“How do calisthenics support other sports?” is a question that is often asked by many people, both beginners as well as experienced. Most want to take up the practice while others may be a little curious about it. But before we delve deeper into the issue, it’s essential to first have an understanding of the activity.
What is calisthenics?
Calisthenics is a form of resistance exercise that makes use of the body’s weight. What this means is that you won’t be using other weights such as barbells, dabbles, balls, skipping rope, rollers, or any other, but just your body weight.
Try to imagine you pulling yourself up via an overhead bar. In such a situation, your arms will be fighting off the resistance and weight of the body. Another good example is press ups, squats, and push-ups.
The whole idea of the workout is to create resistance using the body and then to fight against it. This simply means that you can do it from anywhere since there are no weights or equipment needed.
How does it support other sports?
Boosting cardiovascular
Sports generally require somebody to have a strong heart. It should be able to pump blood as far as possible, maintain a high rhythm, and also recover quickly after a fast episode. In so doing, it helps to increase the oxygen flow in the relevant zones such as muscles, joints, and more.
Push ups, running on the spot and press ups are among the best exercises that improve the cardiovascular system. They keep the heart pumping hard and also help in strengthening the heart muscles. It has also been proven that regular workout help to eliminate toxins from the body.
Strengthening the muscles
In sports such as MMA, kickboxing, kickboxing, and others, you are expected to be on your toes more-often-than-not. You’ll be running around the ring throwing jabs, running backward to prevent getting hit and also getting up quickly after a fall. This will be taking place throughout the entire match. Also, your body should be able to not only withstand a heavy punch or kick but also recover fast after a hit.
Push-ups and pull-ups help to strengthen the body. They target areas such as the arms (biceps, triceps), and back (latissimus dorsi, brachioradialis) and you should be able to take hits and throw stronger punches.
Improve Stamina and Endurance
Many sports are like marathons and not short sprints. You’ll be expected to maintain peak performance if you are to subdue your opponent. This entails having a strong heart, strong muscles to handle your body’s weight and movement throughout, and also the ability to counter fatigue and effects of lactic acid build up in the joints.
Planks, boat hold, hanging, and pull-ups area some of the beneficial calisthenics. They put the joints, muscles as well as the heart under stress since they give you minimal time to recover. You may be required to do 20 push-ups, take a minute break, then other reputations. After that, you jump into another workout.
Strengthening your Abs
If you are a boxer, kickboxer, MMA or a Muay Thai fighter, you defiantly know that your belly/ tummy will be hit, punched, kicked, even head-butted or elbowed. And if you have a sloppy or soft belly section; you can easily throw in the towel. To counter these possibilities, individuals try to strengthen the abs as much as they can. In so doing, they can endure the kicks and punches better. Also, they improve flexibility in the midsection.
Workouts that prove effective include sit-ups, lunges, leg-ups, knee crunches, bicycles, reverse crunches, and V-ups. Callisthenic won’t be enough, and you’ll need to incorporate other as well as adopt a good diet and maybe consider supplementation.
Enhance Body balance and stability
In sports, there are many times you’ll find yourself standing on one leg. This may be after a heavy push or you losing ground due to momentum. The inability to fully support your body on the leg means you go down. This can be a fatal mistake in an MMA or kickboxing ring as your opponent will quickly take advantage. You may also fall to the canvas and award your boxing opponent some crucial points and room to recover.
Squats, target the lower body, core, back, and shoulders. They increase not only strength and flexibility but stability as well. Knee bends are also good as they exercise several muscles including glutes, calves, quads, shins, hamstrings, abs, and hip abductors. Also effective are Lunges which also help in burning fat and improving metabolism.
Conclusion
The above are some ways Callisthenic support other sports. We’ve talked about improving the stamina, endurance, muscle sheath, balance, control, abs and cardiovascular. Like any workout, it’s important to make sure you do it right to prevent injury or side effect. Working with an experienced person, trainer or coach is always advised. Also important is going for a medical checkup to iron out or reveal any underlying physical, mental, or health problems.
