Ruben Baas - Calisthenics Trainer & Athlete

Biography

Ruben Baas

About…

In 2013 I first got in contact with Calisthenics. I was already doing fitness at that time, when a couple of guys came into the gym and started to hang onto the bar horizontally. I thought, hey I want to try that aswell, but I couldn’t do it. That felt a little bit stupid, I could benchpress like 100 kg, but I couldn’t hang horizontally onto a bar. So the next time the guys showed up again, I asked them how they did it. I was amazed how open they welcomed me, they responded very kindly and simply explained me what they were doing and how to do it. I wasn’t used to it, because mostly in the gym a lot of guys act all alpha-male.

About a half year later I went to the FIBO with a friend and that’s when I really fell in love with the sport. It’s all about the culture and having fun with eachother. Beginners are also accepted and respected. Since then it really became my mainsport instead of fitness.

It’s very brotherly and very free. For instance you can all have your own style and you can really give your own twist to it. That what makes calisthenics so versatile and such a nice sport.

How accessible is Calisthenics

It’s really suitable for all ages. For instant when you stap of a chair, you’re already doing calisthenics. Even as a child you’re already doing it and you’re actually a lot better at it, because when you get older, you will move a lot less and things just get a lot harder. For instance hanging on a bar, as an adult that’s not so easy, while a child can do it without any trouble. On the other hand it’s also very suitable for the elderly. A 70 year old can also still learn how to do a muscle-up. Anyone can start at their own leven, that’s why it’s suitable for any age.

Calisthenics talent in Holland

I don’t think we’re at the top right now. For the young people it’s also very difficult to gain to a certain level, because we’re quite busy with school and jobs. In foreign countries the weather is usually a lot better, so they can workout a lot more outdoors. I do think we have enough talent in the Nethelands. Gyms that already provide calisthenics get more and more popular.

Why Calisthenics

It improves your perfomance in your other sports. It makes the other sports less injury sensitive. So even if you’re just doing it next to your main sport, calisthenics is always a good idea.

Calisthenics as an Olympic sport

We are far enough to actually have a chance, the more extreme sports are coming up a lot more at the Olympics. But we need more unions worldwide to really make that happen. Us in Holland should become the first to unite all unions and make this happen. Right now we have about 20 unions worldwide and we need about 32. All those unions then need to come together and start co-operating as far as it comes to the rugulations etc.