What is Calisthenics?
The English name calisthenics is derived from two Greek words, kalos, which means beauty / beautiful, and sthenos, which means strength. Calisthenics, simply put, is training with your own body weight. No dumbbells and weights, so you pull, push and carry your own body. Well-known calisthenics basic exercises are: Push ups, Pulls, ups, Crunches, lunges, dips and squats.
Calisthenics is good for improving strength and the cardiovascular system. It is also good for your motor system because it improves balance, speed and coordination. By combining many different exercises with body weight, you can ultimately target every muscle group. Calisthenics exercises can be very simple, but they can certainly look very impressive. When you watch videos of advanced practitioners, it looks like they are doing gymnastics.
Calisthenics is a very social sport. Because you "often" outside of sports, you meet new people and learn from each other exercises that you have not seen before. You inspire and motivate each other, making it fun and challenging. Calisthenics can be performed anywhere and is suitable for everyone. Whether you are young or old, beginner or expert.
Training elements:
- Basic exercises (Reps & Sets)
- Static exercises
- Dynamic exercises
- Combining static and dynamic exercises
The sport has various competition components such as:
- Freestyle competitions | Statics, Dynamics, Combinations, Style & Personality
- Static hold matches | Parts: Handstand, Front lever, Back lever, Human flag & Planch.
- Strict form matches | Parts: Pull-ups, Muscle-ups, Push-ups, Squats & Dips.
- Strict form weighted competitions | Parts: Muscle-ups, Pull-ups, Squats & Dips.
All over the world, various organizations and official bodies are actively engaged in shaping competitive sports. In addition to the World Championship for freestyle athletes and the World Championship for power (reps & sets) athletes, there are many major qualifiers, international tournaments and national championships to be entered within the calisthenics scene.
Want to know more? visit; The Calisthenics Platform