Overcoming Gravity: A Systematic Approach to Gymnastics and Bodyweight Strength (Second Edition)

Great book. Gave me an understanding on how to implement an exercise program based on my schedule, of how and why to make my own precise program and how to progress. In the past 4 months I have moved up 4 levels on the progression chart in the book and I work out 4-5 times a week for about 45-60 minutes a week. I do not do the perfect program of a pro for time reasons, but I know what I need to adjust to make something work for me. For whatever sports you do, if you are serious about it, this book help you know what and how to train. If you teach or coach this is a great book to help you. Even if you do one of the below programs this book will help. Though it is geared toward gymnastic exercise it goes over the basics of the various types and how and when you use them. He does not tell you what is best but gives you the data to decide what works for your purpose. My friends were into Convict Conditioning and my physio friends are doing the Gymnastic Bodies program. This got me interested in doing a gymnastic based program. I researched online and found 4 basic ones that seem to be the most popular. I went with this book as it was not hundreds of dollars. I did not want to pay for a program that I spent a lot on and might not stick with. This had good reviews in terms of applicability. Even the section on injuries change my view on recovery. Now if I wake with a stiff neck or something like THAT, I handle it different and a lot more effectively. This alone made the book worth it. The other programs were: Convict Conditioning was 7 basic movements and was limited for me and has a slower progression than I liked. It has a basic book that was $30 ($10 used) but once you hit a point you need to buy other books from the author to advance. Gymnastic Bodies costs a couple hundred for the beginner program and about $750 for the full program. This is geared toward getting to the professional standards and is based on a very strict program. The author/coach is very strict and is very critical of anybody else's program. Some of his students are also like this but most seemed helpful with online questions. If one was going to go to competition levels this would be a good program. He keeps pushing how he was the junior nationals coach though the majority of us do not fit into that category and training a bunch of teenagers does not necessarily qualify one to train 30-70 year old people. Though I think he has a good workable program and can work for others. Gold Metal Bodies is similar to Gymnastic Bodies (but not per the above coach) and priced the same. If I get advanced enough I may pay for this program but that will be in a few years. Cons to this book are: it is a bit technical in vocabulary. When I started reading it I had zero gymnastic knowledge, no idea what the Victorian or iron cross was or some of the biology terms. I ended up using YouTube and Google to get a good understanding of these terms, it helped a lot to be able to actually see what he was talking about. I had 2 friends who saw me reading the book and tried to get through it but gave up. If you find it too complex there is a cheat sheet on how to get started fast, just Google it. Though I recommend reading the book. The main critical reviews were on how it was written. Yes there are some typos and sometimes it is a bit repetitive or not elegantly written but this is not why I bought the book. I wanted something that works and teaches me how to make a program and this does that. In the book he says to make your own program and not use his example programs. If you were like me and had no experience, just use his example programs, they work fine. So thank you Steven for a great workable book.

This is one of the best calisthenics books out there. Number one. I know a lot about calisthenics and this is perfect. It’s the Bible of calisthenics. It has everything you need to know and the progressions are there. There should be more exercises on legs but it’s all good. It has a lot of ring progressions as well. It also talks about weights and how it can help you in calisthenics. the reason why calisthenics athletes don’t train legs is because they think that their skills will go down. It’s true but if you train your legs for mass then you will suffer on your skills. it will get harder. this book explains everything you need to know about calisthenics. If you are a beginner to calisthenics or fitness, then this book might be a little hard to understand. Overall, get this book if you are serious about calisthenics. However. The only thing I hate about this book is that it does not talk much about nutrition. It only has 2 or 3 pages talking about nutrition. It doesn’t tell you how much you should eat. It doesn’t tell you how to eat for weighted calisthenics or for skills. it doesn’t tell you how to stay lean year round. It just tells you to eat clean and low calorie foods to stay lean and eat plenty of protein. Basic stuff. What j want to know is how do we eat if we train skills or weighted calisthenics. Or even high reps calisthenics basics. how long and how much is too much. If you go into a surplus your skills will suffer because you weigh more but it doesn’t explain when you should bulk or cut. It doesn’t talk about when you should bulk or cut. I’m still confused as to how we should eat if we want to progress in weighted calisthenics, skills, endurance, reps and sets, weight training, hiit, etc. how do we eat if we train all of this? Do our macros change? It doesn’t talk about macros that much. There needs to be a book about nutrition or at least add some more info or try to explain more in detail because without nutrition how do you expect us to achieve these skills. we can’t just eat to stay lean. We also need to eat to gain muscle. if you eat a lot you will get heavier so to me it makes no sense whatsoever as to how calisthenics athletes and gymnasts eat. I’m pretty sure they don’t eat the same way as bodybuilders. A lot of books and videos out there do not and I mean do not talk about nutrition because nobody knows. I have been looking for an answer and nobody seems to know the answer. nobody seems to know anything about eating right. How much, how long, and why? Nobody can explain if we should bulk or cut. Nobody knows how to explain the concept of nutrition. The answer is nowhere to be found.

I will just come out and say that this is an invaluable resource for those into calisthenics and good old body weight workouts. What I love is how minimal equipment is needed. The illustrations show clear form and technique, progressions are given, training for different fitness levels are given. The book really helps you design a program to follow. This book is geared more towards helping you create your own progressive workout as opposed to giving you a set template. Which I think is great, as it lets you work on your specific goals. Also allowing for unlimited growth as its not a set program, although there are workout templates that you can certainly use. I think its a perfect book for beginners to grow with and advanced to perfect with. The equipment needed is very minimal The only problem I had with the book, is when the author mentions charts. For instance "Print out the progression chart in the middle of this chapter" I have no idea what chart the author is referring to and its not clearly labelled. The next chapter the author asks to break down your goals in push and pull except the exercises aren't clearly labelled push or pull so you literally have to go through and determine which ones are which. This is done often and I think it would have been much easier to have a list of the exercises and a list of information given about each. At one point the author states you can go to the website and print off a sheet but its not in an easy to locate area, that clearly labelled. I have nicknamed Overcoming Gravity the Body Weight Bible. Hands down at the top of my list for workout books. Definitely worth the price tag and more. It available on Kindle but I preferred to have the actual book to mark up and look through. Excellent Book

This book has been nothing short of life-changing for me. After a few months of diligent practice, I am stronger, leaner, and more flexible than I have ever been in my entire life. I have dropped over 25 lbs and have put on a considerable amount of muscle. For the first time in my life I have a six pack, which I did not have even doing a P90X/Insanity hybrid, but that's not the best part. The strength gains that I have made are nothing short of phenomenal. I have increased my big 3 lifts by over 50 lbs, without even working on them! I am able to do single leg squats, handstands, L-sit ring muscle-ups, single-arm push-ups, straddle back lever, tuck planche, and even the elbow lever, as pictured on the cover. I could not do anything close to this before I bought this book. However, the progressions outlined in the book for these exercises are by far the hardest thing that I have ever done physically. It does not compare to any off-the-shelf program in terms of shear difficulty, so be prepared to fail, alot. The author does, however, teach you the necessary concepts of how to tailor your program specifically for your goals and abilities, which will enable you to progress, without injury, much faster and achieve far greater results than anything you can buy from an infomercial. Although, it does require a bit more work on the user's end in terms of programming and assessment. Short of finding an actual coach, this book delivers in way that I hitherto simply would not have believed possible. PS: I would recommend buying an ab wheel, rings, parallettes, pull-up bar, dip bar, and a 20 ft rope. These are the tools I am using in my progressions, in addition to barbells for certain exercises, i.e. push press to develop strength for the handstand. I wouldn't say that all this equipment is absolutely necessary, but it is a tremendous asset. If you're on a budget, I'd say just buy, or make, some rings. Rings are mandatory IMO. UPDATE: After 9 months of gymnastics training, I have lost about 60 lbs total, going from 237 lbs down to 177 lbs, and going from 24% body fat down to 11%. I am currently working on the inverted muscle up aka "elevator" as well as the iron cross, and I am very close to achieving both. Aside from hurting my leg due to falling off my p-bars, I have not sustained any injuries and all of the programming and progression advice in the book has paid off tremendously. Of course I have been training between 1-5 hours per day, 6-7 days per week, and using a very strict diet/sleep schedule, so my results may not be typical for most. My life has been completely changed and I can only imagine what another 9 months of training will bring.

OG is truly the bible of bodyweight strength training. The book covers everything you need to know to get started building your own intelligent training routine (from beginner to advanced), as well as how to deal with plateaus and setbacks like injuries. Excellent resource. Why not five stars? Two reasons. First, there are quite a few mistakes throughout the book. Most are very minor (e.g. spelling), but there are a handful of errors that could cause some confusion. Second, the CG form models do not always match the description for the ideal form. This is by far the greatest fault of the book since many people will refer to the models without reading the text when in a rush. Also, while those familiar with the movements may not find it too distracting, it could cause quite a bit of confusion for total beginners. Regardless of these two shortcomings, the book is the number one resource out there for what it aims to achieve. Definitely recommended to anyone looking to learn about bodyweight/gymnastics strength training (whether for yourself or your clients)!

This magnificent work is like no other. Dr. Low deeply considered the full range of both his topic and his audience, empowering the committed layperson to identify and understand the components of setting and achieving goals. The research is comprehensive and perfectly summarized; no issue is trivial nor glossed over nor obscured by sloppy explanation. You go from the general to the specific, gaining a solid framework and understanding of your choices. I have been training with weights for some 30 years, reading broadly and deeply, from scientific papers to self-styled weight lifting gurus. I didn't think this book would offer much to me, because I am not a gymnast, but it totally transformed my situation. My deepest wish was to be free of one-size-fits-all programs and learn to create a successful program for my own goals, my own body, and to be able to customize it as I progress and as I age. I don't want to entrust this to others, yet I don't have the educational background to know how to do this. I got this book from the library when it came up on a search for bodyweight exercises. I was astounded at what it offers and bought a copy. The ability to knowledgeably chart my own path opens the door to my most cherished wishes. I also appreciate the way this book is written and edited. It is carefully structured, not tossed together like most books of this size that cobble notes together. It is not dumbed down and has no fluff. It is also not too technical with bits added for the sake of vanity or to pretend erudition. It is compelling and charming. It is uplifting to read the work of someone with this caliber of intellect. All the better that it is something I can put to practical use in something as fundamental to my life as wellbeing. It is a goldmine of information. I was surprised to find meaningful and original wisdom from this young man in his general advice about how to approach and manage achievement. These are not the usual glib admonitions people pick up and pass along but they come from his life. They are not vague, broad swipes but are very precise and systematic methods one can apply to exercise and to life. His understanding of science goes beyond scientific research. It goes to the heart of scientific method and science as a community. He recommends and refers the reader to the works of others that overlap or are beyond his scope. He does this with the enthusiasm to share and teach. Too many scientists let competition eclipse this fundamental underpinning of how science works and just try to settle scores with others and to batter the reader with their own constructs. It is a privilege to be able to benefit from this fine intellect. Steven Low, thank you.

This book is a fantastic (and maybe essential) tool for pursuing calisthenics. I first read and used the book to build a program 3 years ago, which has helped me steadily progress on gymnastic rings and in floor skills ever since. It provides a breadth of knowledge that taught me an immense amount about strength, mobility, designing a fitness program, and much more. Even after 10+ years of strength training prior to reading the book, I found great value in it and continue to recommend it to others. Dr. Low knows his stuff and presents it well.

This book is phenomenal. This book was similar to the weight training book ”Starting Strength,” (SS) in that it provides you with a solid understanding of everything you need to know to construct and implement a training program that will be successful in achieving your physical goals. As SS did for me in weight training, “Overcoming Gravity” has opened my eyes to a whole new world of physical training. This book contains information about program construction, body weight movement progressions, and descriptions with illustrations of the various body weight movements. It is quite comprehensive, and this is exactly what I was looking for. If you are looking for something quick and easy that just tells you what to do - this book isn’t it. It will take time to read, digest, and implement the ideas contained in this text. For me, gaining an understanding of programming and specifically how to apply that to body weight training has been absolutely essential. I got pretty strong using the weight training info in SS (525dl, 400sq, 275bp), but whenever I have taken forays into body weight training I never made it too far because it is more difficult to program a body weight program and when I tried to follow cookie cutter programs online, it would work for a little bit then I would quickly stall. After having read this book and following a program I created for the last month and a half - I am now able to do 3 ring muscle ups. This was my first goal and I got to it fairly quickly (for me), and this despite having made various efforts in the past to learn the ring muscle up - and never achieving even 1. The point im trying to make is that the book is great. It has everything you need to get started in body weight/gymnastic training - but you will need to put in the reading and mental effort.

Overcoming Gravity isn’t just a book—it’s a blueprint for transforming your approach to fitness from the ground up. After years of inconsistent routines and second-guessing my progress, this book completely reshaped how I think about training. The level of detail, structure, and science-backed guidance Steven Low provides is unmatched. What truly sets this book apart is its emphasis on building intelligent, sustainable progressions—it teaches you how to think like a coach, not just follow a cookie-cutter plan. I’ve revamped my entire lifestyle and training routine around what I learned here, and the results have been both physical and mental. I feel more in control, more knowledgeable, and more motivated than ever before. And the cherry on top? Steven Low himself took the time to answer my questions directly on Reddit. That kind of dedication to the community speaks volumes about his passion and integrity. Whether you’re a complete beginner, a seasoned athlete, or anywhere in between—Overcoming Gravity is the resource you didn’t know you needed. Don’t just work out. Train with purpose. Read this book.

As one can see I'm an amazon customer/member since about 15 years and I only submited two reviews. But I have an intrinsic need to write an review about Overcoming Gravity 2 by Steven Low. This book is worth every minute I put in this review! Enjoy. I read several good books about bodyweight training (for example “Be Your Own Gym” by Mark Lauren) and training according to the principles of bodyweight training and plans provided in the books was fun. My endurance and bodyshape improved a little bit and I felt better in general. But despite my efforts I put in the workouts it seemed that my actual goals – getting STRONGER and getting a little more MUSCELS didn’t progress at all (getting stronger and muscle-growth are not the same!) Despite the fun and positive changes something was missing (no gadgets or training-machines though). So I stared to search the Internet and stumbled across “Calisthenics”. I read a lot about calisthenics and thought “that’s it – with calisthenics I can work towards my goals (strength and a little more muscle mass)”. First I bought “Convict Conditioning” by Paul Wade. It was an okay/good book but I was not fully pleased with the amount and quality of the information provided (way to much "BroScience" in it). The description of the exercises and progressions were solid but I would have liked more or to say better information. And the training plans at the end… Well let’s say not well at all :-) Nevertheless having read Convict Conditioning confirmed by resolution to do calisthenics und most of all – I WANT TO PROGRAM MY OWN WORKOUT ROUTINES so that I would not depend on routines throughout the internet or routines from books. So my goals at this stage were: - I want to do bodyweight training in general and calisthenics in specific - I want scientifically correct and well written information for beginners and intermediate athletes about: (I) How to program my own workout routine (II) Descriptions how to do the exercises correctly (healthy and efficient) (III) Ways to progress from “easy” to “advanced” or even "hard" exercises So I searched forums and the like to find a book which could cover these bases and so it happened that I stumbled over “Overcoming Gravity 2” by Steven Low. After all the positive reviews (here at amazon and throughout the internet) I decided to give it a try. And this is what I say: Everyone seriously interested in bodyweight training should buy this book! Seriously this book is absolutely incredible! Among many other things you will find: - A well written book that everybody interested in the martial can understand - A book written with passion und true intend to transfer knowledge to the reader - Very well exercise descriptions! I never had such good descriptions even for the basic exercises like the pushup! As YOU read this please don't say “I don’t need a description for pushups I can already to 3 sets of 20 pushups easily” – have von open mind and read the damn description I’ll bet a) you doing pushups wrong and b) not as efficient as one could do them (aside form long-term health issues) and c) if you are going to start to do them right you most probably will not get to your 3x20 pushup exercise :-) - Principles about training and bodyweight training an general (SAID-principle, progressive overload, etc.) - How to train the nervous system and muscular to get stronger and gain muscle (not the same!) - How to properly triger optimal strenght-based training, optimal hypertrophy-based training (added muscles) or to triger both strenght and hypertrophy at the same time. - How to develop a spot an workout routine and how to handle the parameters like sets, repetitions, rest, volume, intensity, tempo, frequency, how to work to failure (and when/if you should train to failure), deloads and how to handle plateaus - How to build full-body or split workouts and what the difference is (positive/negative) - How to periodize your workout - The book helps with rehabilitation and prehabilitation, warmup and cooldown, skill work, mobility, flexibility. - The book covers imported factors that influence your training - And of course how you progress from easy exercises to the hard ones In addition to all of that the author answers question personally and within 1-2 days (in my experience)! His answers are always helpful und contain a lot of information. The answers are also no “off the rack” answers by all means! You can find him on reddit.com under subreddit /r/overcominggravity After you read this book you will: (I) You will have a much better understanding how to perform the different exercises/movements and hence increase the quality of your workout (II) You can write your own routines regardless of the goals you peruse (or like Steven says: "...teach a men how to fish...") (III) You will be equipped with methods how to progress in general (INTRA-exercise-progression) and how to progress towards specific exercise progressions (INTER-exercise-progression) I'm 100% sure I forgot to mention A LOT about the book but this is just because it contains so much! You can't get a bigger bang out of your buck when you buy this book. Five stars are just not enough! I don’t know what else to say except: Thank you Steven for this beautiful piece of work and your support at reddit.com. Last comment: The book is written in English and not translated in German but everyone with a solid English foundation can read it with no problems at all.

Esse livro é espetacular, dos livros que eu li em relação a calistenia e exercícios com peso corporal em geral esse é o mais completo e informativo. Uma dica se você também é iniciante e está querendo aprender a programar sua rotina na calistenia ou em exercícios com peso corporal também, é usar a rotina que ele da pra iniciantes no "Appendix B" do livro enquanto vai lendo porque assim você não precisa ler o livro com pressa para começar a treinar logo./ This book is awesome, this is the most complete and informative book i have read about Calisthenics and exercises with body weight in general. One tip if you are a beginner too and is wondering to learn how to program your calisthenics or bodyweight exercises training is to use the training he gives for beginners in the "Appendix B" because this way you don't need to read the book in a hurry to start training soon.

TONS of information, well-put by Steven. Appreciate the perspective he takes as he knows the readers of this book aren't solely gymnasts, but also people doing other sports, calisthenics athletes, etc. Truly an "exercise bible" and will be using this for me and my clients programming for years to come. Thanks Steven!

Such a great book. Learning how to construct a strength building routine, how to progress/advance the routine over time and why is invaluable. This is the book I rely on and refer back to offer for my workouts with great results.