I am that kind of person or athlete who constantly searches for balance and longevity, whatever the sport I do. So whether I talk about athleticism, high-endurance, power and speed, or strictly about strength and muscle development, the key is always a balance between them all.
Therefore, starting with this principle, and because I fancy a natural development of my body and mind, I have to do the stuff accordingly. Under these circumstances, I can think of nothing else than bodyweight exercises and running because they sustain progress in all the areas, without leaving behind body parts or abilities and skills untrained.
As I said, I want a balance between muscular, clear abs but not skinny, and very strong but not the biggest in the room, neither the strongest of all. At the same time, I do care about being flexible and mobile and also qualified for high-endurance sports such as long-distance running and swimming. So with proper calisthenics training and running, I’ve managed to achieve my dream physique, sort of saying.
My motto is:
Go too much into one direction only, and you’ll leave behind other areas that need improvement.
To give a few examples of how the body develops after following a single sport with a consistency of years, take a look at gymnasts and Street Workout athletes, lifters, swimmers, or long-distance runners.
They do the same movement repeatedly for years. Consequently, high-endurance runners are skinny and lack strength, and also develop weak upper-bodies. Swimmers have bigger upper-bodies but weak calves and thinner legs in general. Lifters or bodybuilders are massive, strong, but very slow and rigid, and actually, many of them don’t even have that so-called functional-strength. Street-Workout athletes are very shredded with undeveloped legs (gymnasts almost the same) but incredibly strong into their midsection and upper-body especially. I am referring to those at a master’s level, which requires quite some years to become proficient if not a full decade.
The body configures itself based on what you do continuously. It’s an adaptation to the physical demand.
You Can Find My Runs on SRAVA:
To build me into what I am today, I had to make the best of them and come up with a simple training structure that comprehends only the most fundamental and compound moves that don’t create weaknesses in the chain. Then, I took these different moves to an extreme and kept working with them until I mastered them and got fitted.
These moves are running the roads on flat and uphill, trail running, sprints, and basic calisthenics training that includes pull-ups, pushups, dips, squats, leg raises, plyometrics, and some necessary variants. These essential variations are handstand pushups, for instance, pull-ups with a towel, ring work too. Read the article: 10 Reasons to Start and Go Trail Running
I could decide before all this to lift instead or do gym like many others. But honestly, calisthenics training mixed with running, if done correctly and consistently, can make you really good for lifting heavy objects as well. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go the other way around. Few lifters or bodybuilders can do ring training, muscle-ups, and hold levers. Though, I saw a lot of bodyweight athletes who can lift extremely much. I can count myself here too!
calisthenics & nutritionBurn FAT / Build MUSCLE
Join the program
Plus, regardless of how massive and muscular the legs might be from both calisthenics or lifting and squatting heavy, endurance or stamina in the legs is a totally different thing. It’s a condition that has to be trained alone and with dedicated workouts. One with diamond-shaped calves and very massive and muscular legs, yet built in the gym, can only walk them throughout the streets of the city because they resemble aesthetics only and an ability to squat heavy, nothing regarding athleticism and endurance. Perhaps adapted to explosiveness, but it depends a lot on many other aspects.
I typically do two types of running, one on flat called road-running, throughout the streets of my hometown, and another trail running where I face mountains with steep and rough terrain or forest trails with nice plains and hills. I run short and fast distances or sprint a lot too, as well as very long millage on the trails.
Why Running So Frequent Along With Calisthenics Training?
What I achieved from running so often is great athleticism, a low body fat rate that helped me stay very lean all-year-round. Calisthenics made me powerful and strong, and because of it, I could train the muscles aesthetic too, keeping a good ratio between body fat percentage and pure muscle mass.
Running also provided me with:
- Resistance in a harsh climate and extreme temperatures. I don’t catch a cold anymore or diseases.
- An enhanced cardiovascular system. I can face extreme temperatures with ease, but I can also train effectively in such conditions, where others fail.
- A calm heart while resting. My heartbeats are low and steady.
- Good sleep and higher levels of dopamine, which make me productive with life stuff too.
- Massive legs, but at the same time very athletic for high-endurance or powerful sprints
- Creativity and variety. It’s a great way to do multiple sports because you can shift from one to another once you are injured or get bored.
These are merely the benefits I get from combining calisthenics training with running, which is mostly cardio. If you are still hesitating, then try and go beyond it. You’ll discover interesting things by stepping out of comfort.
