Fitness Training
Everything you needed to know about calisthenics but were afraid to ask
If you can’t say it, let alone spell it, this is your one-stop shop for the workout trend that could change everything for you.
You know those Instagram videos you see with insanely ripped people performing human flags? That’s calisthenics.
You know when you do a push-up or sit-up at home or in the gym? That’s calisthenics.
You know when you see a load of people in the park, hanging upside down from railings? That’s calisthenics.
OK, so that’s what it might look like, but what the hell is it, we hear you impatiently asking. Calisthenics is a form of bodyweight training, but its roots are a far cry from the cool, cultural exercise phenomenon it has become today.
Need to know
The origins of calisthenics lie in ancient Greece where it was used by warriors, and its name is a combination of the two Greek words for beauty and strength. But its modern incarnation began more than a century ago as a movement to encourage young Victorian women to exercise more, in order to improve their physical strength and, therefore, their beauty.
In today’s world, calisthenics is more Instagram than telegram, with thousands of people all over the world connecting through handstands, muscle-ups, and other visually stunning feats of mastering their own bodyweight.
“Our calisthenics ethos is around using bodyweight training to help people to move better, get superhuman strong and have more fun with the training,” says School of Calisthenics co-founder Tim Stevenson.
“It goes back to a very natural way of training. We’ve only had Barbells since about 1928 when they were invented. So there was a long time when people got strong by just manipulating their own bodyweight. During that time, people survived gladiatorial arenas, conquered lands, reached the South Pole – all because they could move their own body and not because they could do a massive amount of bicep curls.”
Stevenson, an elite athlete strength and conditioning coach, who had two shoulder reconstructions from rugby injuries, and his co-founder David ‘Jacko’ Jackson, also a former rugby player, stumbled across calisthenics because they were looking to train in a different way.
“The physio hadn’t worked for me,” says Stevenson. “I decided that if I could do a handstand, that would give me some confidence that my shoulder was stable. So I started playing around with it, unpicking the skill acquisition side of it, working out what I needed to do."
Despite having no background in gymnastics, Stevenson was able to master many of the calisthenics moves which bear a striking resemblance to gymnastics, as there are many similarities. “A lot of the movements are basic gymnastics movements so, for example, a handstand is an absolute staple in gymnastics,” he explains. "But it’s more about the strength components of it and the basic skill acquisition.”
Inclusive community
London-based calisthenics group the 'Steel Warriors'
© Casual Films / Red Bull Content Pool
But for all the talk of basic skill acquisition, the most important thing about calisthenics is its unique culture and sense of fun. Watch any video on social media and invariably there will be a group of people surrounding whoever’s doing the cool stuff, and they all look like they’re having a good time.
“Calisthenics is a family unit,” says Instagram calisthenics star Dwayne “Coupe” Cooper, who was first inspired to start training by watching YouTube videos of New Yorker Hannibal Lanham, performing calisthenics in a Queens playground.
“When you begin, you’re part of a family. That’s a huge part of it – calisthenics has the same energy as BMX or skateboarding. If you’re trying to do something and you can’t do it, someone will help you. It’s not like a gym environment where headphones are on, and everyone’s looking at themselves in mirrors.”
Coupe’s story is all the more remarkable given he has no gymnastic background and is entirely self-taught. After watching Lanham, Coupe and his friends would practice on the scaffolding of buildings around Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill, doing dips competitions in front of watching crowds.
Eventually, he ran a Friday night outdoor calisthenics class, convincing people to replace their post-working week blowout with something completely different. And he now boasts a serious social media following, to whom he regularly posts inspiring videos of his exploits.
If you’re based in London, Coupe advises heading to the park in Royal Oak, just off the Harrow Road. He’s also trained in Primrose Hill and Kennington, but the Royal Oak site is special to him because he and a friend helped design it.
“I think people will prefer Royal Oak because you can tell it’s been designed by someone that trains in calisthenics,” he says, but also stresses that it’s a good idea to have a look at some video tutorials first and practice before heading straight down to the park.
“If you walk in blind, everything can feel a bit intimidating. If you know what to expect, you can walk into the park with confidence. Going to the park with a small base of knowledge about bodyweight training is definitely advisable.”
Total body benefits
Calisthenics can improve your cardio, strength and range of movement
© Casual Films / Red Bull Content Pool
All of which sounds great, right? But, if you’re just swinging off bars and walking around on your hands, it’s not going to help you get fit because it’s not exactly a HIIT workout, right? Wrong!
A research programme conducted by the University of Palermo found that calisthenics training improved “posture, strength and body composition”, with participants all lowering their fat mass and being capable of more pull-ups and press-ups despite those exercises not even being part of the training protocol.
Stevenson is also a big advocate of the cardio benefit of calisthenics workouts: “It’s easy to get someone’s heart rate up in a bodyweight circuit. If you’re doing that in the right quantity and regularly, then you’re going to get fitter because your body will respond to the stress that you place on it. Whether that’s doing interval style training at 90 percent max heart rate and above or a more steady state with longer bouts between rest periods, if you’re elevating your heart rate for sustained periods of time your fitness will improve. The decision comes down to the type of training you enjoy and the level of fitness you want to achieve.”
The functional benefits of calisthenics are also huge. “You need good range of movement to be healthy and functional,” says Stevenson. “That’s why yoga is so popular. The three principles of mobility, stability and strength govern human movement. [With calisthenics] you can’t get away from dealing with those things.
“For example, If you want a nice handstand, you have to be strong, mobile and stable. So it’s a very functional way to train in terms of total body integrated movement.”
If all that wasn’t enough, calisthenics – or acquiring any significant new skillset – can also enhance your brain power, which may sound like a big claim, but scientific research has shown that pushing yourself to learn new skills helps the neural wiring and circuitry in the brain stay sharp and active. “It can even limit things like Alzheimer’s and dementia in later life, so you’re getting something which is really powerful in terms of living a healthy, full life,” says Stevenson.
But it would be a mistake to think that calisthenics just exists in its own little bubble, because increasingly Stevenson is seeing how it can complement other athletic endeavours. He and Jacko have worked with the Scottish Rugby Union strength and conditioning coaches and physiotherapists to help them improve the physical literacy of their junior athletes.
“You need people to move better from a sports performance perspective,” he explains. “They need to have more options. If you only ever go in the gym and do squat, deadlift and bench press, you’re moving the same patterns all the time, whereas calisthenics is going to force people to move in different ways and that transfers into general athleticism.”
And that general athleticism will also help to improve your efficiency, stability and mobility if you’re a keen runner or a cyclist, meaning it’s likely to improve your performance.
How to get started
“The most common question I get asked is ‘where do I start?’” says Coupe. “My answer has always been on the floor. Push-ups first. And if you can’t do push-ups, push-ups on your knees. From push-ups, it’s then pull-ups and dips.”
Stevenson, however, suggests building up to these movements as, while they are important in bodyweight training, they can take time to learn. He suggests starting out with fun movements instead, such as Archer Ring Rows, where you hold onto a set of gymnastic rings, pulling upwards with one arm, while moving the other out to the side, helping you to build pulling strength in your back while improving your shoulder stability.
He also suggests learning 'Skin the Cat' – an exercise whereby you hang from a set of gym rings with each arm making a ball shape, and initiate a backwards roll by pulling your feet up between the rings and looking behind you towards the floor underneath you. This exercise is great for developing strength and stability through full range of motion at the shoulder.
“Our strapline is ‘redefine the impossible’ because we want to help people do things that they think are impossible, and every time we do a beginners’ workshop people will leave thinking they can do a human flag if they put the work in,” says Stevenson.
“Progression for beginners is rapid because your brain is just lapping it up and learning new things all the time. So you’ll literally see progression from one day to the next. If you do some hand-balancing exercises on a Monday, by Wednesday the chances are you’ll be better at it.”
Convinced yet? Find out more about getting started and book a workshop at schoolofcalisthenics.com.
