Ever wondered where the modern-day calisthenics movement originated? Join Kenneth Gallarzo as he unravels the TRUE history of calisthenics, from its ancient Greek roots to its global popularity today.
In this episode, we'll explore the fascinating history of calisthenics, debunking common misconceptions and providing insights into how it has shaped the fitness world. You will also discover the key historical events and cultural influences that have shaped the evolution of calisthenics, beyond its ancient Greek origins.
Key topics covered:
The ancient Greek origins of calisthenics
The evolution of calisthenics from ancient times to the modern era
The contributions of other cultures to the development of calisthenics
The impact of historical events on the popularity of calisthenics
The rise of calisthenics as a global fitness trend
The benefits of calisthenics training for overall health and fitness
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Now, if you’re into calisthenics you’ve probably heard the same introduction repeatedly:
“Calisthenics stems from the Greek word kalo sthenos”
or
“the Spartans of ancient Greece practiced calisthenics”
Now, what if I told you that they didn’t practice calisthenics, they practiced “kalos sthenos?”
Kalos sthenos is translated to beautiful strength, and in the days of the Spartans kalos sthenos was an umbrella term to reference individuals who reached high levels of strength, skill, ability in various sports, could perform at a high level of fitness, and had incredible physiques …much like our modern-day elite athletes.
Even Socrates is quoted as saying “it is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” Boxing, wrestling, running would all display beautiful strength and were sports in the ancient Greek Olympics.
Notice the words used were beauty and strength, and not calisthenics.
This is because both the term “Calisthenics,” and the actual practice as we know it, did not come into existence until about 1785 when ancient Greek culture heavily influenced the rest of the world, especially their views of philosophy, science, art, and their appreciation for physical fitness.
In fact, the word Gymnastics also did not mean what it does today and simply meant someone who trains at the gymnasium and included all types of physical fitness.
Most Greek athletes of the ancient day trained through a combination of practicing their chosen sport, alongside training with heavy stones, sticks, swords, ladders, and other objects to challenge the body much like we would use modern day machines and equipment.
There was one such kingdom within the Greek empire that is renowned for having incredible warriors who used harsh and extreme training methods- you probably known them as the Spartans.
Spartan training most likely included several approached from training with armor and weapons to lifting heavy stones, training wrestling and boxing, running and other modalities.
It was not only the Spartans of ancient Greece who held physical fitness in high regard but the whole of the kingdom who held their Olympic games every 4 years, the winners of which would become like modern day rock stars.
The Olympic games of the day were restricted to men with noble position and included chariot races, wrestling, boxing, running, and tumbling which is the sport that most resembling modern-day gymnastics. These athletes most likely implemented SOME bodyweight training, however, the truth is.. most of their training revolved around the actual sport they were competing in.
Runners ran. Boxers boxed. Wrestlers wrestled.
Even simple bodyweight exercises at the time were being recommended for health purposes by Galan, an ancient Greek physician said to prescribe exercises for the legs and trunk.
This, however, wouldn't be enough.
Around 393AD, there was a significant decline in the promotion of physical fitness throughout Europe with the rise of the Roman Catholic church as it believed fitness to be materialistic and unholy. Schooling and education throughout medieval Europe derived from religious institutions where students were taught about their holy scriptures, basic math, and skills that could be used for work, and nothing more.
This hit to physical fitness would also mark the end of the Greek Olympics, which had been held for over a millenium, since 776BC. While the official Olympics may have ended, festivals of sport and entertainment continued in various cultures throughout Europe where performers often displayed incredible strength, balance, and acrobatic skills performing hand balancing movements, flips, and contortion postures. Knights and monks of Medieval Europe commonly engaged in physical fitness programs which would differ from region to region. Even everyday laborer’s often used exercise to counter the repetitive motions of demanding physical labor.
It was not until the enlightenment period of the late 1700’s mentioned earlier that the concept of physical education began to reemerge and spread like wildfire... with the words “Gymnastics” and “Calisthenics” taking center stage. And, It is at this time, that we begin to see our modern version of calisthenics and gymnastics began to take shape, beginning with its use for fitness for physical health and education.
It was also at this time that “Calisthenics,” itself became a term used to signify a few different meanings which were described as “light gymnastics,” “free exercise with light and no weight,” and “exercise for females.” It was not to be strenuous, but health orientated with focus on posture, balance, and over wellbeing. Movements include planks, side planks, and reverse planks and more. Exercises include marching drills, hopping drills, and what we would call today- stability and mobility movements.
Eventually, official systems of gymnastics and calisthenics training began to emerge from educators in Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. Classical gymnastics included calisthenics in its system, with gymnastics training utilizing training equipment such as pull-up bars, dip bars, ladders, and rings. Meanwhile, calisthenics implied training with no equipment or light dumbbell wands, or Indian clubs. Workouts included the use of exercises replicating the basic human movement patterns, such as pull-ups, push-ups, dips, squats, and lunges… much like we see now.
The late 1800’s continued to see significant growth in physical fitness and education in Europe, as well as, The United States… especially in the form of Gymnastics and Calisthenics. As a result, the perspective of these two modalities began to transition from practices to promote general health, to a competitive sport screaming to be mastered. This split between training for health versus training for sport would begin to differentiate what was called “medical gymnastics” and “competitive gymnastics.”
Some of the earliest competitive gymnastics competitions arose out of Germany in the 1890’s and would soon be included in the first Olympics games of 1896. In fact, 5 of the 6 gymnastics events we presently see in the Olympics today were adopted into the Olympic games by 1928.
As a product of its influence, Calisthenics began to inherit the attributes of training- both with apparatuses such as rings and pull-up bars, as well as, training no or light equipment. This German system of gymnastics and calisthenics for overall health and wellness was the dominant system taught in many schools across Europe and America up until the until about 1914 when World War 1 began.
Because people all around the world began to have anti-German sentiments, viewing them as the instigator of the war, many countries stopped promoting gymnastics and calisthenics, both “Germanic” systems of physical fitness.
Rather than let this decision affect their citizen’s physical health and fitness, it sparked a huge societal shift. A majority of states and private programs began to promote sports, games, and play for physical fitness over formal exercise and education. By 1930, over 36 states had mandated some sort of physical education by 1930.
But, with another huge rise, came another big fall for physical fitness… luckily though, it didn’t hit everyone. The great depression of 1929 would spark a difficult time for the American education system with fewer teachers, lower budgets, and fewer overall recourses. With 1 in 4 Americans out of work and unemployment hitting 25% by 1933, many individuals found themselves with ample time on their hands looking for activities that required little to no money.
It was during the early 1930’s that Original Muscle Beach was created in Santa Monica, California in the United States as an outlet for the youth and young adults to train and “play” on various forms of fitness equipment installed on the beach, such as bars, rings, poles, and more. Muscle beach continued to grow in popularity as America began to recover from the great depression.
Muscle Beach became a meeting place for innovative and daring fitness enthusiasts where they trained stunts, flips, and other feats inspired by gymnastics and calisthenics, alongside, lifting weights, which was just beginning to gain interest among the fitness community.
It was a hub for fitness where people can come to learn, train, and get fit. The 1940’s and 1950’s became considered as the golden era of muscle beach. And, in the late 1950’s this fitness hub expanded further south to Venice Beach, which also became known as “Muscle Beach” to local-goers, thus bestowing the name “Original” Muscle Beach to the place where it all started- Santa Monica.
The incredible beauty and strength displayed at Muscle Beach was unfortunately an anomaly as most of the country had declined in overall physical fitness. By the mid 1950’s studies began to show that American youth were significantly out of shape compared to their European counterparts, this study began to cause great concern for the US government.
Both President Eisenhower and President Kennedy began to push for physical education in schools which utilized gymnastics and calisthenics. With a huge concern for our youth, fitness enthusiasts like Jack Lalanne gained popularity for his promotion of physical fitness for the general population often prescribing calisthenics exercise that required little to no equipment to his television viewers.
The 1960’s saw the emergence of Bodybuilding with its influence continuing to grow through the 70’s-80’s. In the 1980’s commercial gyms began to grow in popularity. While calisthenics would be continued to be used by bodybuilders and gym goers, it became nearly always supplemental to weightlifting and machine exercises for most people in the fitness world. Calisthenics as its own focal point of training, however, still remained strong in the military, gymnastics training, and with some fitness enthusiasts.
The rise of social media beginning with YouTube in the early 2000s would help launch calisthenics into the consciousness of gym goers, fitness enthusiast, and people who enjoyed the idea of getting fit without a gym. Videos displaying incredible physiques from people at local parks performing pull-ups and playing on the bars. Between 2008-2018, Calisthenics began to be embraced by more and more people with a significant increase in practitioners, products, methodologies, various competitions, and overall usage.
It was during this time, I co-founded the World Calisthenics Organization. Between the Battle of the Bars competition and StreetSport education program, the WCO was one of the top global calisthenics companies leading competitions and education workshops in 15+ different countries. While the COVID outbreaks of 2019 and 2020 put an abrupt stop to these in-person events and workshops, it significantly increased the recognition of all modalities of calisthenics by people wanting or needing to workout from home.
Today, you’ll find a variety of competitions from freestyle events based on dynamics and strength movements, to strength events like sets and reps or adding weight to fundamental exercises such as the pull-up. As the practice of calisthenics increases all over the world, more and more knowledge of how-to best train calisthenics is being put out there- while some of it is decent, most of it is eh.
Over the past decade, I’ve found that the “calisthenics movement” hasn’t quite become the movement we all want it to be because many of the practitioners remain young males with flashy videos and too much attention given to the competition or advanced side of the movement. There is a void of information missing in the world for the average person.
With too much fluff around how to scale movements or what good form is, the current education is significantly lacking WHO should be using WHAT movement and WHEN, as well as, with which movements to combine them with, what movements to prioritize based on relative strength, and a scientific background of building complete programs for all fitness levels.
The problem is, none of this information has ever been compiled into any CPT or specialization coach course. BUT! My hope with my flagship system, BEST Method, is to further the knowledge and understanding of how to properly use calisthenics for all demographics and populations to better help develop the calisthenics movement.
BEST Method isn't just another set of calisthenics exercises; it's a structured program design philosophy rooted in biomechanics, progressive overload principles, and fitness principles. BEST is an acronym that stands for Bodyweight Equilibrium Strength Training.
It is a holistic training system revolving around the concept of building overall fitness primarily through with the use of bodyweight exercises with programs developed around a person’s relative strength.
What does this mean for you as a trainer? Imagine a system that streamlines program design, allowing you to craft highly effective workouts with a deep understanding of how each exercise impacts the body. This not only saves you time but also ensures your clients are challenged appropriately, leading to faster progress and heightened motivation.
Think about a client struggling with their pushups or pullups. BEST Method provides a clear progression path, focusing on proper form and technique before introducing variations. This not only builds their confidence and reduces the risk of injury, but it also keeps your clients engaged and excited to conquer the next challenge.
The best part? The scalability interweaved throughout the BEST protocol allows you to cater to a wider range of clients. It offers modifications for beginners, ensuring safe and effective workouts regardless of fitness level, while at the same time, it provides progressions that challenge even the most seasoned athletes. This versatility positions you as a trainer who can cater to diverse needs, expanding your client base and solidifying your reputation as a well-rounded trainer.
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