10 Day Calisthenics Starter Pack
Day 8 – Pseudo Planche Lean + Straight Arm Conditioning
Foundational Movement - Pseudo Planche Lean
The full planche is considered to be the Apex of calisthenics mastery. It’s technically a pushing movement, but it includes straight arm strength. It works the biceps, deltoids, pecs, triceps, abs, glutes, hamstrings… just about every muscle in the body.
Now, just because it’s an elite move, doesn’t mean that beginners shouldn’t train the early progressions!
In fact, it’s something that we should train as early as possible because even these early progressions are SUPER effective at showing the effectiveness of simply changing our center of gravity.
This is a core principle of calisthenics training.
Newbies will be amazed at the possibility of holding your entire body weight using only your arms while parallel to the ground.
But as you begin developing the ability to perform these early progressions, you will start to understand the mechanics involved and just how amazing your body truly is!
Elite calisthenics athlete Andry Strong performing a full planche.Key Insight - Straight Arm Conditioning
Straight-arm strength means being able to hold or move your body while keeping your arms completely locked out — no bending at the elbows.
This is where we begin to understand that bodyweight training is more than just muscle development. It’s about tendon and joint strength, body alignment, and full-body tension.
Over time, they adapt and become thicker, stronger, and more resilient, protecting you from common shoulder, elbow, and wrist injuries.
These movements force you to move intentionally, building awareness of tension, alignment, and breathing — the kind of control that prevents overextension or sloppy mechanics.
Aside from pseudo planche leans, one exercise you can incorporate into your training to improve straight arm strength is the straight arm dumbbell hold.
This strengthens the shoulders, forearms, and tendons, while teaching you to create tension through the entire arm and core — the same type of control needed for planche or straight-arm calisthenics work.
Longevity Tip - Tendon Healing
While muscles take days to weeks to completely repair, tendons can take months.
When conditioning tendons with straight arm holds or other targeted tendon work, pay particular to pain and discomfort, and back off if pain reaches greater than 3/10.
Follow the goldilocks principle with tendon training — not too light, not too heavy.
That’s it for this one!
Until tomorrow 👋
– Coach Chaz
Founder, THENICS LAB