Ultimate ‘no equipment’ workout in Dubai

Dubai: Tired of walking and jogging in the summer heat, but don’t care for a typical gym workout either? Well, you could try Gravity Calisthenics – it gives you the best of both worlds.

Launched by Emirati adventurer Yousef Al Gurg, the Al Quoz-based gym claims to be the city’s first dedicated calisthenics and parkour studio where you can exercise without machines and do some serious free running indoors.

No machines

As Al Gurg explained, calisthenics is a form of exercise that uses the body weight for resistance, without any machines to train. It entails gross motor movements that increase body strength, fitness and flexibility through push-ups, pull-ups, bending, jumping, swinging and twisting. Similarly, parkour involves rapidly getting from one point to another by negotiating obstacles through running, jumping, climbing and rolling.

“Calisthenics offers a somewhat natural way of training with a focus on both joints and muscles. It is a healthier approach to fitness compared to typical body building exercises,” said Al Gurg, who launched Gravity after much research.

A man who wears many hats, Al Gurg is a student of architecture, a professional football player and a mountaineer who has scaled the 6,960-metre Mount Aconcagua in Argentina. “When I looked around the city, I could not find a dedicated space for calisthenics, so I decided to start one,” he said.

The appeal of calisthenics lies in the fact that anyone can do it – with training.

Al Gurg said the training is such that one learns the movements progressively, beginning with basic push-ups and gradually advancing to other movements. Its StreetFiit classes include bodyweight workouts at various levels. At its advanced best, calisthenics combines elements of parkour, yoga and gymnastics to provide a hardcore workout.

The facility has four trainers on board. Open from 7am to 10pm, the classes run for an hour and cost Dh399 per month.