Calisthenics Minimalists: Minimal Equipment Is Always Best

Intro

Hello reader, welcome to my article. I’ll be discussing why calisthenics is great for minimalists. I believe calisthenics benefits minimalists because I am a minimalist who does not need to go to the gym. I never understood why going to the gym to exercise is necessary for most people. The human body is a robust working organism adapted to rigorous movements for prolonged periods. It has built-in movements in the joints allowing you to mimic the same motions like you would on a weight machine. A minimalist like me realized long ago that the environment around my house and outdoors is all I need.

Understanding movement patterns on weight machines or handheld weights can apply to calisthenics training. An example would be a bench press. When you do a bench press, your laying on a bench facing the ceiling and pushing the weight up and down. The same motion is carried out doing a pushup, except your facing the floor. Then you’re lifting the torso and bringing it down to contract the pecs and other muscles. The best part is you can do calisthenics everywhere without any restrictions. That’s the beauty of why calisthenics benefits minimalists like me. Let’s dig deeper into what makes calisthenics such an amazing art form for minimalists and what it provides.

What is calisthenics?

Calisthenics is a resistant training method solely relying on body weight. Compound exercises are movements that rely on using two joints to contract multiple muscles. These compounds are pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, leg raises, and squats. These basic movements comprise the foundation on which the body will develop bigger muscles. Another way to exercise is isolation exercises. Isolation exercises consist of moving one joint to contract one muscle. These isolation movements are tricep extension, bicep curls, neck extension, nordic curl, hamstring curl, and calves raises. The last method of exercising the body with body weight is isometrics. Isometrics is about holding a position until the muscles give up. There are basic and advanced isometrics. Basic isometrics are pushups, pullups or squat holds. Advanced isometrics are L sit, handstand, front lever, back lever, and planche.

What are the benefits of calisthenics?

One of the best benefits of calisthenics is you can exercise anywhere without any restrictions. It’s just yourself, and the environment around you is all you need to exercise. The only problem with this is finding somewhere to perform pull-ups, but there’s a solution. That is locating a tree branch strong enough to withstand your body weight. You can find monkey bars at any park to do pull-ups. You could also locate a local calisthenics park where there are pull-up bars. Another would be to use the door in your house and put two towels on top of the doorframe and perform pullups.

Is calisthenics better than weights?

Yes and no. Calisthenics has its pros and cons, like everything else in life has its pros and cons. Here are the pros of calisthenics.

• working out anywhere
• minimal equipment  
• no equipment 
• it’s safer on the joints
• mind and body connection
• developing a lean muscular body
• relative strength

Here are the cons of calisthenics

• doing more reps to increase muscle mass
•  challenging to learn difficult isometrics
• can’t increase body weight; it’s stagnant

You see, there are more pros than cons in calisthenics, according to my own experiences. Now, here are the pros of weightlifting.

• doing fewer reps to increase muscle mass
• developing a lean muscular body
• can be safe if adequately handling handheld weights and knowing your limit
• mind and body connection
• absolute strength

Here are the cons of weightlifting.

• stagnant and can’t move freely like in calisthenics  
• a lot of heavy equipment
• unsafe for the joints if lifting too heavy
• can rupture tendons

What is a minimalist?

A minimalist is someone who lives their life without requiring much materialism. In a world filled with many husks, few people realize living with just the basic needs is all you need. The husks think you need a bigger house, a lavish vehicle, expensive clothing, and flashy jewelry. All of these stem from seeing rich people who are husks themselves display their possessions to garner a following. Those following aren’t happy with what they got and fail to understand they are lucky to have the essentials. One of those is living in a house or apartment with working utilities. Many people in 3rd world countries don’t have electricity, gas, and water to live comfortably. Many live close to sewage or a garbage disposal area to find something to eat.

Other luxuries here in the U.S.A. are nearby grocery stores, car shops, hospitals, fire departments, and police departments. All of this is a luxury to have. Many husks in the U.S.A. take it for granted. I’m grateful to have the essential necessities to live comfortably in the U.S.A., and it is a great country. It’s a great country to allow you to pursue prosperity if you work hard to earn it. With this blog, I’m working hard to make it a useful website for those who seek value. In exchange, I receive compensation for my hard work and honesty without corrupting my soul.

Pros of a minimalist lifestyle?

The benefit of living a minimalist lifestyle is only requiring the basics. Those basics include functional utilities, a vehicle, food in the fridge, clothes, internet, and a job. Yes, having a job is nothing to be ashamed of because I’m not a lazy bum. It helps to pay for the luxuries given to me by this amazing country. When you neglect people who are superficial and shallow, you feel alone until you embrace your individualism. You spend less and save for the long run in just-in-case scenarios. You realize what’s valuable and what isn’t. What’s worth is having healthy relationships with good people, not with superficial people. People who are shallow are hyper-materialistic husks. They follow what’s trending based on who they admire. For many women, they love following Kim Kardashian, and for many men, they love following Andrew Tate like mindless husks.

Cons of a minimalist lifestyle?

The only con of being a minimalist is rejecting people in your life who are shallow and superficial. It can get lonely, but if you’re an introvert, you get past it and embrace the feeling of loneliness. You welcome it because you get to think for yourself and not needing the approval of others. This is my experience of being a minimalist.

Do minimalists need calisthenics equipment?

Yes and no. If you don’t have any equipment, all you need is the floor or a tree branch. But if you want calisthenics equipment, you don’t need anything enormous. All you need is a few, simple, humble, lightweight pieces of equipment.

What calisthenics equipment benefits minimalists?

I have an article showing every piece of equipment I use for my calisthenics training. Click here to check it out.

Conclusion

The minimalist lifestyle has shown me what’s important and to appreciate everything I got. Just because a person who makes more money than me, doesn’t mean they’re better than me. I say to myself “If they are so much better, why do they require to breathe the same oxygen we all require to stay alive?”. “Why do they require to eat, drink, defecate, and urinate like the rest of us?”. “Why do they require to brush their teeth and bathe twice a day?”. All of this is to show that there’s nothing wrong with rejecting superficiality. This goes directly into realizing that you don’t need much equipment to exercise. Especially needing expensive equipment to get incredible results from resistance training.

Please comment below. If you have any doubts or questions, please be specific about the questions you have that you want me to answer. I’ll answer them as soon as possible. Thanks.