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Charlie’s Calisthenics Program

Charles William Maier
PPE 310 Arizona State University
Professor Janet Barrone Curry

Charlie’s Calisthenics Program

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Introduction

Calisthenics in the fitness community has become an afterthought, something thrown to

the side and underutilized. To the discount of popular belief there is still a community that

embraces this form of fitness. The aim of my program is to increase the health focus on a form of

fitness that is completely free. The movements of calisthenics have been around for centuries and

need to make a resurgence, not only do they help with visual aesthetic but also with

cardiovascular health as a whole. Throughout the essay the theme will remain constant and rely

upon the fact that fitness is the embodiment of you get out what you put in, dedication and hard

work will always lead to that dream body this is simply another path along that road.

Literature Review

The First source that was used was called “Does a Calisthenics-Based Exercise Program Applied

in School Improve Morphofunctional Parameters in Youth?” by The Journal of Exercise

Physiology. This article is about how they took 39 junior high aged kids of both genders and

tested to see if Calisthenics would improve their overall health. There were 19 kids in the control

group and 20 in the Calisthenics group, the Calisthenics group performed various movements

twice a week for 12 weeks. They measured the following factors, pushups in one minute chin ups

in one minute burpees and fastest running speed. The results after the program spoke for

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Charlie’s Calisthenics Program
themselves as all the participants saw improvements in all facets of the experiment. This just

goes to show that when youth are active they are able to grow and mature at a healthy sustainable

rate using natural calisthenic training meaning there is less structural tension on the body for the

kids then weights. However speaking on years and years of personal experience on both training

styles are both very effective but weights take more time and usually some sort of financial

commitment as well as more tension on the joints over time. Also the movements that were used

in the experiment are the most basic and effective way to obtain a total body workout and will be

at the centerpiece of the program.

The second article is from Muscle and Fitness the magazine. This magazine has been around for

years and personally there advice works because it has been incorporated into my workout

routine and the results can speak for themselves. This particular article consists of several

circuits that people could perform to get in better shape. The basic movements that were focused

on this time were pushups, pullups and core training along with some ring work which are

commonly used in gymnastics. Also they included one of my favorite personal workouts, which

is the 45lb plate workout, which isn’t technically calisthenics but still will be performed in my

program because it requires the same attributes and the only equipment required is one 45lb

plate. This particular workout consists of several movements ranging from overhead presses to

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lunge squats and it is known for burning high amounts of calories and developing core strength

along the way. If someone were to look up and follow this plan and diet correctly they would get
strong, athletic and have great internal health. Calisthenics is the ultimate total body workout so

nearly every workout that is being performed is activating the core and burning high

amounts calories because its not focusing on one muscle in particular but rather several different

muscle groups.

The third article is about how calisthenics can improve high blood pressure levels for the obese.

It is called Hemodynamic changes in normotensive overweight and obese individuals following

home-based calisthenics training. By K.E Lawrence. The study consisted of 22 volunteers both

male and female aged 22-55 there was a control group of 11 and a workout group of 11, after the

8 week study the results showed that blood pressure levels decreased tremendously and healthier

hyperextension on the joints were also recorded. The study proved one of my thoughts to be true

and that is that calisthenics paired with cardio is one the best ways to lower blood pressure,

cholesterol and also activate the afterburn effect which means that when the workout group was

performing there circuits they were not only burning calories but activating healthier heart rate

levels and better metabolic rates which means they are burning calories even after they workout

throughout the day. Yet another reason to join the calisthenics movement.

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 The fourth article was dubbed Evaluation of the exercise workload of broadcast

calisthenics for children and adolescents aged 11–17 years by Yu Cui. The experiment consisted

of calis thenics cycles performed on 120 11-17 year olds and how it can improve heart rate and

oxygen outtake. The means energy levels during the workouts were high which is very good.

This once again points to the afterburn effect that Calisthenics provides. The basic movements

executed were pushups, pullups and situps or core strength. At the end of it all the results proved

to be extremely healthy for the children and that calisthenics programs should be implemented

more often.

Synthesis of Information

The four articles that were selected all come to the same conclusion and that is that they

all backed that calisthenics will improve overall health and can help build a very athletic and

good looking physique. The themes were all relatively similar because they were all for the most

part program based. Two of them were experiments while the other two were programs based for

adolescents. The basic movements that nearly all the articles focused on were pushups, pullups,

some sort of core exercise and cardio for heart rate. In the calisthenics world these exercises are

and will always remain the meat and potatoes of calisthenics as a whole. Pushups for chest as the

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primary muscle, shoulders, arms and core as the secondary muscles. Then pull ups hit

your back as the primary muscle while attacking arms and core as the secondary muscles, and

then cardio uses the complete body since you're essentially recruiting all your muscles. The
information from all the articles and also the data tie into engagement, focus and overall health

benefits in a work environment such as a school or office because calisthenics can and will

improve not only your physique but also your heart rate, mind muscle stability and overall very

healthy blood pressure levels which lead to the decrease of sicknesses and stress levels as whole.

The overall conclusion and number one recurring theme that all these peer reviewed scientific

proven articles show is that when this type of fitness is performed the results will show and the

lifestyle change is insurmountable. From youth to obese adults and all the way inbetween if you

stick to a simple workout plan of calisthenics your levels of health will dramatically improve.

Practical Implications

This project will really not take much funding considering the fact that calisthenics as a

whole is completely free of charge and can nearly be performed anywhere and anytime. The

overall costs will obviously come from instructors but even then a volunteer type of program

could be an easy option. In terms of purchasing awards this won’t be a necessary aspect of the

program because the reward should be a healthy lifestyle. The investment will come from the

time and dedication that the members of the program put forth into really achieving their goals.

Thousands of civilians purchase gym memberships every month, this will not be necessary after

this program as implemented and used successfully.

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 The proposal for administration and other colleagues shouldn’t prove to be too difficult

considering the fact that the program is essentially free of charge to the participants. Who

wouldn’t want to know and work on a free form of fitness that not only gets you healthier but

also will get you very good results in terms of physique and overall wellness. Calisthenics is also

a program where encouragement by others helps spread the message, it encourages everyone to

succeed and find what truly makes them happy.

The committee will consist of myself as the head of the program with a few other

colleagues or experts who are also familiar with calisthenics. I will oversee all the implemented

programs and the committee will gather once every few weeks to discuss how to improve the

programs along with necessary modifications that need to take place in order to maximize the

results of the participants of the program. Mainly the committee will consist of myself along with

a few expert instructors who demonstrate that they are passionate and are willing to aid others

during their fitness journey.

The whole aim of this program will be to engage those at the particular setting who feel

low self-esteem are out of shape or simply want to try something different. There will obviously

be a period of trial and error but I am extremely confident that once the participants see results

they will consult there friends and it will be a domino effect. Each class the instructor will name

a class MVP someone who came to the program and worked as hard they could that day, this

will encourage those around them to do the same. The safety of the program will rely heavily on

the instructors, there will be classes ranging from beginner to advanced. However since all of the

instructors are experts on the subject the safety of the participants will be taken into account and
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be taken care of, if anything goes wrong we will have a necessary first aid kit and furthermore

have the ability to call emergency services. If anyone misbehaves or is distracting during the

class they will be asked to leave and not return till the following session, if this continues a

possible expulsion from the program is at stake.

The calisthenics program will appropriately attract the media and positive attention

through results and overall participation of the active participants and instructors. Social media

will be a huge platform for launching initial recognition because nearly everyone uses it. The

aim for this class is to show that fitness is free and that hard work, dedication and overall believe

in yourself will triumph you past others. Also the idea of living of a healthy lifestyle will attract

positive attention, social media will be a huge platform when launching this program and

ofcourse the results will be the number one reason why it will be a grand success.

The Program

The program will consist of monthly results and a graduation to a new level if the client

has met the requirements to do so . The clients will be initially be assed and put into a group of

either basic, intermediate or advanced.The basic group will focus on the primary movements

which are pushups, pullups, light cardio and a core workout of the clients choice. The

intermediate group will focus on slightly harder movements consisting of high level push ups

ranging from planches to marine pushups. The pullup aspect will lead to the development of

musccle ups which are pullups with an added flare of a jump to the top of the bar and then

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pulling yourself up over it which recruits the lats, shoulders, core and biceps. For core the

intermideate group will focus on planks, hanging leg raises and an intense amount of v-ups and

reverse situps. The cardio of the intermiadte group will foucs on stamina and mile times . The

advanced group will be asked to perform all the movements listed above and will add dips and

intense chinups ranging from neatral grip to one handers. This will add more of a isolation type

exercise to develop strong biceps and tricpes along with some core. The cardio for the advaced

group will be high intensity cardio or sprints to activate the that last level of fat burning.

Members of the advaced group will also be encouraged to become instructors and help others in

the program who are struggling. There will be a minumum requirement of three one and half

hour classes a week but intermideate and advanced will do the same but five times a week.

Conclusion

Nearly every aspect of life always has some tie to health, whether it is good or bad it will

never escape us because our health is the only way we are able to live. It’s not a race but rather a

marathon, longevity and happiness tie hand in hand due to the fact that the longer your life is the

more time there is to create and recount memories that will never be forgotten. There is no one

perfect system but rather a balance of trial and error that all clients and people as a whole need to

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undergo to see what will transcend them. Calisthenics just happens to be the most natural and

cost effective way to do so, all the articles agreed that calisthenics will not only make you appear

greater but also it promulgates internal health. The article on the youth study on students and the

article on calisthenics on obese people both found that the results were tremendous and that can’t

be argued. Every single participant of both studies saw there number of repetitions go up and in

the second case for the obese they found that there blood pressure levels went extremely down.

The perfect ending to the program would to have a client graduate and then later see them living

healthy and prolonging the message that fitness can be free and ultimately up to you to make the

right choices. Life is abrupt so there is not one goal that this program has but rather a set of

standards meant to show that this style of training needs more of a voice and needs to be applied

more. In one year the program aims to have a strong base of clients and to move on to bigger

programs to continue the great results. This will take a severe amount of hard work but that's

something that this program will never shy away from.

Suppoting Visuals

The charts are meant to show the goals and aspirations of the program. The second image

is an actual one week sample of the pushup program that would be implemented into the

advanced group which constisted of a weekly maxout set.

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 Resources

Santos, D. D. (2015, December). Does a Calisthenics-Based Exercise Program Applied in School

Improve Morphofunctional Parameters in Youth? Retrieved February 27, 2018

Lawrence, K. E. (2014, September 4). Hemodynamic changes in normotensive overweight and

obese individuals following home-based calisthenics training. Retrieved February 27, 2018,

Edgley, R. (2016, April 1). Conquering Calisthenics. Retrieved February 27, 2018

Cui, Y. (2011, February 15). Evaluation of the exercise workload of broadcast calisthenics for
children and adolescents aged 11–17 years. Retrieved February 27, 2018

Google Search, Google, Retrieved April 25th, 2018, IMG/ puhsups 004

Google Search, Google, Retrieved April 25th, 2018, IMG/ pullups 2456