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Three Keys to Unlock Calisthenics Muscle
by M A T T S C H I F F on
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Building muscle has always been my main objective and it probably always will be. T his is just as true with
my calisthenics training as it was when I hoisted the iron. I wouldnt have anything to do with prog ressive
calisthenics if I harbored even the slig htest doubt that it could pack on beef.

I fully believe its possible to g ain muscle with calisthenics, which I know is a perception thats a little left of
center from many who seek big g er arms and a wider back. I credit my unusual perception to the fact that I
dont think like most people when it comes to building muscle, much less building it with calisthenics. Here
are some of the big g est ways my mind has shifted over the years:

Its Not About My Routine

I follow a very simple workout routine thats based off of the Veterano plan in Convict Conditioning. Its

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simple, basic and easy to wedg e into my schedule. One thing s for sure, I certainly dont credit it with Click here to s ig n up for Drag on
building muscle. Door Emails !

I depend on my routine like a rocket depends on a launch pad. It provides structure, balance and points me R e c e n t P o s t s
in the rig ht direction. Beyond that, I dont expect much else from it. I dont believe its the key to building
Three Keys to Unlock Calis thenics
muscle or dialing in some secret combination thats g oing to bring me success. Mus cle

The Perfect Calis thenics Workout

Routine

Finding Balance Between Mind and

Mus cle

Prog res s ive Calis thenics Returns To

New York!

The Mus cle Building Advantag es of

Calis thenics

My routines are simple, but thats not why I build muscle.

D r a g o n D o o r P u b l i c a t i o

I also dont concern myself too much with rep rang es. I dont shoot for a specific rang e of reps thats
supposedly best for building muscle. Ive been successful with low reps, hig h reps and everything in
between. As far as Im concerned the best rep rang e for building muscle is always how many reps I can do R e c e n t C o m m e n t s
now, plus one more. Matthew on Three Keys to Unlock
Calis thenics Mus cle
Its Not About My Diet
Matt Schifferle on Three Keys to
Unlock Calis thenics Mus cle
I used to eat super clean back in the day. T he funny thing is, I made much faster g ains when I loosened up
Dan Sderberg on Pull-Ups
and ate a pretty liberal diet. T hese days, theres not a whole lot I wont and dont eat, from steamed Everywhere!
broccoli to ice cream.
Dan Sderberg on Three Keys to
Unlock Calis thenics Mus cle
When it comes to muscle hypertrophy, a healthy diet is part of the recovery process. T his means a g ood
Chili Bu Tube on Three Keys to
diet should remove stress from your life, not increase it. T his g oes for both physical and mental stress. A
Unlock Calis thenics Mus cle
diet that causes g uilt, craving s and unsatisfied hung er is an unhealthy diet. After all, how can a diet be

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considered healthy if its just one more thing you need to recover from? T hats like taking a vacation that FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
stresses you out!

Most of my diet is pretty basic. Lots of plant foods and some protein at each meal is key. I keep treats as
treats and g enerally stay away from beverag es with sug ar and calories. I eat what I like, when I like and
how I like. Most of the time that means whipping up a stir fry or a kale salad with salmon. Sometimes it
means ordering pizza and downing a beer or two.

I also dont eat big to g et big . Ive tried that method many times but it always just made me softer.
Admittedly, I have eaten more when Im making g ains from time to time. T he difference is Im not making
g ains because Im eating more. Im eating more because Im making g ains. I just listen to my body and
trust that it will ask for more when it needs it. If its not telling me it needs more food then I respect that as
well.

Its Not About My Equipment

I used to work for a store that sold home fitness equipment. Everyday I heard the idea that g etting results
was all about using the rig ht equipment. I crammed my small apartment full of g adg ets and doo-dads
believing it was the key to success.

Its funny how thing s chang e. T hese days, all I want is a solid pull-up bar and Im g ood to g o. Ive learned
that 99.99% of success in training depends on how you use your muscles, not whether a weig ht machine is
desig ned with the correct vector articulation ang les.

T his is why Im always a fan of simple equipment like a pull-up station, kettlebell or g ymnastics ring s. T he
less you have to think about your g ear, the more you can think about what youre doing .

So if its not so much about the diet, the routine or the equipment, what is it about?

Well, to be honest, theres not much I concern myself with. In fact, there are only 3 thing s I ever think about
when it comes to my training :

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Pretty much everything I do boils down to just those three thing s. Even thoug h that list is pretty short, each
aspect of muscle tension can become a discipline in and of itself. Ive made it my mission to study and learn
as much as I can about each one to help me build more muscle.

T o start off, Ive become obsessed with tension control. Ever since I came across the book Muscle
Control by Maxick, Ive made it a habit to practice tensing my muscles on a daily basis. Granted, Im not
striking a bodybuilding pose in the middle of a meeting . I just lig htly tense up my lats, abs or g lutes a few
times throug hout the day. Its not much, but Ive found this habitual tension makes a massive difference in
controlling my muscle tension in my workouts.

I also dont rely on a certain technique to control my muscle tension. If I want my triceps to work harder in
pushups I know its up to me to make it happen. Controlling muscle tension is the responsibility of my mind,
not necessarily the exercise Im doing .

Im also constantly working on dialing in my technique to adjust the resistance of every exercise I do. My
T aekwon-Do instructor always taug ht me to think like a technician in my training . We would drill down to the
slig htest details that mig ht seem trivial, but can make all the difference in the world.

For example, when doing a push up, where is the weig ht on your hands? Is it more towards the palm or the
fing ers? Speaking of fing ers, which fing ers have more weig ht on them? Are you g ripping with your fing ers
to tense up your hand and forearm? Which fing ers are g ripping harder? Are they pulling tension towards
your thumb? Which direction is the thumb pointing ? Is any of this chang ing as you lower yourself to the
floor? Does it chang e even still when you push back up? How about if you pause at the top? What happens if

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you slig htly twist like Ang elo Grinceri teaches in Intrinsic Strength Training?

Theres a lot more to pushups than just pushing up.

I could keep writing pag es about every little detail but the point is, all of these technical details serve to not
only help control where tension is in the body, but how much of it is in various muscles. T he slig htest
technical shift can make a hug e difference in how much tension is in a g iven muscle. Every workout I do is
an experiment to discover and master these small adjustments to make my muscles work as hard as
possible.

T hird, as Coach Wade explains in C-Mass, stimulating muscle g rowth is about working the muscles to a
hig h state of fatig ue. T his is why Im always working on increasing the time under tension with any exercise.

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 Sometimes, this means doing an extra rep. Other times, Its just half a rep or even just holding an isometric
position for a couple of extra seconds at the end of the set. As long as Im enduring just a little bit more time
under tension Im stimulating some muscle g rowth.

Finally, I dont g et too caug ht up in numbers and quantification. Sure, I keep a workout log but whats most
important to me is how an exercise feels from one workout to the next. Controlling muscle tension is just as
much an artistic and sensual experience as cooking , painting or playing music. If youre finding it easier to
pop up into a handstand or do a pull up, you are making prog ress even if the numbers in your log dont
immediately increase.

****

Matt Schifferle, PCC Team Leader a.k.a. The Fit Rebel made a switch to calisthenics training 5 years
ago in an effort to rehab his weight lifting injuries. Since then hes been on a personal quest to discover
and teach the immense benefits of advanced body weight training. You can find some of his unique
bodyweight training methods at RedDeltaProject.com and on his YouTube channel: RedDeltaProject.

T ag g e d as: C -Mass, calisthe nics, calisthe nics muscle , Hype rtro phy, Matt S chiffe rle , muscle
building , muscle te nsio n

6 Comments Progressive Calisthenics

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Mat t hew 4 ho urs ago

Thanks Matt, good to see someone expanding on Maxick's work and combining it with
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 Thanks Matt, good to see someone expanding on Maxick's work and combining it with
some progressive calisthenics. Great article! When is that second book coming, looking
forward to it?
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Chili Bu Tube 11 ho urs ago

tight noise!
shared
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Mat t Schif f erle > Chili Bu Tube 9 ho urs ago

Thanks so much for spreading the word! Much appreciated.
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Dan Sderberg 20 ho urs ago

Solid as diamond cool as icecream easy as a summerbreeze yep Mr Shifferlie you did it
again .....delivered
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Mat t Schif f erle > Dan S derberg 16 ho urs ago

Thank you very much Dan! Always appreciate you taking the time to check out my
musings and thoughts.
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Dan Sderberg > Matt Schifferle 11 ho urs ago

i rely on calisthenics as my meat and potato but i like to lift too odd objects
and free weights but i came to see bw as my fullproff insurance to always be
able to get something done thats why i read you paul wade ross enamait
mark lauren pavel and so on pavel and you i thank for the tensionattention
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ALSO O N PR O G R ESSIVE C ALIST HEN IC S

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The Perf ect Calist henics Workout Rout ine Ten Tenet s of Calist henics Skill Training
10 co mments 10 days ago 18 co mments 4 mo nths ago
Tim T hank you Adrienne! Absolutely. Al Kavadlo Everyone who videos their
Sometimes if I am pressed for time I will move training has felt the "T HAT "S what I look
the skill work to my off days. I also like!?!" moment of horror while watching it

Five Ways t o Gauge Your Calist henics Nat ural MuscleHow Much Can You
Progress GainReally?
6 co mments 2 mo nths ago 332 co mments 3 mo nths ago
Mat t Beecrof t T hank you Andy!! Brad Sadl Great article Coach. I recently
went on a cut diet...I was walking around at 175-
178 thinking I was mostly muscle LOL ...70

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