Calisthenics for Weight Loss (Exercises & Workout Plan)

If you’re looking for calisthenics cardio exercises to burn fat and accelerate weight loss, you’ve come to the right place.

In this article, I’ve shared the best calisthenics exercises and workout routines to increase fat loss and help you achieve better shape.

Losing weight primarily depends on calorie intake. Generally, consuming fewer calories than your body burns helps you lose weight over time.

However, integrating exercises into your daily regime will help you speed up your weight loss and improve your cardiovascular health.

A study suggests that performing exercise greater than the minimum national recommendation of 150 minutes/week can help you achieve clinically meaningful weight loss.¹ Cox CE. Role of Physical Activity for Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance. Diabetes Spectr. 2017;30(3):157-160. doi:10.2337/ds17-0013

So, you can combine a calorie-restrict diet with the calisthenics cardio workout to shed some excess kilos.

10 Best Calisthenics Exercises for Weight Loss

There are no specific calisthenics exercises for weight loss. If you want to lose weight, you must perform each exercise at your maximum heart rate (as fast as possible) with as short rest as possible between the sets.

You can incorporate squats, pushups, burpees, hollow body, tuck-ups, chin-ups, leg raises, L-sit, plank, shuttle runs, and other aerobic exercises into a calisthenics workout plan to stimulate fat loss.

I’ve already compiled a list of seventy aerobic exercises that ignite calories faster and improve cardiovascular fitness. Out of all, I’ve rounded up the following 10 best exercises that can enhance the fat-burning process and help you achieve the best shape over time.

1. Burpees
2. Jump Squat
3. Pushup
4. Lunges
5. Single-leg Tuck
6. Hollow Body
7. Sit-ups
8. Reverse Crunches
9. Plank
10. Mountain Climbing

These exercises are neither easy nor grueling for overweight people and can be part of your calisthenics weight loss program.

1. Burpee

Burpee is a bodyweight compound workout that works on your entire body, particularly the chest, legs, and triceps, and helps burn considerable calories in a short time.

Including it in your weight loss calisthenics workout may help you increase strength and endurance, reinforce muscle, and improve aerobic fitness.² Mayr Ojeda E, Castro FAS, Reich M, Astorino TA, Benítez-Flores S. Burpee Interval Training Is Associated With a More Favorable Affective Valence and Psychological Response Than Traditional High-Intensity Exercise. Percept Mot Skills. 2022 Jun;129(3):767-786. doi: 10.1177/00315125221083180. Epub 2022 Apr 9. PMID: 35400227

Burpees may be difficult for you in the beginning, but they will become easy once you start doing them.

How to do burpees:

1. Stand upright in the hip-width stance with your arms straight at your side.
2. Lower yourself into a squat position.
3. Bend forward and place your hands on the ground (shoulder-width apart), arms straight underneath your body.
4. Kick your legs behind and softly land your feet on the floor so you can plank.
5. Do one push-up and reverse the movement. That’s one rep!
6. Repeat for the required number of sets and reps.

2. Jump Squat

If you want to burn more calories at home, try a jump squat. The jump squat primarily targets the lower body, builds endurance, and enhances functional performance.³ Isaacs AW, Myburgh KH, Macaluso F. Low-Volume Squat Jump Training Improves Functional Performance Independent of Myofibre Changes in Inactive Young Male Individuals. Healthcare (Basel). 2022;10(7):1217. Published 2022 Jun 29. doi:10.3390/healthcare10071217

How to do jump squat:

1. Stand upright with your feet hip-width apart.
2. Bend your elbows and keep your hands together in front of your chest.
3. Lower yourself into the squat and then jump up explosively with full effort. As you jump, your arms will move at your sides.
4. Softly land in the standing position. And repeat for the desired number of times.

3. Push-ups

Pushups are traditional bodyweight exercises that strengthen and tone upper body muscles.

It involves getting into a high plank position, lowering the chest till it nearly reaches the floor, and then pushing back to the start.

The lowering phase stretches the pectoral muscles, and the ascent phase contracts the pecs, triceps, and anterior deltoids.

The push-ups will enhance your functional fitness and help you improve your body composition.

Push-ups have several variations, such as negative push-ups, narrow push-ups, inclined push-ups, etc. Doing some of them will help you get stronger as well as aid in your weight loss journey.

If you can’t do the pushups on your toes, you can do them on your knees.

4. Lunges

The lunge is a lower-body exercise that works on the hamstrings, quadriceps, and glutes.

A study published on the NIH website has shown that lunges performed on an unstable surface are effective at reducing body fat and improving dynamic balance.⁴ Lee J, Kim J. Effects of an 8-week lunge exercise on an unstable support surface on lower-extremity muscle function and balance in middle-aged women. Phys Act Nutr. 2022;26(4):14-21. doi:10.20463/pan.2022.0020

Lunges have multiple variations, such as forward, backward, in-line, walking, curtsy, and jumping lunges. All of them raise body temperature, annihilate calories, and strengthen legs.

You can do them interchangeably in your fat-burning calisthenics training to bolster your legs and accelerate fat loss.

Steps to perform a front lunge:

1. Stand straight in the shoulder-width stance and keep your hands on your hips.
2. Take a big step forward with your right foot, and bend your knees together until your rear knee touches the floor.
3. Pause for a second, and then extend your knees. That’s one repetition!
4. Keep your chest up, core and lower body engaged, and back flat during the movement.
5. Do two sets of 10 repetitions each, with as little rest as possible.

5. Single-leg Tuck

Single-leg tuck-up is an abdominal exercise that builds endurance and forges six-packs (rectus abdominis).

It involves lying on the ground and bringing the chest and knee together in the middle.

It will challenge your core strength, but it works on the lower and upper abs simultaneously and will help you sculpt your core.

How to perform a single-leg tuck-up:

1. Lie on the mat with your face up and arms straight by your sides.
2. Curl your torso and simultaneously bring your right knee inside toward your chest. Your arms will be straight throughout the movement.
3. Hold there for a moment, then return to the start.
4. Repeat on the opposite side and do equal reps and sets on each side.

Besides tuck-ups, you can also do other core exercises to shape your belly.

6. Hollow Body Hold

The hollow body is an isometric core exercise that engages as many as six muscles simultaneously, including the obliques, hip flexors, back, hamstrings, quads, glutes, and particularly the abdominals.

This exercise keeps all these muscles under constant tension, pushes your muscles to work hard, and helps increase muscular endurance.

Steps to perform a hollow body hold:

1. Lie supine on the mat with your face up and arms straight by your sides.
2. Lift your legs off the floor and bend your knees 90 degrees with your feet facing forward.
3. Slightly curl your upper torso and lift your arms off the floor (until you feel the contraction in your abs).
4. Maintain your normal breathing and hold in this position for as long as possible.
5. To make this exercise more challenging, I recommend keeping your legs straight.

7. Sit-up

A weight loss program isn’t incomplete without a sit-up. The sit-up is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the abdominal muscles, builds a strong tummy, calms significant calories, and complements the above exercises to increase weight loss.⁵ Vispute SS, Smith JD, LeCheminant JD, Hurley KS. The effect of abdominal exercise on abdominal fat. J Strength Cond Res. 2011;25(9):2559-2564. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181fb4a46

Steps to do sit-ups

1. Lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent in front of you and feet flat on the ground.
2. Brace your abdominal muscles, and lift your torso off the floor until your abs are fully engaged.
3. Hold and then return your upper body to the ground. This is your one complete rep.
4. Do three sets of 10 to 15 repetitions each.

8. Reverse Crunches

As the sit-up targets the upper abs, you can do reverse crunches to bolster your lower abs. Targeting the midsection from every angle helps improve core muscle strength, symmetry, and appearance.

Steps to perform a reverse crunch:

1. Lying on your back, slightly bend your knees and keep your arms straight at your sides.
2. Brace your core and lower body, and bring your knees toward your chest until your abdominal muscle is engaged.
3. Hold for a couple of seconds, and then extend your knees until your legs are straight.
4. Repeat for the desired number of sets and reps.

9. Planks

Plank is an isometric ab exercise that builds sturdy and toned abs and helps maintain a flat stomach.

It doesn’t directly help you lose weight, but it burns significant calories, increases core endurance, and provides other health benefits that ultimately help you shape your physique and take your fitness to the next level.⁶ Selvakumar, Kiruthika & Manoharlal, Manoj & Rusli, Nadia & Jing, Low & Thirruvevenkadam, Ilayaraja. (2021). Effectiveness of Modified Plank vs Conventional Plank on Core Muscle Endurance and Stability in Recreational Athletes: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 15. 04-10. 10.7860/JCDR/2021/48224.15043.

The plank has several variations, such as forearm front plank, side plank, extended plank, high plank, and many more. Depending on your fitness level, you can do some of them.

Steps to perform a standard forearm plank:

1. Place your forearms on the ground with your palms on the floor and your wrists underneath your shoulders.
2. Lift your knees off the floor and hold your body on your forearms and toes.
3. Maintain a straight line from head to ankle, and keep your core tight.
4. Hold in this position for as long as possible, aiming for at least 45 seconds per set and repeating as many times as possible.

10. Mountain Climbing

The mountain climber is a bodyweight cardio exercise that you can add to your calisthenics fat-loss program to fire calories and strengthen your abs.

It also works on other muscles, such as arms, shoulders, legs, and back, simultaneously and helps improve a sturdy torso.

How to do mountain climbers:

1. Get into an “up” position of a push-up with your hands shoulder-width apart.
2. Bring your knees alternatively toward your chest, underneath the body, engaging your abdominal muscles.
3. Do this for 20-30 seconds at your maximum speed.

Does Calisthenics Help Lose Weight?

Not significantly and not everyone can lose weight with the calisthenics workout.

Doing only calisthenics exercises or any other forms of training does not reduce significant body fat percentage.

However, they have a positive impact on weight loss and help you improve body composition and cardiovascular fitness.

You can combine calisthenics cardio workouts with a calorie-restricted diet program to lower your body fat significantly.

You’ll need to work out at least 225-420 minutes per week, and consume high protein low-calories foods that can fill you up for a longer time.⁷ Swift DL, Johannsen NM, Lavie CJ, Earnest CP, Church TS. The role of exercise and physical activity in weight loss and maintenance. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2014;56(4):441-447. doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2013.09.012

You can also do intermittent fasting to shed some excess pounds.

Along with that, you can also use weight loss supplements to keep your appetite in control and enhance weight loss.

Can You Torch More Calories Doing Calisthenics?

Yes, you can burn a good number of calories by doing cardio exercises in your calisthenics program.

For example, doing squats, pushups, and jumping exercises at moderate to high intensity for 30 minutes can help you burn approximately 350-500 calories.

Calories burned depend heavily on the intensity of the workout. The higher the intensity, the more calories you burn, and vice versa.

Performing exercises at high intensity also has the after-burn effect, meaning your body will continue to burn calories even a couple of hours after the workout.

Calisthenics Weight Loss Workout Plan

To create a customized weight loss plan, you must select exercises according to your fitness level.

Here are a few things you can keep in mind while creating a weight loss calisthenics routine.

1. Incorporate exercises based on your fitness level.
2. Set the appropriate interval time between sets but keep it shorter.
3. Perform 30-45 minutes a day, five times a week.
4. Stick to routines for at least 4-8 weeks to see any changes.
5. Do the workout at the same time every day.
6. Try to work out in the morning if possible.

Here’s an example of a 30-minute calisthenics workout to lose weight:

Perform as many rounds as possible for 30 minutes.

Monday	Activity	Interval
Burpees	10 reps	30-sec
Jump Squat	10 reps	30-sec
Lunges	10 reps/side	30-sec
Hollow Body Hold	10-second	30-sec
Mountain Climbing	15-sec	30-sec
Sit-ups	10 reps	30-sec
Forearm Plank	30-sec	30-sec
Side Plank	15-sec/side	No Rest
Reverse Crunches	15 reps	30-sec
Shoulder Tap	10 taps/side	30-sec
Flutter Kicks	15-sec	30-sec
Jumping Jacks	15-sec	30-sec
Kneeling Pushups	15 reps	30-sec

Changes some exercises when you train the next day.

You can select exercises from this calisthenics workouts according to your fitness level.

Wrapping It Up

Calisthenics cardio training is an inexpensive and effective way to reduce weight, enhance cardiovascular health, and improve shape.

You can combine workouts with a calorie-restricted diet to significantly lower your body fat. However, you’ll not get immediate results.

Fat loss is a complex process and takes time to work. So you must be committed and honest with yourself.

To see noticeable results, you must stick with the plans for at least a few months.

You’ll need to work out at least 6-7 hours per week to accelerates fat loss.

References

• 1
  Cox CE. Role of Physical Activity for Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance. Diabetes Spectr. 2017;30(3):157-160. doi:10.2337/ds17-0013
• 2
  Mayr Ojeda E, Castro FAS, Reich M, Astorino TA, Benítez-Flores S. Burpee Interval Training Is Associated With a More Favorable Affective Valence and Psychological Response Than Traditional High-Intensity Exercise. Percept Mot Skills. 2022 Jun;129(3):767-786. doi: 10.1177/00315125221083180. Epub 2022 Apr 9. PMID: 35400227
• 3
  Isaacs AW, Myburgh KH, Macaluso F. Low-Volume Squat Jump Training Improves Functional Performance Independent of Myofibre Changes in Inactive Young Male Individuals. Healthcare (Basel). 2022;10(7):1217. Published 2022 Jun 29. doi:10.3390/healthcare10071217
• 4
  Lee J, Kim J. Effects of an 8-week lunge exercise on an unstable support surface on lower-extremity muscle function and balance in middle-aged women. Phys Act Nutr. 2022;26(4):14-21. doi:10.20463/pan.2022.0020
• 5
  Vispute SS, Smith JD, LeCheminant JD, Hurley KS. The effect of abdominal exercise on abdominal fat. J Strength Cond Res. 2011;25(9):2559-2564. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181fb4a46
• 6
  Selvakumar, Kiruthika & Manoharlal, Manoj & Rusli, Nadia & Jing, Low & Thirruvevenkadam, Ilayaraja. (2021). Effectiveness of Modified Plank vs Conventional Plank on Core Muscle Endurance and Stability in Recreational Athletes: A Quasi-Experimental Study. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 15. 04-10. 10.7860/JCDR/2021/48224.15043.
• 7
  Swift DL, Johannsen NM, Lavie CJ, Earnest CP, Church TS. The role of exercise and physical activity in weight loss and maintenance. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2014;56(4):441-447. doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2013.09.012