Street Workout - The Sport with your own Bodyweight

Street Workout - The Sport with your own Bodyweight

Where does Street Workout come from?

Street Workout - The Sport with your own Bodyweight

No excuses, accessible to everyone and doable everywhere. Where does the sport come from and what does it stand for? That's what you'll learn in this article.

The origin of Street Workout is not 100% clear, it is argued between Russia and the USA. The sport has been shaped by both nations, for example with pioneers like Hannibal for King or Zef Zakaveli from the USA, who built an impressive physique and immense strength in the Bronx with pull ups, push ups and muscle ups.

 

Our interview with the "OG" and street workout legend Zef Zakaveli



The mentality in Street Workout is to master your body and build functional strength. The primary focus is usually not on visual goals as in bodybuilding, but the defined, muscular body is usually a byproduct of training with your own body weight. An athletic physique is strongly beneficial in exercises such as muscle ups or the human flag, as body fat offers no strength advantage and holds back during exercises.

street workout athlete doing pull ups


Exercises in Street Workout


Here is a list of typical "oldschool" exercises in street workout from the early days:

  • Pull Ups
  • Chin Ups
  • Muscle Ups
  • Push Ups
  • Dips
  • Human Flag
  • Elbow Lever
  • Back Lever
  • Front Lever
  • L-Sit Pull Ups
  • Knee & Leg Raises
  • L-Sit
  • Squats
  • Pistol Squat
  • Lunges


For all the exercises there are many variations that can be used to target new muscle groups or build strength at new angles, e.g. diamond push ups as a variation of normal push ups or neutral grip pull ups as a variation of normal pull ups.

street workout athlete doing muscle ups



Over time, more and more tools & equipment have found their way into the sport to make it easier to learn exercises like muscle ups or to progress more efficiently through progressive overload on exercises like dips. Today, the basic equipment of every athlete includes resistance bands, a dip belt, liquid chalk or parallettes.

 


New directions of the sport have also developed with them:


Weighted Calisthenics - Training with extra weight allows more to train for maximum strength and the strength gain is not only through more or slow repetitions.

Popular equipment: wrist wraps, workout rings, elbow sleeves and dip belts.

dip belt for weighted calisthenics

 

 



Freestyle Calisthenics - Possibly the most handsome version of our sport with parallels to gymnastics or parkour. Impressive dynamic & static movements to music using simple equipment like pull up bar, parallel bars & parallettes.

Popular equipment: wrist wraps, chalk and special gloves.

calisthenics athlete doing freestyle calisthenics

 

 

 



Endurance Calisthenics - The focus on many repetitions, mostly using only your own bodyweight. Impressive sets and progressions of muscle ups, dips and pull ups and building strength endurance.

Popular equipment: liquid chalk, special gloves, workout rings and dip belts.

street workout athlete doing pull ups endurance

 

 

 



Statics - Static holds and learning skills like front levers, planches and more. Maximum body tension and strong joints for impressive holds of seemingly impossible exercises.

Popular equipment: liquid chalk, tape for better grip, resistance bands, parallettes & rings.

street workout athlete doing shoulder flag



What Street Workout means to us

Without the influences of athletes from the US and Russia, the sport would not be where it is today. Street Workout has brought individuals the opportunity to live their passion, be creative and push their own limits.

For us, Street Workout means freedom. Creativity. Being in a supportive community. The removal of excuses. Passion. And the will to keep growing.



The Street Workout Collection by GORNATION

To give the sport the recognition it deserves, we're launching the new Street Workout Collection in January 2022 with new pieces for men & women who want to represent their lifestyle.

 

 

More interesting topics about calisthenics:

Leave a comment

All comments are moderated before being published.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.