Al Kavadlo

I Am Not A Gymnast

September 17, 2013 By Al Kavadlo 23 Comments

When people see me performing bodyweight feats of strength like freestanding handstand push-ups or the front lever, they often ask a familiar question:

“Are you a gymnast?”

I don’t blame them for the misunderstanding – gymnastics is the only context most people have for what they’ve witnessed. However, there is so much more to the world of bodyweight training than gymnastics!

Though I’ve never been one to dwell too heavily on labels, I am most certainly not a gymnast. I am a fitness enthusiast who specializes in Progressive Calisthenics. To the casual observer, this may seem like a minor distinction. Allow me to elaborate.

Gymnasts participate in formal gymnastics, a highly-specific, competitive sport involving strict rules and guidelines. I participate in Progressive Calisthenics, an open-ended, individualized fitness modality centered around the concept that one’s own body weight (and the proper manipulation of leverage) can provide ample resistance for strength training, regardless of one’s current fitness level.

Of course the two things do have something major in common: Both can get you in the best shape of your life without the need for weights or very much equipment.

The mindset is probably the biggest difference: I train to be strong, robust and healthy. I train to make day-to-day physical tasks easier. I train for enjoyment. Gymnasts train to win – oftentimes at the expense of their health and fitness.

Competitive athletics are funny like that. Professional athletes are the fittest people in the world, but they are frequently forced to train through injuries. Many wind up pushing their bodies beyond what they can safely handle. The irony is that these people may get to be the best in the world for a brief, shining moment, but will often suffer for it later. The higher the high, the lower the low.

I prefer to take the middle ground. If I feel pain, I back off. If I need rest, I take it. By using this approach, I’ve managed to avoid any serious injuries or major setbacks in my training, despite over twenty years of strength work.

I have tremendous respect for the sport of gymnastics. Pro gymnasts are some of the strongest people on the planet. Their tenacity and dedication to their sport is second to none. My most impressive moves like muscle-ups and back levers are considered entry-level skills in gymnastics the same way that push-ups and squats are entry level moves in calisthenics training. A pro gymnast’s warm-up is more grueling than some of my workouts.

These athletes provide inspiration and motivate me to continually challenge myself, but I have no interest in being a gymnast. I train for fun and function. My only competition is within myself. The joy of movement matters more to me than whether or not my toes are perfectly pointed.

Progressive Calisthenics and gymnastics are two different things, each with their own set of pros and cons. If you want to learn the sport of gymnastics, there are people way more qualified to teach it to you than I am.

PCC is for exercise enthusiasts and fitness professionals who want to utilize bodyweight training to get stronger, feel better and move more freely. At PCC, we focus on how to progress and regress universal movement patterns for everyday people. We encourage fun over formality; presence over perfection.

Regardless of what you choose to call it, bodyweight strength training offers something for everyone. Whether you do gymnastics, calisthenics or any other bodyweight-strength modality, we are all more alike than we are different, and we all share one thing in common: The need to challenge ourselves and test our physical potential.

With the right amount of effort, it’s amazing what the human body can achieve.

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About Al Kavadlo: Al Kavadlo is the lead instructor for Dragon Door’s Progressive Calisthenics Certification. Recognized worldwide for his amazing bodyweight feats of strength as well as his unique coaching style, Al is the author of three books, including Raising The Bar: The Definitive Guide to Pull-up Bar Calisthenics and Pushing The Limits! Total Body Strength With No Equipment. Read lots more about Al on his website:www.AlKavadlo.com.

Al Kavadlo’s PCC FAQ

June 4, 2013 By Al Kavadlo 10 Comments

In less than 48 hours, I’ll be getting on a plane from New York City to St. Paul, MN to lead the first ever Progressive Calisthenics Certification workshop. After almost two years of planning, the PCC is finally happening – this is a very exciting time!

The PCC workshop will contain tons of information distilled down through the experience of PCC mastermind Paul Wade as well as myself and the other instructors. There will be a lot to learn and attendees will come away with something that cannot be gained from a website, book or DVD – real life experience! Nothing in the world can replace firsthand knowledge. That’s why most of the weekend is going to be spent practicing these exercises, not just talking theory.

With the inaugural workshop quickly approaching, I’ve been getting lots of emails and other messages with questions about the PCC. Here are answers to the questions that have come up most frequently.

I’m not interested in becoming a personal trainer. Can I still take the PCC?

Yes! The PCC is open to anyone who wants to improve their knowledge and performance of bodyweight strength training. Though the coursework is geared toward those who want to pass their knowledge and skills onto others, anyone who is passionate about calisthenics is encouraged to attend.

How is PCC different from Convict Conditioning, Raising The Bar and Pushing The Limits?

The PCC curriculum combines content from the Convict Conditioning books as well as my books, but it will be more in-depth than any of those materials. More importantly, however, is that it’s an interactive experience! Books are great resources, but they can’t actually tell you if your form is correct. At the PCC, Steven Low, Adrienne Harvey, my brother Danny and myself are personally going to give you the cues you need to improve your technique and performance on these exercises as well as instruct you on how to effectively pass this information along to your clients. And of course, there will be a chance for attendees to pick our brains during the Q&A session.

I’d love to take the PCC but I live too far away to travel to St. Paul. Is it possible to get a copy of the PCC manual without attending?

The 600+ page PCC manual is incredibly special and it’s only for PCC attendees – no exceptions. The good news is we will be offering workshops all over the world in the months and years ahead, so everyone will have a chance to attend and get their hands on a copy.

I have an old injury/ailment/weakness that will prevent me from being able to complete the Century. Can an exception be made for me?

The Century test must be performed according to these guidelines.

When will PCC be coming to my hometown?

In addition to the inaugural event, there are two more PCC workshops already scheduled – a second one in St. Paul as well as our first European workshop, which will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden. Over the next few years, we will be visiting lots of other locations in the US and abroad. Watch this page for updates on future workshop dates.

Photos by Audra May Photography

And for those of you attending the groundbreaking first ever bodyweight certification – I’ll see you this weekend!

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Make Your Own Workout

May 7, 2013 By Al Kavadlo 34 Comments

Every day I hear from people who’ve read my books and want to thank me for writing them; these messages mean the world to me. As I discussed in my path to the PCC, the driving reason behind writing my books (and articles) is to connect with like-minded people with whom I can share my experience.

While most of the folks who write me do so to tell me how my guidance has helped them achieve new levels of strength, improve their body composition, or even take out a new lease on life, I also get messages with suggestions and criticisms. The most common complaint I’ve received regarding my books is from people who are disappointed that I haven’t provided more detailed structure on how to progress through the various exercises presented therein.

This is understandable. After all, between Raising The Bar and Pushing The Limits!, I’ve presented over two hundred different exercise variations for various goals and fitness levels, yet only a handful of sample routines.

However, this is neither an accident nor oversight; It’s a purposeful decision. While many fitness guides spoon-feed the reader with rigid specific regimens to follow, I’ve chosen to empower my followers by leaving the suggested program design open-ended.

My readers include folks of all ages, genders and athletic backgrounds. Each one starting off at a different place with individual strengths, weaknesses, goals and levels of commitment. The number of variables makes the amount of possibilities endless.

All of these people can get stronger with the same fundamental movement patterns, but each will do so at their own pace. I can’t predict exactly how everyone will progress. Trying to box all potential trainees into a one-size-fits all program will inevitably leave some folks progressing too slowly, while rushing others through the paces at a rate that is inappropriate for them.

Additionally, there are a myriad of unpredictable factors that can affect your workout on any given day: what you’ve eaten recently, the amount of sleep you’ve had, stress levels – even the weather. When I train clients in person, I come into the session with an idea of what I am going to do with them, but I always wind up making changes and improvising based on what is actually happening in front of me. I can do a lot for my trainees, but I can’t see into the future!

A workout regimen on paper is a good idea, but it’s still just an idea. You have to put your plan into action to get any benefits. And once you start doing that, it might not go exactly as predicted; you are inevitably going to need to make modifications. In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they couldn’t be more different.

Of course people need guidance and books are a wonderful resource. However, ignoring your body’s signals in favor of following a preconceived formula written by a stranger is taking a good idea too far. This is what I love about progressive calisthenics; in PCC, we teach pliable bodyweight progressions and exercise chains, not strict protocols and formulas.

Building your body isn’t the same as assembling that bookshelf you bought from Ikea. We aren’t all starting with the same pieces and we aren’t all building the same identical object. You really need to get to know your body for yourself in order for any fitness program to work.

In fact, it’s not actually the program that works at all – it’s you. Now let’s go get those reps!

About Al Kavadlo: A veteran of the fitness industry, Al Kavadlo has recently been appointed as the lead instructor for the Progressive Calisthenics Certification. Recognized worldwide for his amazing bodyweight feats of strength as well as his unique coaching style, Al is also the author of three books, including Raising The Bar: The Definitive Guide to Pull-up Bar Calisthenics and Pushing The Limits! Total Body Strength With No Equipment. Read lots more about Al on his website: www.AlKavadlo.com!

My Path to the PCC

April 2, 2013 By Al Kavadlo 38 Comments

My first real job as a personal trainer was working for the Lakeshore Athletic Club in Downtown Chicago. Though I already had a couple independent clients, I was hired at the former Wabash St. location in the heart of Chicago’s business district (“The Loop” as it’s known to Chicagoans) as a “fitness floor manager” before working my way up to being part of the training staff.

Being a floor manager is a much less important job than it’s made to sound. My main duties were picking up towels, re-racking dumbbells and making sure people didn’t exceed the 30 minute cardio machine time limit during peak hours. After a few months of that (I’d already had my personal trainer certification for a while by this point), I was finally deemed ready to train clients – I’d hit the big time! I was excited but also very nervous. Being someone’s trainer is a big responsibility and I wanted to do a good job.

Chicago is pretty cold and I started working at Lakeshore during the winter, so when they hired me they only gave me long sleeve shirts. Nobody saw my tattoos, which I quickly decided was a good thing. I wanted to attract as many clients as possible and I thought my ink might freak people out. I didn’t have any tattoos on my hands and neck yet, so it was fairly easy to keep them all covered.

During my teens, a lot of people tried to make me feel foolish for getting my arms tattooed while I was so young. At the time, I didn’t give a damn what anyone thought, but by my twenties, I started to buy into the mindset that being tattooed might be a hinderance in my professional life.

In general, I was pretty insecure during my early adulthood. In fact, I was so unsure of myself when I began my career as a trainer that I remember being genuinely surprised the first couple of times I closed deals. I wondered if my time was really worth the money. Almost every new trainer questions themselves at some point and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. I think it shows that you really care.

Though it took some time to get the ball rolling, after a few months, I started to feel more comfortable and confident in my role as a personal trainer. Things were going great; I was spending lots of time in the gym getting to know everyone and I was beginning to learn the business. I started to pick up more clients and earn the respect of my fellow trainers. I was also learning a ton about working out!

Since it was so cold, it was no big deal to wear long sleeves every day. I probably would have wanted to anyway. Even in the summer, they always had the air conditioners pumping, so nobody thought much of it. The only time I ever had my tats exposed was for a quick second in the locker room, though I generally made it a point to try to avoid others while I was changing.

After I had been there for about a year, my training manager approached me one day and told me one of his clients said something to him about the trainer with all the tattoos. He was confused and told the client he didn’t have any tattooed trainers on staff. Eventually he figured out he’d never seen me in anything but long sleeves. The cat was out of the bag! He asked to see my arms and I sheepishly rolled up my sleeves. Then he told me he thought my tattoos were pretty cool and said I shouldn’t feel the need to keep them covered up.

What a relief it was to find out that nobody actually cared! In fact, a lot of folks at the gym really dug my ink. Like many people, I was afraid of being misunderstood, so I shielded my true self from the world. Funny enough, it was only after I embraced who I am that I started to really enjoy going to work and feeling comfortable in my role as a trainer – and a man.

Not only did I feel at ease wearing short sleeves after that conversation, I also began to feel more comfortable just being myself. I started having more fun with my clients by making jokes, telling stories and generally letting them get to know me more as a person. I came to find that this is a fundamental part of successful personal training.

When I moved back home to New York City and started working for New York Health and Racquet Club, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were lots of other heavily tattooed trainers working for that company. The guy who hired me at NYHRC had even more ink than I did. My newfound confidence allowed me to become fairly busy within my first several months there. Though New York is a much more competitive market than Chicago, I eventually stepped up my game and within a few years became not only the top trainer in my club, but eventually the top trainer in the company. In December of 2008, I set a NYHRC company record for gross personal training sales by a single trainer in a single month. I celebrated the occasion by getting the tattoo I have on my right hand index finger. Bang! I had truly arrived!

Though things were going great, I soon started to feel like there was no way for me to grow within the confines of a commercial gym. There was so much about the mainstream fitness scene that I wanted to get away from. The unrealistic expectations, the “miracle” breakthroughs, the so-called “quick fixes” – not to mention all the emphasis on machines! Plus there were also the usual frustrations of corporate bureaucracy to contend with.

Where I had once wanted to fit in, I now wanted to stand out. I decided that I needed to do things on my own terms. I had so many ideas that seemed in contrast to what everyone else was doing. I knew there had to be more people who felt like me.

That need to connect with like-minded people was the motivation to start my blog. Soon after that, I quit my job at NYHRC to focus full time on writing. Since I wasn’t making any money writing yet, I started training a few clients at the park and working part-time at a small, independent facility called Nimble Fitness. Everyone thought I was crazy, but I knew there was no way for me to grow without starting over.

I slowly began building a following online and a reputation in the neighborhood. I focused on writing as much as I could and getting my articles and pictures in other websites and magazines. After being rejected by countless book agents and publishers, I self-published my first book, We’re Working Out! – A Zen Approach to Everyday Fitness, in 2010. During the next year, I wrote almost a hundred articles and created nearly as many YouTube videos. I also managed to sell close to 1,000 copies of my book – a pretty big success by self-publishing standards.

One day I got an email from Paul “Coach” Wade telling me he’d read my book and loved it. What a huge compliment! I would have been quite content if he had stopped there, but of course, that was just the beginning.

My writing wasn’t the only thing that Coach Wade liked. He also liked my look – especially the tattoos. Then he told me about a new book he was working on. It was the sequel to a book called Convict Conditioning, which I had of course, heard a lot about. To my amazement, Coach wanted me and my brother Danny to appear in Convict Conditioning 2. Ironically, the tattoos that I was once concerned would limit my career opportunities wound up providing the exact opposite effect.

Appearing in Convict Conditioning 2 was the beginning of a whole new life for me. Over the next several months, I went from being a relatively unknown fitness blogger to one of the most recognizable faces in the calisthenics community. Instead of getting a few hundred views a day, my website soon began receiving thousands of daily visits. My YouTube views quickly climbed into the millions and I started getting a dozen or more Facebook friend requests every day.

In the last year and a half, I’ve published two of my own books with Dragon Door, Pushing The Limits! and Raising The Bar, as well as a DVD version of Raising The Bar. My audience continues to grow daily and I’m connecting with more people than I ever thought possible. But my favorite thing about working with Dragon Door is the freedom they’ve allowed me. I’m living my dream and I don’t have to compromise myself to do so.

When John Du Cane and Paul Wade asked me about leading the PCC program, I jumped at the opportunity. Though being a writer and blogger has opened doors for me, actually training people is still where my deepest passion lies. Books and DVD’s are great, but there is no substitute for an in-person experience. I am thrilled to be able to take the show on the road and train with you guys in the flesh.

We’re Working Out!

Al Kavadlo on The Century

February 5, 2013 By Al Kavadlo 30 Comments

A key part of what makes the PCC different from many other fitness certifications is the inclusion of a physical requirement. It’s not simply enough to pay the fee, show up and get your certificate – you have to earn the PCC title!

In addition to demonstrating competency in teaching basic calisthenics exercises, PCC certified trainers must also pass Coach Wade’s “Century” test, a strength and conditioning challenge that consists of 100 consecutive bodyweight repetitions performed as follows:

Men	Women
40 Squats	40 Squats
30 Push-ups	30 Knee Push-ups
20 Hanging Knee Raises	20 Hanging Knee Raises
10 Pull-ups	10 Australian Pull-ups

The purpose of this test is to establish a baseline of competency in the performance of basic calisthenics. The Century includes a combination of movements that demonstrate strength and conditioning in the entire body.

A lot of people have asked about how the test will be judged. Here are some guidelines to make sure you are doing things the PCC way:

The exercises must be performed in the order listed above. No exceptions.

Squats must be performed with a minimum depth of top of the thighs parallel to the floor and a full lock out at the top of each rep. Arms may be raised in front, crossed, or placed on top of the head. Heels must stay flat the entire time.

Push-up depth must reach a minimum of 90 degrees of flexion as measured along the outside of the elbow and a full lockout must be achieved at the top of every rep. A straight body position must be maintained throughout the entire range of motion. No sticking your butt into the air or leaving your hips down on the ground.

Hanging knee raises must be performed with the knees being raised above waist level and a full extension of the legs at the bottom of every rep. Swinging shall be kept to a minimum. Arms must remain straight the entire set.

Pull-ups may be performed with an overhand or underhand grip. The chin must clear the bar at the top of each rep and a full extension must be reached at the bottom. Kipping will not be allowed. (Australian pull-ups are to be performed with the bar at waist height and a straight body position must be maintained throughout.)

Rest may be taken in between exercises, but each exercise must be completed in a single set. You may pause briefly between reps as long as the position is held (i.e. top of push-up position, bottom of pull-up, etc.)

The entire test must be completed in 8 minutes or less. The reps may be performed as quickly as you like as long as all the above rules are adhered to. Form first!

Watch the Century Test in action below:

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www.AlKavadlo.com

A veteran of the fitness industry, Al Kavadlo has recently been appointed as the lead instructor for the Progressive Calisthenics Certification. Recognized worldwide for his amazing bodyweight feats of strength as well as his unique coaching style, Al is also the author of three books, including Raising The Bar: The Definitive Guide to Pull-up Bar Calisthenics and the soon-to-be-released Pushing The Limits! Total Body Strength With No Equipment.

Al Kavadlo on Progressive Calisthenics

January 21, 2013 By Al Kavadlo 58 Comments

(includes excerpts from Pushing The Limits)

All types of strength training operate under the same principle of progressive overload. Regardless of modality, the way one grows stronger is to begin learning a movement pattern with a relatively low amount of resistance and gradually add more as the body adapts.

In barbell or kettlebell training, exercises can be learned with a light weight to get a feel for proper technique before progressing to heavier poundages. This allows the lifter to learn the form without having to overcome much resistance. Due to the nature of bodyweight training, however, progress must be approached a bit differently.

A key principle of progressive calisthenics is manipulating leverage to vary the intensity of bodyweight exercises. Since there is no way to do a one arm push-up, pistol squat or one arm pull-up without a significant amount of resistance, we instead must practice variations in which the body is positioned in such a way as to create less resistance. As you grow stronger, harder variations can gradually be introduced.

In the videos below, you’ll see me demonstrating progressive calisthenics chains that can be used to increase one’s strength over time. I’ve done one video for each of what I consider to be the three most essential movement patterns: push-ups, squats and pull-ups. Though these clips go by quickly, a beginner should expect to put in a few solid years of training to advance from the variations at the start of each clip to the master steps shown at the end.

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www.AlKavadlo.com

A veteran of the fitness industry, Al Kavadlo has recently been appointed as the lead instructor for the Progressive Calisthenics Certification. Recognized worldwide for his amazing bodyweight feats of strength as well as his unique coaching style, Al is also the author of three books, including Raising The Bar: The Definitive Guide to Pull-up Bar Calisthenics and the soon-to-be-released Pushing The Limits! Total Body Strength With No Equipment.