Calisthenics Classes
Reach your potential at ´one of London´s best calisthenics gyms´ (Men´s Health)
Calisthenics is Beautiful Strength
You’re stronger than you think – you just need the right path to unlock it.
Callisthenics classes in London’s Commando Temple, are designed to help you master your body, build real strength, and develop skills you never thought possible. With structured, skill-driven coaching that turns effort into visible progress, we take the guesswork out of your training.
Here, you will move better, train harder, and unlock your full potential.
From the Greek word meaning “beautiful strength,” callisthenics is about controlling your own bodyweight – building functional, transferable strength without relying on gym machines.
Our callisthenics classes focus on developing full-body strength, balance, and skill that you can carry with you for life.
If you’ve been shopping around best callisthenics gyms in London, you will appreciate our setup, the expertise of our coaches and how this all works as an environment for growth.
Please note that we also offer callisthenics training in Chesterfield. Our gym up there is a bit different, but the approach is the same and the coaching standards are just as high.
Our calisthenics classes run from the Commando Temple in Deptford, South London — a short walk from Deptford Station on the Thames Path, and easily reached from Greenwich, New Cross, Lewisham and Canary Wharf.
Calisthenics classes run on Mondays and Thursdays from 19:30 to 21:00. See the full class timetable or book here.
Our philosophy:
- Beginners learn the rules.
- Intermediates apply the rules.
- Advanced athletes break them.
Whether you take your first callisthenics class with us, or are reaching for elite skills, we provide the tools, structure and progression plan to get you there.
Who Our Calisthenics Classes Are For
Our calisthenics classes are for anyone who’s serious about building real strength and control, including:
- Beginners who want to lay a safe and solid foundation
- Intermediates looking to unlock advanced skills like levers and muscle-ups
- Experienced athletes looking to refine and master advanced skills and techniques
Whatever your level, we meet you where you are and help you progress far beyond where you thought possible.
Proven Calisthenics Gym Progression Formula
Calisthenics mastery doesn’t happen overnight – but with structured coaching, it’s inevitable.
We guide you step-by-step:
- Build strength through fundamentals
- Develop control and technical skill
- Progress to advanced bodyweight movements
- Master your body and unleash your full potential
New to this? Why Train Calisthenics?
Anyone can lift weights. Few people develop true strength and mastery over their own bodies.
Our calisthenics classes train you to master foundational movement patterns first: pushes, pulls, presses and squats — building unshakable strength from the ground up.
You’ll be training at one of London’s best calisthenics gyms, where structured coaching and elite-level bodyweight training combine to deliver real, lasting results.
Once your foundations are set, we help you progress toward impressive skills like:
- Push-ups (perfected form)
- Muscle-ups
- Front and back levers
- Handstands
- Planches
- Human flags
Build Full-Body Strength, Skill, and Control
Calisthenics training strengthens every part of your body – from your chest and core to your back, arms and legs.
It delivers results you can feel and see:
- Full-body functional strength
- Fat loss and lean muscle development
- Improved coordination, balance and agility
- Enhanced mobility and stronger joints
- Confidence in your body and results
Calisthnics at our gym will seriously unlock the strength, balance, and control that’s already within you and help you to move through life with greater energy, resilience and purpose.
What You’ll Learn in Our Calisthenics Classes
Progress in calisthenics isn’t about how much you can lift – it’s about mastering the movements that matter.
At the Commando Temple, our coaching is designed to guide you through logical, achievable progressions:
- Perfect your basic form (push-ups, squats, core holds)
- Master pulling strength (pull-ups, dips, muscle-ups)
- Develop balance and body control (handstands, levers, planches)
Every skill leads to the next. You’ll never be left wondering what to work on and we will keep you focused on the right stuff.
Why Bodyweight Mastery Beats Machine Lifting
Anyone can build isolated strength on a machine.
But true athleticism and real-world, transferable strength are built when you master your own body.
Our calisthenics classes are designed to engage you completely: muscles, joints, tendons and mind. It builds resilience, coordination, balance and control traits (all traits that improve performance in sports, martial arts, outdoor challenges, and daily life).
At Commando Temple, we don’t just help you get stronger.
We help you move with power, skill and purpose, in and out of the calisthenics gym.
Recommended by Men’s Health and calisthenics professionals
The Commando Temple was rated by Men´s Health in August 2025 as one of the world´s best gyms.
Our coaches, have won high praise from people at the top of the Calisthenics field and have a huge amount of knowledge and passion to share with students. Their training background includes Progressive Calisthenics Certification (PCC) and world-famous bodyweight experts Al Kavadlo and Danny Kavadlo, and have assisted in workshops led by London gymnastics coach, Alex Jerrom, a former GB gymnast.
Our coaches take an innovative approach to their training workouts, employing principles and methods from a range of strength training systems to raise the bar and challenge his students in novel ways.
The Commando Temple’s Calisthenics workout was recently featured in Men’s Fitness article, ‘An introduction to calisthenics training’.
What are you waiting for?
Be stronger.
Calisthenics Training Classes
See timetable for class times.
BOOK YOUR NEXT CALISTHENICS CLASS ONLINE WITH
EQUIPMENT THAT GOES BEYOND JUST A CALISTHENICS GYM
The Commando Temple has a world-class, unrivalled collection of equipment and apparatus available to our Old Time Strongman Training Classes, including:
- Training logs, plate loadable at 40 kg, 62.5 kg and 80 kg
- Conan’s Wheel with built-in Viking Press
- Kegs weighing 27 kg, 40 kg, 50 kg, 65 kg, 80 kg and 100 kg
- Replica Dinnie stones weighing 104 kg, 147 kg and 207 kg
- Poliquin and Watson strongman bars
- 227 kg, 350 kg and 512 kg tyres
- Farmer’s walk handles weighing 40kg, 150 kg (plate loadable) and a pair of plates
- Eight Atlas platforms and stones weighing 30 kg, 40 kg, 55 kg, 63 kg, 77 kg, 100 kg, 125 kg and 143 kg
- Husafell stones weighing 55 kg, 75 kg, 100 kg, 125 kg and 140kg
- Adjustable yoke
- Thomas Inch-style circus bells weighing 21 kg, 32 kg, 43 kg, 65.9 kg, 71.7 kg and three at 78 kg
- Texas Power Bar, safety squat bar, hex bar
- Texas Deadlift Bar
- Blacksmiths anvil weighing 126 kg (and pimped for additional uses) and 56 kg anvil
- Thick stubby 2 1/2″ and 3″ bars, long axle bar, Watson Dr Tom’s Combo Bar
- Iron Mind pulling harness
- Prowlers
- Olympic lifting platforms with Taishan competition plates
- Kettle bells up to 93.3 kg
- Chalk and lots of it!
- Dumbbells up to 80 kg in pairs
FAQs
Do calisthenics gyms actually exist?
Yes. Ours is built for it — rings, bars, parallettes, and coaching that progresses you through the movements properly, not just open floor space.
Is it too late to start calisthenics?
No. We coach people from their twenties through their fifties. What matters is starting at the right level and progressing patiently — not your age.
What’s the 80/20 rule in calisthenics?
Roughly 80% of your progress comes from consistent basics — push, pull, core, squat — done well. The other 20% is the advanced skills: levers, planches, muscle-ups. Skip the basics and the advanced work never holds up.
How is a calisthenics gym different from a normal gym?
A normal gym gives you machines and space. A calisthenics gym gives you structured coaching in controlling and loading your own bodyweight — the strength transfers into everything else you do.
Is calisthenics good for fat loss?
Yes, as part of consistent training — the full-body, compound nature of the movements burns more than isolated machine work, and you build visible muscle at the same time.
“Our sessions are more of a community than a class. We do a lot of partner-assisted drills to foster an environment of continuous learning, and there are no egos here. Everyone just wants to get better and to see their mates improve.
I welcome people of all abilities to my high-energy classes, and tailor every movement to the individual capabilities of my students.
We learn the principles of bodyweight training that you can use anywhere, even if the only training equipment you have is the floor. You can use anything around you. Get your training done! If you haven’t got the ground beneath you, then training should be the least of your worries!”
THE COMMANDO TEMPLE
Units 14, 15, 16 Resolution Way,
Deptford, London, SE8 4NT
Phone: 020 8127 4545
Email: [email protected]