One of the toughest strength workouts out there is practically equipment-free | Canada Voices

Sometimes the most challenging and effective workouts are the ones with the fewest bells and whistles. That’s the case with calisthenics, a workout style that uses just your bodyweight and the power of gravity to build muscle, stamina and endurance.

Calisthenics can be as simple as a squat or as complex as holding your body horizontally in mid-air from a vertical pole (a move known as a “human flag”) and can improve not only your physical fitness, but your courage and confidence as well.

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And because it’s so easily regressed and progressed based on your unique level of strength and skill, it’s beginner-friendly and safe for people of nearly any age.

“Age is just a number, and you see it in calisthenics more than any other industry I’ve seen in fitness,” says Janie Stel, the current Canadian freestyle champion and co-founder of the Women’s Calisthenics Organization, whose mission is to empower women through calisthenics.

Want to get started? Here’s what you need to know.

What is calisthenics?

Calisthenics is one of the oldest forms of exercise. Records of people engaging in the practice date back to the Spartan warriors in Greece around 600 BC. In the eras that followed, it became a favoured workout of the army and one of the few acceptable forms of exercise for women in the early 1800s. By the 1950s, fitness guru Jack LaLanne was being broadcast on television screens in homes across the United States demonstrating how calisthenics could help anyone get fit from the comfort of their living room.

Today, it’s both an accessible form of exercise for someone brand new to fitness and a competitive sport with contests in cities across the globe.

If you’re able-bodied, it’s the kind of exercise regimen you can do almost anywhere: The core movements such as push-ups, pull-ups, dips, squats and hollow-body holds require very little, if any, equipment.

It’s also known as a “street workout” and with good reason.

“You don’t even need to open the doors of a gym – you just go to a park,” says Carlos Salas, founder of Calisthenics Canada.

The mental and physical benefits

If you watch the viral videos on social media of people swinging their bodies over pull-up bars and doing tricks in mid-air, calisthenics can seem intimidating. Valentina Egusquiza, whom I met during a beginner class at Indomitable Spirit Academy in Mississauga, told me that even though she had a background in competitive cheerleading, she initially felt “too beginner to be in the beginner class.”

But with the help of the gym’s owner and instructor, she was able to scale back some of the harder movements and over time, she saw her strength and control improve. “I have come to really value and understand the concept behind ‘trust the process,’” she said.

In learning new skills, you also gain a sense of mastery, which has benefits in itself including improved confidence, greater problem-solving skills and mental acuity.

On the physical side, calisthenics helps improve functional strength since many of the movements mimic how we move through daily life, from squatting down to pick up a package to pushing open a heavy door. Because your joints are moving through their full range of motion, practising calisthenics can help improve your mobility. Every calisthenics exercise requires you to keep your core engaged, helping build control and stability. And though no weights are involved in calisthenics (except during a competitive track called “street lifting”), each exercise uses multiple muscle groups, which builds total-body strength.

How to get started

Calisthenics also has perhaps the lowest barrier to entry in that you can do it anywhere, mostly equipment-free. And if you do want access to things such as a pull-up bar, there are free outdoor calisthenics parks all over Canada.

For those who want to workout with others, some calisthenics gyms and clubs hold meetups (many of which you can find on the Calisthenics Canada website) where people of all levels of ability come together to practice.

“In the early days like 10 years ago it was me and three other people,” says Salas. “Now, we can call for a meetup in two weeks time and we’re confident we’ll get upwards of 80 to 100 people coming out.”

To start on your own, begin with a scaled-back version of some of the basic moves. If you can’t do a pull-up, start with horizontal rows and dead-hangs. To make a push-up easier, place your hands on a bench or couch. As you progress, you can do a pull-up by jumping up to the bar and slowly lowering down, and do your push-ups from a lower elevation or from the floor.

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Lunges, planks, burpees and jumping jacks are also beginner-friendly calisthenics exercises you can try at home.

“What I like about calisthenics is there’s endless progression,” says Catherine Blanchard-Hoang, co-founder of Women‘s Calisthenics Organization. “But you can start with no experience.”

Ethan Lawson, who works with Salas at Calisthenics Canada, echoes Blanchard. “It’s scalable for your elderly mom. It’s scalable for your 10-year-old child,” he says. “One of the really beautiful things about calisthenics is the accessibility and regression and progression.”

Alyssa Ages is a journalist and the author of Secrets of Giants: A Journey to Uncover the True Meaning of Strength. She is also a strongman competitor and endurance athlete, as well as a former personal trainer and group fitness instructor.