I spent my formative years in Chapeltown, Leeds. We called it the ghetto. You had a lot of people with no social or economic mobility, and tensions between different communities. In 2011, I saw my friend get murdered; he was shot in the face. It was a horrible time in my life where I was looking for role models, father figures. I found them in the park, at the exercise bars.

Calisthenics describes any form of bodyweight training, from familiar moves like pull-ups, push-ups and sit-ups to moves you might see in Cirque du Soleil. Crazy stuff, like handstands at the top of a high bar. It’s a real leveller. It doesn’t matter how much money you’ve got, or how much education you have: 10 push-ups are 10 push-ups to a billionaire or to somebody on benefits. It creates a real unity in communities. I’ve been to parks all around the world and I can walk up to guys I’ve never met before in my life, work out with them, and somebody will always ask if I’m going to be there next week. That’s what calisthenics is all about.

It couldn’t be more different to gyms, which are a bit like being in a lift, where nobody looks at each other even though they’re sharing the same space. When you do a human flag – holding your whole body horizontal on a vertical pole, like a flag, stiff in the wind – people stop and look, or ask you how to do it. It has a wow factor.

I love how calisthenics makes my body feel. I love how it makes my mind feel. I love the self-confidence that it brings. And I love that anyone can do it. I know children who do calisthenics, and I know 80-year-olds who do it.

After my friend’s death, I had a fitness park built in his memory, right by where he got shot. Now the whole community uses that park to work out together. There haven’t been any shootings or stabbings since.

My weekend workout

Favourite spot? Rootes Drive, London W10.
Hours spent training? Between 4 and 6 a week.
Favourite move? Handstand push-ups on top of a bar.
Workout soundtrack? Any old-school hip-hop: Public Enemy, Dead Prez, Wu-Tang Clan.

Five ways to get started

1 All you need is to find somewhere that has a high bar and parallel bars with clearance all the way around them. You’re much more likely to find these at your local park than in a gym.

2 The moves you’re going to be inspired by are things that you’re not necessarily going to be able to try straight away. Keep it simple and build up strength with push-ups, pull-ups and tricep dips, or you risk injuring yourself.

3 Reps – repetitions – are what you use to build your body up. When you’re practising a move like a handstand you should aim to perfect your positioning. Don’t burn yourself out; rest between attempts and focus on form.

4 Calisthenics is a street sport so it’s not easy to find a teacher, but there are qualified instructors out there. When looking on YouTube, check the comments left under videos.

5 If your goal is to gain muscle mass or lose weight, approach training as you would a gym routine: three or four sessions a week maximum, with rest days.

• Ricky Warren, founder of BodyweightGurus.com.
  For more information, visit spartanfam.com.
  Do you have a passion for exercise? Send your story to fitness@theguardian.com

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