CALISTHENICS FREESTYLE

A calisthenics freestyle refers to the creative and expressive aspect of calisthenics training. It involves executing a series of movements in a fluid manner. They can be done to showcase your strength, muscle control, and endurance, or to spice up your calisthenics training routine.

Right away! Often people think of dynamic movements or difficult isometrics when they think of freestyling. However, this is not the case. A calisthenics freestyle is just any series of movements you can perform one after another. Think of it like executing a circuit.

Making your own calisthenics freestyle routine can be a fun and expressive challenge. By understanding your current strength and conditioning level you will be able to create a freestyle unique to you. Here are a few steps to consider taking when thinking about your freestyle routine.

1. Figure out which skills you can comfortably perform and the equipment you need to do them.
2. Decide which muscle groups you want your freestyle to focus on.
3. Plan how you will progress through each movement. Do you need to swap equipment?
4. Determine the length of each movement (Reps / Duration / Distance / etc.)
5. How can you incorporate progressions for skills you have not yet mastered?

Calisthenics freestyling is a fun way to express yourself and push your own limits. Here are a few tips to help you create a more personalized freestyle routine.

1. Try out as many different combinations as you can think of. Try pull up negatives into active-hangs.
2. Incorporate progressions as transition movements.
3. Use the equipment and environment.
4. Move to the beat of your favorite song.
5. Avoid over-targeting the same muscle to reduce fatigue.
6. Get inspired by your favorite calisthenics influencers or other sports like gymnastics and yoga.

As you continue on your calisthenics journey you’ll find yourself becoming stronger, and more capable of advanced movements. This is great for adding more dynamic movements and transitions to your freestyle. This lets you add layers of progression to your routine and can even open the door to making different routines to target different muscle groups.

If regular pull-ups have become too easy for you, try incorporating different pullup variations like the archer pull-up into your freestyle. Different variations of movements can be the gateway to finding new transition movements to add to your routine. When you are comfortable, you can even try to incorporate your legs and other muscle groups at the same time to unlock a deeper mind-muscle connection.

Practicing your own calisthenics freestyle routine is a very fun and creative way to get a workout in while expressing yourself. However, it is crucial to know your own limits and to never forget about safety. We highly advise against incorporating movements that you are not comfortable doing and we urge you to take the proper safety precautions when executing any risky calisthenics movement. If possible, use a crash mat to reduce your risk of injury from a fall, missed transition, or other accidents. We also advise you to take care of your skin when executing bar or ring movements to avoid injuring your calluses, and skin. Tape and chalk are great ways to keep your skin dry and keep your calluses in check while training calisthenics.

Where you train plays a much bigger impact on your calisthenics results than many people would think. Here are some common locations to train along with their pros and cons.

Parks let you experience nature and often attract the attention of others. Talking with them can help you take adequate rest between sets. Playgrounds can also be incorporated into your routine. However, you need to be mindful of those around you and how much space you are taking. Kids are a common safety risk when training at small parks.

Gyms have all the equipment you need to train calisthenics and even free weight and machine-assisted exercises. However, membership fees may vary and it may be the most crowded environment if you can only go in the afternoon.

Definitely the most comfortable place to start off from but often people don’t take enough rest between sets and distractions are everywhere. If you don’t leave your house often you will miss the human interaction.