What is Calisthenics?
What Is Calisthenics?
To begin, calisthenics derives from the Greek word kalos, which means strength, and calisthenics, which means beauty. Put them together and you have beautiful strength, something that should not be misunderstood as easy or soft; it can be, and this is the beauty of its duality. Most people, when it comes to fitness, training, or hitting the gym, instantly think about weight training using machines, dumbbells, or barbells, etc. Calisthenics, however, focuses on building your health with your own body, which is also referred to as bodyweight training. This has been a form of physical culture and fitness for centuries, commonly seen in martial arts as well as in Roman and Spartan soldiers. You’ll also see this throughout the history of wrestling across all cultures as a form of strength & conditioning. In our modern era, calisthenics has formed a community, developed a brotherhood and sisterhood, and gained respect on a competitive stage. Now, for the most part, the benefits are
Calisthenics, in its huge umbrella, carries many forms that spread out into a few disciplines
There’s Reps & Sets, sometimes known as Street workout. These capitalize on the basics push ups, pull-ups, squats, dips, and abdominal exercises like sit-ups, planks, and leg lifts. You will most likely encounter these at your local parks & playgrounds. The emphasis is on creating as much damage as possible to your muscles through a high amount of volume ( reps & sets ), and there is a lot of magic in high-rep calisthenic work that you can’t really find elsewhere. Street workouts have also turned into “ battles “ where the opponents create circuits that test one’s stamina and endurance, the victor being the one who finishes first.
Commando Pull Ups for Stronger Arm Development
Front lever work in the rugged streets of NYC
Calisthenic Skill & Freestyle training, which resembles shades of gymnastics. These are primarily static postures and pretty much press the off button on gravity. It’s highly dependent on the strength of one’s upper body muscles & tendons, with little to no leg work. Here you will see all the flips, flash, glitz, and glamor done on high pull-up bars, parallel bars, or the floor.
Next is Weighted Calisthenics, and it is important to note that the competitive stage calls it ( Street lifting ). The focus here is on adding weight to the basics, as mentioned before, but the goal is to add additional weight to your body. Weighted chin-ups, weighted push-ups, weighted lunges & squats, weighted muscle-ups. Those who embark on this path tend to have extremely high levels of strength and develop some impressive physiques that couple mass as well as a shredded look.
Lastly, some practice the art of performance. Think hand balancing, acrobats, flexibility, free running, or parkour.
The calisthenic movement is essentially an infinite pool of practices, and rightfully so, it’s the work of tapping in & connecting with your body, which could be a lifetime of work. The process is strenuous, like anything worth having, but the results and what’s gained are beautiful.
Enjoy the path,
Coach Semet
