At a glance, you might think the above picture is a rotated image of two guys hanging from a bar. It's not; it's actually two very strong men performing a "Human Flag" — a horizontal side plank position while holding onto a vertical post or object.
Human Flag is one of the countless movements of callisthenics, an unofficial sport of bodyweight exercises. It has been popular in the US for a while, and the hype is now catching on in Thailand.
Last month, BarStarzz, a callisthenics movement brand from the US, organised a meet-up at Benjakiti Park, and more than 40 callisthenics enthusiasts turned up.
Edward Checo, 29-year-old founder and CEO of BarStarzz, said that although callisthenics is not anything new, the kind of freestyle practice that BarStarzz does began more recently, originating in the US.
"In the US, it started as an underground thing, a comparison would be breakdancing, so people were doing it in parks and had meet-ups. It's getting more and more popular," said Checo, who has been practising since he was 10.
Checo is a good example of how BarStarzz doesn't require any exercise background. In fact, Checo was the type of kid who spent most of his waking hours playing video games. It wasn't until he saw his brother exercise that he felt the need to get active. There's no looking back after that.
"BarStarzz is good for everyone who wants to workout and have fun. You can make it simple like pull-ups and push-ups, and when you get more advanced, you go to stronger movements. We always encourage the fundamental basics first. At the very beginning, you do push-ups. If that's too difficult, you can do it on your knees," he explained.
BarStarzz is a proper system of training which takes about an hour, including warm-ups and cool-down periods. The high-intensity workout is all about having fun with yourself and getting your body to move like it should.
"People are used to low standard exercise like lifting dumbbells and doing jumping jacks when your body is capable of so much more," said the BarStarzz founder. "It teaches your body how to move together as a unit, as opposed to isolation workouts like when you do biceps curls, which are not natural. You are meant to move with your whole body. It teaches you about body awareness, too."
Using the Human Flag move as an example, Checo admits that it's not an easy move to achieve, but it offers a lot of fitness benefits.
"For me, it took a month to do it, but it wasn't good enough. I was really obsessed — I did it three times a day whenever I had the chance. It engages all the muscles in your body, especially core and shoulder muscles."
For movements that are dangerous, he warned that they should be approached with care, and you should not do anything your body is not ready for. However, after all these years of practising, Checo's worst injury from BarStarzz was when he sprained his thumb. He credits his record to playing it safe and not trying something he doesn't feel confident about.
Checo began BarStarzz by setting up a YouTube channel and posting videos two years ago, when the exercise wasn't all that popular. Gradually, the number of viewers increased, and now his clips are watched by about 2 million people worldwide.
"It's contagious for everyone. You remember what it's like to be a kid again. I love it — it takes people away from video games and TV. I used to play video games all day. Seeing how cool this is changed me. I love the feeling of doing something like a Human Flag that makes people go 'wow'. I'd never been good at anything, and to get that kind of positive feedback from doing a Human Flag is great. It makes you feel good," Checo said.
It might seem like an impossible challenge for some, but with practice, Checo confirmed that anyone can get there.
"Think about it. If someone else can do it, you can do it. You have arms and they have arms."
BarStarzz workout is now incorporated into exercise programmes at The Lab on 3rd floor of RSU Tower, Sukhumvit 31.
