Even if you’re not totally sure what calisthenics means, chances are you’ve seen it before.
Picture the super fit person at your gym who can pull himself up way over the bar. That’s called a muscle-up, and it’s a type of calisthenics.
Or the person you watched on YouTube who could hold his body straight out like a flag. That’s calisthenics too. And the person doing push-ups in the park? You guessed it, calisthenics.
Kenneth Gallarzo, the guy who started Systematic Calisthenics, says, “Calisthenics is all about using gravity and your own body weight to make your workouts tough. That’s the simplest way to explain it.”
Gallarzo knows his stuff. He’s been teaching himself and others for a long time. And he created a full guide on this topic.
So, whether you’re just starting, somewhere in the middle, or already know a lot, we’ve got tips for you on how to get better at using your body weight to train.
What’s Calisthenics, Anyway?
The word calisthenics comes from two Greek words. “Kalos” means beauty, and “Stenos” means strength.
Calisthenics started as a way to make school kids healthier. But now, it’s a lot like gymnastics that you can do outside, often called a “street workout.”
A lot of people first hear about calisthenics from seeing someone do something really cool with it. For many, that person was Hannibal Lanham, or “Hannibal for King,” who showed off his moves in parks across Queens, New York.
But for Gallarzo, his inspiration came from someone local. Before getting into calisthenics, he was a gym trainer doing regular lifting. Then he saw someone do muscle-ups.
He had never seen that before, looked it up on YouTube, and was blown away. That’s when he started to try out training with his own body weight.
Want to learn more about how you can get strong using just your body? Read the full article here.
