In this post, I’ll share with you a whole-body weekly workout plan for which the only training tools you’ll need are a set of gymnastic rings and a jump rope. If you’re looking for some basic bodyweight exercise equipment to invest on without spending too much money – these are the top two items to get started with. Besides being affordable they are also easy to use, set-up and carry with. Throw them in a backpack and you’re ready to hit the nearest park or basketball field and have a killer workout.
(By the way, if you don’t own gymnastic rings but you’re interested in getting a pair, I’ve made a video-guide that will help you choose a proper set)
Workout plan details
The level of difficulty of this plan is ideal for intermediates and advanced bodyweight trainees. If you’re more of a beginner, I recommend getting started with the previous beginner plan I shared with you (15′ Beginners Bodyweight Workout With Gymnastic Rings).
WORKOUT TYPE: Each workout is structured into a circuit. During a circuit, you perform one exercise after the other with a short (ten to fifteen-second) break in between. Circuits are short in duration but they can also be very intense. This makes them ideal for people with a limited amount of spare time, looking to train whole body and also take the edge off a busy day. Overall, I find that circuits are the type of training most people enjoy and stick to nowadays. Both workouts (A&B) begin with jumping rope in order to get your heart rate elevated right from the beginning of each workout set. Since you’re doing circuit training and there is very little rest between exercises, after jumping rope your heart rate will remain elevated during the whole set. This way you’re training effectively both the neuromuscular and the cardiovascular systems in a single workout session.
WORKOUT FREQUENCY: The weekly plan consists of two workouts – Workout A and B. These will be alternated every time you train. Recommended training frequency per week is four times for intermediates and six times for advanced trainees. Keep in mind that when you’re training as high as six times a week it’s a good idea to have a deload week once every six weeks.
Before your dive into the program, make sure you warm up properly. I’m not talking just about jogging for a couple of minutes. A good warm-up routine should also prep each joint of the body separately. I’ve made a detailed warm-up video tutorial that you can watch below:
Jumping rope And Calisthenics Health Benefits
Muscles like your chest and biceps are cool to develop but the heart is the most important muscle of the human body and therefore it shouldn’t be neglected. Most people think that aerobic related activities are the only way to train the heart. But, circuit training which alters high-intensity exercises (such as jumping rope) with bodyweight strength-oriented exercises is also a great way to improve cardiovascular health – if not better! This type of circuit training is also called super-circuit training. Take for example a recent study that compared super-circuit training (SCT) with a standard aerobic program. The study found that super circuit training (SCP) may yield greater improvement in cardiovascular function and aerobic fitness compared to aerobic group. Overall, SCT seems to offer greater health benefits than standard aerobic training programs.
As the study concludes:
“In comparison to continuous aerobic training, as assessed by echocardiography, SCT may yield greater benefits to the left ventricle mechanical function as well as to the patient’s aerobic fitness and physical quality of life.”
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0188551
Workout plan
Now, let’s go through the workouts. Both workouts A and B consist of five exercises. As we already mentioned they both start with jump rope. Workout A continues with Pull-ups, push-ups, plyo-burpees and a hollow body cross crunch. Workout B follows jumping rope with dips, inverted rows, the assisted One-arm Plank (amazing core exercise that focuses a lot on the obliques) and plyo-lunges. There’s a video below that will take you through the exercises in case you have any more questions…
| WORKOUT A 1. Jump rope 2. Pull-ups 3. Push-ups 4. Plyo-Burpees 5. Hollow body Cross Crunch | WORKOUT B 1. Jump rope 2. Dips 3. Inverted rows 4. Assisted One-arm Plank 5. Plyo-Lunges |
4 WORKOUT / WEEK INTERMEDIATE TRAINEE WEEKLY SCHEDULE (EXAMPLE)
6 WORKOUT / WEEK ADVANCED TRAINEE WEEKLY SCHEDULE (EXAMPLE)
SUPER-CIRCUIT TRAINING COMBINED WITH CARDIO WEEKLY SCHEDULE (EXAMPLE)
If you also enjoy your morning jog, going for a swim or whatever cardio activity is your thing, you can also combine these with this plan. Ideally pick the four workout/week frequency plan and place your cardio during the off days.
SETS, REPS, RESTING/WORK-TIMES: Go for three sets per workout. If you want some more training volume as a more advanced trainee, you can go for four sets, but, make sure you have a de-load week every six weeks. I recommend starting these circuits with 25-30 seconds of work per station and 10-15 seconds of rest in between. Some exercises that can be too difficult for some might need some adjustments. For example, if you reach your max reps before the time is over, you can simply supplement the remaining time with a static hold. This same can be done with push-ups by holding an elbow plank and pull-ups by holding a dead-hang.
Questions?
If you have any questions feel free to visit the video version of this blogpost on YouTube and post them in the comment section below it.
Until next time… keep on training!