I’ve loved exercise from a young age. I was always involved in some kind of sport as a kid, from gymnastics to snow skiing to rock climbing. I enjoyed being an athlete, and I feel that this set me up for a continued love of exercise and being active into adulthood.
About a year and a half ago, I began to take working out seriously. I went to the gym four to five times a week to lift weights. I learned everything I could about what exercises to do, how to eat to fuel my body, and the science behind building muscle. After going through a long body recomposition phase and seeing decent muscle growth, I completed my first cutting phase and shed a good amount of body fat. Though I am happy with the progress I’ve seen throughout my fitness journey, I’ve had a hard time finding motivation recently. I realized I needed a new challenge to keep myself excited about going to the gym. That’s when I discovered calisthenics.
Calisthenics is a type of workout that uses the resistance from your own body weight to improve certain fitness elements like strength, flexibility, mobility, and coordination. Basically, calisthenics is training for complete control of your body. This leads to a more well-rounded and functional physique rather than one built only for size and strength. Though calisthenics is not the most well-known type of workout within the fitness sphere, it’s been proven effective throughout history. It can be traced back to ancient Greece, where soldiers trained using the weight of their bodies rather than actual weights.
The exercises used in calisthenics workouts offer a lot of variation, meaning they can be modified for people of all abilities. Typical calisthenics exercises include push-ups, pull-ups, squats, planks, and other full-body movements. These are all intended to help you build up to harder calisthenics skills like handstands, front levers, and muscle-ups. It follows similar mechanics of sports like gymnastics and cheerleading.
Calisthenics is incredibly easy to start. You don’t need any equipment, making it perfect for beginners or those wanting to work out at home. You can progress at your own pace and move into more advanced skills when you’re comfortable. You can make it your whole routine, or you can do it as a warmup and cool down to supplement other types of training. In addition, calisthenics is much easier on the body, as it puts less stress on your joints than traditional strength training with extra weight. Harvard Health gives helpful tips for starting and a sample workout for you to try!
I’ve been incorporating calisthenics into my workout routine for about a month, and I’ve seen a noticeable difference in my performance at the gym. I feel stronger, and I also see improvements in my flexibility, stability, and endurance. I find that I’m more motivated to go to the gym because I’m having more fun in my workouts. It’s so easy to get started doing calisthenics, and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to take their fitness to the next level.