(The companion reading list at optionalitybook.com/resources has my top suggestions for beginning calisthenics or weightlifting, or both—a popular combination is to work the lower body with barbells, and the upper body with bodyweight exercises.)

Warm-ups will vary with the lift being warmed up. If the room is cold, an initial warm-up on a rower or exercise bike might be useful to raise overall body temperature; if the room is warm, this will probably not be necessary. The squat, by its nature a total-body movement and being the first exercise of the workout, serves quite well as its own wa