Calisthenics (Greek καλός, kalos “beauty“, “beautiful“ und σθένος, sthenos “strength“) can be translated as “beautiful strength” and is a special combination of elements of different bodyweight-focused sports, such as gymnastics, breakdance and classic bodyweight training. This relatively young sport is specialised in functional and intensive strength training and offers athletes great flexibility and variety with their training schedule. Aside from classic training tools, bars, parallettes, and rings are primarily used – however, this sport also is designed to be performed without any equipment. In contrast to traditional bodyweight training, Calisthenics puts special emphasis on functionality and body control. Another characteristic is the variety of different dynamic and static Skills/Movements (Abilities), which are goal of many ambitious athletes.
The most popular Skills are:
- Muscle Up
- Back Lever
- Front Lever
- Handstand
- Human Flag
- Planche
- Iron Cross
- …
