Unlike other workouts such as cardio or yoga, which focus on a single component of physical fitness, calisthenics offers a unique full-body workout, and it was recently brought to Howard University.
Last semester, Marcus Lewis-Rivera and Niara Reid started the HU Calisthenics Club due to their shared passion for working out.
Calisthenics is a strengthening exercise that can be practiced outdoors and indoors using equipment such as pull-up bars or resistance bands.
According to Lewis-Rivera, a sophomore honors human performance major from Ellensville, New York, Reid was a big factor in the creation of the club.Lewis-Rivera said Reid’s connections to other student organizations was instrumental in launching the campus club.
“She was a prime reason why we started the calisthenics club, just off of her generosity and helping me out reaching and out to people,” Lewis-Rivera said.
Lewis-Rivera said he was interested in promoting health and wellness while also building a community of like-minded individuals within Howard. Now the group meets biweekly on The Yard every Wednesday and Friday from 6 p.m to 7 p.m.
“I think it’s just very cool how you can just hold certain poses just by your body weight, and I wanted to start building a community of something I was really interested in,” Lewis-Rivera said.
On Wednesday, Oct. 21, Lewis-Rivera led the club in a full-body workout that consisted of pushups, pullups, burpees, squats and more. It focused on pole routines, which are a series of workouts designed to build bodily strength using a vertical pole.
The repetitiveness of the workout is known as H.I.I.T. or High-Intensity Interval Training. The overarching goal is not to rest much between the exercises but to keep the body moving.
Using H.I.I.T allows blood to flow throughout the body while experiencing tension within the muscles while exercising.
Sophomore Jameison Mann is one of the founding members of Project Mann, a student-led organization focusing on leadership development and community service for Black men. Lewis-Rivera is part of his organization, and now Mann has become a frequent member of the calisthenics club.
“It gives us a way to collaborate and I feel like it’s the best way for us to build off each other,” said Mann, an organizational communications major from Griffin, Georgia. “Marcus is a positive dude that always cares about the health and safety of everybody, which coincides with what I believe in.”
Freshman Kingston Brown, a human development major from Woodbridge, Virginia, said the club strengthened his overall physical and mental health.
“I do find myself working out more, I like the challenge that it gives. It pushes you to do more and past your limits,” Brown said.
Copy edited by Daryl R. Thomas Jr.
