UNIQUE ASPECTS OF CALISTHENICS
As a unique form of training and exercise, calisthenics has its own unique benefits and traits, which are attributed to the way in which calisthenics exercises use the muscles of the body, as well as the equipment, or lack of it, that is used.
HAND STRENGTH
In bodybuilding and other weighted forms of exercise, straps are commonly employed to remove the hands or forearms from the exercise, bypassing the chance of these ‘secondary muscles’ from fatiguing before the much larger target muscle groups. From a bodybuilding perspective, this makes sense.
We, as calisthenic practitioners however who do not care to build muscle for the sake of pure size, want our hands, our forearms and by extension our grip to be as strong as possible for without this we would not be able to perform some of the more advanced movements. Our hands are involved in almost every single upper-body exercise. From directly pushing or pulling to being secondary muscles in hanging core exercises our hands, fingers and surrounding muscles are used to a large degree to execute all manner of body control feats.
Fortunately, we do not need to directly train these muscle groups as much of the strength needed can and will be gained by simply performing the standard exercises that have been laid out in our Calisthenics Hypertrophy page.
CORE
In traditional exercise, the core is seen as simply a body part to be aesthetically improved. The abs are worked on, the diet is adhered to religiously and everyone wants a six-pack. However, in calisthenics the core plays a vital role and is not just relegated to the back seat. Almost every skill and exercise in calisthenics requires you to engage your core to maintain the midline of the body. If we take an example exercise such as a front lever, we can see that even though it relies immensely on the upper body pulling strength through the muscles in the back, the core has a secondary role of holding up the legs, keeping the body in one straight line. A core that is built using calisthenics exercises will be among the strongest you are ever likely to encounter.
Of all the regions of the body that are involved in calisthenic movements, muscular support of the scapula is perhaps the most important. While many eager practitioners focus on big chests and large backs, the real key to upper body strength is the ability to stabilise and control the scapula.
The scapula has six directions of movement:
Elevation
Depression
Protraction
Retraction
Upward Rotation
Downward Rotation
Through its attachment to the clavicle, the scapula provides a bony anchor for the arm to the ribcage. The scapula is neighboured by important muscles such as the serrates anterior, all three divisions of the trapezius and the rhomboids all of which are responsible for providing stability for the upper extremity. If these muscles have been well developed through proper conditioning, the force generated through the upper extremities can be transferred into optimal movement with much greater efficiency.
SCAPULA
STRAIGHT ARM STRENGTH
Calisthenics and by extension gymnastics places a heavy emphasis on a principle known as straight-arm strength. This is exactly what is sounds like: strength exerted with a locked elbow – think of the iron cross which gymnasts showcase in the olympics. This principle puts enormous strain on the arm and its connective tissues, including the biceps, the bicep tendon and the wrists. However, it is also the reason why many gymnastics and calisthenic practitioners have very large biceps even without traditional curl exercises.
Another side effect of using straight arms to pull is that it makes the back musculature extremely strong. If the arm is kept straight then the muscles in your back have to work extremely hard to exert any force on the bar. Several exercises such as the planche, front lever, back lever and human flag will expose you to this unique aspect of calisthenics.