CALISTHENICS

 

Calisthenics

I became interested in calisthenics in 2015 when I saw a local coach on Instagram performing all sorts of crazy bodyweight movements like ring muscle ups. I got in touch with him and asked him to coach me and they rest, as they say, is history. I’ve trained with a couple of coaches over the years. They had different styles and I learned a lot from both of them. I’m glad I took the time to invest in myself to learn this type of exercise so I could establish it in my business to teach others.

What is calisthenics?

Calisthenics comes from the Greek kallos meaning beauty and sthenos meaning strength. Similar to gymnastics, it is a form of exercise which uses predominantly body weight. It includes movements such as handstands, planche, muscle ups and the human flag. Movements which often defy gravity.

What equipment do you need?

One of the things I like about calisthenics is that minimal equipment is needed which is why it is known as a street workout and something that can easily be done at home. As many movements are body weight only, you can do a full workout with no equipment or you can use door frames to do pull ups on, chairs to do dips off. Where equipment is used, this could be Olympic rings, a pull up rig or parallettes. The Olympic rings have been brilliant in covid because when we could eventually train outdoors I hung them off trees in the park.

Kallos-sthenos

Calisthenics is a great way to improve strength, fitness and flexibility. The movements are performed with good form which also helps to improve posture as well as making the movements look good. It has also helped me build muscle without lifting weights. Before I started doing calisthenics I was doing a lot of running and weighed about 12 stone 6lbs. I now weigh 14 stone 8lbs. Through doing calisthenics I’ve been able to change my body composition, building muscle without lifting heavy weights. This challenges one of the myths of the fitness industry that you can only put on mass by lifting weights. This is because the movements use the resistance of bodyweight as well as gravity, and utilising many muscle groups in each movement.

How I incorporate calisthenics with clients

If you search calisthenics on social media you will probably see movement patterns which seem impossible. You might think ‘I could never do that’. But I have proven with my clients that calisthenics is for everybody. It’s one of the things which makes me stand out as a coach because not many personal trainers specialise in it. I now teach a calisthenics class in one of the local parks in Stockport on a Saturday morning. We start with a warm up and mobility. It’s important to mobilise the joints and warm up the muscles. I then coach the technique of the movements we’re working on. This could be hand balances, pull ups or unilateral movements like pistol squats. We also do yoga based exercises to make sure people have got the flexibility to perform the exercises without injuring themselves.

Through incorporating calisthenics in my coaching, I’ve seen clients achieve what they thought was impossible. This could be anything from improving posture and movement patterns such as learning how to squat with good form, to achieving their first pull up and even joining the famous ‘SLPT 10 club’ and performing 10 chin ups! I even have long term clients who have learned to perform ring muscle ups which - true to the meaning of the word calisthenics – look beautiful and require immense strength.