---
title: Gear for Calisthenics
skill: avoid wasting my money
image: gear-for-calisthenics.mp4
image_source: https://youtu.be/0mvAgIY2l-M
image_credit: Calisthenicmovement
image_credit_url: https://www.youtube.com/@calimove
image_title: "Calisthenics Equipment That's Worth Your Money!"
image_clip: https://youtu.be/0mvAgIY2l-M?7:20-7:22.06
authors:
- renec112
published: 2026-09-24
---

You don't need gear to start. Most of this course can be done with a floor, a wall, a sturdy chair and a table. Before buying anything, check your local gym - nearly all of them have a free bodyweight area with a pull-up bar, dip station and rings, so you can try things before committing.

If you do want to get serious, here is what helps, roughly in the order you'll want it.

## Chairs and tables

Free, and already at home. Two chairs give you dips, knee and leg raises, step-ups and rows. A table edge gives you rows and elevated push-ups. Make sure they're stable and won't tip.

## Push-up handles and parallettes

Handles are small enough for a backpack and take pressure off your wrists - use them in any exercise you'd normally do with flat hands on the floor. They also let you go a bit deeper than the ground.

Parallettes are longer and higher (25-35 cm is a good height). The extra height opens up [L-sits](/calisthenics/l-sit), [elbow levers](/calisthenics/elbow-lever), full range handstand push-ups and transitions between support and overhead positions. Downside: less portable, and kicking up into a handstand is harder. Wooden handles are nicer to grip.

## High parallettes

Same idea, around 70-80 cm tall - high enough to extend your arms at the bottom of a row without touching the floor. Add dips, rows, leg raises and front-lever work. They need more space, and handstand work on them is riskier - learn to bail safely on low parallettes first.

## Doorframe pull-up bar

The cheapest way to get real [pull-ups](/calisthenics/pull-up), [hanging leg raises](/calisthenics/hanging-leg-raise), [skin the cats](/calisthenics/skin-the-cat) and everything else that happens hanging. Pick a doorframe model over a telescopic one - they're safer and can go at full height.

## Rings

The best single upper-body tool. Your joints move freely instead of being locked into a bar, and some exercises only work properly on rings: chest flies, roll-outs, [archer](/calisthenics/archer-push-up) and uneven variations, [muscle-ups](/calisthenics/muscle-up). Cheap, fits in a bag, hangs from beams and trees.

The catch: the instability makes support exercises much harder, so learn the basics on bars or the floor first. Look for wooden rings around 2.8-3.2 cm thick, with numbered straps and solid buckles.

## Resistance bands

Bands make hard things easier (skill work, [band-assisted dips](/calisthenics/band-assisted-dip)) or easy things harder (banded push-ups). One thing to know: for dips the band helps most at the bottom, which is where you need it. For pull-ups it's the opposite - most help at the bottom, least at the top - so combine banded pull-ups with [negatives](/calisthenics/pull-up-negative). Thicker band, more resistance; roughly 5-60 kg depending on the band.

## Weight vest or dip belt

Not strictly calisthenics, but a simple way to make basic movements heavier once [archer](/calisthenics/archer-row) variations stop being enough. A vest suits push-ups and legs; a belt is easier to adjust and better for pull-ups and dips. Look for padded shoulder straps and a snug fit on a vest, and a solid chain and carabiners on a belt. No budget? A backpack full of books does the job.

## If you buy one thing

Get rings. They're cheap and give you the most exercises per euro. On a slightly bigger budget, a doorframe pull-up bar plus high parallettes covers both pull and push.

Learn more here:

https://youtu.be/0mvAgIY2l-M

*[Calisthenics Movement](https://www.youtube.com/@CalisthenicsMovement) · [Calisthenics Equipment That's Worth Your Money!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mvAgIY2l-M)*