For many college students, daily exercise is essential to preserving one's well-being. Taking time to better oneself in the midst of mountains of work can be incredibly relieving, but going to the gym may appear too daunting. Whether self-conscious, time-conscious, or reluctant to indulge in gym culture, students may enjoy the benefits of exercise in the comfort of their dorm room—practicing calisthenics.
What is Calisthenics?
Calisthenics is a form of body weight exercise emphasizing muscle control through various progressions of different movements. This type of exercise is perfectly suited to a dorm room, as it requires no external weights or machines while allowing the same muscular strengthening as modern weight training. Notwithstanding, calisthenics is a type of compound exercise—requiring activation of multiple muscle groups. This results in an increased metabolic rate but also a decreased ability to target specific muscles.
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| Decline push-up |
Beginner Calisthenics Exercises ● Lunges
● Sit-ups
● Push-ups
● Planks
● L-sits
One great thing about calisthenics is that you can progress at your own pace; all of these exercises can be modified for variable difficulty. For example, putting your feet at a higher level will create a negative angle during push-ups, increasing difficulty. It is really exciting to learn new exercises, and setting goals can encourage you to better yourself physically.
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| Planche |
● Handstand-pushups
● Human flags
● Front levers
● Muscle-ups
Pros of Calisthenics Cons of Calisthenics
● Increase flexibility ● Fail targeting individual muscles
● Decrease social interaction ● Take longer to learn exercises
What Do You Think?
What calisthenic feats do you think are most impressive?
Do you believe practicing calisthenics is more suitable than weightlifting for college students?
Do you agree that feats of calisthenics—like performing human flags or one-arm handstands—are more impressive than feats of weightlifting?
Hi Will! This blog was particularly interesting to me as I knew very little about calisthenics beforehand. I enjoy that this form of exercise is realistic for college students since starting to go to the gym is scary sometimes. Calisthenics is also very logical for students who have busy busy schedules but want to implement some form of physical activity into their schedules.Your use of a pro and cons list is easy to visually follow. Also, the images included in your blog engage readers and allow them to picture the exercises mentioned in the reading. Thank you for your advice in this blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Pola! I am happy you enjoyed the blog, and I completely agree that beginning one’s journey in the gym can feel extremely intimidating. Although its advanced exercises can appear challenging, one of my favorite aspects about calisthenics is its beginner friendly nature. I wanted to utilize a pros and cons list to illustrate this, as well as acknowledging the drawbacks of calisthenics. Thank you for your comment, and I am delighted to have helped you develop an understanding calisthenics.
DeleteHi Will, I really enjoyed how you organized this blog post by different skill levels in a legible, reader-friendly manner. Your bullet points and descriptive images made the article easy to gather the most important points from, and I learned a lot about this topic. Calisthenics is an important option to bring awareness to, especially for college students who prefer more accessible and self-sufficient work-out regimens. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Foster! I greatly appreciate your feedback on the readability of my blog, and I am glad you enjoyed learning about calisthenics. In order to illustrate its accessible nature, I tried to include exercises that people of all skill levels could complete. Starting calisthenics may feel daunting at first, but it is really rewarding to develop skills that you know would foil even the most massive of bodybuilders.
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ReplyDeleteHi Will! Thank you for you engaging and reader-friendly blog post. I really enjoyed learning about calisthenics because I had no previous knowledge on the topic. Your use of headers and bullet point lists made your blog easy to comprehend. I also appreciated how you provided workouts for both beginners and people who are advanced. To me, the most impressive Calisthenics feat is the human flag. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Julie! I am glad you found the blog easy to understand, and I appreciate your feedback on the organization of my information. Due to the sheer strength it requires, I agree that a human flag is the most impressive feat, but I believe that other skills which demonstrate a profound sense of balance—like handstand pushups—can be incredibly awe-inspiring. I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to introduce you to the world of calisthenics!
ReplyDeleteHi Will! I like how the blog was easy to read and understand for someone who does not do calisthenics. The pros and cons list is a nice touch for readers since it is quick information that could be lost in a paragraph. The calisthenic feat I believe is the most impressive is handstand-pushups. I believe calisthenics can be more suitable since time is essential in college, calisthenics can take less time than weightlifting. Feats of calisthenics are more impressive since they rely on multiple muscle groups and muscle control.
ReplyDeleteHI Justin! I am happy to hear that you enjoyed learning about calisthenics, and I appreciate your feedback on the juxtaposition provided by my pros and cons list. I agree that handstand pushups are the most impressive calisthenic skill and that calisthenic feats are more impressive than those of weightlifting. Developing one’s mind-muscle control and balance through calisthenics can lead to seemingly inhuman capabilities.
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