📍#001 - Introducing ourselves
Interviews and weekly meet-ups inside...
Welcome to Calisthenics Corner!
This week we want to tell you a bit about ourselves, our relationship to calisthenics, and why we wanted to start Calisthenics Corner.
Scroll down to find the usual weekly meet-ups.
Sam & Sam - Creators of Calisthenics Corner
Sam Y.
Although I did gymnastics when I was in primary school, I gave up when I was young and was relatively unfit as a teenager. I remember exactly when I discovered calisthenics. It was the beginning of 2017 and a coach on my school football team (I was in the worst team) made us do a push-up pyramid. We went up to 4 push-ups on the first week. The next week we did 5. I remember practicing in my room before bed so I could keep up with the rest of the group. I had caught the bug. I bought my first pull-up bar shortly after (I still use the same one) and realised I could not do a single pull-up. I watched countless YouTube videos and became introduced to calisthenics via them.
I would say my biggest challenge was dealing with over-training. Around September 2021 I had been doing calisthenics for a while and had gotten some decent skills. I went to uni in London and took up gymnastics, since I had done it as a child and wanted to see how I would do with my new-found strength. I also took up boxing and was still training calisthenics every week. I liked the feeling of being able to start a new sport with a good level of baseline strength, which I had gained from calisthenics. My body, however, did not like it. I quickly realised that it was not possible to progress in all three sports effectively. Although there is a strong overlap between the three - as all three sports require a high strength to weight ratio - I was still spreading myself too thin. My main goals were still based around calisthenics so I realised I had to focus if I were to attain them. I think this was a big mindset shift to me. I realised that the more difficult the goal, the larger the sacrifice I had to make. Coming to this realisation helped me overcome this challenge.
There is a big calisthenics scene in London and that definitely motivated me whilst I was there for uni. After training by myself for so long during lockdown in my home gym, it was so refreshing to train with others. London has a large university calisthenics scene as well as open competitions which I really enjoyed. I also find that I progress so much faster when I am training with other people who constantly push me. I am not sure if it is because I learn so much from seeing how other people unlock new skills, or if it due to the motivational atmosphere that other people contribute towards. Either way, I benefit from training with others.
The main advice I would give someone is to try and think long term about their goals and their training. It is so easy to aim for - and to almost expect - immediate results. In my experience, this only leads to disappointment. I prefer to set more challenging goals and fall in love with the process instead. It is also easy to compare your progress with others. There are so many factors as to why some people can achieve a skill in 2 months but it takes others so much longer. Learn what you can from others but don’t let comparison taint your own journey.
My main goal is always to never get injured. After that my goals are: straddle planche, front lever, one arm chin up, handstand push-up, nordic curls and reverse nordic curls. My wider vision for the calisthenics community is for a high-quality calisthenics park to be built on Brighton beach here in the UK. Since I benefitted so much from the group aspect of calisthenics, I hope that people can find groups via our meet-ups page and surround themselves with others who have similar goals. I also dream of calisthenics being in schools the same way that other sports are.
Sam S.
I’m still relatively new to the calisthenics community as I started getting into calisthenics just over a year ago, with the simple goal of just being able to do one single pull-up. I asked Sam for help and he put together a structured programme for me. On the 28th of August 2022 I finally got it, it was such a great moment; Having never been particularly athletic I finally felt like the strongest I’ve ever been, and I think that’s the feeling everyone who gets into calisthenics is constantly chasing, and I haven’t looked back. My next milestone, hopefully in the not too distant future, is the muscle up.
Like with anything, consistency is key when it comes to calisthenics, and that is something I’ve struggled with. My routine often crumbling under the weight of things like university deadlines. The hardest bit isn’t usually the workout, its walking out the door, once you’re at the bars it’s easy, and that feeling of achievement makes it all worthwhile.
Losing progress can also be really demotivating, but you should always look back and see how far you’ve come from when you first started. It acts a reminder that you have the resilience to bounce-back stronger than ever.
A major source of motivation for me early on was signing up for UCA’s University Calisthenics Competition, which was the first of its kind. I probably should’ve been in the beginner category but I signed up for the intermediate category anyway, and on the day of the comp I smashed my pull-up reps PB which felt amazing (but also realised my dips could use some serious work).
Seeing so many people come together at the competition to show off their own skills, while also encouraging others was inspiring. I hope that through Calisthenics Corner we can help facilitate the growth of the global calisthenics community, and help people connect with others in a similar way, supporting each other so we can all become the best versions of ourselves; As well as providing a platform to tell the stories of the many inspiring people within the world of calisthenics.
Weekly meet-ups
(Note - these are not necessarily taught sessions. These are just times and locations for people to get together and workout.)
Didn’t find a meet-up that works for you? Choose a park and time that works for you and let us know - we will add it to the list for next week! Reply to this email with the details.
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Email us at: officialcalisthenicscorner@gmail.com