Physical characteristics of moderately active men after 8 weeks of ‘‘calisthenics’’ training

Aim: Calisthenics was originally a term used to define body weight exercises [1–3]. This term is now used to define a world wide spread sport based on body weight exercises. Therefore, the aim of this study was to understand the effects of calisthenics (sport) on sedentary individuals. Methods: 28 male participants (24.2 ± 4.2 years; 67.0 ± 8.3 kg; 173.3 ± 5.2 cm) were divided into two groups, a Calisthenics based intervention group (CIG) and a control group (CG). The CGI exercised for 8 weeks. Each participant underwent a postural assessment, a handgrip test (HG), a push-up and a pull-up test. Each participant was tested at baseline and post intervention. Results: The CGI improved their posture (with open eyes p\0.001 and with closed eyes p \0.05), and their strength (push-up test p\0.01 with a 16.4 % increase and pull up test p\0.0001 with a 39.2 % increase). No differences were shown for the HG test. No differences were displayed in any variable of the CG between pre and post measures. Conclusions: Calisthenics training is a cheap, feasible and effective training solution to improve posture and strength without the use any major equipment.