Gym memberships are too expensive. The Hancock Wellness Center charges $50 a month for their lowest tier, but only if people pay of a full year. Even Planet Fitness, a more budget-friendly option, costs $15 a month. Both of these seem like rather expensive options, and although they can offer some exclusive benefits, most of the desired effects can be gained through calisthenics.
Calisthenic exercise is an umbrella term for exercises in which the difficulty or resistance comes from the body’s own weight. This is obviously free, and there are a wealth of online resources available to help get started.
One of the biggest advantages of calisthenics over other forms of exercise is that it is an individually adaptable and easy-to-start form of exercise. Feeling sedentary? Get up, do some jumping jacks, and boom, that is calisthenics in its most basic form. Of course, jumping jacks only work some muscles, but there are ways to work nearly every muscle group through calisthenic exercises.
Additionally, calisthenics can aid in cardio because classic exercises often derive their challenge from endurance, rather than weight, providing a strong cardiovascular workout. This also has the benefit of allowing for improved endurance during activities, which is arguably more useful and less likely to hurt someone than lifting 200 pounds.
Calsentics has a quirk, and that is that it is not the best at building large amounts of muscle. Instead, all the exercises focus on moving the body, allowing for the development of control and strength in the body, but not excessively bulky muscles.
The final significant advantage of calisthenics is that, when done properly, it can strengthen the entire body. Every movement is not isolated from the rest of the body and often relies on other muscles to maintain the body’s position. Doing a push-up provides the greatest benefit to the biceps, but also offers auxiliary benefits to the abs and quads. This full-body workout can help to maintain balance.
That being said, doing calisthenics at home does have some drawbacks. With no formal training, it can be hard to do exercises right, but a good principle is that if one is contracting hard and feels multiple muscles being used, then it is probably close to right. Some ways to correct the exercises could be making slight adjustments to the position and feeling the difference between them, choosing the one that activates the most muscles. Online instructional videos that can help someone learn new exercises or improve the form of ones they know.
Gyms are not a complete scam for individuals with mobility issues or medical conditions. Dedicated equipment and trainers can be invaluable and much safer for those coping with an injury or pre-existing physical impairment. That being said, for the majority of people who are able-bodied and just looking to stay in shape, doing exercise in the living room can offer many of the same benefits at zero cost.
