Calisthenics looks cool and requires a ridiculous amount of strength.
When every video you see of someone doing calisthenics has a topless, ripped person as the star, it’s not hard to figure out why it’s become so popular over the last few years.
Pistol squats
Human flags
Handstands
Candlesticks
One arm pull ups all look AWESOME…
But these exercises are very difficult to master.
As a trainer, you might have the strength and skill to perform some of the tough calisthenic exercises on your own.
But what do you do with a client who can’t? How do take Average Joe who can’t hold a boring side plank for 30 seconds to a perfect human flag?
You can’t just do some eccentrics with someone who can’t do a pull up and expect them to smash out 10 reps in 8 weeks time. That doesn’t work.
Instead, you need to identify what the number one limitation is for them… Whether it’s a flexibility issue, a strength issue, a stability issue, a confidence issue.
Once you’ve identified that limitation, you need the best method for breaking through it.
If you’ve got a client who needs to improve their relative strength or someone comes to you and wants to do their first pull up, DO NOT WING IT.
Lay the foundation and learn the most effective methods for bodyweight training.
With the popularity of Calisthenics sky rocketing right now, it’s time to get ahead of the crowd.
Become the pull up specialist. Be the trainer people actively seek out because you can take them from zero to hero quicker than anyone else.
Think about it… Who’s going to get the client? The person who’s known for getting ANYONE from zero to ten pull ups on their three month programme? Or the guy who wings it and manages it in six months?
As a stickler for perfection, I always want the best from everyone, myself included. "It will do" will never do. As a coach and a teacher I want to influence the people I work with to actually care: care about improving their service, care about the clients they are training, and care about becoming a better version of themselves. If every coach I work with ends up improving their service just 1%, over time I can make a positive impact on the fitness industry as a whole.
The fitness industry is gradually changing for the better and I'm excited to be a part of that. Coaches are being taken more seriously as legitimate health professionals instead of just "that teenager with white teeth and abs", but for these changes to continue, coaches need to be aware of two things:
1. What you do with a client in their hour of training is not going to change their life, but everything you teach them about lifestyle habits, nutrition and psychological health will be crucial to their results.
2. A qualified professional needs to charge qualified professional prices that reflect their service, and shows the public they get what they pay for; £20 for the occasional "beasting" is not going to get anyone very far, so we need to change that perception.