Throughout high school, I started each morning by going down to the basement to lift weights for an hour. But this routine fell apart as my schedule became more hectic during and after college, and eventually I stopped exercising altogether. Six years later, after losing all my strength and muscle mass, I set out to recover it.

While it wasn't feasible to recreate the old environment of a basement gym, I identified the key factors that led to success in that environment, and realized that they could be accomplished in a bedroom with gymnastic rings hanging from a pull-up bar.

Initially I focused on simply getting back into shape: getting ripped and then building mass.

Then I started taking things more seriously, trying to maximize performance on various calisthenics. I've started posting on YouTube to hold myself accountable for making progress. It really helps to see video evidence of tiny improvements compounding into massive long-term gains.

While my main goal is just to have fun staying fit, I do want to continue building a physique and see how far I can go with exercises that feel like they're in my natural wheelhouse.

Daily morning workouts. Each exercise is taken to 100% failure. If no proper equipment is available, I emulate the exercises as well as possible on the floor (e.g., maltese on floor) or with whatever resources are handy (e.g., dips between chairs).

1. [filmed] planche to maltese
2. [filmed] iron cross dip
3. [filmed] pushups
4. [filmed] iron cross dip
5. [filmed] planche to maltese to iron cross dip to bent-arm back lever
6. [filmed] iron cross to tuck planche circuit
7. [filmed] prone circuit: pushups, rotating sprinter kickbacks
8. [filmed] swing circuit: planche, iron cross back-lean
9. [filmed] iron cross dip circuit: spread-leg flair, rotating karate kick
10. [filmed] supine circuit: front lever kicks, twirl to back lever
11. weighted squat straight-leg isometric holds
12. jump rope