Calisthenics, in simple terms, are body weight exercises. They don’t require any weight but they do require hard work and determination. I use these types of exercises all the time with my clients and I believe they are better than lifting weights for the few simple reasons listed below.
They’re fun!
Calisthenics are great fun. You can bet your bottom dollar you’ll laugh, possibly cry, definitely get frustrated but then feel utter elation doing calisthenics. They’re awesome! Don’t believe me? Get together with some friends and family and try to do a handstand. They’ll be some hilarious attempts, some close misses and maybe even some people who have the strength to do it. The amount of times I’ve been mid pull up and done the wiggly leg thing (if you’ve tried you’ll know exactly what I mean!) to try to get that little bit further and then fallen apart laughing at myself or had someone else in tears laughing watching me. It’s fun trying, failing and it’s even more fun succeeding.
No gym membership
£40 a month to be cooped up inside with a bunch of sweaty adults?! Sounds like my kind of nightmare. Gyms either work for you or they don’t. I’ve found I don’t like that kind of environment. Sometimes it’s like being back in high school at the gym with people forming cliques and everyone staring at you as you walk in the door because you dared entered their threshold. I also find the women will be segregated into the cardio arena of treadmills and bikes whereas the males linger in the weights area. Not for me. Outside in the fresh air you don’t have to pay a penny and you get the benefits of additional oxygen. We are blessed to have some truly beautiful parks and locations in Ipswich so why not use them?! Yes the weather is changeable but we’re British, we should be used to that by now. If you need to put layers on then put them on. We see better results from oxygen rich environments so get away from germsville in the gym and get outside!
You can see results
When you can do one more pull up than last week, when you can raise those legs higher and work those abs harder, when you’re doing more push ups, when you’re achieving goals and setting new ones it feels great. I’ve known many females who couldn’t do push ups when we first started training who are now knocking on the door of double figures. You can really see the results happening if you keep at it. And there’s no limits, as you reach one goal there’s so many more you can do. Calisthenics are so diverse it’s like the door to Narnia. You’ll be hooked and you won’t want to go back to the wardrobe!
Injuries are less common
I believe people are much less likely to get injuries using this method. Why? Because you’re using your own body weight so it’s relative to you. When I’ve been in gyms in the past I have seen people adopt some awful techniques. Techniques that make me think they actually wouldn’t mind breaking their back because that’s exactly what it looks like they’re trying to achieve! Form is still crucial in body weight exercises but in my opinion people seem to find this easier. So risk of injury is lower. Also, a lot of body weight exercises will help to make you stronger overall (see next paragraph) which can mean you are at a decreased risk of injury.
You’ll be stronger overall
As mentioned above, this is another fantastic benefit. Many calisthenics adopt compound movements so more than one muscle group is working at a time. This makes you stronger overall and also means you are using more fuel throughout your workout which means more fat burn, woo hoo! I also believe it works a different variety of muscle, tendons and ligaments making them stronger to support your frame and keep you working at your best. In addition to this, most calisthenics will mean you have to adopt your core stability whilst doing them and a strong and stable core is key to a stronger you in general.
If it’s good enough for Shaun T, it’s good enough for me!
This is the guy that really got me passionate about these exercises. He’s an inspiration to many worldwide for a number of reasons but for me it’s just the sheer strength his programmes give your body. If you haven’t heard or seen anything of Shaun T and his insanity programmes you can find out more here (insanity workout) This guy looks great, he’s a great motivator and he gets your results. The only problem for some people is that the exercises he makes you do are so high intensity it puts a lot of people off (although he does encourage you to go at your own pace). However, you don’t have to start off at this intensity, there are lots of different exercises you can incorporate without high intensity. If you look on my website (dillys.co.uk) or the Dilly’s Personal Training YouTube channel there is an example of a HIIT (high intensity interval training) programme that you can try first. So start changing up your workout and include some different calisthenics to really see results and to challenge yourself further!
Of course, it depends on your training goal. If you want to stack on size and you want huge biceps then lifting weights in the gym is probably what you need. Most people don’t need or want to look that big. They want to tone, to look leaner and be stronger in themselves. You do not need expensive equipment or stuffy gyms for that. What you do need is to learn to use your own body weight effectively to see incredible results! If you would like to know more information please use the contact me section on my website to do just that or come along to the bootcamp I run Sunday’s at 9am at Christchurch park where I can show you exactly how to utilise your environment to get the results you’ve always dreamed.
via Dilly's Personal Training http://ift.tt/1N6l56d
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