Calisthenic exercise for beginners, plus a myriad of benefits

Maybe the term calisthenic exercise isn't familiar to your ears, but chances are you've done it once in your life. The movements in calisthenic sports are often used as a warm-up before doing other sports.

What is calisthenic exercise?

Calisthenic exercise is a set of motoric movements to build body muscles that are done using only your own body weight.

The movements include pulling, lunging, pushing and lifting without the need to use any tools. The more often your muscles work, the more muscle mass you will have.

Calisthenic sports are also often referred to as street workouts because simply by "carrying yourself", you can do the movements wherever and whenever you want.

Benefits of calisthenic exercise

The benefits of calisthenic exercise can be equated with endurance training, strength training, and weight training. Apart from both being able to build muscle, lose weight, and maintain body fitness, calisthenic exercise also helps maintain bone strength and density.

Calisthenics also include cardio exercise which can help maintain the health and fitness of the heart, lungs and blood vessels. Reporting from Dr. Ax, A Turkish study reported that calisthenic movements were as safe and effective as cycling for people with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

Variety of calisthenic sports movements

The most basic calisthenic movements are push ups, pull-ups, lunges, squats, and crunches. The following is a detailed guide for each movement.

1. Push ups

Pay attention to the distance between your chest and the floor when you are in the lowering position, do not let your chest actually touch the floor when doing the push up movement. Hold at least 5 cm away. When you are in an up position, keep your upper body or head and back straight in line with your feet.

2. Pull up

Pull ups are done by hanging and lifting all body weight with the strength of your hands on an iron bar or bar that you can find in children's play areas around city parks.

This movement is a little tricky at first, but you can start by hanging yourself on the brace, lifting your leg forward or back so it's off the floor and holding it for a few moments.

3. Lunges

Stand tall and take big steps forward. Bend the knee of the foot used to support the body's weight. The hind legs are also bent to maintain balance. Hold this position for a few seconds, before stepping back into the front foot to a standing position. Movement is repeated again using the other leg that turns forward.

4. Squats

This exercise is done with the starting position of the body standing and feet shoulder width apart while placing both hands behind the head. Lower yourself into a half-squat position and push your back together. Hold for a few moments, return to a standing position, and repeat.

5. Crunch

Lie on your back with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor. Then, place your fingers around your temples and slowly lift your shoulders and upper back and lower them back down. You can also place your arms crossed over your chest.

In addition to the five main movements above, calisthenic sports can also involve planks, sprinting in place, and jumping jacks (the motion of jumping while tapping and widening the distance of both legs).

Alternatively, follow this basic calisthenic program:

• Static chin-ups: 8 reps
• DO NOT REST
• Elevated push ups: 10 reps
• DO NOT REST
• Leg raises: 10 reps
• DO NOT REST
• Inverted rows 45: 15 reps
• DO NOT REST
• Bench dips: 10 reps
• Squats: 20 reps
• 90 SECONDS REST

The above series of programs count as one round. Ideally, this program should be complete over 3 rounds with no breaks between program types, but with breaks between rounds.

We recommend that you consult your doctor before doing this exercise if you have a disease.

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