Simon imhauser: Heavyweight Calisthenics World Champion
My name is Simon Imhauser, and I am a professional calisthenics coach and athlete. In this piece, I am excited to share my evolution throughout the years in becoming a dedicated calisthenics athlete and coach. You’ll read about the challenges I have faced, my inspirations, my workouts, and I even include a beginner calisthenics 7 day split.
Quick Facts
Discovering Calisthenics
I have always been an athlete, as I swam competitively for over 12 years. This discipline laid a strong foundation for my physical fitness, teaching me the value of dedication and hard work. However, it was in 2018 that I found my true calling in Calisthenics.
I started in calisthenics at age 15, becoming interested by going through YouTube videos. I had already trained in the gym for a while, but I knew I wanted to take my calisthenics training to the next level. I downloaded Instagram and followed a couple big athletes at the time like Daniel Laizans, which is one of my biggest inspirations. As soon as I started training and seeing results with handstands and muscle ups, I fell in love with the sport, and have not stopped training since.
Being so young, I wanted to build up my body and train to get bigger. I wanted to be respected and have my dedication and hard work seen by others. In addition to this, before calisthenics I was getting bored in the gym. Calisthenics has so many categories and skills to perfect, that it gave me motivation to strive for new goals every gym session. The feeling of accomplishing a new skills was the most fulfilling experience in my fitness journey.
How Did You Start with Calisthenics?
My calisthenics journey started with the foundational exercises of calisthenics: pushups and pullups. Before I hit the parallettes or straight bars, I committed to doing 50 pushups per day for 2 months. It was definitely challenging in the beginning, but I felt stronger and saw visible results in my chest and triceps which pushed me to keep going. I then purchased door frame pullup bars and made myself do a pullup every time I entered or left my room.
I loved the progress I was seeing and feeling and decided to train at the gym and work towards more advanced skills such as the tuck planche, tuck front lever, handstand, dips, and muscle up training. The progress was slow, but as soon as I got my first handstand it gave me a lot more motivation to continue.
My calisthenics career and journey took off when I met Enim Langley, a calisthenics athlete during that time. He introduced me to the world of freestyle and took me to a freestyle gym where I met Malin Jansson and Daniel Flefil. Being introduced into the gym showed me how much potential for personal growth there is in calisthenics. I got to get tips and advice from some of the best athletes from Sweden helping me evolve faster. I am so grateful for these people who empowered me to program, train, and coach calisthenics.
Who is Your Inspiration in Calisthenics?
As I mentioned before, Daniel Laizans was definitely one of my major inspirations. Like myself, he was a taller and heavier athlete. He was one of the first and the best heavyweight calisthenics athletes. I still admire his style and he is still my main inspiration. As calisthenics developed, more and more athletes entered the game and I got to meet new people. Daniel Hristov was another one of my inspirations as he is such a complete athlete, both in freestyle and statics. When I got more and more into social media, Malin Malle Jansson inspired me as she had been in the sport for a while, and showed me how to integrate calisthenics and social media.
My Calisthenics Workouts
I believe that if you find a training routine that you generally enjoy and aren’t heavily focused on perfection, results will come faster than you think. At the end of the day, I believe it's all about consistency and how many times you show up! I stay consistent by having my training as a daily routine. I always have a set of training clothes in my bag and I have always trained as soon as I finish my day up at school or work. When I have days where I don't feel like training, I adapt and do things I enjoy rather than doing nothing or skipping the gym.
What is Your Calisthenics Workout Program?
I currently follow a six-day weekly training split. Twice a week, I focus on freestyle, combining dynamic skills with some static holds at the end. Another two days are dedicated to front lever training, including holds and power moves like front lever pull-ups and raises, often using resistance bands to improve my holds. The remaining two days are for planche training, incorporating Maltese, planche presses, and holds, where I also use resistance bands for assistance. Check out My YouTube channel where I take you through my daily workouts!
What Equipment Do You Use For Your Workouts?
Calisthenics is extremely accessible, as all you need is yourself and most parks/gyms have bars. I personally like to have my own equipment as I can bring the gym anywhere, and I know I have stable and good quality equipment. The piece of equipment I use the most has to be my GORNATION Parallettes as it allows me to have a longer range of motion and also a more comfortable grip for my wrist during my push exercises. The other major piece of equipment has to be the GORNATION Static Bar which I use during my front lever, handstand, and planche training. I also use the following equipment during my workouts to help me with other exercises or comfort and protection.
What are Your Favorite Calisthenics Exercises?
My favorite calisthenics exercises would have to be weighted dips. It transfers a lot of pushing strength for planche, and I love that I am moving heavy weight. I feel really powerful and love to end my workouts with them. They gave an insane upper body pump which is always good for some extra motivation.
What is the Hardest Calisthenics Workout Challenge You Have Done?
The hardest challenge I have done is the barbarian requirements. It requires completing a lot of reps which is not my strength. I tested my strength through repetitions after training statics, but I fell short in both time and form. It was a valuable experience, though, as it highlighted my strengths and weaknesses, giving me a better understanding of my overall fitness.
Competitive Calisthenics
I have had the privilege to compete in some of the elite calisthenics competitions over the years. I have been the Swedish Calisthenics Champion for three years and the Nordic Champion for two years but did not compete in 2023. I also took home my first international win at Beast of the Barz 2019.
I had another great experience in 2022 at the world championship. This event was divided by weight classes which was great for me as I am usually one of the biggest athletes. I knew I had a greater chance at placing higher and I came out winning 2nd place at the world championship.
What is Your Favorite Calisthenics Competition?
My favorite competition is the Street Workout Ultimate Battles. This is an indescribable experience as there's over 1200 people cheering you on while you are performing. The crowd is always amazing and gives me so much energy while I am competing. It also motivates me to see that many people are engaged in the sport.
What Do You Like Most About Calisthenics?
My favorite aspect of calisthenics is the freedom and the control your body gets. Calisthenics gives you the freedom to move your body in so many different ways based on the functional strength that you develop. Calisthenics can also be done anywhere. I don’t need to rely on a gym to perform a full workout. The best feeling I have ever experienced is being in an outdoor park with other calisthenics athletes, sending combos and just having fun!
My body is never the limiting factor in my daily life. The feeling of weightlessness is extra strong during freestyle, especially during skills that require a lot of airtime. My favorite move is the alley oop, since there is almost a full second of me just flying. I live for the few seconds where I don't think about anything else except for the next move that I will perform!
Statics is a different type of weightlessness - I get a feeling that I am so strong relative to my body weight. My favorite static skill is the front lever, as it was the first big skill that I learned and therefore my body is extremely comfortable when I perform it.
Recovery & Diet
If you are a calisthenics beginner or pro, recovery and diet are essential to make sure you are seeing the progress you want while having enough energy. To recover, I make sure to get enough protein during my days, which is about 2 grams per kilogram of body weight. In addition to diet, sleep is crucial, so I make sure to get eight hours per day. I also have implemented deload weeks to make sure my body has time to recover. During my deload week I also cut down on the sets and reps in order to reduce the overall pressure on my body.
How Do You Deal With Injuries?
If you are training often, injuries are inevitable. That is why I try to adapt my training program while I am injured to train another area of the body that is pain free. Even if the exercises are extremely modified, it is better than no movement. In addition to this, I make sure to get blood flow in the injured area and do the proper rehab.
What Supplements Do You Take Daily?
I mainly take protein powder, creatine, and magnesium. I try to get my protein from natural foods, but when I can’t reach it I add some protein powder to my diet. I take creatine every morning to increase performance and recovery. I have also had some problems with cramps and that is when I started taking magnesium which has helped me a lot.
My 1 Rep Maxes and Personal Records
The Future in Calisthenics
I am so excited for my future in calisthenics, as the sport continues to grow and I have skills that I still have not perfected. I have two major goals when it comes to skills in calisthenics: the full planche on a straight bar and the full Maltese on a straight bar. When I started training, I thought these skills would be impossible to reach, but after six years of experience I actually have a chance to nail these skills. They are still extremely impressive moves and require a lot of dedication to reach, but as long as I stay consistent, I believe there will be a day when I can perform both skills.
What are Your Goals in the Next 5-10 Years?
I want to become the heavyweight world champion and get bigger athletes involved in calisthenics. My overall goal is to help people reach further within calisthenics. I have invested time to grow my social media to reach a bigger audience, and have my own online courses for calisthenics athletes of all levels. I love connecting with my community, the Imhauser Crew through my own app where I share coaching feedback and advice on all things calisthenics.
Get Started with Calisthenics
As I mentioned before, calisthenics is such a rewarding journey that anyone can begin with just their body weight! If you are looking to get started, I recommend finding exercises you like to do and finding a workout partner that can keep you accountable and push you to your potential. It is normal to have days where you do not feel like going to the gym (I have those too!) but the key is to find some movement to do - it does not have to be perfect! At the end of the day, it is all about who can last the longest, because if you stay disciplined, it's impossible to not see the results!
How would You Advise a Beginner to Start their Calisthenics Journey?
As a beginner, I would recommend you to start with the basics, such as pull-ups, push-ups, dips, and squats. When you move onto the hard skills such as front lever and planche, you will have a great foundation to start from. Progress will also come way faster if you master these fundamentals, and you will both look and feel strong. Calisthenics is a way to enjoy your training, therefore it's crucial to find a workout routine you enjoy. Although it is a long process, the beauty of calisthenics is enjoying the struggle and understanding its connection to the progress you are trying to achieve. A full body split for beginners could look something like this:
Day 1: Upper Body Push
- Push-Ups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Pike Push-Ups: 3 sets of 6-10 reps
- Tricep Dips (using a chair or parallel bars): 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Shoulder Taps: 3 sets of 10-15 reps per side
- Plank: 3 sets of 30-60 seconds
Day 2: Lower Body
- Bodyweight Squats: 3 sets of 12-15 reps
- Lunges: 3 sets of 10-12 reps per leg
- Glute Bridges: 3 sets of 15 reps
- Calf Raises: 3 sets of 15-20 reps
Day 3: Rest or Active Recovery
- Active Recovery Options:
- Light walking or jogging
- Stretching or yoga
Day 4: Upper Body Pull
- Assisted Chin-Ups: 3 sets of 10-12 reps
- Inverted Rows (using a bar or table): 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Australian Pull-Ups: 3 sets of 6-10 reps
- Dead Hang (if possible): 3 sets of 20-30 seconds
Day 5: Core and Cardio
- Mountain Climbers: 3 sets of 20-30 reps per side
- Leg Raises: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
- Russian Twists: 3 sets of 15-20 reps per side
- Burpees: 3 sets of 10-15 reps
Day 6: Rest or Active Recovery
- Active Recovery Options:
- Light walking or jogging
- Stretching or yoga
Day 7: Full Body
- Burpees: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Pull-Ups or Assisted Pull-Ups: 3 sets of 4-8 reps (use a band or a chair for assistance if needed)
- Push-Ups: 3 sets of 8-12 reps
- Squats: 3 sets of 12-15 reps
- Plank: 3 sets of 30-60 seconds
Join the Calisthenics Masterclass
If you’re looking for more help and guidance, join the Calisthenics Masterclass, a workout community led by me with all the courses and resources you need to achieve more muscle gains and master new impressive bodyweight skills. The Imhauser Crew has full access to me to receive tips and feedback in whatever they may need. JOIN NOW to get exclusive access to courses like the Handstand Blueprint, Muscle Building for Beginners, Muscle Up Program, and Pull Up Program. When you join, you will also have access to all upcoming courses and programs like Planche and Front Levers for Heavy Dudes, How to Build a Strong Mentality, What to Eat to Build and more!
