What Is a Calisthenics Exercise? Even if you’re not quite sure what calisthenics is, you’ll have definitely seen it in action. The ripped guy at your gym who's able to lift his whole upper-body above a pull-up bar - that’s a muscle-up and he’s doing calisthenics. The guy you saw on YouTube who’s turned himself into a human flag by holding his body parallel to the ground, he’s doing calisthenics too. And the chap doing dips in the park? ‘Calisthenics is a form of fitness which utilises gravity and bodyweight leverage to challenge your fitness level. I feel like that's the easiest way I can put it,’ says Kenneth Gallarzo, founder of Systematic Calisthenics. Gallarzo has been training himself and others for years, and with his help we’ve put together a complete guide to the discipline. So, whether you’re a beginner, an intermediate or an advanced practitioner, we've got something to teach you about the art of mastering your own bodyweight.
The term calisthenics comes from the Greek words ‘Kalos’ meaning beauty and ‘Stenos’ which translates as strength. Originally, calisthenics was a method of promoting health, ‘and thus securing beauty and strength’, in school children, but it’s evolved into a training method that shares a lot in common with gymnastics. Unlike gymnastics, though, it can be practiced outdoors, and for that reason it's sometimes referred to as a ‘street workout’. Most people discover calisthenics by seeing someone else doing an advanced version of it. For many of its current practitioners, the man they saw was probably Hannibal Lanham, also known as Hannibal for King, boost endurance whose version of calisthenics, which he practised in parks around Queens, New York, brought the discipline to the attention of millions. For Gallarzo, though, his inspiration was much more local. ‘Prior to getting involved in calisthenics I was already into fitness, I was a personal trainer at a big corporate-style gym, so doing the traditional type of lifting,’ says Gallarzo.
‘There was one guy that used to come in and do some muscle-ups, and I'd never seen that before. What Is a Calisthenics Exercise? Calisthenics exercises use your bodyweight as resistance and require minimal equipment (aside from bars). So you know how it started, but why should you bother training calisthenics? We spoke to Tayo Awoderu, online coach and calisthenics trainer for Steel Warriors, who provided a few reasons for building muscle with just your bodyweight. ‘One of the biggest advantages of calisthenics is that you can do it anywhere, without the need for expensive equipment or gym memberships. ‘Calisthenics movements mimic the natural movements of the body, such as pushing, pulling, squatting and jumping. ‘Calisthenics requires a full range of motion, which helps improve flexibility and mobility. ‘Calisthenics exercises target multiple muscle groups simultaneously, resulting in a more toned and defined physique. ‘Calisthenics workouts often involve compound movements that work multiple muscle groups at once.
Both calisthenics and weight training are valuable training methods, so you’re not doing fitness wrong if you favour one over the other. But if you have specific targets, you may want to adjust your training to meet them. Allow us to explain… If your goal is to build massive arms or a formidable, Titan Rise Male Enhancement chiselled chest, you may find it more useful to workout with either a set of dumbbells or a barbell. That’s not to say you can’t or won’t build muscle with calisthenics - you absolutely can and will - but working out with weights will make it easier for you to isolate and target specific muscle groups. ‘If targeted hypertrophy is your goal, picking up a pair of weights will allow you to push a muscle group closer to failure and Titan Rise Supplement therefore increase the likelihood of you gaining size in that specific area,’ says Men’s Health fitness writer Kate Neudecker.
