Callisthenics explained by Manuel
Callisthenics is not as technical as it sounds, it’s simply a form of exercise where you use the weight of your own body to build muscle, rather than attempting to isolate small body parts one at a time – and it can be done anytime, anywhere. So if you’ve ever done a sit-up, a push-up or a plank, you’re already taking part in the latest exercise phenomenon which dates all the way back to ancient Greece.
Proper callisthenics training will help promote the growth of lean muscle mass, and increase your strength, mobility, flexibility, agility, and endurance – and is the favoured method of bodyweight training for one of our ambassadors, Manuel. He’s passionate about ‘street workouts’ and now exercises in seemingly the most normal places and situations. Here’s how a simple oblique wall can become a push-up variant. When there is no weight and no machines around, you have to be creative with what you do to help build muscle and get the physique you want. Manuel claims not to be very creative in his workouts but proves that he doesn’t need a gym membership to achieve his goals.
Callisthenics and body workouts are not just for building your strength, they are also about balance, control and knowledge of your own body. The callisthenics body starts in the middle because when you train with bodyweight, you use your abs for every single exercise—and it shows! Since Manuel started his journey to callisthenics he’s learnt to appreciate many aspects of bodyweight training, mainly the ‘fun.’ It seems trivial, but if you want to continue something over time, and push yourself to new limits, you must to have fun in the process – “sometimes stop and smile at the progress made to date.”
