Hi steemians, I had been instructed by my doctor a few months ago to rest and stop surfing for a while as I am currently suffering from costochondritis, which is inflammation of the ribs. I wanted to keep busy and active as I didn’t want to lose my strength and flexibility. I decided to try calisthenics!! Calisthenics is exercises performed with no added weight to improve strength and flexibility. Thankfully, performing the strength training over the last few months has not provoked the condition. Looks like I will be hitting the surf sooner than I first thought as my condition has improved considerably.

I found a good website that helped locate free outdoor gyms in my area. YAY https://freeoutdoorfitness.net/

I perform calisthenics 3 to 4 times a week maximum, this allows sufficient time for muscle recovery and to minimise the chances of injury or over-training. Additionally, I warm up with 5 minutes skipping and mobility exercises to make sure the muscles are warm and ready to go. I do not train if I still have post DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness).

THE ROUTINE

Images used are from http://weighttraining.guide and are not my work. Using these images is to help convey the specific exercises performed. I really like this website as it can help to visualise the muscles you want to target when performing the exercises.

• CHEST DIPS

  
  3 sets till failure with a 30 second rest between sets.

https://fitnessvolt.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/dips-workout.png
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• PULLUPS

3 sets till failure with a 30 second rest between sets.

http://weighttraining.guide/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/pull-up.png
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• INVERTED ROW or AUSTRALIAN PULL UPS (aka Grandma's)

2 sets of wide,close and medium grip till failure with a 30 second rest between sets. Total of 6 sets.

http://weighttraining.guide/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/weighted-inverted-row.jpg
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• CHIN UPS or SIMILAR

2 sets till failure with a 30 second rest between sets.

http://weighttraining.guide/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/machine-assisted-close-neutral-grip-pull-up.png
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• HANGING STRAIGHT LEG RAISES

2 sets till failure with a 30 second rest between sets.

http://weighttraining.guide/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/hanging-straight-leg-hip-raise.png
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• HANGING LEG TO HIP RAISES

2 sets till failure with a 30 second rest between sets.

http://weighttraining.guide/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Hanging-leg-hip-raise.png
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• PUSH UPS

2 sets of wide,close and medium grip till failure with a 30 second rest between sets. Total of 6 sets.

http://weighttraining.guide/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/push-up-tall-2.png
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• HIP THRUST (SINGLE LEG)

2 sets till failure with a 30 second rest between sets.

http://weighttraining.guide/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/single-leg-hip-thrust.png
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• JUMP SQUAT

2 sets till failure with a 30 second rest between sets.

http://weighttraining.guide/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/jump-squat.png
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METHODS THAT I BELIEVE HAVE HELPED MYSELF IMPROVE STRENGTH GAINS

• Focus on the muscle you wish to target when performing the excercies. Building strength and dense muscle is achieved through a connection between mind and body. I find this difficult on days that I am tired or unmotivated.

• Focus on keeping core tight.

• When using bars, I always use chalk for grip. I do not use gloves as this helps me build further grip strength and callus.

• Performing exercises in a controlled manner and on the last rep of each set I like to perform it extremely slow.

• When performing the pull ups and back exercises, I make sure I pull my shoulder blades back and downwards. This allows myself to use mostly my back muscles and not my biceps.

• When performing push ups, I make sure to tighten my core and squeese my shoulder blades.

• After my workouts I make sure I eat a banana and drink a protein shake.

• I eat clean and drink plenty of water throughout the day.

• I use a foam roller, combined with dynamic stretches to loosen my muscles.

The routine usually takes 1 hour to complete and I prefer to perform this routine on my lunch break at work. Hope you enjoy and if you have any thoughts on what exercises could be introduced or avoided, leave it in the comments. I would to like to hear of others who have tried this method of strength training and what exercises did you incorporate into the routine? I created this routine and is not intended as professional advice. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more upcoming surfing videos when the costochondritis settles down ;)

[IMAGE: https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmUS1XERDVjKbL7n1KyrcDKAnq28sNBvWmu1PGVR6aNXvX/DQmbArZVqKbHWLzP5UgkxMiugfuv9vqesHDzs5EJ32MzHyr_1680x8400.png]