What is all the hype about callisthenics?
Sure, the moves performed by callisthenic athletes will impress your family members and friends.
But what's in it for you who may be unfamiliar with the sport?
Callisthenics is a form of exercise that should be recommended to anyone who wants to boost their cardiovascular health, become more flexible, reduce back pain and feel more confident about themselves... among many other benefits.
#1: A callisthenics workout helps you build strength fast.
You may assume that simply relying on body weight isn't going to do much for someone who wants to see muscle gains, but the research proves otherwise!
In a 2017 study which required male participants in their 20s (and who weren't trained in callisthenics) to complete a callisthenics training protocol, it was found that just eight weeks of training significantly increased the number of push-ups and pull-ups that they were able to perform.
This shows that a callisthenics exercise can help build strength fast, even among those who are unfamiliar with the sport.
Perhaps you are wondering: does callisthenics benefit human muscles as well as weight training?
Well, one research in 2018, which examined the effects of callisthenic push-up training towards moderately healthy men, revealed that callisthenics was comparable to traditional bench-press training in terms of improving muscular strength. In other words, you can be confident that callisthenics can help you build your upper-body muscles just like other weight-training exercises.
By using body weight as resistance, the muscles in your body are challenged to adapt and grow through any callisthenics exercise, such as jump lunges, planks and box jumps. Since a callisthenics workout targets various muscle groups at one time, you can effectively increase your muscular strength along with the other parts of your body that support the neuromuscular system: your tendons and joints!
These are some basic callisthenic workouts to help you to build strength efficiently.
#2: Callisthenics supports heart health and weight management.
Did you know that you can also achieve a healthier body composition through a callisthenics workout?
Having a healthy body composition not only reflects the percentage of muscles in your body but also demonstrates your overall physical health in terms of fat composition, bone density, necessary water levels and other lean tissues. These components are particularly important for managing your heart health and weight, which are elements for a long, healthy life!
If you think about what is callisthenics in terms of the different moves that target all the muscle groups in the body - mainly those in the upper body, lower body and core - then you'll know that you have to keep your body moving to perform these moves successfully.
Get to know more about the sport through this quick guide to callisthenics.
Callisthenics is popular for its integration into workouts such as circuit training and HIIT, which make for fantastic exercises to improve your cardiovascular fitness. As you build endurance with the use of equipment like the callisthenics bars, you can quickly burn fat while getting your heart pumping.
Even performing just 3 sets of 10 burpees encourages blood flow to the body. So, imagine how much of a stronger heart and a healthier weight you can build when you combine your burpees with mountain climbers, squats and push-ups in a regular callisthenics workout!
#3: You can develop better body control through callisthenics.
Now you know that callisthenics benefit the strength of your heart and muscles, but what is callisthenics without balance?
Fitness elements like balance, coordination, flexibility and good posture are also essential to good physical health. Callisthenics for beginners naturally helps you build these elements as the exercises require movements that both strengthen and stretch the muscles, and you have to maintain good form while you're at it!
Doing a callisthenics exercise consistently, especially the ones listed below, can greatly improve your body control.
- Walking lunges, where you have to balance between walking forward while maintaining the lunge form
- Bulgarian split squats, which open the hip flexors and train your stability on one leg
- One-arm push-ups, a proprioception challenge in addition to building upper-body strength
Let's not forget that good body control benefits us outside of the gym, too. Building a good posture through a daily callisthenics workout, for instance, will especially benefit those who are sitting at their work desks five days a week by reducing stress on the spine, shoulders and hips.
As we age, it becomes even more necessary to build flexible joints and ligaments due to potential mobility issues. Therefore, practising callisthenics for beginners even among older folks can help to minimise the risk of joint inflammation as well as injury from falls. What is callisthenics without balance and coordination, right?
Among the exercises that are often confused with callisthenics is yoga, which also applies similar holds, stands and stretches as those in callisthenics. What you need to do is identify the differences between these exercises and know how to choose between yoga and callisthenics.
#4: Doing a callisthenics exercise is an accessible way to stay fit!
You don't need to use callisthenics bars to practise this form of exercise!
In fact, many of the callisthenic exercises you may already know don't require any equipment: this includes knee tucks, crunches and straight leg raises! Callisthenics benefit those who are seeking a way to start exercising without having to spend additional money purchasing workout equipment like dumbbells, a barbell or a bench.
Apart from saving cost on equipment, you don't need to go to a gym or fitness studio to practise callisthenics for beginners: just working out from your living room is enough for a callisthenics exercise. The convenience of performing a callisthenics workout anytime and anywhere makes it appealing for both beginners and experienced fitness enthusiasts.
What if we told you that there is a sure way to gain all the health benefits of callisthenics?
Introducing to you Superprof, a tutoring platform that connects learners to teachers of all subjects. Here you can find certified and experienced personal trainers who can teach you callisthenics from A to Z, with the choice of either in-person or virtual sessions. This means that you can work with your personal trainer on Superprof at the gym or simply via webcam from home.
What about your personal fitness goals and preferences?
Well, that is exactly what makes Superprof stand out: in addition to detailed personal trainer descriptions, session fees, pack rates and reliable reviews, you have the added benefit of messaging the personal trainer on Superprof that you are interested in learning from. Let your personal trainer know what callisthenics workout you are looking for so that you can achieve your personal goals!
Can't wait to get started? Sign up on Superprof today to get in touch with your personal trainer!
#5: Your mental health will also benefit from a callisthenics workout.
It's well-known that exercise in general can do wonders for our mental well-being.
Nonetheless, there are additional advantages that callisthenics offers that can enhance one's life satisfaction and happiness.
Say for instance, how well does callisthenics as a sport safeguard against the risk of depression and anxiety? Let's link this to one study in 2015 in which researchers at the Bezmialem University Hospital in Istanbul analysed the mental effects of callisthenic exercises on patients with neuroinflammatory and rheumatic conditions.
The researchers found that after an eight-week-long callisthenics exercise programme, the patients demonstrated significant reductions in their anxiety and depression scores!
One reason that callisthenics may stand out among other types of exercises that improve our mental health is the amount of focus needed to perform any callisthenics workout. As an example, your brain and body must be fully focused when performing a handstand push-up or you won't be able to do this move at all.
The same goes for planche push-ups, typewriter pull-ups, the front lever and the human flag - all of which are advanced callisthenic moves!
You may want to equip yourself with these proven callisthenic resources, such as where to buy solid callisthenics bars if you want to see yourself progress from the beginner to advanced level in callisthenics.
We could be underestimating the power of callisthenics in safeguarding our mental health, though. A study published in 2020, which looked at the relationships between the types of exercise and cognitive decline among older Japanese women, found that callisthenics significantly reduced this risk, particularly in the prevention of dementia.
In other words, callisthenics not only plays a mediating role in taking care of our mental well-being but can even serve as a preventative measure!
We believe these reasons are more than enough to understand what is callisthenics and why you should seriously consider taking up this sport. Begin your fitness journey today with Superprof!
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