Origin and History

Calisthenics is a sport that has more history than it seems. Calisthenics served as training for Greek soldiers and Olympic athletes. Shaolin monks and Persian soldiers were also thought to have trained calisthenics. But it is from the beginning of the 19th century when it consolidates and begins to expand in several European countries.

Gimnasio de Roper, Philadelphia, circa 1831 (https://librarycompany.org/)

In the following presentation you can see the history of calisthenics in the last two centuries:

Historia de la calistenia de fonamentsblog