Calisthenics Guidelines
Unlike walking, many people are unfamiliar with calisthenics, so each exercise is described in step-by-step detail in the extended Calisthenics Workout summary that follows in this section of the program.
In addition to carefully following these exercise instructions and their accompanying photos, there are several important points to keep in mind as you begin HumanaNatura’s calisthenics program – to ensure you optimize your workouts and, as importantly, to help avoid injury over time:
- Match your calisthenics routine to personal level of stamina – just as with walking, start your exploration of calisthenics slowly and take time to build your strength and capacity for strenuous exercise. The calisthenics exercises are intense and physically demanding, even at the Core level. As you will immediately discover in practice, the exercises look much easier in the photographs than they are in reality. Even experienced athletes find calisthenics exercises challenging at first. Please, don't overdo it and risk injury, whether you are just beginning to exercise or are physically fit already. You will get substantial health benefits, greatly reduce your risk of injury, and make more rapid and reliable progress in your physical conditioning by performing the calisthenics exercises at a moderate level of intensity. Again, go for gain, not strain or pain.
- Matching of your activity level and stamina applies over time and day-to-day – if you are tired or not feeling at your best, it might be a day to scale back your calisthenics workout or rest completely. You should feel no obligation to do the HumanaNatura calisthenics routine every day, and should always vary your workouts to match your physical readiness for exercise. Just as the body needs activity, it also needs rest, especially after a day or series of days of intense exercise or other physical activity. And be assured, the HumanaNatura calisthenics program will provide intense exercise!
- Ensure your safety and comfort first – the calisthenics exercises can be done indoors or outdoors, but should always be done in a clean, level area that is free from dangerous objects and other physical hazards. The area should be well-lighted and quiet, with good ventilation, promoting attentive exercise. You should wear flexible clothing that does not impede your full range of motion and that ensures you are neither hot nor cold as you exercise. You should make or purchase a padded exercise mat for the floor exercises and should use a friend or trainer as a spotter on all of the inverted and balancing exercises until you are proficient at these. Safety first, please.
- Stop if you feel pain, discomfort, dizziness, or shortness of breath – if you experience these signs at any time, stop your routine at once. And assess your readiness for that level of activity and even your need for immediate medical attention. Build your stamina slowly and carefully, and build it for life.
- Read and follow the exercise directions carefully – proper form in calisthenics is critical to optimal conditioning, so pay close attention to all exercise instructions. This includes notes on foot and hand placements, order and manner of body movements, and any use or suggestions of isometric position holds. Be sure to breathe naturally as you exercise, exhaling with major exertions and never holding your breath. The moving exercises should be done at a steady pace that matches your breathing – one that is never so fast as to be jarring or that feels as if you are hurrying. You should proceed directly from exercise to exercise, never rushing but also only pausing long enough to catch your breath or to walk off the strain of the previous exercise. Drink water if you become thirsty.
- Do the Core exercises and follow the overall exercise order – always to all of the Core exercises and always complete all of the exercises you do in the order presented, regardless of which Intermediate or Advanced exercises you may be adding on a given day. The order of the HumanaNatura calisthenics exercises is intentional, designed to work your body in a progressive, complementary, and systematic manner.
- When exercising above the Core level, vary or alternate your selection of non-Core exercises – as mentioned before, there are many advantages to varying your non-Core exercise selections. One option to achieve this variability is to add the first half of the Intermediate and Advanced exercises you do to the Core program on odd-numbered workouts, and then to add the second half of the Intermediate and Advanced exercises you do to the Core program on even-numbered workouts. For people exercising at the Advanced level and physically able to do all or most of our calisthenics exercises, this approach offers a way to get the full HumanaNatura workout in every two sessions, while adding diversity and reducing the duration of your workouts. Another alternative is to split the non-Core exercises you do into three groups and alternate them on a three-workout cycle, again always doing the Core program and ensuring the correct exercise order. Yet another option is of course to add the non-Core exercises you do each time more randomly. This approach is acceptable as long as the presented exercise order is followed, all of the Core exercises are always included, and you remain attentive to achieving good diversity in your non-Core exercise choices over time.
- Explore varying the pace of calisthenics exercises if you want – as you will see noted in the exercise instructions, another workout variation (for people exercising at all levels) is to slow the pace of each of the moving exercises, and to hold each exercise repetition (but not your breath) at the point of maximum exertion to increase its isometric force and conditioning action. To use this technique, greatly slow the pace of each moving exercise repetition and then hold each repetition at its most intense point (the lowest point of a push-up or the highest point of a sit-up or stomach crunch, as examples). Some calisthenics practitioners advocate this approach quite passionately, others use it periodically to bring variation to their workouts, and some advanced practitioners never or only rarely exercise this way and are in great shape nevertheless. If you have the extra time, and want added variation, this is an option that allows you to explore and perhaps get a bit more conditioning out of your workouts.
- Relax deeply after completing your calisthenics workout – using a technique borrowed from hatha yoga, we would encourage you to rest for a short time after completing your calisthenics workout. While not always possible, a 5-10 minute period of deep relaxation immediately after a workout helps to revitalize us, and can greatly enhance both the physiological and psychological benefits of calisthenics. Deep relaxation is ideally done in a quiet and slightly darkened place where you may close your eyes. Normally, the technique is to lie on your back with your arms at your side, palms upturned, legs straight, and feet naturally falling to the side. Your goal is to relax the body and mind completely and go to the edge of sleep while remaining alert. To aid in this, it can be helpful to watch your breath or do periodic deep cleansing breaths. Feel for tension in different parts of your body and consciously release any tightness you encounter. Empty your mind of cares and observe without attending to the thoughts and feelings that naturally surface. Enjoy the tranquility of these few minutes of not acting and peace and power of simply being alive. When ready, end your relaxation session gradually and enjoy the intense calm and composure that can come through deep relaxation, especially after a strenuous exercise workout.
By adding regular calisthenics to your daily walking or hiking, you will achieve complete natural conditioning and soon realize significant new improvements in your health. These improvements often include dramatic and even surprising increases in your overall level of physical fitness and conditioning.
Through these important natural health techniques, you will have new and perhaps much greater physical and emotional strength, and new energy and feelings of well-being in your life. You will feel more poised and focused, and will become physically and personally changed in important ways. You will experience life more closely to our natural state of health and fitness, and will enjoy the many benefits that natural conditioning provides, including new feelings of confidence and self-reliance.
As your Natural Eating and Natural Exercise practices progress, you will likely begin to have new ideas and perspectives on yourself, on your health and well-being, and on the world around you – ideas and perspectives emerging from your improving natural health and enhanced quality of life.
You will become increasingly ready, in other words, for the challenge of Natural Living.