- 15
- Apr.
- 2025
A discipline between raw strength and mental mastery seduces a youth in search of balance and self-improvement. This is Beirut met Dimitrios Yaacoub, calisthenics champion and Lebanese ambassador of a still little-known sport.
No, it is neither a rare disease nor a new fashionable treatment. Behind this slightly barbaric name–which could evoke an antique medicine or a forgotten pathology–calisthenics is indeed a sport. And not just any sport, it is an art of movement, a cult of the free body, a spectacular mix of strength, flexibility and control.
Also called “street workout,” this discipline based on body weight (“body weight exercise,” according to Dimitrios) transforms sidewalks, bars and staircases into real urban apparatuses. Born in the streets of New York, it is practiced today in all four corners of the globe–and seduces, in Lebanon, a youth thirsty for physical expression, freedom and self-improvement.
From the Street to World Championships
Explosive push-ups, pull-ups, balances defying gravity… Calisthenics redraws the codes of fitness. And among those who embody the new generation, one name comes back insistently: Dimitrios Nicolas Yaacoub.
As a 21-year-old student in physiotherapy, he is about to represent Lebanon at the calisthenics world championship, organized by the World Street Workout & Calisthenics Federation (WSWCF) in Bulgaria. This is not a first: the Lebanese Federation of Heritage and Traditional Sports organized the first two editions of the Lebanese Calisthenics National Championship in 2023 and 2024, of which Dimitrios came out double winner.
He has been practicing for eight years. Eight years of sweat, improbable figures, occasional pain. Eight years sculpting his body like a tool of expression. And recently, he has been training at “Next Level Gym,” under the sharp eye of his coach, George Khachacho.
A School of the Body… and of the Head
“Calisthenics is the school of the body,” he states. “You learn to listen to each muscle, to control each movement. No need for sophisticated machines: just your weight, your mind and your perseverance.” A complete sport, which develops strength, flexibility, endurance and, above all, mental concentration.
Contrary to a common misconception, calisthenics is not a sub-discipline of gymnastics. “It’s different,” insists Dimitrios. “In gymnastics, they are very strong on the rings. Us, it’s the bars. There is a philosophy, a relationship to the body that has nothing to do with it.”
For him, calisthenics fully deserves its place in the Olympic Games. And the most beautiful thing is that one can start young. “From 7 years old, it’s ideal. It’s excellent for bone density, so against osteoporosis. And then it works a lot on the cardio. Plus, it’s a very safe sport. There are very few injuries.”
A Practice in Full Expansion
Long considered a simple trend on TikTok or Instagram, calisthenics now takes on another dimension in Lebanon. The craze goes beyond the codes of social networks. “It started like a trend, but it’s really gaining momentum. Girls also are getting into it more and more,” rejoices Dimitrios.
The first national championship took place at the Forum of Beirut. Since then, clubs are being created, trainings are organized on the Corniche, at the beach, in the parks. The street becomes a gym, and the bars, a field of fulfillment.
A Flag on the Bars
His qualification for the world championship is no gift. For lack of sponsor or solid financial support, Dimitrios had to finance his trip to Bulgaria himself, as well as that of his coach. “Fortunately, I have good moral support from the Federation,” he says with modesty.
But the morale, precisely, is intact. Unshakable. “I will represent my country with pride. Even if I am the only Lebanese, I will not feel alone. I will carry with me all those who still believe that we can shine, even when everything is dark.”
And if we had to sum up calisthenics in one image? It would be that of Dimitrios, hanging from a bar, defying gravity, doubts, fatigue. A body that holds strong. A will that refuses to let go. And somewhere, between the sky and the steel, a flag that is red, white, green–and stubborn like hope.
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