A new fashion has invaded the parks of Madrid.

Bars, ropes and structures with futuristic airs that serve to carry out one of the oldest tasks of the human being: to

take care of your body and stay in shape.

The discipline that prevails in these new circuits that the City Council has placed is called calisthenics, or what is the same, physical exercises using one's own body weight.

In total

there are 191 points of this new modality distributed by the 21 districts of the capital

, as they slide from the Environment and Mobility area.

The growth in recent years has been enormous: from the 54 installed in 2018 to the 80 that will be enabled only between January and May 2021.

Xian, a calisthenics teacher for four years, left Granada and moved to Madrid to

professionalize as

a full-time

sports instructor

.

He has 15 stable students to his credit, although more than 40 have passed through his hands.

"This exercise defines your body, it shapes it. Yes, I am noticing more growth in recent times, although it influences that it can be practiced outdoors, due to everything that has happened with the pandemic," highlights this 22-year-old young man of Chinese descent , who understands this discipline from a connection of body and mind: "Anyone can do it;

any time is ideal to start

."

Circuits "very complete"

Xian is visibly pleased with the new facilities that have been appearing in the capital in recent weeks,

because of how well equipped they are

, although he regularly frequents two, the Retiro, next to the Fallen Angel roundabout, and the park. El Calero, in Ciudad Lineal. "They have everything: varied structures,

monkey

bars

(to pass in suspension), parallel bars, low bars, abdominal boards ...

A complete circuit

to perform all kinds of exercises," says Xian.

Calisthenics has changed a lot in recent years. Before it was based more on functional activity, similar to what

could be done in any gym

(sit-ups, push-ups ...). But times have evolved and now, what is carried,

is a more exhibitionist exercise

. Pirouettes and acrobatics with your own body that leave those present astonished.

An evening walk through the park in the Plaza del Campillo del Mundo Nuevo, next to the Puerta de Toledo, provides a good example of this. You can see athletes make

the flag

(using only the strength of your hands, keep your body horizontal, parallel to the ground, as if you were floating), the

front lever

,

back lever

or the

straddle

(holding two handles, suspend the body in the air simply depending on the strength of the abdomen and shoulders), in front

of crowds of people who do not believe what they see.

"It is a spectacle to see what they do with their body.

I doubt that I can do something like that,

I have just started," jokes Óscar, in the same park. It was curiosity that brought him closer to this sport. After finding out, he decided to start exercising on these bars at the beginning of February and, although "it does not go down as much as he would like", he feels more comfortable than going to the gym: "Not only because of Covid. By training a whole group of muscles and not one in particular, as when you lift weights,

you avoid injuring yourself to a greater extent

. "

Others were more precocious, like Carlos Javier, who was already practicing calisthenics at 14. What started between

bites

with his colleagues led to a hobby that caught him voraciously. "At the beginning we did pull-ups, but little by little you were gaining strength and agility. I remember that at that age I

was able to scale the streetlights only with the strength of my hands

, without using any other part of the body," he recalls.

Due to work issues and lack of facilities, Carlos Javier was putting sport aside.

When he wanted to practice calisthenics, he had to go from the neighborhood of Las Rejas, where he lives, to Hortaleza, because in his area he did not know any bar circuit.

Something that has changed: "They recently installed one on my street, very complete,

I was very excited. It encourages me to return to exercise

."

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