The definition of the word callisthenics is : light exercise designed to promote general fitness.

 

From the Greek, kalli - beautiful + stheaos - strength.

Get radical and do something that actually works. Callisthenics & HybridFit!

Trouble is most people are scared of a little hard work and would rather put up excuses like aches and pains, time, tired etc etc, to be honest most excuses are a load of rubbish and to cap it all off these barriers are put up by people who currently pay gym fees month in month out and never go!! Sorry if that sounds a bit harsh but you have to admit that its true?.

In fact we've all been guilty of this at some time. Things need to change and by getting a bit of self disipline we can all make big changes. Dont wait for someone else, do it yourself.

 

If you do a few of the simple exercises below and include a 20 minute jog 2-3 times a week you will notice a big difference. If you really get stuck and havent even done any of these exercises before then just drop me a line and i can show you how.

 

For some pictures of how to perform some of the exercises below please refer to the gallery page.

 Main exercises of callisthenics are: 

 

Sit ups - A staple exercise for anyone wanting a flatter mid section, some people can find it hits the hip flexors a little to much and can result in discomfort, good exercise though to target all the abdominals and stabilizer muscles, and helps good posture.
 
Crunches - Great for really hitting the midsection hard and really singling out the mid/lower abs especially with the legs raised helping to keep the pressure on the lower abs which can be hard to hit.
 
Push ups - No doubt the best chest and tricep exercise there is, can be made harder and easier by elevating or lowering the feet position, hand position and even speed. A real man maker.
 
Pull ups - Excellent, i love these! many people can do really well on the lat pull down machine but cannot perform a single pull up, this hits your whole back and really builds awesome strength for carrying heavy loads to just going about your everyday life, many people have a weak back and this really is an area that needs looking at, too many people sitting down all day at the desk or in the car.
 
Squats - Ultimate leg exercise, remember 15% of your overall body strength is obtained by just doing squats, summation of force means that almost every muscle in your body is hit from calf's to shoulders, this is a brilliant exercise and should be done more by many people.
 
 
Calf raises - These are quit small muscles and need to be hit very hard to be stimulated, as we are all walking around all day they are used to this type of exercise so they need to be done with weight added.
 

Dips - One of my top three. builds functional strength in the arms chest and back, get really good at them and add a weight belt between your legs and build even more strength.

 

As you may have already worked out all of the above are major muscle groups, by targeting these all the smaller muscles are getting a pretty good workout too.

 

 

 

 

My ultimate aim is to make you strong, lean, capable across a broad range of activities.

 

You can train using any of the above exercises as many times as you like during the week just give yourself at least 1 day off.

 

Mon/Tues Train

Weds Off

Thurs/Fri Train

Sat Off

Sun/Mon Train

(Repeat)

 

or

 

3 Days Train 1 Off 3 Days Train 1 Off

 

 

Also try to do opposing muscle groups so if you do your back then do your chest or legs then shoulders, biceps then triceps. i will go into detail and write out some simple session plans on main page.

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Nutrition.

 This is another major key area that needs to be addressed if you want to get as much as you can out of your training, unless your mad why would you want to train like an animal only to put rubbish down your neck all day.

Its like expecting a car to travel down the motorway at 70mph with dirty fuel and a poorly maintained engine. Its not going to work is it?

 At a later stage i will go into more detail about food but for now all i will say is take a look at the caveman diet also known as the paleolithic diet, or the zone diet, these are  perfect for anybody particularly those of us that are training regularly.