CALISTHENICS 

THE WORD CALISTHENICS COMES FROM THE ANCIENT GREEK KALLOS, WHICH MEANS BEAUTY, AND STHENOS MEANING STRENGTH. CALISTHENICS CAN ALSO BE DATED BACK TO THE SHAOLIN TEMPLE IN CHINA WHERE SHAOLIN MONKS USED BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES TO STRENGTHEN THIER BODIES IN ORDER TO PROTECT THEMSELVES.  CALISTHENICS IS THE ART OF USING ONES OWN BODY WEIGHT TO DEVELOP STRENGTH AND TO BUILD THE PHYSIQUE. CALISTHENICS CONSISTS OF A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES GENERALLY WITHOUT THE USE OF ANY EQUIPMENT. THEY ARE COMMONLY PERFORMED ALONG WITH STRETCHING MOVEMENTS FOR AN ENTIRE BODY WORKOUT. CALISTHENICS CAN BE DATED BACK CENTURIES, AND ARE STILL USED IN TODAY'S MILITARY AROUND THE WORLD, INCLUDING OUR OWN U.S. SPECIAL FORCES. THE MOST COMMONLY ASSOCIATED CALISTHENIC EXERCISES ARE THE PUSH-UPS, PULL-UPS, SIT-UPS, SQUATS, DIPS, CHIN-UPS AND JUMPING JACKS. I'M SURE THAT ALL OF THESE EXERCISES ARE FAMILIAR TO YOU FROM THE GRADE SCHOOL DAYS.  ALL CALISTHENIC EXERCISES CAN BE PERFORMED IN PROGRESSIONS IN ORDER TO PERFORM THEM TO AN INDIVIDUAL'S ABILITY. SLOWLY BUT SURELY YOUR STRENGTH WILL INCREASE AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MOVE TO MORE ADVANCED MOVEMENTS. EACH EXERCISE ALSO HAS MANY VARIATIONS. THE NUMBER OF CALISTHENICS EXERCISES ARE PRACTICALLY UNLIMITED.