by David Johnston
The benefits of calisthenics are undervalued in a lot of gyms.
If you’re new to working out, the floor space next to the bench press holds more potential than the bench. It’s important to build a foundation before moving on to machines or free weights. It’s a bad idea to attempt to build a lot of muscle on a foundation made of sand, which is exactly what you’ll do if you don’t master the fundamental basic movements and meet mobility standards first.
It’s much easier to do things the right way than it is to correct years of bad form or have to spend time recovering from an injury. You’ll never regret spending the first six months of your training on strictly bodyweight movements, even if you’ve had some experience working out.
Learning how to squat properly and do pull ups and pushups, along with a few other exercises, will propel your progress and your success when you get to the point where you do start to add weight, whether it be on a machine, a barbell, or dumbbells. Structuring and strengthening all the little muscles that you can’t see will decrease your chance of getting injured and boost your relative strength.
The calisthenics beginner standards include: twenty to thirty bodyweight squats, fifteen to twenty push ups, five pull ups, ten dips, and a ten second L-sit hold. You will feel strong and capable moving onto the next phase of training, which could include working out with moderate weight on a machine, or taking these abilities a little further by increasing the number of reps you can do, changing the range of motion, or even doing weighted calisthenics.
Don’t let your ego get in the way by trying to do more than you’re capable of in the beginning. Train smart. You’ll thank yourself later.