Calisthenics is a sport in which you train your muscles using your own body weight. Calisthenics exercises can be performed either without equipment or, for example, using

• pull-up bars
• parallel bars
• horizontal bars and
• wall bars.

Calisthenics originated in the street workout scene in New York. In the early 2000s, the sport became popular through videos on the internet, in which scaffolding, street signs or benches were integrated into the training.

Nowadays, almost every major city has calisthenics parks with bars, parallel bars and horizontal bars. But playgrounds or any objects that resemble sports equipment are also integrated into the training.

Unlike traditional strength training, calisthenics exercises are characterised by smooth movements that engage multiple muscle groups. This promotes the interaction of all muscles and joints. With calisthenics exercises, you train your

• Maximum strength
• Strength endurance
• Coordination
• Body control

The training has the following positive effects:

• Improved performance
• Prevention of sports injuries
• Stabilisation of the postural muscles
• Improved everyday fitness

As a beginner, you can also prepare yourself without the equipment and start by practising the basic exercises until you can perform them cleanly and in a controlled manner. According to Alexander, the basic exercises include:

• Push-ups
• Squats
• Pull-ups

Also train progressively. This means that once you can perform an exercise without any problems, you can make it more difficult by adding a new variation (e.g. one-armed push-ups) or increasing the number of repetitions.

Warming up before training

It is important that you warm up for 5 to 10 minutes before each training session.

It may be sufficient to cycle to Eldena or combine your training with a running session. You can take the bus to the nearby area and then jog to the facility.

We also have trainers who regularly run with their groups from the city wall along the Ryk to the facility. However, you can also run on the spot for a few minutes at the facility, do a few light jumps, swing your arms up and down and then perhaps do some arm circles.

If you haven't been very active recently, you will quickly notice progress at the beginning. Therefore, you don't need to worry too much about a complicated training plan. The main thing is to get started and develop a routine!

A good way to get started is, for example:

• 2–3 times a week full-body workout
• Duration: 30–40 minutes

If you find the basic exercises difficult at first, simplify them if possible and pay more attention to ‘clean’ execution, e.g. by choosing a variation where you use your knees instead of your feet for support instead of normal push-ups.

Cool down after training

At the end, you could ‘cool down’ a little and do some stretching. You can also “outsource” the stretching and do it later at home. If you don't stretch, your muscles can ‘harden’ from the exertion or your mobility can be restricted in the long term.

An example training plan for a dedicated calisthenics workout could look like this:

Day 1

• Warm up
• Push-ups
  • Sets: 2
  • Rest between sets: 2 minutes
  • Repetitions: as many repetitions as you can perform cleanly (until muscle failure)
• 3 minutes rest
• Squats
  • Sets: 2
  • Rest between sets: 1 minute
  • Repetitions: as many repetitions as you can perform cleanly (until muscle failure)
• 3 minutes rest
• Pull-ups
  • Sets: 2
  • Rest between sets: 2 minutes
  • Repetitions: as many repetitions as you can perform cleanly (until muscle failure)
• 3 minutes rest
• Variation: Hanging leg raises
  • Sets: 2
  • Rest between sets: 2 minutes
  • Repetitions: as many repetitions as you can perform cleanly (until muscle failure)

Day 2

• Rest day

Day 3

• Warm up
• Push-ups
  • Sets: 2
  • Rest between sets: 2 minutes
  • Repetitions: as many repetitions as you can perform cleanly (until muscle failure)
• 3 minutes rest
• Squats
  • Sets: 2
  • Rest between sets: 1 minute
  • Repetitions: as many repetitions as you can perform cleanly (until muscle failure)
• 3 minutes rest
• Pull-ups
  • Sets: 2
  • Rest between sets: 2 minutes
  • Repetitions: as many repetitions as you can perform cleanly (until muscle failure)
• Variation: Plank
  • Sets: 1
  • Repetitions: as long as you can perform cleanly (until muscle failure)

Day 4

• Rest day

Day 5

• Warm up
• Push-ups
  • Sets: 1
  • Repetitions: as long as you can perform them cleanly (until muscle failure)
• 3 minutes rest
• Squats
  • Sets: 2
  • Rest between sets: 1 minute
  • Repetitions: as many repetitions as you can perform cleanly (until muscle failure)
• 3-minute break
• Pull-ups
  • Sets: 2
  • Break between sets: 2 minutes
  • Repetitions: as many repetitions as you can perform cleanly (until muscle failure)
• 3-minute break
• Variation: Hanging leg raises
  • Sets: 2
  • Break between sets: 2 minutes
  • Repetitions: as many repetitions as you can perform cleanly (until muscle failure)

Days 6 and 7

• Rest days

You can repeat the training plan for several weeks until you can easily perform 15 to 20 repetitions of the basic exercises.

Tip: The variation exercises can be replaced with other exercises as desired.

You can find courses and competitions in our programme [de]. Unfortunately, we don't always have enough volunteers to offer enough courses. However, you can register on our sports partner exchange and find other interested parties with whom you can train together. At certain times, smaller groups already train together. Maybe you could just drop by and see if anyone is already there.

By the way, the facility is open all year round. However, we have been told that it is better to train with non-slip gloves in winter.