Calisthenics for Strength?

We're talking tremendous amounts of strength, too. Not just the ability to do more reps (which is strength endurance), but the ability to move more weight. How is this possible? It's the same principle as any other form of resistance training. You have to make the movements more difficult. Now, this can often take more creativity than just loading more weight on a barbell or grabbing a heavier dumbbell or kettlebell. We'll cover some ways to make movements more difficult, but first a little history.

The Early Days...

The first known account of calisthenics comes from Herotodus' well-known account of the Battle of Thermoplylae. A scouting party reported to the "God King" Xerxes that King Leonidas and his Spartan warriors were doing bodyweight movements, as though they were limbering up for battle. Xerxes did not know what to make of this. Based on their performance during said battle, I can confidently say they didn't become so powerful and capable doing push-ups (at least the kind most are used to), jumping jacks, crunches, and squat thrusts. No doubt they used easy movements such as those for warm-ups and conditioning, but they used much more advanced movements for strength.

The Spartans were not the only Greeks to use calisthenics for strength. The early Olympic competitors also used calisthenics extensively in their training. Greek wrestlers are my favorite example. They did not use weights other than occasionally lifting stones and regular practice with training partners. Everything else involved nothing but their own bodies. Their physiques were so impressive, sculptors used them as models for their statues of the Gods.

In Rome, the Gladiators were the pinnacle of strength and power. They were known to perform extremely advanced bodyweight movements. Of course, Roman soldiers were also known to use similar methods.

In China, at around the same time, Shaolin monks were also training in calisthenics and were some of the first to be seen doing handstands and handstand push-ups.

More Recently...

By recent, of course, we are talking about the turn of the century. In Prussia, the former military commander Friedrich Ludwig Jahn started to formalize training methods using minimal equipment. The equipment he did use were the parallel bars, hanging rings, horizontal bars, vaulting horse, and balancing beam. Thus gymnastics were born. During this time, many incredible strength athletes existed, known as the Strongmen. These men traveled and performed for audiences. Thomas Inch, Arthur Saxon, Rolandow, and many others who used calisthenics as a major part of their strength training. Bert Assirati was able to do full standing bridges and one-arm hand balancing at an excess of 240 lbs!

My personal favorite was Eugen Sandow, whose figure is used to this day for the Mr. Olympia statue. His feats included hoisting 300 lb dumbbells overhead with ease, breaking chains wrapped around his midsection by merely flexing, lifting a 1,500 lb stone with one hand, and taking on 3 wrestlers at a time with ease! His career began with gymnastics and he never lost his respect for bodyweight strength training. Later in his career he made attempts to build machines, such as a push-up machine, but he ultimately gave up, believing that the traditional push-up was far more effective. For more information on Sandow, his story can be found here.

The Current State of Calisthenics

Strength-focused calisthenics today are very under-appreciated and have almost disappeared entirely from the mainstream fitness world. When you ask the average gym rat or fitness buff what calisthenics are, the most common response is "Cali...what?" Those who do know what calisthenics are generally believe that they are the basic push-ups, sit-ups or crunches, bodyweight squats, and pull-ups. They believe that calisthenics are merely endurance exercises.

I say nay! They most certainly are not! You can achieve tremendous amounts of strength if you do calisthenics correctly, progressively loading them (by loading, I mean making more difficult, not adding external sources of weight). Progression is the key word here, but we'll get into that a little later. First, a quick, improved overview of the benefits of calisthenics:

1. You don't need any equipment.

2. You can progress all the way to your genetic limits. Your body is genetically designed with limitations. There is a healthy weight range, and once you reach a certain level of strength it's not always effective or advised to continue further. There are, of course, ways to progress further, but it's something you should approach with great care. Same goes with weight, for those who are looking to add mass. Adding too much would be counterproductive to your attempts to master your own body.

3. Calisthenics can be used for conditioning, by using high-rep schemes.

4. Plyometrics are another option for bodyweight training.

5. Bodyweight training regulates body composition and fat storage. I'll expand on this in a moment.

6. It's the most functional way to train.

Now, to expand (just like I promised)...

Now, I would normally present information that is evidence-based (derived from studies and research and whatnot), but this rarely-mentioned benefit of calisthenics (especially for strength) is only experience-based. Considering its age, one would think there would be piles of studies regarding changes in the body's composition due to adaptations to calisthenics. Alas, there are not. So instead I will refer to the SAID principle: Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands.

Let's look at the theory of body recomposition based on this principle: You are a bit overweight, but you have started doing bodyweight progressions. You have made it to the point where the workouts are getting more difficult and you're having to move more of your body's weight. Yes, we can assume that you will get stronger doing this, but there's another adaptation - you start to shed the excess body fat. Your body is an efficient machine and will try whatever it can to adapt to regular demands. If you're doing pull-ups, your body will drop fat in order to do them easier!

The Key to Strength is Progression

Progression is something of a lost art since the dawning of the "Age of False Muscle." Bodybuilders nowadays often use the same weight every workout. There will be no progress that way! Progression is absolutely needed. My favorite progressive calisthenics program at the moment is called Convict Conditioning, by Paul "Coach" Wade. His book has been endorsed by some of the biggest names in training: John Du Cane (Dragon Door), Gray Cook, and Loren Christensen.

The basic premise of the book (beyond the whole prison part, which is not at all what the bulk of the book is about) is that incredible bodyweight feats can be accomplished by following a progressive, methodical approach. He focuses on six movements and the progressions to reach them: the one-arm push-up, the one-leg squat (a.k.a. the Pistol), the hanging straight leg raise, the stand-to-stand bridge, and the one-arm handstand push-up. He recommends starting at the bottom, progressing from the easiest steps and slowly building the "training momentum" in order to build tendon strength along with muscular strength. I agree with every part of his method.

The progressions start with the easiest movements possible, often used in rehabilitation and physical therapy. For the push-up you would start with 1 set of 10 reps of wall push-ups, and you would progress to Intermediate (2 sets of 25), and then to the Progression Standard (3 sets of 30). From there you progress to the next step, which is a slightly more difficult form of the exercise. In the case of push-ups it would be incline push-ups, and you would start back at 1 set of 10 reps.

This kind of progression will take much longer than most people in our "instant gratification" world are used to, but patience pays off! You're much less likely to plateau when you start from the bottom and work your way up. It also helps to shore up weaknesses and imbalances.

For more information about Convict Conditioning, check out the book!


For more information and bodyweight strength-building techniques, check out Pavel's Naked Warrior: