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Female internees practicing calisthenics in Manzanar. (Photo by Ansel Adams, 1943).

Calisthenics form a category of physical exercises closely related to, but not a part of, gymnastics. The name of the discipline is Greek in origin, a combination of the words kalos, 'beautiful' and sthénos, 'strength'. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 558 pixel Image in higher resolution (2122 × 1481 pixel, file size: 394 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Item Title Calesthenics [sic] / photograph by Ansel Adams. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 558 pixel Image in higher resolution (2122 × 1481 pixel, file size: 394 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Item Title Calesthenics [sic] / photograph by Ansel Adams. ... A hot windstorm brings dust from the surrounding desert July 3, 1942 Manzanar is most widely known as the site of one of ten camps where over 110,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II. Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada in Californias Owens Valley... Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West. ... U.S. Marine emerging from the swim portion of a triathlon. ... Gymnastics is a sport involving the performance of sequences of movements requiring physical strength, flexibility, balance, endurance, gracefulness, and kinesthetic awareness, and includes such skills as handsprings, handstands, split leaps, aerials and cartwheels. ...

In the United States

In the United States, calisthenics are exercises consisting of a variety of simple movements, usually performed without weights or other equipment, that are intended to increase body strength and flexibility using the weight of one's own body for resistance. Repeated motions of calisthenics done over an extended period of time builds muscle endurance. The history of calisthenics is linked to gymnastics. Disciples of Friedrich Ludwig Jahn brought their version of gymnastics to the United States, while Catherine Beecher and Dio Lewis set up physical education programs for women in the 19th Century. Organized systems of calisthenics in America took a back seat to competitive sports after the Battle of the Systems, when the states mandated physical education systems. The term Exercise can refer to: Physical exercise such as running or strength training Exercise (options), the financial term for enacting and terminating a contract Category: ... Gymnastics is a sport involving the performance of sequences of movements requiring physical strength, flexibility, balance, endurance, gracefulness, and kinesthetic awareness, and includes such skills as handsprings, handstands, split leaps, aerials and cartwheels. ... Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (Turnvater Jahn) (August 11th 1778, Lanz - October 15th 1852, Freyburg) was a German Prussian gymnastics educator and patriot. ... The Battle of the Systems, a controversy over the most effective system of exercise and calisthenics, consisted of different systems of exercise mostly in a gymnastic or calisthenic-type format. ...

The primary calisthenic exercises are:

• Sit-ups/: Start with your back on the floor, knees bent, bottoms of feet against the floor. Lift shoulders off the floor by tightening abdominal muscles bringing your chest closer to your knees. Lower back to the floor with a smooth movement. This trains your abdominal muscles.

• Crunches: Like the sit-up, except instead of bringing the whole torso area closer to the knees, only a concentrated but shorter movement of the abdominals is performed. Shoulder blades are lifted off the floor, and abdominals tightened.

• Push-ups: Start face down on floor, palms against floor under shoulders, toes curled up against floor. Push up with arms keeping a straight line from head through toes. Lower to within a few inches off floor (or have a partner put their closed fist on the floor under your chest and lower your chest to their fist each time) and repeat. Do not rest on the floor or your partners fist when you descend. You should keep your head tilted upward, your back straight. Do not rest on your shoulder blades, even when you feel fatigue. This trains your chest, shoulder, and tricep muscles.

• Pull-ups: Start by grabbing an overhead bar using a shoulder-width overhand (palms facing forward) grip. Keep your back straight throughout. Using your lat muscles, pull yourself up to chin level (always with the bar in front of your head) then slowly return to starting position in a slow controlled manner. Avoid using the arms to pull yourself up and do not make jerky movements to gain leverage. This primarily trains your lats or upper back muscles, as well as the forearms. An underhand grip variation or chin-up trains both the back and biceps.

• Squats: Stand with feet shoulder width apart. Squat as far as possible bringing your arms forward parallel to the floor. Return to standing position. Repeat. If you feel like this is not a challenge, there are other forms of squats. One method is lifting one leg off the floor in front of you, putting both arms in front of you for balance, and squatting. This is a one-legged squat or pistol. Squats train the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, and gluteals.

• Calf-raises: Stand on a platform with an edge where you can let the heels hang (e.g. a curb). Use your heels to lift your body on the balls of your feet, then slowly return to starting position. This trains your upper calf muscles on your lower legs. A seated calf-raise trains the lower calf muscles.

• Dips: Jump up into position in between parallel bars or facing either direction of trapezoid bars found in some gyms. Cross your feet with either foot in front and lower yourself on the bars until your elbows are in line with your shoulders. Push yourself up until you are fully extended, but you do not have to lock your elbows. Press yourself up and down for repetitions and you are doing dips. Dips focus primarily on the chest, triceps, and deltoids.

It has been suggested that Crunch (exercise) be merged into this article or section. ... Performing the crunch. ... A press up (also push up) is a common strength training exercise performed while lying horizontal and face down, raising and lowering using the arms. ... pull-up A pull-up is an upper body compound pulling exercise. ... The latissimus dorsi (plural: latissimi dorsi) is the large, flat, dorso-lateral muscle on the trunk, posterior to the arm, and partly covered by the spinotrapezius on its median dorsal region. ... Chin Up is a song from Charlottes Web the 1973 Hanna Barbera animated musical. ... The squat is a lower body exercise used in strength training. ... The dip is an exercise used in strength training. ...

In Australia

In Australia, calisthenics is a competitive performing sport for mostly women (males can participate also, up to the age of 12 but exceptions occur), with girls from as young as three participating. Calisthenics is composed of freearm (similar to rhythmic gymnastics, without apparatus), aesthetics (a graceful form of dance), rhythmic (similar to ballet), folk dance, song and dance, figure marching, club-swinging, metal rod exercises and calisthenics revue (the most common 5 used are nicknamed Freearm, Aesthetics, Clubs, Rods, and March). At the most elite level, calisthenics requires competitors to have high levels of flexibility, strength, balance and control. Precision, standard technique, good deportment and a high level of choreography are also required. Girls wear beautiful costumes often designed and sewn especially for the year's competition items. The make-up is over-the-top, to emphasise expressions on stage. Team competition is the main form of competition, however a solo competitions called "Graceful Girl" and/or "Solo and duo" is regarded as the ultimate ambition for calisthenic girls. Calisthenics were first pioneered as a sport in the 1890s. In 1903, the Royal South Street Society introduced calisthenics as a section in its famous eisteddfod in Ballarat. Calisthenics is now a competitive sport in all Australian states except Tasmania. Aesthetics is commonly known as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste. ... Year 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A view of Ballarat East and Eureka from Sovereign Hill. ...

Girls are grouped into 6 sections^[1] based on their age as at 31 December in the year that the competition is held - Tinies (7 and under), Sub-juniors (9 and under), Juniors (12 and under), Intermediates (16 and under), Seniors (16 years and over)^[2] and Masters (mature aged members). This article is about the human developmental stage. ...

History

Europe

Calisthenics originated in ancient Greece. It is mentioned as a Persian scouts' report on Spartan warriors before the Battle of Thermopylae, who misinterprets calisthenics as a sign of weakness. The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. ... For other battles at Thermopylae, see Battle of Thermopylae (disambiguation). ...

Australia

Calisthenics came to prominence in Australia during the Victorian Gold Rush.^{[citation needed]} It provided exercises to help city dwellers keep fit. These exercises were often combined with apparatus to keep their wrists, elbows and shoulders supple. Clubs and rods are currently being used for this. Musical accompaniment gradually enhanced performances and it slowly became an integral part of the sport.

Public classes began in the 1880's. By 1903 the Royal South Street Society introduced calisthenics to its famous Eisteddfod in Ballarat. The competition in Ballarat is still the focus for many clubs in Australia. Calisthenics was introduced into Victorian State Schools in the 1930s.

The sport became so popular that calisthenics clubs spread rapidly, mostly in Victoria and South Australia. It achieved national attraction when Victorian and South Australian coaches began moving throughout Australia.

General uses

• As warm-up before various sports
• As part of a work-out to burn food energy without gym equipment

Food energy is the amount of energy in food that is available through digestion. ...

Footnotes

See also

• Alexander Technique
• Bodyweight exercise
• Gymnastics
• Pilates
• Sport

‹ The template below is being considered for deletion. ... Bodyweight Exercises are strength training exercises that do not require free weights; the practitioners own weight provides the resistance for the movement. ... Gymnastics is a sport involving the performance of sequences of movements requiring physical strength, flexibility, balance, endurance, gracefulness, and kinesthetic awareness, and includes such skills as handsprings, handstands, split leaps, aerials and cartwheels. ... The Pilates Method (or simply Pilates), pronounced // is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates. ...

External links

• Australian Calisthenic Federation Inc.
• Mycala[2]
• The Calisthenics Association of West Australia[3]
• Carine Calisthenics Club[4]
• Calisthenics Victoria [5]
• Calisthenics South Australia [6]
• Calisthenics Videos