Calisthenics Progressions

📖 Reference Index — Overcoming Gravity 2nd Edition

The Overcoming Gravity
Progression Index

Every skill progression from Steven Low’s Overcoming Gravity (2nd Edition) — organized, linked, and updated with current community resources, coaching notes, and Moveseum directory entries for each movement.

Original Work Steven Low — OG2 (2016)
Skill Categories 8 major progressions
Directory Moveseum.com
Community Calisthenics.org
View:
About this index: Calisthenics.org’s live OG2 reference — every progression mapped T1 through T5. Toggle between Read Posts (links to full exercise posts) and Watch on YouTube (tutorial videos for each skill). Based on Steven Low’s Overcoming Gravity (2nd Ed.). Buy the book.

Pushing Progressions

Horizontal push, vertical push (pressing toward handstand push-up), and dip progressions. OG2 organizes pushing into three parallel tracks that progress simultaneously.

OG2 Programming Note: Steven Low recommends training horizontal and vertical push on the same day to balance shoulder mechanics. Beginners should not advance tiers until achieving 3×5–8 clean reps at current level. The OG2 Progression System adds wrist and shoulder prerequisites before any loading begins.

Pushing

Three parallel tracks: horizontal push to one-arm, vertical push to freestanding HSPU, and dip to ring dip. Train all three simultaneously per OG2 programming.

OG2 says: Train horizontal and vertical push on the same day. Beginners need 3×5–8 clean reps before advancing tiers. Watch the wrist conditioning video before loading any push movement.

Pulling Progressions

Vertical and horizontal pulling toward pull-up, muscle-up, and one-arm pull-up. OG2 treats pulling as two tracks: vertical (pull-up family) and horizontal (row family).

OG2 Programming Note: OG2 recommends a 2:1 pulling-to-pushing volume ratio for shoulder health. Dead hang and active hang are non-negotiable prerequisites — skipping them is the most common cause of shoulder injury in calisthenics beginners.

Pulling

Vertical pull to one-arm pull-up, horizontal pull, and muscle-up track. OG2’s 2:1 pulling-to-pushing volume recommendation starts here.

OG2 says: Dead hang and active hang are non-negotiable prerequisites. Skipping them is the most common cause of early shoulder injury. Watch the dead hang tutorial before touching a bar for anything else.

Core / L-Sit → Manna Progression

OG2’s compression strength track. L-sit through manna is one of calisthenics’ most demanding progressions — years of development, starting from hollow body fundamentals.

OG2 Note: The L-sit to manna progression is concurrent with pushing and pulling — not sequential. Train it alongside, not after. Most athletes spend 6–18 months between L-sit and V-sit alone. Steven Low recommends treating manna as a long-term goal, not a near-term target.

Core / L-Sit → Manna

Compression track from hollow body to manna. Anti-extension from plank to dragon flag. Train concurrently with pushing and pulling, never sequentially.

OG2 says: L-sit to manna is years of work. Most athletes spend 6–18 months between L-sit and V-sit. Treat this as a daily practice, not a goal with a deadline.

Handstand Progression

OG2’s handstand track runs from first wall exposure through freestanding balance to one-arm handstand. It is separate from — but feeds into — the vertical push (HSPU) track.

OG2 Note: Handstand balance and handstand push-up are trained separately. Balance practice (freestanding work) should precede loaded HSPU training. The wrist conditioning protocol in OG2 is critical — wrist injuries are the #1 setback in handstand training.

Handstand Progression

Balance track separate from HSPU track. Wrist injuries are the #1 setback — watch wrist conditioning before touching any inverted work.

OG2 says: Handstand balance and HSPU are trained separately. Balance practice precedes loaded HSPU. The shoulder dislocate is daily shoulder prep, not a one-time stretch.

Planche Progression

OG2’s most searched progression. Requires years of dedicated scapular protraction and wrist conditioning. OG2 Progression System adds joint prerequisites OG2 assumes.

OG2 Note: Planche is a long-term skill — typically 2–4 years from zero. OG2 includes planche lean conditioning as a daily practice. The OG2 Progression System’s wrist loading protocol is the critical prerequisite that OG2 alludes to but doesn’t fully detail. Do not rush tier advancement here.

Planche Progression

The most searched calisthenics skill and the most commonly injured. 2–4 year progression. Daily planche lean conditioning is non-negotiable from week one.

OG2 says: Do not rush tier advancement. Planche lean daily. Wrist conditioning daily. The connective tissue adaptation is slower than the muscular adaptation — respect that gap.

Front Lever & Back Lever

OG2’s lever progressions. Front and back lever develop together — back lever prerequisites overlap with front lever conditioning. Both require lat, core, and posterior chain integration at elite levels.

Front Lever & Back Lever

Back lever shoulder flexibility feeds front lever strength. Train both concurrently. German hang mobility is the entry point for both.

Ring Skills

OG2 dedicates significant coverage to rings as the highest-demand training tool. Ring work develops all other skills — the instability demand accelerates joint conditioning.

Ring Skills

Rings are the most demanding training tool in calisthenics. The instability forces joint stability that bars never require. Ring work accelerates every other skill.

Leg Progressions

OG2 covers lower body work as a complement to upper body calisthenics. Pistol squat and Nordic curl are the primary skill targets. Mobility prerequisites are extensive.

Leg Progressions

Pistol squat and Nordic curl as primary skill targets. Extensive mobility prerequisites. Hip and ankle range of motion before any single-leg loading.