Athlete spotlight – Andrea Antoniou

We caught up with Gravity athlete and calisthenics coach Andrea Antoniou to talk community, mobility, and trusting your instincts. Watch the full interview here!

GRAVITY FITNESS:

Hi Andrea, thanks for speaking to us! In case people don’t know you, can you introduce yourself?

ANDREA ANTONIOU:

Hey, my name is Andrea Antoniou. I became a Gravity Fitness athlete in 2022, and I’m founder of empowHER calisthenics, a female-only calisthenics community where I run social events and skill-based workshops to help women build strength and confidence.

I also work with Steel Warriors as a content creator, helping share their mission of using calisthenics to support young adults, get them off the streets, and guide them toward a more positive direction in life.

I’m a two-time UK Reps Champion (2022 & 2023), and a proud mum to a five-year-old girl.

GF: How did you get into calisthenics?

AA:

I started calisthenics back in 2017, when it wasn’t big at all. I’d only seen one person doing it – Jay Chris, aka Small Spartan – who I later met by chance in an airport. That was my first real introduction to the calisthenics world as it was back then.

I jumped straight into freestyle and loved it, but I didn’t progress as fast as I wanted because I didn’t understand the importance of the basics. Lockdown and having my daughter forced me to slow down, focus on fundamentals, and rebuild properly – which turned out to be the best thing for my training.

After lockdown, I entered my first calisthenics competition and won. I was training for my second when I became seriously ill and couldn’t train for a month. Everyone advised me not to compete, but I trusted myself, my mindset, and my visualisation – and I won again.

That experience taught me to trust my instincts. If I’d listened to everyone else, I wouldn’t know what I’m capable of.

GF: What's a typical training week for you?

AA:

A typical base week is two upper-body and two lower-body sessions. Depending on my workload, I’ll sometimes add a fifth session on a Sunday, which would be upper-body.

For lower body, I mainly use weights to build strength and size, and I prioritise calisthenics movements like pistol squats and Nordics at the beginning of my sessions. I always finish with explosive work like box jumps or jumping squats.

My upper-body sessions are mostly calisthenics, focusing on strength and skills. Sometimes I’ll finish in the weight section with accessories like lat pulldowns, chest press, or lateral raises, to support overall strength.

I don’t do much traditional cardio. The explosive work I do covers that while keeping my training specific to calisthenics.

GF: Take us through a day in the life of Andrea

AA:

I wake up around 6:30am and start the day with some meditation and light stretching before switching into mum mode. Breakfast is usually oats with peanut butter and berries, plus a protein shake — I like something light before training.

After the school drop-off, I head to the gym. During my session I drink creatine, Celtic sea salt, glutamine, and fast carbs to stay hydrated.

Stretching and mobility are a huge priority for me, so I always finish training with a yoga flow or mobility work, even if that means shortening the workout. I also use the sauna when I can it helps massively with recovery.

After training I refuel with a big, easily digestible lunch, like chicken curry and jasmine rice. Then I switch into work mode, editing content for brands and running EmpowHER Calisthenics, which creates safe spaces for women to train, learn skills, and build confidence.

After school, I train my daughter at home. She loves gymnastics and calisthenics, so I’ll put her through a little session using the rings and resistance bands. She’s grown up watching me train, and I believe children learn by example – so for me, it’s about showing her that movement is a normal, positive part of life.

Throughout the afternoon, I’ll snack on fruit, nuts, and chocolate before dinner.

Dinner is another protein-based meal, often something warming like chicken stew with potatoes. I drink at least 2 litres of water throughout the day, and the evening is family time followed by around 30 minutes of mobility before bed. I’m asleep by midnight – not ideal, but life is busy right now.

GF: How do you balance strength, skills, and recovery in training?

AA:

I always prioritise skills first, starting sessions with drills and skill-specific work while I’m fresh. Then I’ll move into calisthenics strength work that fully fatigues the muscles, and sometimes finish with weights. Mobility is non-negotiable – I always end sessions with stretching, yoga, or mobility work.

I have lumbar scoliosis and previously struggled with bulging discs and sciatica, which I’ve managed through calisthenics and yoga.

On rest days I focus on active recovery like yoga, sauna, and walking. I’m always moving!

GF: What's the biggest mistake you've made in your journey?

AA:

My biggest mistake early on was skipping the fundamentals and jumping straight into advanced movements. I also had to learn that more isn’t always better – training twice a day isn’t sustainable and doesn’t support longevity.

Dealing with lumbar scoliosis taught me to train with intention. Calisthenics and yoga helped me not just get stronger, but move better – and those issues don’t affect me now.

GF: What are your 3 non-negotiable habits?

AA:

Yoga and stretching – mobility is a non-negotiable to be pain free, strong and train consistently.
I get at least my 5 a day, usually more – fuelling my body with fruit and vegetables is something I don’t compromise on.
I will always move my body – showing up consistently means more to me than location or intensity.

GF: What are your 3 top tips to anyone getting started in calisthenics?

AA:

Focus on the fundamentals – build solid push ups, pull ups, and core strength, everything else is built on that foundation.
Invest in chalk – good grip helps you train with confidence.
If you’re buying equipment go for higher parallettes – more range, more versatility and tend to be kinder on the wrists.

GF: What do you think are most under-rated and over-rated calisthenics exercises?

AA:

I don’t believe there are any over-rated movements, everything has a purpose depending on where you are in your journey.

My top under-rated movement is pike push ups. They’re incredibly transferrable for shoulder strength, control and resilience. Having strong shoulders has saved me from face planting many times in a handstand!

They teach you to support your bodyweight overhead which is essential in calisthenics.

GF: What's the biggest myth in calisthenics?

AA:

The idea that there’s one perfect drill that will unlock a skill for everyone. Progress isn’t one size fits all.

Different bodies, proportions, strength, mobility levels respond to different training. The key is finding the right path for you, not blindly following a drill you’ve seen on IG.

Calisthenics is about problem solving and self-awareness as much as it is strength.

GF: What's your calisthenics goal for 2026?

AA:

Alongside my personal training goals, a huge focus is continuing to grow empowHER calisthenics into a community of over 10,000 women.

This year, I want to go even deeper by supporting younger women and teenage girls – getting into schools, hosting social events, and helping them recognise their physical and mental strength early.

empowHER calisthenics started as a collective of six female coaches running fun events so women could try calisthenics in a supportive space. Over the past year, we’ve hosted eight social events and our first handstand workshop, which sold out within days!

Our biggest event was a collaboration with Steel Warriors and Gymshark – over 180 women attended, and it completely sold out. I still get chills thinking about it, because this space didn’t exist when I started calisthenics 10 years ago.

I remember sitting there afterwards crying happy tears, realising that everything I dreamed about was unfolding.

I’m expanding empowHER calisthenics with more coaches, more events, workshops, online coaching, and eventually an app so women everywhere can access this support.

The best part by far is the community – watching women grow, form friendships, and support each other. Being part of that journey is something I’m deeply grateful for.