So far in the What are Calisthenics series i have discussed the basic exercises and intermediate exercises. This post is dedicated to the more advanced calisthenics exercises and as such should only be attempted after a suitable period of practicing the previous exercise examples.

Advanced Calisthenics Exercises

The Handstand Push Up

The handstand push up is the king of the push up family. This exercise is the equivalent of the military shoulder press in terms of its weight training cousin whereas the basic push up is the cousin of the bench press. The movement will place major emphasis on the deltoid muscles of the shoulder, the triceps brachii muscles of the upper arm and the upper portion of the trapezius muscles of the back. A substantial effort from the core muscle is required to maintain an upright position and prevent a fall forwards.

Tips

• In order to perform this exercise correctly and with minimal risk it is imperative that you are sufficiently skilled at the basic push up, the incline and the decline variant.

The movement

This exercise requires a suitable wall or door to balance against. Start the exercise by placing the hands on the floor at a position wider than shoulder width. Look at the floor and use the legs to push into an upside down position leaning against the upright surface. The elbows should be extended and not bent at this point. For beginners to this exercise it is recommended that you practice holding this position for 1 minute before progressing to the actual push up. Once this can be achieved you are ready to begin the push up by flexing at the elbow joint and lower yourself to the floor under control. It is vitally important that the core muscles are recruited to maintain a good vertical posture. Once you reach the bottom, be careful not to bang your head, begin to raise yourself by recruiting the triceps brachii muscles at the back of the arm and push upwards through the hands.

The Walk Around

This exercise aims to challenge the muscles of the back called the trapezius and the rhomboids, as well as the muscles of the core, hips, and shoulders.

Tips

• Maintain a neutral curve of the spine throughout the exercise.
• People with wrist injury may find this uncomfortable and should not attempt

The movement

Begin by sitting on the floor. Bend the knees and position the feet flat on the floor. Place the hands either side of the hips with palms facing downwards. Raise the torso by extending at the elbows. Now raise the hips from the floor. Check that the shoulders are over the elbows that are over the wrists, the arms should be in a straight and vertical line.

To perform the exercise move one hand and one foot at a time and walk in a circle.

The Cross Over Crunch

This is one of my personal favourite abdominal exercises. The primary emphasis is upon the rectus abdominis, and internal/external obliques. Secondary emphasis is upon core stabilisation, hip and shoulder stabilisation.

Tips

• Rotate using the muscles of the trunk
• Maintain a neutral curve of the spine
• Keep the elbows aligned with the shoulders

The movement

Lie on a mat or comfortable carpet. Place the hands alongside the temples of the head. Bring the thigh towards the torso until the knee is flexed at 90 degrees and aligned over the hips. Flex the trunk partially until the body has a slight curve.

The exercise is performed by slowly rotating the trunk leading with the elbow from the opposite side to the raised leg. Hold this position for 1 second, return to the start position under control. Repeat the motion with the alternate leg and arm.

Summary

The three parts to this series have provided examples of basic, intermediate and advanced calisthenics exercises. The reason they are described as such depends on factors such as the static or dynamic nature, the numbers of muscles recruited, the planes of movement and the degree of difficulty or intensity. With this in mind it is important to emphasize that the advanced exercises should only be attempted when the basic and intermediate become second nature. Remember to involve all the exercises into a routine. Even those that are skilled at advanced calisthenics will continue to ultilise the basic exercises.

Have you tried any of the reviewed exercises? Do you recommend a particular exercise not mentioned that you consider essential? Let me know and others know by leaving a comment.

Digg it Save This Page

Video links

Hand stand push up

Walk around

Cross over crunch

Image source frenchnoor

The origin of the word

The name calisthenics is Greek in origin, a combination of the words kalos, ‘beauty’ and sthénos, ’strength’.

The definition

A series of exercises used to develop strength, power and balance.

Calisthenics exercises are a form of simple movements that are carried out using the weight of the person and gravity as the resistance. These simple movements usually stimulate many muscles and joints of the body therefore providing a whole body workout. Because of their whole body nature the exercises can be performed in such ways as to promote strength, power and aerobic fitness by tweaking the intensity and the duration of the exercises. Due to the wide array of movements the human body is capable of producing there are an almost endless number of exercises that can be performed and not a single one will require equipment. This also means that the exercises are highly portable, non time consuming and do not require access to a gymnasium.

All calisthenic exercises must be performed with strict form and with the support of an active core muscle system. This will encourage the working muscles to maintain a good posture both during exercise and at rest, the ‘kalos’ part of the word origin coming into effect.

Calisthenics exercise can vary greatly in terms of their difficulty to perform. Novice calisthenics performers will benefit greatly from the 6 basic exercises of:

1. Pull up
2. Push up
3. Sit up
4. Triceps dip
5. Back extension
6. Squat

These exercises seek to build up the strength of all the major muscle groups of the human body and their joint stability, tendon and ligament strength, thus providing the perfect foundation for progression to the advanced and more physically demanding exercises. The importance of these basic exercises should not be underestimated, athletes that use the most advanced calisthenics exercises will always include the basic exercises to prepare the body for the more demanding exercises.

Benefits of calisthenics

For strength

By strength I do not mean that you will be able to lift cars and up root trees simply by performing calisthenic exercises. Strength in this context means strength endurance and the gain will be in terms of your efficiency to perform the said exercise, how many you can perform in set time, and the ability to perform an increasing number of repetitions. That said the power element of calisthenic exercises can help serious weight lifters to overcome ‘sticking’ in such disciplines as the bench press exercise.

For power

The nature of calisthenic exercise means that a resistance of greater than 100% of your body weight must be negated for some exercises, for example, the pull up. Power = work / time and can therefore be developed in one of 2 ways. Firstly be increasing the work by lifting more weight (weight training) or by decreasing the time over which the work is performed. Because bodyweight is almost constant from one day to the next we know that if we can perform more work (repetitions) of an exercise within the same time frame, for example, a minute, then we have achieved an increase in power. Conversely, if we can perform a set number of repetitions in a decreased time from one day to the next then we also have demonstrated an increase in powerful performance.

For Aerobic Ability (cardio)

Performing many exercises in a sequence or circuit will cause the performer to stimulate the breathing rate as the body demands oxygen for the working muscles. Many people perform an exercise then jog on the spot if indoors or run round the park if outdoors and then immediately perform the next exercise. This is a great way of elevating the heart rate and breathing rate to improve aerobic fitness. Just performing the exercises in a circuit without the running will be sufficient aerobic exercise for the beginner.

For Anaerobic Ability

High velocity and maximum effort when performing calisthenics will train the body to work outside its comfort zone. Anaerobic literally means “without oxygen” a state that the body does not cope well with unless it is trained to. Performing a circuit of exercise with 20 second bursts of sprints will provide all the anaerobic stimulation the body will need.

Helpful links - Humananatura : Wikipedia : Youtube : StartFitness