at the rest of the week, you can see that its programmed as 5 days per week, with almost all bodyweight workouts. The 6th day of each week is a pure cardio day which is optional.
Don’t just write this session off. Easy cardio has been shown to be important for cardiovascular health, fat loss, and overall performance. Most athletes don’t realize that even very hard efforts, like a 400m sprint, are still largely powered by your aerobic energy system. You need a strong engine!
This program will follow the same general template for its duration. Most days include a full-body workout, with special emphasis on a few specific muscle groups. Session 2 is a good example of this. You will work the legs, core, and upper body muscles in the AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) section, but there is a special emphasis on deficit push ups before that.
As I mentioned above, it’s ok if you can’t do every movement I’ve written in this strength training program. Check out this article where I covered how to scale WODs and movements so you can maximize your progress. Next, we’ll cover week 2.
The Ultimate 6 Week Calisthenic HIIT Workout Plan: Week 2
This week is where the rubber meets the road. In week one, my goal is acclimatizing you to these bodyweight workouts. In week 2, I plan on challenging you with difficult calisthenic exercises, combined with running and other cardio. These workouts can challenge even advanced level athletes.
Don’t believe me? Just wait till you get to the squat jumps in session 8. I bet you change your mind. You will also find simple bodyweight training exercises like hollow rocks are actually incredibly challenging ab exercises. If you’re really a glutton for punishment, you can wear a weight vest for many of these exercises as well.
Your goal for this week should be to be consistent with your workouts. The second week of any program is critical for your overall workout program adherence. If you can make yourself finish these workouts, then you’ve set a pattern of working out that will be hard to break.
The biggest predictor of success, with any fitness goal, is your adherence to a plan. Notice I didn’t say that it has to be an olympic training center level plan. Any good plan, executed well, will yield very positive results. Now, let’s talk about week 3.
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The Ultimate 6 Week Calisthenic HIIT Workout Plan: Week 3
This week becomes challenging as I increase the overall workout volume. Research shows that increased volume is a primary driver of muscle growth. It’s also required to make sure that your progress doesn’t stagnate. I find that most athletes start to notice improvements in their personal fitness goals at this point.
You should find that you’re able to do a few more leg raises or mountain climbers. You should also find that your heart rate is a bit lower on these workouts, demonstrating an increase in aerobic fitness.
Make sure you’re being consistent on your drop jumps. These can be very hard on some athletes, and if you’ve never done much strength training in the gym, then you need to choose the lower end of the height range. These plyomteric bodyweight exercises help develop explosive power in your lower body. This is key for everyone.
If you’re a competitive athlete you need this for performance. If you’re getting back to fitness, you need this to prevent injuries later on when you start more difficult weight training. Trust me, plyometrics are a good idea for athletes of all abilities. If you’re a complete novice to working out, then you might substitute the drops jumps with regular max height jumps instead, with no drop. On to week 4.
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The Ultimate 6 Week Calisthenic HIIT Workout Plan: Week 4
This fourth week starts to become quite challenging. At this point the set sizes are big, and the volume continues to grow. This is a must. Each specific muscle group has to undergo further stress or you won’t make any progress. This is the best way to make continual progress, provided that you take the occasional break to let your body repair and grow.
You’ll find that on the days where you combine running with calisthenics, it’s a good idea to do these workouts outside if possible. If it’s terrible weather, then you can still do them on a treadmill. Either is fine.
I also want to point out that it’s ok if you have to scale a few of these workouts. I write my programs to challenge the vast majority of good athletes, and it’s ok if you have a few weak spots. It’s important that you work hard and maintain proper form.
Let’s take a look at an example workout. On session 21, you’ll see hollow rocks. These are incredibly hard on the abdominal muscles, if you’re executing them with proper form. If you find you can’t do 14 every minute on the minute, then cut the reps down to something you can manage. Next we’ll move on to the second to last week.
The Ultimate 6 Week Calisthenic HIIT Workout Plan: Week 5
This is the last true effective workout week. As you’ll see in week 6, we’re moving towards a few hard workouts, and a lot of testing your fitness level improvement. My recommendation is to get through this week, knowing that it becomes a bit easier next week.
I also encourage you to pay attention to your body. If you’re dragging ass, then it’s ok to dial back the intensity or lengthen your rest periods. I also think it’s a good idea to throw in an extra rest day if you need it. Those kinds of small details don’t really matter in the long term. Consistent work matters above all else. Now on to the final week.
The Ultimate 6 Week Calisthenic HIIT Workout Plan: Week 6
The end is in sight, and we are on the final week of the program. This week has several tests like max rep sets of pull ups, and vertical jumps. Make sure you go through your normal warm up, and then give it a few goes when trying to set a new personal record.
I bet you’ll find that you’ve made some solid progress in this 6 weeks calisthenics HIIT workout plan. That’s awesome, and I’m sure that you want to keep the gains train rolling. I recommend checking out the next section where I review some nutrition and recovery resources. Most importantly, I’ll cover some great follow on training programs to this plan.
Nutrition and Recovery Resources
You can reap the vast majority of benefits from just a few basic habits for diet and recovery. You don’t have to have a PHd or super fancy equipment to help your recovery and nutrition. You need to eat whole foods, and ingest enough proteins, carbs, and fats, to support your goals.
Obviously, if your goal is weight loss, then you’ll need to pay attention to your nutrition a bit more. I recommend reading this article where I cover my 20 pound body fat weight loss journey. In it I provide a lot of resources and programming tips to help you lose weight.
I also recommend you check out my Ultimate Nutrition Guide, and you can download my nutrition calculator if you really want to figure out how much you should be eating.
Moreover, your recovery shouldn’t be complicated. Things like sauna, massage, ice baths, can have some benefits, but they also have major drawbacks if done incorrectly. I recommend reading this article where I review the research on best recovery practices. Pro tip, ice baths, and NSAIDs can really hamper building muscle if done incorrectly.
Your Next Fitness Program
If you liked this calisthenics program, then I might recommend switching to a similar style HIIT program, incorporating more weight bearing exercises. These are my top 5 recommendations for a follow on program. Keep in mind that some of these programs are for more advanced athletes, so follow the links to see which one seems right for you.
My Most Popular Programs
- 8 Week Functional Bodybuilding Hybrid Program
- 7 Week Free Strength Training Program
- 5 Week Functional Fitness Program for Beginners
- 7 Week Free Functional Bodybuilding Hybrid Program
- 12 Week Functional Endurance Program
Final Thoughts
You can certainly build a lot of fitness with this program, provided you pay attention to your recovery, and nutrition. It’s important that you make sure you’re executing each move with proper form, using full range of motion.
Research shows that the longest range of motion you can safely use generally yields the best results. Don’t sacrifice correct form to go fast. After you finish this program, find an appealing follow on program, and keep the gains rolling.
If you have any comments or questions, put them below and I’ll get you an answer. Now get out there and start your calisthenics training!
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