WHAT ARE THE LIMITATIONS TO CALISTHENICS

In the world of fitness, where social media feeds are flooded with gravity-defying moves and chiseled physiques, calisthenics aka ‘bodyweight training’ has risen to the forefront. But, what are the drawbacks associated with calisthenics?

Is Only Doing Calisthenics Good for Your Health?

Many people wonder whether you can build a great physique with just doing calisthenics without incorporating any weights or cardio training. This intriguing query holds significance for anyone setting foot on the calisthenics path.

The short answer? Yes. Calisthenics training is a great all round method for building strength, enhancing the mind-body connection, and promoting functional muscle. Yet, suplementing your calisthenics regimen with weight and cardio activities can provide an added push to your physique development.

True or False: Calisthenics Doesn’t Build Muscles Like Weight Training

One of the most commonly debated topics surrounding calisthenics is its ability to build muscle effectively, in comparison to traditional weight lifting. While it's true that weight lifting can indeed cultivate greater muscle mass in a shorter time due to its ability to control resistance, bodyweight calisthenics can still certainly build muscle and functional strength. The key lies in understanding the principles of resistance.

Weight lifting provides a direct and adjustable form of resistance that can be fine-tuned to specific muscle groups. In contrast, calisthenics relies on body weight as resistance, which doesn’t allow you to isolate specific muscle groups. This isn't to say that calisthenics doesn't contribute to muscle development – it certainly does. However, weight training allows you to target specific muscles to grow at a faster rate.

Does Calisthenics Cause Injury?

Like any physical training, there is always some risk of injury. However, if done correctly, there is no high amounts of risk to calisthenics. In fact, it’s actually one of the safest forms of resistance training in comparison to weightlifting and other sports. In calisthenics, it is very low impact as you're simply using your own body weight as your primary form of resistance, as opposed to relying on weights such as dumbbells or barbells. While you can still use tools such as gymnastic rings, dip bars, pull-up bars, and parallettes, these still have low risk of injury as long as you take time to learn the correct form and buy good quality equipment (Kalos equipment and accessories coming soon!!).

How Do You Train Legs with Calisthenics?

A common criticism of calisthenics is that it doesn’t focus on lower body exercises, which causes ‘stick legs’ aka legs with small muscles. This misconception stems from the fact that many calisthenics movements predominantly engage the upper body. As a result, there's a concern that the lower body might not receive sufficient stimulus for optimal muscle growth.

However, there are many bodyweight exercises that can stimulate muscle growth effectively. From our experience, plyometric bodyweight exercises have the best impact on muscle development in the lower body due to its fast twitch fibre activation. Such as:

• Jump Squats: Regular bodyweight squats, but at the end, you jump up high.
• Jump Lunges: Just like regular lunges, but when you switch legs, you jump and switch them in the air.
• Sprints: Running really fast for a short distance. This could be anywhere between 20m to 200m.

Pros and Cons of Calisthenics

Pros:

• Minimal Equipment: Calisthenics is all about using your body weight, which means you can work out anytime, anywhere without needing fancy equipment.
• Functional Strength: It builds functional strength that's applicable to daily activities and sports.
• Full-Body Engagement: Most calisthenics moves engage multiple muscle groups, promoting balanced muscle development.
• Accessibility: It's accessible to individuals of various fitness levels and doesn't require a gym membership.
• Community: The calisthenics community offers support, inspiration, and a sense of belonging.

Cons:

• Learning Curve: Proper form and technique take time to master.
• Progression Challenges: Overcoming plateaus can be challenging. Imbalance 
• Risk: Some muscles might be worked more than others, leading to imbalances.
• Visible Muscle Growth: Muscle growth might not be as visually prominent as with weightlifting.
• Limited Load: Bodyweight exercises might not offer the same load as weightlifting for muscle growth.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if your goal is to build functional strength and muscle then calisthenics is a great form of training to learn. However, as with any fitness regimen, there are always pros and cons. Incorporating supplementary weight and cardio training can enhance overall physique development and balance. So, determine the fitness goal you're aiming for and assess if calisthenics will help you achieve that goal.