Does Calisthenics Increase Flexibility – The Truth

There’s a misconception that athletes claim calisthenics is one of the best training types to increase flexibility and gain muscle all at once.

Yes, calisthenics can stretch your muscles, especially in the back, but it’s mediocre for total flexibility. It’s very upper-body biased, so you won’t get a full-body stretch. Furthermore, the exercises that do increase your flexibility are predominantly limited to the ones using a bar.

We have spent years doing calisthenics, and we are as flexible as when we started. This isn’t to say calisthenics has had no impact. Instead, it has maintained our flexibility through aging, muscle growth, and injury.

Calisthenics won’t make you as bendy as Elastigirl from The Incredibles, but, it ensures you have a full range of motion and great mobility. Essentially, you’ll be as flexible as you need for day-to-day tasks; but not if you’re competing in a sport such as gymnastics.

via GIPHY

The best way to see this is by looking at a professional athlete’s warm-up. Let’s take an NBA player for example. They start with calisthenics, say a few push-ups and box jumps, and do stretches on top of their workout. This highlights that calisthenics alone won’t elasticate an athlete’s body enough before a game.

There are a few exceptions, which we mention below. But in general, calisthenics is okay for improving flexibility.

Which Calisthenics Exercises Improve Flexibility

As we mentioned, there are exceptions.

A few calisthenics exercises are great for your flexibility. In fact, they stretch you out so well that you wouldn’t even know you’re building muscle at the same time! With these, you’ll feel the stretch more intense compared to others.

1. Deadhangs
2. Negative Dips
3. Bodyweight Squats
4. Hanging L-sit

Deadhangs
Anytime you’re on a pull-up bar and your elbows are fully extended you’ll feel a lovely stretch on your lats, biceps, back, forearms, and neck (if you tilt your neck forward). Deadhangs are the best example since you remain in this position, but you’ll feel the stretch with any exercise that starts like this.

Negative Dips
Using a pair of parallel bars for your dips, begin the exercise with your legs off the floor and your chest below your wrists. The lower your chest is to the ground, the better the stretch in your pectorals and deltoids.

Bodyweight Squats/ Lunges
You’ll feel a stretch on your gluteals and hamstring during a bodyweight squat (plus, your quads with lunges). For your squats, start them elevated, on a box for example, so you can drop your bum as low as possible. This is desirable as the lower you squat, the better the stretch.

Hanging L-Sit
Saving the best until last the L-sit. As mentioned above, hanging on a bar stretches your upper body muscles; but also, having your legs straight in front of you will also increase the flexibility of your hamstrings hips, and calves (if you flex your toes up).

These 4 exercises will feel like a stretch – the same way touching your toes will. While other calisthenics exercises can stretch your muscles out, the sensation will be a fraction of what these experience like. Plus, there’s a noticeable impact on your flexibility, whereas the others may not.

Can Calisthenics Replace Stretching

It’s dangerous starting calisthenics thinking you no longer have to stretch. Even after years of calisthenics training, we still do.

No, you can’t replace calisthenics with stretching. Most calisthenics exercises don’t go deep enough to feel a muscle stretch. So it’s imperative to incorporate a range of full-body stretches on top of your workout.

And, if you don’t feel anything, put simply, it isn’t benefiting you. As mentioned above, there are exceptions; but, for the majority of calisthenics, you only feel the load of bodyweight on your muscles, and not them stretching.

Try it out for yourself:

Attempt an iconic calisthenic exercise, the plank. Then, immediately try an upward-facing dog stretch. You’ll notice the plank makes your abdominals ache; whereas, the stretch relieves your abs. This highlights calisthenics doesn’t create a stretching sensation; hence they are not interchangeable.

Remember calisthenics is resistance training, just like weight training. Just because you use your body weight, rather than dumbbells, doesn’t make stretching unnecessary. Would you go into a weightlifting workout without a stretch? No. The same logic applies.

Do You Have To Be Flexible For Calisthenics

Stretching isn’t everyone’s favorite part of exercising; in fact, it’s the least for most. Because of this, you may ask yourself how much calisthenics relies on good flexibility.

To excel in calisthenics, you must have a high degree of flexibility. This includes a full range of motion across all your joints, and the ability to fully extend your limbs. Most already possess this, or it can be gained with basic stretches.

The more flexible you are, the easier you’ll find learning and holding statics. For example, picture someone doing pike push-ups, but they aren’t flexible in their shoulders. Even with all the strength in the world, they won’t be able to do a full rep.

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So yes, flexibility is essential to calisthenics. But what beginners are mainly curious about is what’s the standard/ baseline to get started.

While it’s difficult to quantify flexibility, the chances are you already have good enough flexibility. If you get by your daily life without feeling tight you already have a ‘high degree of flexibility’ and can train calisthenics without concerns.

Many individuals, especially beginners, underestimate their flexibility. You don’t need a crash course on fitness, just the ability to move freely.

Best Stretches For Calisthenics

Remember, the more flexible you are, the easier calisthenics is. Sometimes, the answer to improve your ability doesn’t rely on your strength: it can be your flexibility. These stretches are most effective during a warm-up and loosening any tight muscle groups.

Doorway Chest Stretch

Muscle Group(s) Trained	Difficulty	Duration
Chest and Shoulders	Beginner	10 seconds on both arms.

Deadhang

Muscle Group(s) Trained	Difficulty	Duration
Lats, Triceps, Biceps, Shoulders, Traps, Neck, and Abdominals	Skilled Beginner	Until failure.

Wrist Rotations

Muscle Group(s) Trained	Difficulty	Duration
Minor Wrist Muscles	Beginner	3x Clockwise rotation. 3x Anti-clockwise rotation.

Finger Extensions

Muscle Group(s) Trained	Difficulty	Duration
Fingers and Forearms	Beginner	2 sets of 10 seconds on each hand.

Neck Rolls

Muscle Group(s) Trained	Difficulty	Duration
Minor Neck Muscles	Beginner	3x Clockwise rotation. 3x Anti-clockwise rotation.

Shoulder Dislocations

Muscle Group(s) Trained	Difficulty	Duration
Shoulders, Biceps, and Chest	Skilled	3 sets of 10 seconds.

Cross-Body Stretch

Muscle Group(s) Trained	Difficulty	Duration
Shoulders and Traps	Beginner	20 seconds on each arm.

Frog Stand

Muscle Group(s) Trained	Difficulty	Duration
Hips, and Wrists	Skilled	3 sets of 15 seconds.

Touch Your Toes

Muscle Group(s) Trained	Difficulty	Duration
Hamstrings and Calves	Skilled	As long as you can, but no more than 10 seconds!

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