Calisthenics: What is It & How to Do It?

1. Push ups
2. Pull up
3. Dips
4. Crunches
5. Squats
6. Lunges
7. Sprints: He uses High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T.); he runs fast for 15 seconds and rests for 30 seconds then repeats the cycle  for 12-15 minutes. This helps to lean the body and improve recovery.Pre Workout
   1 Apple: 30 minutes before workout

Post Workout

• Sun Warrior: Warrior Protein – 1 Scoop
• Maca Magic:: Maca Root Powder – 1 Scoop
• 2-3 Bananas

1. FREE: No gym memberships, no long lines, no crowds, no expensive exercise equipment. Only the use of your own body weight.
2. It’s FUN: What is life if you can’t have a little fun. There are different movements and you feel like a kid in a playground. What could be better than that?
3. Potential: All of us have an unlimited amount of human potential, it is our choice whether we choose to live the life of our dreams. With Calisthenics you have a sense of positive well-being in knowing that you are creating and sculpting the body you want on your own. Of course a better body also translates to better health which is a great consequence of reaching your potential.
4. Self Confidence: Believing in one self, more so confiding or talk to & trust in one self is probably one of the greatest values a person can have, and Calisthenics affords one this possibility. When you workout and train you begin to feel good about yourself which directly and affects your
5. Self Esteem: How you value yourself and what you have done and are doing is invaluable. With body weight training AKA Calisthenics, you begin to value yourself in a way that was not possible before because you are doing something positive for yourself which begins to show inwardly and outwardly in everything you do.
6. Connection: Calisthenics gives you the wonderful opportunity to connect with others and the world as you train. You can choose to train indoors or outdoors, alone and or you can choose to workout with others in a group. I love working out in nature at the local park. Contact with nature and others that might be also their training gives me a sense of connection.
7. Self Discipline: Working out and training day in and day out, begins to create a sense of determined focus and spills over into other aspects of your life. As you train you and stick with it, you begin to notice that same drive and intensity to train regularly helps you to focus on other areas of your life.
8. Natural movements/More muscles are engaged: The movements such as push ups, pull ups, and dips are more fluid in motion and as such engage many muscle groups at the same time thus growth is proportional.
9. Easy to learn: The exercises are relatively easy to do and can be varied to adapt to each person’s strengths and weaknesses.
10. Flexible & On the go: The exercises can be done when and wherever you want.
11. Breaking down stereotypes: Calisthenics is a one size fits all and is one of the few exercise that just about anyone can do, it does not matter your age, race, height, weight, sex, income level, religion. The exercises are can be adapted for any lifestyle.

1. Time:  Of course I need to stay as objective as possible, and this one is a bit of a stretch but it goes without saying that working out requires time that could otherwise be used for something else. (However I see no better use of time than to spend with one self and being active.) Also time to be patient and stick with the exercises day in and day out could also be construed as a negative.
2. Humility: Like anything in life, as a beginner you need  to start from ground zero and for many that sense of being comfortable being uncomfortable is just too unbearable. That is probably the main reason many quit before they even get started. You have to start where you are and not where others are.
3. Learning Curve: Practice makes perfect and learning the different moves can be somewhat intimidating at first. Just stick with it.
4. Improper form: Like all exercise and pretty much anything in life. If you don’t do the exercises properly it can lead to injury.
5. Repetition: The movements can seem repetitive in nature after a while and some like to incorporate other forms of exercise like yoga, martial arts, weight lifting, core training.
6. Isolation of muscle groups: As they say there are advantages and disadvantages to just about everything, and the advantage of being able to work many muscle groups at the same time could pose a challenge for those wanting to isolate just one muscle group.

In conclusion, Calisthenics, is a form of exercise that can benefit just about anyone. It really all begins with just that first decision to just do it.

Before Calisthenics, I use to go to the gym, and often there were days when quite frankly I just did not feel like working out, but I remember hearing a saying, that 50% of working out is just showing up at the gym. I can say from personal experience that although a bit trite it is true.

I will slightly alter this phrase for the purposes of this post, and state, that 50% of Calisthenics is just doing it, You can start with something as small as push ups or alternatives like doing pushes assisted on your knees if you can’t do them. There are a ton of ways to modify the movements for your level.

So give it a try, and prove me wrong.