Evox Fitness Concept

7 IMPORTANT TIPS FOR STARTING CALISTHENICS

1-Don't compare yourself with others

In my opinion this is one of the most important points for those who start calisthenics. Who has not seen athletes on social networks performing great feats and thought they would never be ableto do the same. Well, we all start with different bases, some without, others with sports experience, others with bases in gymnastics or gym, etc. No one is the same, some people will have more ease in certain movements than others and vice versa. Insteadof comparing ourselves, we should be inspired and motivated by the evolution of these athletes and believe that one day we too will do the same. The important thing is to recognize what level we are at and what our physical capacity is at the moment. And try to be better than before, workout after workout.
In calisthenics the main objective is to be the best version of ourselves!

2-Invest time

As in any other sport, to evolve it is necessary to invest hours and more hours of training. There is no magic potion, hours of dedication and sweat in progressions, basics, trial / error until our brain assimilates all these new stimuli and starts preparing our muscles for such a demand. It is necessary to be consistent, it is preferable to train 20 minutes every day, than to train 4 hours once a week, day after day, repetition after repetition, only then will the results be sought in the short term, only then will we become stronger and better from day to day.

3-Define goals


It is essential to set goals, short-term objectives. There is nothing more motivating than achieving our own goals. The problem is that most people set big goals, out of reach and end up frustrated and consequently give up. Good plan training support is important to achieve the goals. Another way to stay motivated is to set small goals for your daily workouts, preferably realistic, for example, to increase the number of repetitions of a certain exercise or to hold a few more seconds in an isometric position. In this way continue to focus on achieving more in each training session.

4-Take care of your body

Unfortunately, few athletes pay attention to this point, let me start with the warm-up part before training, there are rare practitioners of calisthenics who properly warm up their musclesand joints before training session. It is essential to prepare our body for what we are going to do in training, warming up the appropriate muscle groups and working on the mobility of our joints for a better range of motion. No less important, is to giveproper rest between sessions, know to listen to your own body and to avoid working the same muscle groups on consecutive days. And finally the part of the diet, in this part there are many that fail completely, not providing the necessary nutrients so that there is a proper regeneration of the muscles and better optimization of the results.

5-Quality over quantity

We often see people doing large numbers of repetitions in certain exercises, such as pull ups or push-ups, but are they doing it right? Most likely, no, if we pay attention to these exercises, they certainly do not do it correctly, the most common is to shorten the movement by not working in its full range. An example of this in a pull up, not starting the exercise with your arms fully stretched, when you pull, the chin does not exceed the level of the bar, ignoring the eccentric phase of the movement having no control of it and when return to the initial position not doing the total elbow extension.
More doesn't always mean better, in this case this is only good for the ego because if we look for strength and aesthetics this is not how we will achieve it. In calisthenics the quality of movement is the key to gain strength and a muscular body. For example, in a pull up, we should start with the arms fully extended, pulling the bar towards the chest, passing the chin above it, controlling the eccentric phase of the movement, holding the resistance of the body weight until the arms get fully extended, returning to the initial position. Done this way you will hardly pass the 10 repetitions of the exercise but you will have done it correctly working in the full range of motion, properly recruiting all the muscles involved, providing twice the results.

6-Hire a Personal Trainer

Nowadays it is very easy to search for calisthenics exercises on the internet, videos on Youtube or even applications, but is this ideal for someone who is starting calisthenics? I will answer based on my own experience and that of professional athletes that I have followed since I started my journey. I lost count of the times that I thought I was doing some exercise well and that after taking a picture or recording with the phone, the image was completely different from the one in myhead. The same happens with professional athletes with calisthenics who are
even very strong in certain exercises and who later, when confronted with someone more advanced, realize that there is still much to improve. Therefore, if you are one of those people without body awareness, little experience in physical exercise, it is best to seek help from a professional who as the knowledge in the area and preferably qualified. Because in addition to being an experienced person, a professional will ensure that you perform the exercises correctly and safely, thus avoiding future injuries and trust me that in calisthenics this is easy to happen when we do not dominate our bodys. He will take into account your level of physical fitness, adapting the appropriate progressions so that you can evolve more quickly and safely.

7-Have fun with the training

The moment of training should be something good, in which we can decompress, relieve daily stress, of course that working hard is not always the most fun but in calisthenics there are several options which makes it different from everything else, one day we work resistance, other skills, isometrics, balance and even freestyle. The essence of calisthenics is to be free to do whatever you feel like, you can practice anywhere, whether at home, in the gym, in the garden or on the beach, play your favorite music, invite a friend, all this will make training a lot more exciting. The important thing is to have fun while you train because if you don't enjoy what you are doing, most likely you will not do it until the end.

Viviano Rocha