Most of the readers may have this question in mind: What’s Calisthenics? Reason being in the times of body weight training, CrossFit and bodybuilding, etc. Calisthenics is not getting the limelight but it has its own history and benefits.
The origin of Calisthenics comes from ancient Greek ‘Kallos’ which means “beauty” and sthenos which means “strength”. In ancient time, the athletes practised calisthenics to build muscles and strength. It was one of the primary forms of fitness exercise.
‘Calisthenics’ this word may be new to most of the readers because it has a long history or it had been left behind in this era of gym. Don’t worry it may be new to you all but the exercise you do in the gym and ground are most of calisthenics.
Calisthenics is different from powerlifting and weight training. To perform calisthenics, in the beginning, you should try some light exercises.
When we talk about workout, the first thing which crosses our mind is gym and second thing is lifting heavy weights. But it’s not necessary to hit the gym every day to build muscles and strength. You can do it without the gym. There are many benefits of doing calisthenics.
Benefits of Calisthenics
1. Gives Muscularity
Calisthenics helps you in building strength as it evolves all the muscles while workout. It is a sort of natural workout and it’s one of the fastest ways to build strength.
2. No Equipment Required
Calisthenics can be performed anywhere because for calisthenics you don’t need expensive gym equipment. You need only one thing and that is your body! When you don’t want to go to gym for workout then Calisthenics can be the best option for you because in calisthenics works wonder with your bodyweight.
3. Helps in Reducing Fat
The most common target of the workout is losing fat. Regular calisthenics workout routine can help you in burning lots of calories. Being on strict diet cannot help you in achieving your goal so add some calisthenics workout in your routine. No need to kill yourself by being on strict diet. We can also say that it is the natural way of losing fat and getting into shape.
4. Creative Workout
In gym, you cannot experiment so much with the workout routine due to some protocols so, it can be boring going regularly to the gym for some people but in calisthenics you are liberal and free to do it in a creative way like if you are in a park you can do it in a different way.
5. Improves Flexibility
Most of the bodyweight and weight training exercises involve building body muscles, strength, etc. but calisthenics not only builds muscles but also improves flexibility. By performing stretching exercises and warm up before and after exercises, you can improve your flexibility more effectively.
Calisthenics V/S Bodyweight
People have a misconception that Bodyweight training and calisthenics both are the same but both are similar not the same.
Sometimes people have also misconceptions that bodyweight training and weight training can be compared but it’s not true. Bodyweight cannot be replaced by the weight training. Bodyweight will win this race.
The calisthenics and bodyweight training are oldest type of training among all the exercises. The biggest advantage of these types of exercises is that they build muscles and endurance. Instead of carrying weights to build muscles, it’s simple to use your bodyweight to build muscles and strength. Bodyweight helps in building muscles while calisthenics helps in building strength.
References
- Empire calisthenics (2015). History of calisthenics. Fitness,History,News.
- Edward R. Laskowski, M.D. (2018). Is body weight training effective as a strength training exercise?
About The Author
Monika Chahar is a young journalist who has worked with media houses like Hindustan Times and Dainik Jagran group (special coverage of Jagran Film Festival). She has also develo..
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