A lot of people are becoming more interested in calisthenics because it’s a very convenient and flexible type of workout. Calisthenics is a form of exercise that uses body weight as resistance which means that you don’t need any equipment or specific location in order to start this practice. It is an art of using your own body weight to develop your form and physique.
You can perform calisthenics exercises anytime and anywhere. Calisthenics workouts require very minimal space so even if you’re travelling, you can perform it in your hotel room or in any public space. You don’t have to worry about the time investment when practicing calisthenics because you can adapt it to be a short or long session, depending on your schedule.
You can workout Tabata style in just a few minutes, or you can also increase the duration of your session if you have more time. There’s also no need to worry about missing a scheduled session in the gym because you can start your workout anytime.
From Beginner to Advanced
The beauty of calisthenics is that it is very accessible to everyone. What this means is that you can choose from a variety of bodyweight exercises depending on your personal fitness capabilities. If you are a beginner, you can select exercises to initially build your strength. As you become stronger you can then progress to an advanced calisthenics workout for you to be constantly challenged.
But you might be doubting whether you can really learn advanced calisthenics workouts. The truth is – YES YOU CAN! Of course, it requires constant training in order for you to master these exercises, but it is definitely possible.
If you’re looking for calisthenics exercises that you can start learning, check out these amazing advanced moves.
The 3 Calisthenics Exercises you Can Learn
Muscle-Ups
The muscle-up is a combination of two exercises: the pull-up and the dip. Once you master these two exercises, moving on to this advanced exercise is a natural progression. While it may sound very straightforward, the continuous movement can be very challenging because it requires you to have a high level of strength. Technically, the move is not very difficult as long as you have the required strength to complete the move.
The muscles you need would be your back, arms, and abdominal muscles. Depending on your fitness level, it will take you between two to six months to master this exercise.
Back Lever
This move is a static exercise that requires you to hold on to the bar and hang in mid-air with your body parallel to the floor – face down. This move utilizes and trains the muscles in your shoulders, abdominals, glutes, and lower back. This can be very challenging without proper training as you need to develop the mobility or range of motion of your shoulder muscles. Because of the tricky position, it demands remarkable strength to perform this position.
You must also have strong arm muscles especially your forearms, as well as great grip strength. This is also one of the few exercises that actually necessitate that you activate your back muscles more than your front muscles. The time to master this position will depend on how strong you already are so it can take as short as two months. But for some, it may even take 12 months so don’t lose hope if it is taking you longer to learn this exercise.
Planche
The planche is very impressive to look at and at first glance, it may actually look easy. After all, it just looks like a level-up plank, eight? Wrong. In order to perform a proper planche, you need to invest time in learning the proper technique and skills, as well as train the muscles in your entire body to be stronger. You also need a high level of endurance to perform this move. Unlike other calisthenics exercises, you are working against gravity in this position so it can be very challenging.
Even advanced athletes need at least three months to master this move but if you’re a beginner, it is not impossible to learn the planche. At most, it will take you two years to perfect this position. Although 24 months seem like a long time, just think of how awesome your body will look in the process!
Why you should practice calisthenics
Most calisthenics moves are compound exercises. This means that they target multiple large muscle groups in your body, unlike many equipment-assisted exercises that only train isolated muscles. Many exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, and dips require you to activate many muscles of your body simultaneously.
This makes calisthenics a time-efficient workout plus an effective way to develop a balanced-looking physique. Calisthenics is also a good way to improve your strength, endurance, flexibility, mobility, and coordination.
Author: Rebecca Smith
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Disclaimer: The Daily Brunch does not hold the rights to the image
