"... do your body good & your body will do good to you ..."
WHAT ARE CALISTHENICS ?
Functional body weight exercises which work the whole body at once in one movement. The goal is to stimulate muscle growth, increase strength and flexibility in the joints and build up power and stamina. Squats & Push Ups are the most basic Calisthenics out there. Pull Ups, Chin Ups, Knee Raises, Leg Raises, Planks, Crunches, Rolls, Cartwheels, Hand Stands, Head Stands, Lunges, Jumps, Sprints, Running. Even Swimming can be considered Calisthenics. Of course, all these exercises focus on different areas but still require the use of the whole body. For instance, Push Ups train mainly the chest, upper back, shoulders and triceps. But, the body needs to be stiff as a log, in a plank position, and that will also train the wrists & ankles, the core and the buttocks (gluteus maximus). Squats train mainly the legs, the lower body, but at the same time will still work your core, your back, and will give a good condition to your shoulders too if you stretch your arms while squatting.
Functional body weight exercises which work the whole body at once in one movement. The goal is to stimulate muscle growth, increase strength and flexibility in the joints and build up power and stamina. Squats & Push Ups are the most basic Calisthenics out there. Pull Ups, Chin Ups, Knee Raises, Leg Raises, Planks, Crunches, Rolls, Cartwheels, Hand Stands, Head Stands, Lunges, Jumps, Sprints, Running. Even Swimming can be considered Calisthenics. Of course, all these exercises focus on different areas but still require the use of the whole body. For instance, Push Ups train mainly the chest, upper back, shoulders and triceps. But, the body needs to be stiff as a log, in a plank position, and that will also train the wrists & ankles, the core and the buttocks (gluteus maximus). Squats train mainly the legs, the lower body, but at the same time will still work your core, your back, and will give a good condition to your shoulders too if you stretch your arms while squatting.
The word Calisthenics means Perfect Strength. It comes from the Greek words Kalos (Perfect) & Sthenos (Strength).
NO SPECIAL EQUIPMENT VS TRAINING TOYS
A great aspect of Calisthenics is that they are easy to learn and easy to practice and we don't need any special equipment at all and any special environment. We need our body and a big enough space to just do planks & push ups. Within that space, and without any equipment, we can do a full body workout for just as long enough time as we need.
Of course, we can still use some equipment, but we still don't need very complicated machines. It is not mandatory, but it can be smart! For instance, a great tool to use is the ELASTIC BAND. Using Elastic Bands you can control the intensity of your workout very easily and you can stabilize your joints. Our joints have very small muscles around them which have the task to bring the joint back into place after each move. When we move the arm up, there are muscles in the shoulder joint that keep pulling the arm down. When we move the arms or the legs in a certain direction, there are muscles that pull the arms and the legs in the opposite direction, in order for the joint to remain in its place. With elastic bands, we train these small muscles around them and our joints become more stable, better connected.
As martial artists, Elastic Bands can be very great for Speed Training. We can practice our Hooks or our Kicks very nicely this way. We can also Sprint, while having an elastic band around our waist - this way we can increase our explosive power and our offensive movement.
We can use SMALL WEIGHTS (1-3 kg) for Shadowboxing, Bigger Weights (5-10 kg) for Crunches and Arm Workout and Heavier Weights (10-20kg) for Squats. Later on, we can ask one of our training partners to jump on our back so we can Squat with bigger weight while training for balance as well. Just a heavier object would not be challenging enough for our balance. A person is better.
The same idea applies for carrying WATER. The water in the bucket is constantly moving while we carry it. That again helps our stabilizing muscles. Just a heavy object, even if it may have the same weight as the water, or as the person, will not challenge us just as well.
The AXE - chopping wood - can also give us a great workout and will train our Knock Out Power. Chopping wood with an axe will train our wrists, arms and core. It is also a very enjoyable activity! Instant Satisfaction type of training! It is much more pleasurable to do than just repeating a number of sets. This movement will help our boxing tremendously, since having our both hands on the handle and twisting our core will teach us how to use our whole body when punching, how to keep the rest of the body light and relaxed while moving and how to tense it right when the shock is there.
CHAINS, ROPES & TIRES are other great tools we can use in very creative and fun ways. Chains & Ropes can train our wrists, arms and back, and tires can train our ankles and our core very well. We can punch & kick tires, hit them with a stick or nunchucks, jump on them, lift them, throw them at each other passing them around, smash them against the ground or against a wall. Tires can have infinite uses for our training.
BALLS of different types and weights can be great for JUGGLING, squatting or for training balance and accuracy.
WHEELS can be great for training our core, arms and upper back. They are fun to use and way less boring than sit ups.
Of course, BARS are the ultimate Calisthenics equipment. If you have a bar in your home or somewhere close to your home - you are very lucky. If you don't - look better! If you look carefully, there is always a bar somewhere, or a certain piece of structure that you can use for hanging and for pulling yourself up, for doing leg raises, knee raises or just for hanging and stretching. They can also be used for walking on them in order to stabilize your ankles and improve balance.
OUR WAY OF TRAINING
I honestly recommend everyone to start a morning routine. The morning, to me, is the most important part of the day as it can have an impact on the whole day. If you start your day with even a very small workout or some light stretches it will put your mind and your body in a very good mood. It will refresh and open your body, re-oxygenate your cells after sleep, boost your blood & energy flow, help you eat more in the first part of the day and less at night, and will activate the muscles that you want to work on and the food you eat will feed these muscles faster. It is as if you tell your body on which areas to focus its functions on. Start small, with just 5 minutes, or with simply getting out of the house and having a walk around your house - that will renew the oxygen in your body. First, make it a habit, and then build up.
Evenings are also very good for training, of course, but you have to watch out more how and when you eat.
In the morning, I think it is best to do a very light and brief warm up (2-3 min) and then do a QiGong Form (Ba Duan Jin - 15 min) and then do Shaolin 5 Basic Stances (5 different squats - 2 min). Then do some Kicks & Shadowboxing (5 min) combined with Calishtenics (Squats & Push Ups -5 min). In 20-30 minutes, you have a complete workout! With Warm Up, Energy Training & Stretching, Shadowboxing, so Fighting Technique and Dynamic Stretching, and Power Training.
The best Calisthenics to start with are Squats & Push Ups. Please, do the Kung Fu Squat! In Ma Bu (Horse Stance), with legs spread apart, hips wide open, while maintaining the back straight. Push Ups are also better with your arms placed wider (Classic Push Ups), so you can work your chest, shoulders and upper back. There are many different types of Push Ups that can train your arms and your punching power very well, but it is important to start with classic push ups in order to first achieve a good body posture.
Find your number, see how many Squats and Push Ups you can do in one go. Then do it, 3 times, with a very small break in between - just enough to recover your breath properly. It does not matter how many push ups you do. You can do 3, 7, 9, 20, 36. What really matters is that you do it with consistency and attention.
In between these sets, we add Kicks for Squats & Punches for Push Ups. This way, we make the muscle loose and flexible and we prevent it from bulking up too much and, eventually, blocking itself.
Inspired by Calisthenics, we can work Kung Fu Movements & Stances in just the same way. Repeating a traditional Kung Fu Fist Set (Ma Bu - Gong Bu, Pu Bu - Gong Bu, or Ma Bu Sweeps) will work our whole body and our legs in a more dynamic and fun way than just squatting and will sharpen the move itself, and therefore our Traditional Form Practice will improve immensely.
We have to understand very well what is the reason for our Calisthenic workout. We want to build up muscle, we just want to make the body stronger, better connected, we want to lose fat. We have to know our goal exactly. That way we can adapt our training and find the will power and belief to keep us going and reach our desired goal.
As martial artists, it is highly recommended to develop a good muscle system that can protect our bones, joints and internal organs from the damage produced by getting hit. While fighting, no matter how good we are, we have to be prepared to also take a hit, and not just to deliver a hit. If we don't have strong muscles, we can get injured very easily by a hit to the ribs or to the core or to the legs. For those who are not as interested in fighting, it is still good to consider growing their muscles as this may prevent a lot of damage from random day to day accidents - such as tripping on the stairs or felling off the bike.
Not only will our muscles serve us for defense, but will ease our day to day life as well. We can do more faster and with less effort and less help needed.
While developing the muscles, it is vital to get enough REST and GOOD FOOD. Somehow contrary to what I just said - it is good to work on the sore muscles. If you had an intensive Leg Day yesterday, do some stretching today and do at least one good set of Squats, preferably with a weight on. If we want to build up muscle, we will have to reduce the amount of Cardio Training for a short while - because that can also burn muscle and not just fat - and we will have to consume more calories than we burn and do so without growing a belly. The trick is to not eat too large portions and not eat late. Of course, a good protein source would be great to have as well! But, my advice - do it naturally! Grow muscles from food, not from powders and supplements. Your internal organs and longevity rate will thank you!
