The Kohler Effect: How Group Calisthenics Makes You Stronger
FAMBA Group Personal Training In Rembrandtpark Amsterdam West
Around this time last year, one of my students brought up a scientific principle called the Köhler Effect.
In simple terms, it explains how people tend to work harder and more consistently when they are training alongside others they perceive to be slightly ahead of them.
When they first mentioned it, I thought, That’s cool… a scientific explanation for something I’ve felt my whole life.
Because long before I knew the name for it, I had lived it.
I experienced it in my own training journey, especially when I was playing football and training alongside guys who were stronger, faster, and more skilled than me. Being around them didn’t make me quit. It made me push harder. It gave me something to rise toward.
I experienced it again when I travelled and trained with some of the best coaches in the world, in Amsterdam and across the globe. Being in rooms where I wasn’t the best was uncomfortable… and powerful. It revealed my gaps and, at the same time, expanded my potential.
That kind of challenge, when it’s in a safe and supportive environment, doesn’t break you.
It sharpens you.
And now, I get to watch that same process unfold inside our group personal training.
Calisthenics Growth Without Competition
In our group sessions, everyone is on their own journey. Different levels. Different strengths. Different struggles.
But something special happens when you’re surrounded by others who are putting in the work too.
When someone hits their first pull-up… it lights a spark.
When someone holds their first handstand… it changes what you believe is possible.
That moment, when you see someone else doing what you can’t yet do, can go one of two ways:
You can let it break you
or you can let it build you.
And that decision is where growth lives.
At Famba, there is no comparison and no competition. We’re not elite athletes. You are busy, driven professionals choosing to invest in your health, your movement, and your future. This is not about being the best. It’s about being better than you were yesterday.
Yet at the same time, a healthy level of friction, the presence of challenge around you, is exactly what fuels progress.
That’s the Köhler Effect in action.
There’s No “Maintaining” Only Progress Or Decline
In calisthenics training… in business… in relationships… in life:
There is no such thing as maintaining.
There is only progress… or decline.
And I know which direction I want to keep moving in.
That’s why our group personal training is so powerful. We come together, we show up, we put in the reps, we fall, we laugh, we try again. And week after week, we grow, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.
You borrow belief from the group… until it becomes your own.
If You’re Ready, This Is Your Moment
If you’ve been thinking about starting calisthenics in the new year
If you’re tired of just watching other people transform on Instagram
If you’re ready to stop spectating and finally begin your own journey
Then Famba Group Personal Training is the place for you.
Here, you will:
Learn to move the way the human body was designed to
Build real, functional strength
Gain clarity, energy, and discipline
Follow a structured program with clear goals
Be supported and challenged by a like-minded community
We’ve created a safe environment where you can grow, through your own effort, and through the power of the group.
Register your interest. Your journey starts now.
