Burton Calisthenics, a specialised exercise group, is celebrating improvements made to open a fully equipped facility at Shobnall Leisure complex.

The outdoor project has taken two years to complete and has been done in conjunction with Andy Mason, the neighbourhood working team leader at East Staffordshire Borough Council.

The park was designed and manufactured by Streetscape, and Burton Calisthenics member Janis Millers said: “We are really happy with the outcome and would like to invite everyone to try the new facility. We are really thankful to the Streetscape team, especially project supervisor Douglas Belfield for carrying out this project.”

To celebrate the completion of the facility, the group are hosting an open event on Sunday, July 30 at 12pm. They want to introduce the exercise method to the public with bodyweight workouts and demonstrations.

Mrs Millers continued: “The whole purpose of Burton Calisthenics is to encourage people to lead more healthy and active lives through exercise and good nutrition.

“We know from our own experiences that engaging healthy activities in communities creates more motivation, encourages to challenge, take interest in sports, improves socialising and discourages bad habits.”

For more information about the open day or the group in general, visit their facebook page online here.

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Will you be having a go at calisthenics at the new Shobnall site?

Sounds great, but what is calisthenics?

The word calisthenics comes from the ancient Greek words ‘kalos’ which means ‘beauty’ and ‘sthenos’ to mean ‘strength’.

The sport comes from gymnastics, is typically viewed as a street workout and is a form of exercise where participants use their bodyweight as resistance and work with horizontal and vertical bars.

The modern variation of the sport is said to have been developed in the park of New York City and grew quickly because participants were allowed to use whatever equipment they could get their hands on.

The sport now has its own national and international competitions, a whole network of instructors, clubs and teams across the world and specialist training facilities, like the one now opened in Shobnall.

It is regularly categorised alongside parkour and free running as a ‘lifestyle sport’.