Level Up: Push Beyond the Basics

You’ve built the habit—now it’s time to level up.

View My Program

What You’ll Learn

  • Compound lifts and progressive overload
  • Structured 3–4 day programs
  • Tracking progress
  • Intro to macro-based eating

Sample Weekly Split

DayFocus
MonUpper Body
WedLower Body
FriFull Body + Core

Intermediate Exercise Guide

1. Pistol Squats

Extend one leg in front of you, as straight as you can, with your heel hovering off the floor. Raise your arms straight out in front of you. Keeping your core tight and your spine straight, bend your standing leg and lower your body, continuing to extend your other leg in front of you.

Reps: 10 sets of 5-10 reps

2. Incline Push-Ups

Place hands on an elevated surface. Lower your chest, then push back up. Great for building strength gradually.

Reps: 10 sets of 20-30 reps

3. Push-Ups

a common calisthenics exercise that begins from the prone position, involving raising and lowering the body using the arms. They primarily target the pectoral muscles, triceps, and anterior deltoids, with ancillary benefits to other muscles such as the deltoids, serratus anterior, coracobrachialis, and the midsection.

Reps: 10 sets of 20-30 reps

3. Decline Push-Ups

Decline push-ups are an advanced variation of the basic push-up, where your feet are elevated higher than your hands, increasing the difficulty and targeting the upper chest, shoulders, and arms.

Reps: 10 sets of 20-30 reps

3. Pull Ups

Pull-ups are an upper-body strength exercise that involves pulling the body up towards a bar or other implement using the hands, typically with a grip wider than shoulder-width.

Reps: 10 sets of 5-10 reps

3. L-Sit Chin-Ups

To perform an L-sit chin-up, start by grasping the bar with a supinated grip (palms facing you) and a shoulder-width stance. Squeeze your abs and raise your legs to 90 degrees, keeping them parallel to the floor. Take a deep breath, depress your shoulder blades, and drive your elbows straight down to the floor while activating your lats. Pull your chin towards the bar until your lats are fully contracted, then slowly lower yourself back to the start position.

Reps: 10 sets of 5-10 reps

4. Dips

To perform a dip, the exerciser supports themselves on a dip bar with their arms straight down and shoulders over their hands, then lowers their body until their arms are bent to a 90-degree angle at the elbows, and then lifts their body up, returning to the starting position.

Duration: 10 sets of 10-20 reps

4. Handstand

A foundational skill that involves holding the body upside down on the hands. It improves upper body strength, core stability, and balance.

Duration: 3 rounds of 60 seconds or more.

5. Muscle-Ups

A compound movement that combines a pull-up and a dip, engaging the back, shoulders, and triceps. It is a natural progression from the pull-up.

Reps: 5 sets of 1–10 reps

5. Reverse Lunges

Step one leg back, lower your body until both knees are bent at 90 degrees, then return to standing.

Reps: 3 sets of 8–10 per leg

Scroll to Top