Sparta Holds the Biggest Calisthenics Competition in the Country

1 December 2015 – Manila: Contestants from different parts of the country, some even came all the way from Baguio and Mindoro, gathered last Sunday to compete in the first ever SPARTA Battle of the Bars Calisthenics Competition held at SPARTA in Mandaluyong City.

The SPARTA Battle of the Bars was said to have been the biggest Calisthenics event ever organized in the country.  At least 300 practitioners gathered at SPARTA, as they witnessed different contestants slug it out in the various rounds of the competition with bodyweight exercises.

SPARTA is at the forefront of bringing Calisthenics from underground to mainstream.  It opened the Sparta Calisthenics Academy earlier this month, with the goal of encouraging more Filipinos to try it out. 

According to Sparta Calisthenics Academy’s consultant and designer Ton Vergel de Dios, “Calisthenics as opposed to working out in a traditional gym is better because it is very honest.  You can’t cheat a pull-up or a single legged squat.  It is how athletes and warriors have trained for centuries.  Calisthenics, uses body weight movements and has benefits which include increasing strength, balance, power, endurance, and of course, aesthetics.”

Second place winners for the Tagteam Freestyle Round from Baguio, Farell Salvador and Jeric Tercero also noted that the advantage of Calisthenics or Street Workout was that “you can do it anywhere, you don’t need to spend and get gym membership.”

Winners for the Solo Freestyle Round were, Reo Ray Minasalbas (1st place), Dennis Deltow (2nd place), Renier Barnuevo (3rd place).

Winner for Longest Deadhang was Vincent Acuna, while for Longest Plank, it was Tom Madrid.

Other winners include, Henz Ledesma for Longest Squat Hold, Joel "Ryobi" Cataag for Most Number of Consecutive Pull-ups and Ezeciel Santos for Most Number of Consecutive Muscle-Ups.

Vergel De Dios further notes, “We are looking forward to more events like this one, and we intend to keep growing the Calisthenics community here in the Philippines for advanced athletes but also for those who want to take the first step in starting their fitness journey. After all, it's all about progressing from wherever you are now to becoming a better version of yourself."