Skip The Gym And Join This Bangalore Calisthenics Community To Work Out In A Park Instead!

Take a stroll through Jayamahal Park on a random evening and you’re likely to see a bunch of men and women (they look super fit!) pulling themselves up on the bar, performing bar-rolls, monkeying around or simply chilling. All this through encouraging shouts from others with Drake or J Cole on speakers rapping hard – that’s just another day of Calisthenics Beasts working out together.

A community started by Ashwin Haridas (mechanical engineer turned calisthenics enthusiast), Shahaan Umer and Suhail Pasha a couple of years ago, the close-knit group meets up every day to practice the sport. What is calisthenics, you ask? Simply using one’s own bodyweight to build strength, muscle, lose fat and get flexible and shredded (think rock hard abs and a sleek athletic physique). And the biggest advantage?  You need minimal or no equipment and you can practice it anywhere in a limited space; so cool! 

Calisthenics involves movements like dips, pull-ups, push-ups and much tougher progressions like clap pull-ups, toe-touch pull-ups and handstand push-ups. While it may sound easy on paper, one look at their Instagram profile will have you believing otherwise. We love that the group works out in open air, there are no mirrors to flex and it’s more a community than a commercial gym. 

We decided to give their trial class a shot and visited the park in the evening; just being there was motivating enough. We were greeted by Shahaan, Suhail and Hema – (athletes and national champions) who patiently took time to teach us the movements, the muscles on which each work and the correct form. They also explained as to how calisthenics helps keep you mobile and flexible which are often missing with traditional gymming. If you want to join them, you can simply walk up to them at the park (it may look like a closed community but they are super friendly and helpful!) or ping them on their insta page. They are planning to start their group classes soon and we are legit thinking about joining in and skipping the CrossFit bandwagon.

Where: Jayamahal Park, 127, 4th Main Rd, Jayamahal Extension, Jayamahal
When: Monday, Wednesday, Friday; 6 am to 8 am, 5 pm to 7 pm
Price: Rs. 999 for a month 
Contact: 8951922737