What is calisthenics? Bodyweight workouts are making a comeback on the fitness scene

when it comes calisthenicsIt’s all about training with body weight only.

And Sean Keogh runs in the gym houstonCalisthenics is king.

No dumbbells. No weight machines.

“It’s all we do,” Keogh said — but it’s enough to keep new members excited to come through the door, learning moves like handstands and pullups.

Keogh and his members have quite a company. These days, content creators, independent gyms and megachains alike are promoting calisthenics, an age-old form of fitness that uses little or no equipment and instead relies on body weight for resistance.

In July, President Donald Trump even Presidential Fitness Test ReestablishedThe intention is that youth across the country will again practice old school exercises like situps, pushups and pullups.

It’s little surprise that these no-frills steps are making a comeback in our over-scheduled society, said Anatolia Wick-Kriegel, director of the Lifetime Physical Activity Program at Rice University. “We don’t always have time to go to the gym,” he said. “This is something you can do at home or in your office.”

Another reason may be economic, said Michael Stack, an exercise physiologist and president of the Physical Activity Alliance, a coalition of groups that promote physical activity. Requiring no equipment, calisthenics-based programs are affordable for exercisers and profitable for the gyms that offer them. Also, during the pandemic, people may have gotten used to exercising with less equipment.

“This trend is growing,” Stack said. “The pandemic has definitely accelerated that.”

How effective are calisthenics?

Wick-Kriegel said there’s a lot of research showing that calisthenics can improve everything from muscle strength to aerobic conditioning.

“The body weight is phenomenal,” she said.

But there are limits to its effects, said John Raglin, a professor of kinesiology at the Indiana University School of Public Health in Bloomington. “It could be effective,” Raglin said. “But I think the idea that it can or should even replace the use of ordinary tools is wrong-headed.”

Sometimes, Raglin said, using equipment can actually make exercise simpler or safer. For example, many people do pushups improperly.

“If you’re not strong enough or you have joint problems or arthritis, lying on a bench and using small hand weights can actually be safer and more practical,” he said.

It all depends on what your goal is

Raglin said that beyond safety, people who want to significantly increase their strength or muscle size will see more dramatic results if they use weights. Doing so “overuses your muscles and produces more force than you’re capable of,” he explained.

Lifting weights also causes damage to muscle tissue that can be counterproductive, as muscles become larger through the body’s repair process. However, over time, larger amounts of weight may be required to continue gaining weight. Progress becomes steady as the body gets used to the exercises previously performed.

It’s not impossible to grow muscle through calisthenics, Wick-Kriegel said; It is difficult to consistently increase exercise to make sustained progress without adding external weight.

Stack agrees, saying, “After doing a few workouts of squatting with your own body weight, your body will need external loads to get stronger or build muscle tissue.”

In other words, if you’re after bulging biceps, you may need more than calisthenics to get there. But if you just want to move forward and improve your health, your body is probably enough.

Stack said, especially for the roughly 75 percent of Americans who aren’t meeting federal physical activity guidelines — which call for at least 75 minutes of vigorous or 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity plus two strength-training sessions a week — calisthenics is a great option.

“Body weight is the simplest tool you can use,” Stack said. “I would encourage anyone who isn’t exercising to just start exercising their body.”

How to start a calisthenics routine

First, assess your current fitness and mobility, Wick-Kriegel said. With the help of a mirror, workout buddy or trainer, see if you can perform exercises like planks, pushups and squats correctly. If not, look for modifications, such as doing pushups from your knees.

Once you’re confident with the basics, aim to do calisthenics in 10- to 30-minute chunks, two to three times a week, he suggests. (For a little more structure, you can consult The Five Basic Exercise Plan, or 5BX, a classic calisthenics program developed by the Royal Canadian Air Force in the 1950s.)

As you become fitter, progressively increase the duration and intensity of your workouts. “Gradual progress is important,” Wick-Kriegel stressed.

However, as you become more experienced, calisthenics can be performed at a higher intensity. Keogh believes these exercises aren’t just for beginners. There are several ways to increase the difficulty of body-weight exercises over time, he said, making them highly challenging and effective.

For doubters, Keogh has a clear message: “Give it a try.”