Calisthenics are exercises with your own body weight. “Turniki”, “workout”, “ghetto training” and even “prison training” are other names for calisthenics. To build a powerful back, a horizontal bar is used here, the legs are trained by jumping, squats on one leg, and lunges in different variations, the arms and chest are trained by push-ups on uneven bars, and various tricks. Calisthenics began as a democratic street sport, an accessible alternative to the gym, and a way to be healthy and beautiful without trainers. Today there are entire workout centers where men and women learn to do tricks on the horizontal bar, perform various functional exercises with small equipment and are not afraid of getting injured, since there is a special coating. In large cities, children's playgrounds with horizontal bars have been built. In general, calisthenics is still waiting for those who want to practice without hardware at any convenient time, and for free.
What is the difference between calisthenics and workout?
In fact, both workout and calisthenics use your own body weight. The difference is that workout in its arsenal involves the use of parallel bars, a horizontal bar, various gymnastic bars, and Swedish ladders. Also, the entire training is divided into 3 areas: gymbar, gymnastics and strength.
Calisthenics has more physical capabilities in its arsenal and the legs are actively included in the training. You can practice in any weather and at any time of the year, without worrying about whether it’s cold or raining, because you don’t need to go to the sports ground to train.
Benefits of training with your own body weight
You will strengthen your ligaments and muscles. If you have problems with the spine with proper training, you can get rid of them, but you need to consult a doctor. Calisthenics can improve posture. By training with your own weight, you will improve flexibility , agility, strength, endurance, and in the shortest possible time, with the right training and nutrition plan, calisthenics can make you drier and more prominent.
Regarding calisthenics, there are many books that will help you understand the principles of muscle function in a particular exercise.
Some good books on bodyweight training include The Training Zone by Paul Wade and The Anatomy of Strength Exercise by Frederic Delavier. Calisthenics training program
Features of calisthenics
Calisthenics training itself is not capable of lifting large working weights, as happens in the gym, but it will definitely prepare the body for heavier work, not to mention the athleticism of the figure.
The absence of the need to use sports equipment in training (except for the horizontal bar) makes training as simple as possible, but no less effective. To increase the load, it is allowed to use bottles of water, books, chairs and other household items, the main thing is that the technique of performing the exercises does not suffer.
Training can reduce excess weight and tighten all muscles without leaving home. For accelerated fat burning, you can perform several exercises without rest or perform 3 sets with a break of 15 seconds.
When is the best time to train and how to eat?
Weight loss
It is important to note that the best workout is in the morning, before eating. Moreover, there is a “window” system that creates a long gap between meals. For example, you ate at 12:00, then at 15:00, then at 18:00. It turns out that there is a huge window between 18:00 and 12:00. Fats are a reserve of energy that the body stores for later. When you eat, you receive energy that you spend on your activities. If you don't time your workouts between meals correctly, you'll end up wasting what you recently consumed rather than what you have in stock. Therefore, the window will allow you to immediately get to the fat and burn it effectively.
If you want to dry yourself out, then you need to constantly drink a lot of plain water and eliminate foods that contain a lot of sugar. Sugary water, desserts, cookies: they contain a huge amount of carbohydrates that are not in harmony with other nutrients. For example, some kind of cake can be equal to a bowl of porridge, but only porridge has other positive properties that improve the functioning of the body. Sugar not only provides quick and unhealthy energy, but also increases insulin levels in the blood. All of this together is very detrimental to your progress.
Your diet should be balanced: proteins, carbohydrates and even fats, for example in nuts, olive oil or avocados. However, you must understand that sports are rarely temporary. You can't eat right in breaks. This is an endless process that needs to be maintained. Also, do not try to change something in your diet instantly, so as not to stress your body.
Mass gain
With mass, everything is simpler in words, but more difficult in practice. In order to increase muscle size, you first need to do the exercises slowly. That is, you must slowly both rise and fall. The most effective way is to add some weight to your body. This is easily achieved with the help of a briefcase and any things in it. All the same exercises, but with additional weighting.
During the period of weight gain, you need to consume more fats and proteins, which are found in large quantities in beans, meat and eggs.
Calaesthetic exercises
There is no universal training program for everyone, since everyone has their own physical characteristics. However, there is a list of exercises that is basic for everyone, and then choose the intensity of the exercise yourself, these include:
Corner pull-up
Raise your legs until they are parallel to the floor and do pull-ups, your stomach should reach the level of the bar. If this exercise is too difficult, try the next one.
Pull-up "left-right"
Using a wide grip, pull yourself up to your chin and then, without lowering yourself, move left and right.
Climber
Having assumed a push-up position, you need to take turns pulling your legs towards your chest; to make it more difficult, you can bring your right knee closer to the left side of your chest and your left knee to your right chest. The exercise is performed at an accelerated pace.
Exercise bike
Having taken a position for twisting, lying on your back, put your hand behind your head and your fingers lightly touch the back of your head, but do not pull your head with your hands. Then twist your body, reaching your right elbow towards the approaching left knee and vice versa.
This set of exercises is quite simple, except for the first exercise, but it does a great job of working the core while strengthening muscles and burning body fat. Based on the above exercises and adding a few new ones, the proposed calisthenics training program will be a good basis for strengthening muscles.
Workouts at home
Many people do not have enough time to visit fitness clubs and areas with horizontal bars and parallel bars. Therefore, I suggest you build your own training program at home. The workout should last no more than 30-60 minutes. At home, it is best to train with circuit training to maximize your metabolism and fat burning process. An example would be if one of your circles consists of several exercises, for example:
- Push-ups with medium arms.
- Squats.
- Press (any exercise).
- Push-ups with narrow hand position.
This would be a great option for home circuit training. Such circles must be performed as many times as possible. If you have dumbbells, such home workouts can be diluted with various exercises for small muscle groups.
And train them at the same time.
Exercises for the muscles of the shoulder girdle
♦ Number of repetitions: 20-30
♦ Number of approaches: 2-3
♦ Rest time between sets: 2 minutes
Knee push-ups
A lighter version of push-ups if the triceps and chest muscles are weak. It must be remembered that the hips should not bend or rise, the body should be as straight as a string. Also, when doing push-ups, the position of the hands should be in the center of the chest, and maintain an angle of 60-70 C between the elbows and the torso.
Elevated push-ups
Another exercise for beginners, when standard push-ups are not yet easy. Watch your hips and breathing, inhale as you lower, and exhale as you rise. You can pause at the bottom for a second to maximize the stretch of the chest fibers.
Standard push-ups
The technique is the same as in the previous two exercises, but it is more difficult and the load on the triceps and chest is more significant.
Push-ups with feet on a stand
The most difficult exercise of all four, because the load on the chest and triceps increases significantly, especially since the anterior delta also begins to work harder. The main thing is not to make sudden movements; smooth lowering and powerful lifting without jerking will provide reliable protection.
Ab exercises
♦ Number of repetitions: 20-30
♦ Number of approaches: 2-3
♦ Rest time between sets: 2 minutes
Crunches
Lying on your back, you need to put your hands behind your head and touching the back of your head with your fingertips, twist the body and lift off your shoulder blades. The lower back is pressed tightly to the floor. At the maximum point of contraction, wait a pause and go back, but you should not completely relax the abdominal muscles, they are in constant tension.
The back and forth movement is only 15-20 cm, but at the same time the abdominal area is worked out throughout the entire exercise and strong abdominal muscles are formed.
Standing bike exercise
Feet shoulder-width apart, at the same time the right knee and left elbow reach towards each other, then the left knee - the right elbow.
Climber
Having assumed a push-up position, you need to take turns pulling your legs to your chest; to make it more difficult, you can put your right knee to your left chest and your left knee to your right chest. The exercise is performed at an accelerated pace.
Exercise bike
Having taken a position for twisting, lying on your back, put your hand behind your head and your fingers lightly touch the back of your head, but do not pull your head with your hands. Then twist your body, reaching your right elbow towards the approaching left knee and vice versa.
Plank exercise
Trains the abdominal muscles statically, the main angle at the elbows should be strictly 90 C, without any deviations forward or backward. The hips are held straight, without allowing them to rise or sag; from the heels to the back of the head, the body is as straight as a string.
