The Ultimate Calisthenics Diet

Learn the key differences between calisthenics and weightlifting, focusing on bodyweight resistance as highlighted by Chris Heria.

“Calisthenics is a form of strength training, which uses an individual's body weight for resistance.”

Discover how diet impacts calisthenics performance, emphasizing Chris Heria's perspective on building muscle and minimizing body fat.

“The best diet for calisthenics athletes is gonna be the one that allows you to build the most amount of muscle while holding onto the least amount of body fat.”

Understand when to eat in a deficit or surplus, referencing Chris Heria's recommendations for fat loss or muscle gain.

“If you're carrying a lot of excess body fat, you'll want to eat in a calorie deficit.”

Learn practical methods to track your calorie intake as suggested by Chris Heria, including tracking for two weeks to determine maintenance.

“You can also track your calories, what you eat for two weeks, ensuring you eat the same amount of calories each day and check your weight at the same time daily to see if your weight changes or remains the same at the end of the two weeks.”

Learn the ideal macro ratio for calisthenics, focusing on high protein intake as recommended by Chris Heria.

“Focus on a high protein diet with a moderate amount of carb and fats.”

Identify the best food sources for each macronutrient, emphasizing whole foods over processed options as per Chris Heria's advice.

“You want to ensure that your micronutrients are coming from quality sources. I'm talking about foods that will have good and high nutritional value versus processed foods or snacks.”

Understanding the link between sugar and inflammation, especially for calisthenics, as highlighted by Chris Heria regarding joint pain.

“Eating certain foods high in sugar can trigger inflammation in your joints, which can cause pain and discomfort, especially so when doing exercises like the full pledge or Maltese.”

Optimal timing for meals in relation to calisthenics workouts, addressing Chris Heria's points on abdominal contraction and exercise difficulty.

“With calisthenics, it's not as necessary and sometimes not as beneficial to eat before training when doing certain high level calisthenic skills like the full plank or Maltese or even inverted exercises like the handstand and handstand pushup.”

Reflect on this week's eating habits.

Identify areas for improvement and create a plan for the next week.