Mastering Your Body Weight

By Al Kavadlo | Published: May 14, 2010

While there’s no such thing as true mastery, it’s great to strive for ideals as long as we realize they are just that–something to reach for. On the road to superior fitness, it is good to have a sense of your place so you can determine the logical way to progress.

In gymnastics (which is just a highly advanced style of bodyweight training) skills are generally ranked A through F, with A skills being the easiest. The standards are quite high, as back levers and front levers are only considered A level skills and muscle-ups are simply listed under “basic skills.”

I thought a similar type of rating system might be nice for the rest of us. I decided to break down some of my favorite bodyweight exercises (and some that I aspire to one day have in my arsenal) using a 5 level system to assign them a difficulty rating. I’m not holding to the same standards that a gymnast might. Here is what I’m proposing:

Level 1 skills:
Squat
Plank
Dip (Bench)
Lunge
Push-up
Australian Pull-up
Level 2 skills:
Single Leg Deadlift
Hanging Leg Raise
Dip (Parallel Bars)
Back Bridge
Elbow Lever
Handstand
Pull-up
Level 3 skills:
L-sit
Pistol Squat
Handstand Push-up
Dragon Flag
Back Lever
Muscle-up
Level 4 skills:
Shrimp Squat
One-arm Push-up
Human Flag
Front Lever
One-arm Pull-up

Level 5 skills:
Planche
One-handed Handstand
One-arm Front Lever
One-arm Muscle-up

It’s important to have a good foundation before trying advanced exercises like the planche and the human flag. Getting comfortable with basic skills allows you to progress in a safe and effective manner. Obviously, this list is not all inclusive so feel free to suggest additions. Furthermore, as different people have different strengths, you may find that you make quicker progress with some skills than with others. As always, strive to keep the beginner’s mind. No matter where you fall in the continuum, there is a new challenge ahead!


For more information about bodyweight strength training, make sure to pick up a copy of my new book, Pushing The Limits! – Total Body Strength With No Equipment.

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    • Chris Whitley

      Been doing dragon flags, i think i did over did them the 1st 2 days bcus of over confidence bcus i could do them i was doing them correctly but now my up ab is hurting everytime i attempt them i did push through it but how long should i wait to attept them again? i rubbed some bengay on it then went right to doing them but it didn thelp*

    • RobbyTaylor

      Give it a rest, man! Dragon flags are really taxing! Like any other exercise, you want to ease in to it gradually. I’ve seen videos of people who can bust out a set of 20 very clean dragon flags with apparent ease…clearly, they’ve taken the time to acclimate their body to the exercise, and would probably have little issue with doing them several days a week. I would suggest that you step back and work on full hanging leg raises in the interim, *if* they do not aggravate your injury (yes, what you have is technically a minor injury; if you keep pushing it and insist on doing dragon flags, it may not be so minor :S). If you are still bothered by that, you may just want to give dedicated core work a rest for a week or so. The great thing about core exercise is that pretty much all advanced calisthenic exercises work the core to some degree, so you don’t really “need” to do them all the time. Dial it down as much as you have to so as to not aggravate your injury; if muscle ups cause you abdominal pain, then just do pull ups and dips. If those still cause pain, you should probably just rest for a few days. Remember: train smart *and* hard. Training hard doesn’t do you any good if you end up with an injury that prevents you from training at all for weeks or even months!

    • RobbyTaylor

      There is a misunderstanding in nomenclature here…a planche, as I understand the term, is a hold either on the ground or above a set of rings. Facing downward with your feet at shoulder level and your body straight and parallel to the ground, you have your hands pressing into the ground at hip level with your elbows locked out. The back lever and front lever are done hanging from a bar or rings. With elbows locked out, the back lever has you hanging under the bar/rings with your body parallel to the ground facing downward, while the front lever has you facing upward. The back lever is easier than the front lever because the position gives the working muscles more leverage, while the front lever is easier than the planche for the same reason. If the front lever is easier for you than the back lever, it is likely because your body does not fully “understand” how to control itself in the position, not because it requires more strength (because it requires less strength). Whenever someone says the front lever is easier for them than the back lever, this is almost always the reason, and usually it turns out that they spend more time practicing the front lever and little time practicing the back lever. This is not terrible, however getting proficient at the back lever will make learning the planche a lot easier because the body positioning is very similar between the two moves.

    • Chris Whitley

      Thank you, yeah i just tried to do em again & it started hurting again so ima do 1 arms & planks since they wrk the core too then ill start again with the D Flags in about a week, thanks abunch*

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