Street workout became popular in Hungary seven years ago, when it was commonly known as “fegyencedzés” (the workout of inmates) and reached a wider public with the publication of a book of the same title. Ever since, it has been gaining popularity, which is partly due to Ádám Gödrösi who wrote two books on the sport, created a unique training method called Gymnastics Method, and opened a gym in the 13th district of Budapest. We paid him a visit to get acquainted with this striking workout.
Let’s start at the beginning. What is street workout?
It is basically the modern version of gymnastics with looser constraints. In contrast with many competitive sports, it is not disadvantageous to start doing calisthenics in an older age. You can start practicing anytime. I developed my own training method and named it Gymnastics Method: it is based on gymnastics in many respects, as I have experience in the field.
Who is street workout for?
Anyone can start doing street workout anytime if they are properly prepared and persistent enough. When we do a particular exercise accurately on a regular basis, our body will adapt to it and make us able to succeed, without injuries. It is essential to start with the basics and patiently practice to reach the desired outcome.
What do you mean by basics? What are your workshops like?
It starts with body awareness development that is basically gymnastics with smaller isolation movements. It is necessary to realize how to gain control over your body and move it consciously. Additionally, we do joint mobility and stability exercises.
One of the most important exercises concerns scapula stability, as the scapula can be positioned in many ways and you have to use it distinctively with different movements in order to exert enough strength and protect the shoulders. Core stability is also crucial because of spine protection, power transmission and motor control. These areas are often neglected or trained incorrectly by many when they start working out.
What’s next? What are the basic exercises you begin with?
To steadily work on the whole body, we get going with basic bodyweight exercises, both horizontal and vertical pushing and pulling ones, push-ups, rowing and pull-ups. On top of these, we do core and leg workouts. A training program like this with three sessions a week brings rapid development. With basic strength as well as stabile and mobile joints, we can start working on such positions as the human flag or the handstand.
Some say that it is impossible to train the legs with bodyweight. What do you think?
I have to disagree. It is important to do various leg exercises with great intensity. If your squat is perfect, you can make movements that help you move each joint through its full range of motion, such as the single-leg squat or the Cossack squat that positions your hip, knee and thigh bone outward, compared to traditional squats. I need to add that for gymnasts muscular legs are unfavourable, as they are an extra weight which makes it harder to do the poses. As for me, I don’t find them attractive. The principal role of the legs is to help you explode up, for which they need to be fast and strong. Although they may not look like the legs of a bodybuilder, they can be nicely toned and proportionate to the rest of your body.
What is advisable to complement street workout?
In general, the more types of movements our body and nervous system know, the faster we develop. On the other hand, you can’t do all at once. It is advisable to practice the sports you like the most persistently, and once you reach your goals, you can start discovering new ones.