Calisthenics: Important Exercises, Often Overlooked

What looks cooler: bench pressing 185lbs or doing 10 pull-ups? Well, bench pressing of course. The weights make noise, look really big, and make us look tough. Pull-ups are cool too, but they don't convey the same sense of strength and power. These perceptions have led many young athletes down a dangerous path. They have resorted to simply trying to lift the most weight on a predictable set of exercises: bench, squat, dead-lift, hang clean, etc. This is good to an extent. In many sports, we want athletes that can lift heavy weights. But we also want functional strength. That is, strength that optimizes performance on the field in all the dynamic ways in which strength can be applied. Imagine a wide receiver sprinting 20 meters, cutting, jumping into the air 2 feet, twisting his body to catch the ball, planting his feet, cutting to avoid a tackle, dropping his shoulder to break another one, etc. The movements in this sequence occur all the time on the field, but aren't even closely touched in the weight room (I don't think you really can, but we can at least attempt to make more dynamic movements and less stationary ones).

Calisthenics are good because they require stabilization of the body. For example, a tough pull-up workout will often cause athletes to get sore in their core. Why? Well, in order to move the body up and down without shaking requires a level of stabilization. After doing push-ups, the same can be said. The body must stay linear and so while the chest and shoulders are pushing the body up off the ground, the core must be activated and keeping the legs linear with the torso. The ability to keep one's body linear or to control it when working with another muscle group (the back and arms in this case) is enormously beneficial. In fact, learning to do this is exactly what a wide receiver must do in order to jump, maintain body control, and catch a ball!!

Besides the added dynamic of stabilization - which is a huge asset in contact sports - calisthenics are also good for younger athletes. Many young athletes come into the weight room wanting to lift huge weights because the older boys or girls are doing so. The older kids have gone through puberty and have the testosterone, however, to make significant strength gains. Younger kids often don't. They can get stronger, but the gains are minimal relative to the gains they will experience later. For example, if we gave a 8th, 10th, and 12th grade boy (let's say the same boy, same genetics, just three different ages) the same workout program, the 12th grade boy would get stronger and bigger. Often the 10th grade boy will lose his baby fat and gain some muscle, but often he will not be ready for much muscle gain. The 8th grade boy will get stronger, and will learn the lifts well, but he won't pack muscle on at all (generally).

This is where calisthenics are extremely helpful. They are safe exercises, they help young athletes become more coordinated, and more in tune with their bodies. Coupled with learning how to lift, calisthenics provide a great way to build strength and lay a good foundation for future growth.

Unfortunately, they stay overlooked and under appreciated. The fancy shiny weights are just too glamorous.