Ivan Kajtaz – Interview

Hey, my name is Ivan Kajtaz ,im 22 years old and im from Croatia,Zagreb. I do Calisthenics and I coach in gyms. I trained MMA and I started doing calisthenics because I wanted to get more strength and when I first started I didn’t even know the name of it. But when I saw things like muscle ups and human flags I fell in love with it and I”m still in love…. years later.

Croatia a country with a little bit of history when it comes to street workout. Tell as more of what’s happening there at the moment? What’s the scene like?

Here in Croatia the scene is pretty separated, some people just do gymnastic statics, some just jump and some just do basics. I like it so its good !

You’re a monster when it comes to one arm pull ups. Its impressive to see you perform this difficult exercise like its nothing. How long did it take you to get to your level and what kind of training does the OAP require?

One arm pull ups haha,I didnt train for it at all. In my first years of training I was just doing pull ups ,so after 1 year I could do 25-30 and just tried oap and succeded. From that day I started doing OAP. I usually do them at the start of my training when I’m fresh. When I cant do them anymore I just continue with pull ups! My advise build up to 20 pull ups and start weighted pulls and negatives,in a short period of time u get it!

From your point of view, what is your all time favourite upper body routine?


Ivan KajtazIf we’re talk about upper body you don,t need too much to build a good body. Just a few exercises that I think the best are pull ups ,weighted pull ups, dips, weighted dips, handstand push ups and dragon flag. With these exercises you can build all the muscles you need! ?

I read in another interview you train about 6 times a week, how do you let your body recover from your heavy workouts?

In my many years of training I found out how my body works. So I made a special program for myself, so one muscle group rest while the other works and it works very well for me. Its a great way to recover and I’m ready to train everyday!

Have you ever suffered injuries trough training!?

I had a couple of hard injuries. The first one was biceps tendon rapture. The result was no training for a whole year. The other one was wrist related. I couldn’t do handstands on the floor for 6 months. Now I’m all good and keep going hard!

How important is it for you to have company while working out?

Company only if someone who can give me challenge on training. I like strong people who can challenge me over my limits. Sometimes I like fun while training, but most of the time I like not to talk and focus on my training!

In the last 2-3 years we have seen a major increase of calisthenics competitions held all over the world. Would you say this is a thing the whole scene benefits from or does this change the original calisthenics workout?


Ivan KajtazDamn bro its all circus, no real competitions. I mean I saw few ones but they where local. We need real world championships with real power exercises. I hope to see it more in future. Today only light guys have something from it, nothing more!

Just recently you have been criticising that things in the scene aren’t going the right way. You said:

„Calisthenics workshops and certificates,okay if you’re teaching people how to do something right. And give them certificates, make sure first you’re doing it right. people who are jumping on bars and have banana back levers cant teach people for money and give them certificates for trainers of calisthenics,start doing basics by yourself first before you think you are an expert!!! Where the fuck is the calisthenics world going.. „

What was the reason for this statement?

Man I’m not a hater just a honest guy. Sure you can teach people for money. But if you don’t know the proper form for a push up, pull up and dip how can you teach planche ,handstand when your own form is off and wrong. 1200€???? I will always be honest about everything and because of this people hate me but I don’t care. Respect to all people who share real knowledge and making money from it. They deserve it. They’ve earned it because of their hard and dedicated work. For those without knowledge keep on working!!



If you hadn’t started Street Workout what else do you think you would of done? What other interests do you have besides Street Workout?

I don’t know really. Im interested in sports and I think I would be a sportsman anyway, but I don’t know. I just know I don’t want a regular life 8-5 working …

Ivan thanks for talking, any last advise for our readers. Where can people see more of your impressive stuff and follow you?


Ivan KajtazThank you for this Interview.

People just work hard and go for your goals, you are unstoppable if you have a goal, dont listen to others just listen to yourself!

You can follow me on Facebook and Youtube.

If you wanna see Ivan working out. You have a fair chance to find him at this location in Zagreb.