Calisthenics (American English) or callisthenics (British English) is a form of strength training that utilizes an individual's body weight as resistance to perform multi-joint, compound movements with little or no equipment.

Origin and etymology

The Oxford English Dictionary describes callisthenics as "gymnastic exercises to achieve fitness and grace of movement". The word calisthenics comes from the ancient Greek words κάλλος (kállos), which means "beauty", and σθένος (sthenos), meaning "strength". It is the art of using one's body weight as resistance to develop muscles. The practice was recorded as being used in ancient Greece, including by the armies of Alexander the Great and the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae. Calisthenics was also recorded to have been used in ancient China. Along with dietary practices, Han dynasty physicians prescribed calisthenics as one of the methods for maintaining one's health.

Common exercises

The more commonly performed calisthenic exercises include:

Training methods

Calisthenics can be used as a means to pursue a number of fitness goals including, but not limited to hypertrophy (increasing one's muscle mass), strength, and endurance. The training methods employed are often different, depending on the goal. For instance, when pursuing hypertrophy, one aims to increase the load volume over time; when pursuing strength, the intensity of the exercise is increased over time; and to improve endurance, one can gradually shorten their rest periods.

Co-operative calisthenics

Co-operative calisthenics refers to calisthenic exercises that involve two or more participants helping each other to perform the exercise. Such exercises may also be known as partner exercises, partner-resisted exercises, partner carrying, or bodyweight exercises with a partner. They have been used for centuries as a way of building physical strength, endurance, mobility, and co-ordination. Usually, one person performs the exercise and the other person adds resistance. For example, a person performing squats with someone on their back, or someone holding another person in their arms and walking around. Some exercises also involve the use of equipment. Two people may hold onto different ends of a rope and pull in different directions. One person would deliberately provide a lesser amount of resistance, which adds resistance to the exercise whilst also allowing the other person to move through a full range of motion as their superior level of force application pulls the rope along. A disadvantage of these exercises is that it can be challenging to measure how much resistance is being added by the partner, when considered in comparison to free weights or machines. An advantage such exercise has is that it allows for relatively high levels of resistance to be added with equipment being optional. On this basis, co-operative calisthenics can be just as easily performed on a playing field as in a gym. They are also versatile enough to allow them to be used for training goals other than simple strength. For example, a squat with a partner can be turned into a power-focused exercise by jumping or hopping with the partner instead, or even lifting them up on one knee.

Benefits

A 2017 study: "The effects of a calisthenics training intervention on posture, strength and body composition" found that calisthenics training is an "effective training solution to improve posture, strength and body composition without the use of any major training equipment".

History

Catharine Esther Beecher (1800–1878) was an American educator and author who popularized and shaped a conservative ideological movement to both elevate and entrench women's place in the domestic sphere of American culture. She introduced calisthenics in a course of physical education and promoted it. Disciples of Friedrich Ludwig Jahn brought their version of gymnastics to the United States, while Beecher and Dio Lewis set up physical education programs for women in the 19th century. Organized systems of calisthenics in America took a back seat to competitive sports after the Battle of the Systems, when the states mandated physical education systems. The Royal Canadian Air Force's calisthenics program published in the 1960s helped to launch modern fitness culture. Calisthenics is associated with the rapidly growing international sport called street workout. The street workout consists of athletes performing calisthenics routines in timed sessions, in front of a panel of judges. The World Street Workout & Calisthenics Federation (WSWCF), based in Riga, Latvia, orchestrates the annual national championships and hosts the world championships for the sport. The World Calisthenics Organization (WCO), based in Los Angeles, California, promotes a series of competitions known globally as "the Battle of the Bars". The WCO created the first set of rules for formal competitions, including weight classes, a timed round system, original judging criteria and a 10-point must system, giving an increasing number of athletes worldwide an opportunity to compete in these global competitions. Street workout competitions have also popularized 'freestyle calisthenics', which is a style of calisthenics where the athlete uses their power and momentum to perform dynamic skills and tricks on the bar, often as part of a routine where each trick is linked together in a consistent flow. Freestyle calisthenics requires great skill to control one's momentum and an understanding of the mechanics of the body and the bar.

Calisthenics parks

Some outdoor fitness training areas and outdoor gyms are designed especially for calisthenics training, and most are free to use by the public. Calisthenics parks equipment include pull-up bars, monkey bars, parallel bars, and box jumps. Freely accessible online maps exist that show the locations and sample photos of calisthenics parks around the world.