Prescribing the Next Rung of a Calisthenics Skill

A calisthenics skill is climbed rung by rung. Each session works the rung the athlete is on and gives them a taste of the rung above. That rung is harder, and the athlete has not met its standard yet. But "not met" covers two very different athletes: one has never managed a single repetition, the other already does five of the eight the standard asks for. This document sets out how the rung above is prescribed for each.

What the research shows

• On a bodyweight rung, effort is set by repetitions. The load of a rung is the athlete's own body in a fixed position, so the only dial left within a set is how many repetitions it takes. How close a set ends to failure is counted as repetitions in reserve (RIR).
• Sets that end one or two repetitions short of failure capture the benefit. Muscle growth increases as sets end closer to failure. Strength gains are similar across a wide range of repetitions in reserve. Failure itself adds little and costs recovery.
• Athletes misjudge their reserve by about one repetition. They tend to believe they have fewer repetitions left than they do. That error is part of why a prescription aims at one to two in reserve rather than at exactly one.

The rule

What the athlete has logged on the rung above	How it is prescribed
Nothing, or at most one repetition	Attempts: single clean repetitions, or the shortest hold of the range
Two or more repetitions (best N)	Working sets of N − 2 rising to N − 1 repetitions, never fewer than one
A hold, of any length	Attempts: the hold range, unchanged

• Why the attempt is kept for a rung never done. With no repetition to count from, there is no reserve to aim at. A single clean repetition, practised fresh, is the smallest unit of the skill.
• Why N − 2 to N − 1 for a rung partly done. It is the one-to-two repetitions in reserve of the effort rule, applied to a load that cannot change. Single attempts would leave three or four repetitions in reserve on every set for an athlete who already does five, and would never build the volume that reaches the standard.
• Why holds are left out. A hold has no repetitions to keep in reserve, and the relation between hold length and effort is not documented well enough for a number.

Where N comes from

• The latest assessment is a test. When the athlete answers the skill assessment, that answer is what they can do now. It replaces what was logged before it, even when it is lower: after a break or an injury an athlete does less, and an old best would prescribe sets they cannot finish.
• Sessions logged after it can only raise N. A set prescribed short of failure records fewer repetitions than the athlete could do, so a later set below the assessment does not lower it; a later set above it does raise it.
• Without an assessment, the best logged set. N is then the most repetitions recorded on the rung across every logged session.

How the prescription moves through a phase

• Within the phase, a ramp. Working sets start at N − 2 in the first week and reach N − 1 by the last loading week; a deload week goes back to N − 2. The number of sets stays the one the rung's programming gives.
• Between phases, the logs again. When the next phase is built, N is read again from everything logged so far. An athlete who now does seven repetitions is prescribed five rising to six. Which rung is the one above is decided by where the phase starts on the ladder, not by this rule.
• From attempts to working sets. An athlete who logs two clean repetitions on a rung they could only attempt moves to working sets the next time the session is built. Nothing else has to change for the rung to stop being an attempt.

Worked examples

Best logged on the rung above	First week	Last loading week	Deload week
None	1 repetition, as attempts	up to 3 attempts	1
2	1	1	1
3	1	2	1
5	3	4	3
7	5	6	5

What the rule does not change

• The rung the athlete is on. It keeps the working range of its own programming. The rule is about the rung above, which the athlete has not passed.
• Holds. Any hold on the rung above stays an attempt, from the shortest hold of its range up to twice that.
• Accessories and maintenance work. They are chosen at a level the athlete already handles, so the question of attempting them does not arise.

Common mistakes

• Single attempts for an athlete who already does several repetitions. The rung is practised, but never trained, and the standard does not come closer.
• The full working range of the rung for an athlete below it. Eight to fifteen repetitions asked of someone who does five ends every set at failure, or short of the prescription.