Street workout - equipment, exercises, training plan

Street workout - what is it?

Street workout, also called street training, is a physical activity based on exercises using the weight of your own body, which enjoys the growing interest of society. The player practising street training most often uses elements of urban development for exercise, although special squares for street workout, equipped with bars and handrails, are also becoming more and more popular.

Street training comes from calisthenics, and its origins can be traced in ancient Greece where, using elements of street workout, the contemporary warriors were trained. However, the greatest development of physical activity was observed relatively recently in New York in areas of poverty, where young people used elements of the environment, such as benches, lanterns, walls or playgrounds for exercise. Athletes recorded videos during training and then placed them online, which made street workout a recognizable discipline, willingly practised all over the world. In 2011, the World Federation of Street Workout and Kalistenika was established in Latvia, and in 2015 the first street workout championships were organized in Finland.

Street workout - how to train?

Street workout is a type of activity combining elements of gymnastics with parkour. It is an extreme-strength sport that is dynamically evolving. This is a training suitable for almost everyone who can be done anywhere - in the yard, in the park or on the playground.

Street workout enjoys growing popularity, among others, because it allows to build an athletic figure without spending money on a gym membership or specialized equipment and sports outfit. It is a form of activity in which the potential of a given space is used. It is a sport that allows to increase strength and endurance, as well as the development of other motor skills. The basic exercises used in street training are pumps, pull-ups and dips.

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Street workout - how to start?

Many people delighted with the speed and agility of street workout players are wondering how to start practising street training. When starting the adventure with an extreme-strength form of activity, it is worth predetermining your training goal - crucial for the player is strength, endurance, or maybe the growth of muscle mass or improvement of dynamics?

Then it is worth preparing a detailed training plan yourself or using the help of an experienced personal trainer. Beginner physical exercise enthusiasts should first master basic body strengthening exercises, such as classic push-ups, plank or pull-up, which will prepare the exerciser to perform more complex and demanding activities.

Having a good base and basic skills, you can go to more demanding exercises and advanced efforts, including exercises such as pull-up with moving sideways or lifting straight legs up on handrails.

Street workout, like any other physical activity, should start with a proper warm-up, paying attention primarily to the upper part of the body, which is most engaged during street exercises. Then you can go to the proper training, focusing at the beginning mainly on the technique of exercises, not intensity or speed. Over time, it is worth increasing the number of repetitions performed, taking into account in training both athletics, isometric and calisthenics exercises or urban calisthenics.

Street workout - exercises

What exercises should be performed by beginners practising street strength training? Enthusiasts starting their adventure with street workout should include in the training plan activities, such as:

push-ups,
lunges,
squats,
plank,
burpees,
leg lifts,
dips,
sit-ups.

In turn, athletes who have already mastered the basics of street workout and can properly perform classic calisthenic exercises, may include more demanding exercises in the training plan, such as:

squat on one leg (pistol squat),
L-sit,
pull-up on the stick (pull-up),
human flag,
front lever,
full planche,
back lever,
muscle up.

An athletic man performs exercises in a street workout park with barriers and walls

Street workout - advantages and disadvantages

Street workout is a form of activity that can support other sports or be a workout in itself. It is a universal type of physical exercise that can be practised by both men and women, regardless of age and lifestyle. Street training is versatile and enables the development of motor and physical skills, positively affecting the strength, endurance, coordination and agility of the athlete. At the same time, it is an activity that can positively affect the well-being of the exerciser, also increasing self-confidence.

Street workout does not require financial outlays and specialized equipment. To practise this form of activity, special training rooms or distant locations are also not needed - street training can be practised almost anywhere, even in front of the house or in the park across the street. Street workout allows you to sculpt the body and growth the musculature. It is a sport that includes exercises of different difficulty levels, which can be practised by both beginners and experienced athletes.

Street training has many advantages, and does street workout have any disadvantages? Improper exercise can contribute to dangerous injuries. Many positions during training are demanding and risky, which increases the risk of damage to the body. What is more, street workout focuses primarily on the upper parts of the human body, which is why street training is considered a form of activity that does not favour the even development of the whole figure.

Street workout - training plan for beginners

In the street workout training plan, it is worth taking into account whole body exercises that involve all muscle parts. Beginner athletes should practise 2-3 workouts per week, performing 1-3 series of exercises per training unit. The intervals between activities should not last longer than 3 minutes, and the number of repetitions should be adjusted individually to the needs of the exerciser.

An example training plan for a beginner may look as follows:

15-minute warm-up,
Training properly:

2 pull-ups,
5 classic push-ups,
2 pull-ups to a width greater than the width of the shoulders,
4 lifting legs in the overhang,
5 squats,
5 push-ups on the handrails.

15-minute stretching exercises.

The man performs street workout exercises in the open air using elements of architecture and urban development.

Street workout - training plan for advanced

Experienced athletes who have the basic strengthening exercises mastered to perfection can include more demanding modifications of the exercises in the training plan. The number of trainings during the week should be 3-5, while during the training unit it is worth doing 3-4 series of repetitions, and the breaks between activities should not last more than 5 minutes.

An example training plan for an experienced person may look like this:

15-minute warm-up,
Training properly:

4 pull-ups,
4 Push-ups on the right hand,
3 x L-sit,
4 Push-ups on the left hand,
4 high pull-ups on the stick,
2 side to side pull-ups,
5 squats,
4 bar dips.

15-minute stretching exercises.

Bibliography:

Natalia Goździak

Copywriter - nutritionist. Bachelor's degree in sports dietetics She graduated from the Academy of Physical Education in Poznan, while her master's degree in dietoprophylaxis and dietotherapy - from the University of Physical Education in Poznan. at UP in Poznań. However, she treats the principles of healthy eating primarily as valuable guidelines, rather than strict rules that must be strictly followed. Knowledge in the field of copywriting, on the other hand, she draws from courses and industry literature, but since the best way to learn is to practice. learning is practice, she spends many hours each day playing with words and creating new, unique content. content. Privately, she is passionate about photography and can't imagine life without books.