{"id":843221,"date":"2026-09-10T18:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T18:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/843221\/"},"modified":"2026-09-10T18:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T18:42:09","slug":"can-nycs-free-plein-air-calisthenics-gyms-solve-my-midlife-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/843221\/","title":{"rendered":"Can NYC’s free, plein air calisthenics gyms solve my midlife crisis?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This column originally appeared in the Looped In NYC newsletter. Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Every year when Labor Day passes and America\u2019s favorite season<\/a> blows in, this Scorpio starts stressing about one thing: I\u2019m another trip around the sun closer to being unable to comfortably bend down and pick stuff up.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m OK for now. But if \u201cmuscle mass peaks in our 20s or 30s,\u201d as NPR<\/a> says, now is the time \u2014 I\u2019m turning 37 \u2014 to actually get serious about strength training for the first time.<\/p>\n

A recent Gothamist story about the pull-up bars in Tompkins Square Park<\/a> gave me an added jolt of inspiration. This city is full of playground fitness set-ups (including a newly renovated one<\/a> in my neighborhood) where I could work out without paying for a gym membership or even worrying about how to use weights or whatever other machinery they have in gyms.<\/p>\n

For some guidance, I asked calisthenics expert Danny Kavadlo<\/a> \u2014 a trainer, author, \u201cnon-influencer\u201d and Brooklyn native \u2014\u00a0to meet me at the Chelsea Park calisthenics playground to guide me through a bodyweight workout routine.<\/p>\n

I told him I wasn\u2019t looking to become a subway \u201cShowtime\u201d dancer<\/a>, just a middle-aged New Yorker who wants to age confidently. And I was immediately reassured by the first thing he said: I\u2019d just need to focus on three exercises.<\/p>\n

Watch our calisthenics strength training video here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. PUSH UPS<\/p>\n

Anyone who\u2019s done a presidential fitness test has a good idea what a push-up looks like \u2014\u00a0and how hard it is.<\/p>\n

But the challenge is the point. Rather than isolating one muscle like you do on a heavy machine in a gym, you\u2019re working your arms, chest, abs and glutes in each rep. Calisthenics strength exercises are like little value meals for your muscles.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aIf you’re taking time out of your busy day, you’ve got a job, you’ve got a kid, you’ve got things you’re doing, and you’re coming down to work out, and you’re doing 10 reps, I want you to get the most out of those 10 reps,\u201d said Kavadlo.<\/p>\n

Going into this, my biggest hangup about a playground workout was that I\u2019m a lanky guy with bad posture, so \u201cproper form\u201d doesn\u2019t come easy to me. And without mirrors everywhere like they have in gyms, I was afraid I\u2019d inadvertently hurt myself by doing everything wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aI like to stay away from right and wrong,\u201d Kavadlo reassured me. \u201cThere’s different ways of doing things, and we can get a different yield from doing them. \u200aThat’s what’s great about calisthenics \u2026 the chance of injuring yourself is pretty low when you’re not hoisting a heavy weight over your head.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. SQUATS<\/p>\n

My second-biggest hangup about calisthenics was an unfair impression that it wouldn\u2019t do much for my lower half.<\/p>\n

\u201dOne of the reputations that follows calisthenics practitioners is that we got no legs,\u201d Kavadlo said, graciously. \u201c\u200aBut you can train your legs without any external resistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The squat, like the push-up, doesn\u2019t require one \u201cperfect\u201d form or range of motion, Kavadlo said. Feet close together or feet wider apart; arms straight out for balance or hands behind the head; squatting low for 40 straight reps or squatting onto a platform so you\u2019re literally taking short sit-down breaks in each rep.<\/p>\n

These variations aren\u2019t right or wrong. They simply tweak the way you\u2019re targeting your muscles and, crucially, allow you to still do the exercise if the standard way is too hard.<\/p>\n

A quick note on the Chelsea Park workout scene: We witnessed a true rainbow coalition of bodyweight training enthusiasts. A truck driver on his lunch break. Some seniors. A yuppie couple who came through for about 90 seconds. A 13-year-old who said he learned by copying other people at the park. These playgrounds are for everyone.<\/p>\n

3. PULL-UPS<\/p>\n

Before you do a single rep of this mack daddy of calisthenics strength exercises, the first step is to get comfortable hanging from the bar.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aThese days, with the internet being such a bastion of hatred and the cesspool that it is, there’s a lot of fearmongering regarding the safety of pull-ups,\u201d Kavadlo said. \u201cBut pull-ups are very, very safe as long as we’re engaging our lats, keeping the body engaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

After hanging for a bit \u2014\u00a0which is a workout in itself \u2014 I managed to do two chin-ups. (That\u2019s the version where your palms are facing you; it\u2019s slightly easier.)<\/p>\n

But like the other exercises, this one also has a lower-barrier-to-entry cousin: the Australian pull-up.<\/p>\n

In this variation, you find a waist-high bar, crab walk under it so you\u2019re hanging, and then pull your chest up into the bar.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy keeping our feet on the ground, we’re keeping a lot more of our body weight in the feet and a lot less in our upper body,\u201d Kavadlo explained.<\/p>\n

Gregory Cowan, the delivery driver on his work break, told me between sets of pull-ups that he recently felt inspired by his kids to start working out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am 35 now, be 36 in a few weeks,\u201d he said. \u201cI got four children, they\u2019re in sports. My oldest is 14, and he’s just about as tall as me now. So when I see that, it just reminds me, there’s still more to go, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n

His advice to a fellow 30-something dad: \u201c\u200aIf it’s two pull-ups you could do, do the two.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. In conclusion…<\/p>\n

That\u2019s it: Pull-ups, push-ups, squats. Do those strength exercises two to three times a week, Kavadlo said, and I\u2019ll be on my way to building the strength I need without having to step foot in a gym.<\/p>\n

His bonus advice: \u201c\u200aMake sure you walk. Make sure you go upstairs. Barring injury or disability, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be all out walking every day, especially in a walking town like New York City. Try to get sleep at night. Drink water. Go out in the sun. Stay away from jerks.\u201d<\/p>\n