SPARTA Battle of the Bars draw 300 participants

MANILA, Philippines -- Around 300 Calisthenics practitioners from different parts of the country, some even came all the way from Baguio and Mindoro, duked it out last Sunday in the first ever SPARTA Battle of the Bars Calisthenics Competition held at SPARTA in Mandaluyong City.

Reo Ray Minasalbas topped the Solo Freestyle Round with Dennis Deltow and Renier Barnuevo finishing second and third, respectively. 

In the Longest Deadhang, it was Vincent Acuna who emerged as champion, while Tom Madrid won in the Longest Plank.

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.

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. 

“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," said Sparta Calisthenics Academy’s consultant and designer Ton Vergel de Dios. 

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 is that “you can do it anywhere, you don’t need to spend and get gym membership.”

After the rousing success of the The SPARTA Battle of the Bars, which went down as the biggest Calisthenics event ever organized in the country, De Dios is hoping that this could be the start of something big for the Calisthenics community. 

“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," De Dios said. 

Postscript: SPARTA is a one-stop sports, lifestyle and wellness center built for the highly competitive athlete.  It is destined to become the most influential sports facility in the Philippines through its centralised location, expert trainers and programs developed for those who aim to dominate the competition. Apart from the Indoor football field and the Sparta Calisthenics Academy, users may also try yoga, zumba, capoiera, karate, Jeet Kune Do, Filipino Martial Arts, Fluid Tactics and 360Pro.

Sparta is located at 126 Pioneer Street, Mandaluyong City.