Eric Bergmann

Eric Bergmann Calisthenics
Yup. My friend sat on my thumb.

We’ve all been injured at some point, and most of us are familiar with how it can derail our training. In response to the sprain I suffered, I had to decrease the size of my training repertoire and remove everything that required an opposable thumb.

Those who’ve had the dubious privilege of seeing me train know that my workouts consist largely of picking things up and putting them down with the help of said opposable thumb.

Switching gears was tough for me, especially since my training was going so well at the time. In fact, I was in the middle of the best training year of my life. It was tough for me to believe that an adjusted and, in my mind, adulterated training program could provide the same level of benefit. It was even tougher for me to be cool with doing only the following types of movements:

Squat variations, push-up variations, and pull-up variations (with thumb-less grip).

First, a confession…

I didn’t put my heart and soul into the planning of this thumb-less program. Looking back, I could have made some different choices and put together a more comprehensive regimen. Instead, I just looked at which exercises I felt I could do without risk of further injury and hoped that I wouldn’t lose much ground from my last several phases of training. Unconvinced that these bodyweight-only movements were going to successfully maintain my hard work, however, I was prepared to lose some strength.

That said, I didn’t just throw in the towel and half-ass my training. I pulled out my PCC manual.

Eric Bergmann with PCC Manual

I chose the hardest variations of each movement that I could manage for a handful of quality reps, backing those up with variations I could do for a moderate-to-high number of reps. In essence, this was an attempt to mimic what I had already been doing in successful programs rather than suddenly switching gears or starting all over.

As I explored the variations available to me I took advantage of the leverage concepts from the PCC Certification. This allowed me to transform movements that I could do for 0-2 reps into movements I could do for 4-6 reps, movements I could do for 25+ reps into movements I could only do for 15-20 reps, and so forth. These variations or “hidden steps” allowed me to tailor the movements to my abilities and to use that as a platform for continued growth.

During the “strength” oriented movements (I used multiple sets in the 4-6 rep range) I noted a marked increase in full-body tension/contraction/stabilization. What does that mean? It means that during one-arm push-up variations, I found abs of steel, quads of quartz, and rotator cuffs of coordinated reactive stabilization. It means I found and minimized imbalances between my ability to stabilize my left lateral chain and my right. It means I got strong. Really strong. Way stronger than I’d thought I possibly could with a busted thumb.

During the more endurance oriented movements (I used multiple sets in the 12+ rep range and in the 20+ rep range) I found minor but important losses in active stabilization. What does that mean? It means I found and was able to close gaps in endurance that caused subtle lumbar extension (low-back sag), thoracic flexion (upper-back rounding), and cervical flexion/capital extension (chin jutting). The higher reps gave me the opportunity to lock down my form during my sets, making my positions and joints healthier and stronger, thereby making me more bulletproof.

Overall, this has proven to be one of, if not the most successful training phases I’ve ever enjoyed. From the experience I’m taking improved strength, endurance, and ability to create balanced tension through my body, but the lessons I learned go beyond the physical changes.

I didn’t expect that using calisthenics alone could be brutally hard yet readily adjustable to my current capabilities. As a modern fitness culture we are so accustomed to adjusting loads rather than body positions, and to measuring success in pounds and kilos. What I learned during the calisthenics-only phases of my training has expanded my understanding not just of bodyweight movements, but all movement, and will impact how I train both myself and my clients.

Perhaps the most important thing I’m taking with me is that limitations can often free our creativity and expand our horizons. Injuries are going to happen. It’s what we do in response that determines our long-term success.

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Eric Bergmann is a New York City based strength coach, movement specialist, and proud member of the PCC family. He co-owns Bergmann Fitness—a boutique training and nutrition service—with his wife, Beth. You can find out more about them at bergmannfitness.com

John Du Cane Speaking At PCC

“There’s an epidemic. 99 reps…”

Dragon Door founder John Du Cane uttered this ominous phrase during the PCC workshop I attended.

In order to pass the PCC, you must complete the Century Test, which requires 100 reps. Yet there is a 99 rep curse. One rep shy of the goal. There were multiple such instances when I got my PCC, and I feel they could have been avoided.

If you’re looking to get your PCC or are simply looking for some techniques to help you squeeze out extra reps in your training, this article is for you.

We’ll go through the four movements of the test one-by-one, but first a comment on form: great form will be more efficient and preserve energy throughout the test. Before you worry about increasing reps, be sure your form is approaching perfect.

The Squat

PCC Century Test Squats Position check:

How is your foot position? Do you have contact with the ground through your big toe, little toe, and the center of your heel?

Play with the width and rotation of your feet. Find a position that allows you to feel like you are sitting between your legs while keeping your feet flat on the floor, knees inline with your toes, with a neutral spine.

1) Lower down slowly and with control. On the way up, begin pushing not just down through the floor, but also to the sides, like you’re standing on a towel and are trying to rip it in half using your feet (your feet, including the big toe joint, must remain flat on the ground).

2) As you’re ascending out of the hole, bear down on your abs—think low and deep, like you’re about to get punched below the navel.

3) On the hardest rep(s), try using the Valsalva maneuver: breathe in on your way down, but don’t breathe out on your way up. Hold the air in to keep your intra-abdominal pressure high until you hit the sticking point (the hardest portion of the rep). At that point begin to slowly let the air hiss out as you complete the rep. You should sound like a tire losing air.

4) At the top of each rep get tall and relaxed. Now is a good time to take an extra breath before beginning your next rep. You have 8 minutes. The clock is not your enemy, fatigue is.

The Push-Up

PCC Century Test Push Ups Position Check:

Are your forearms approximately perpendicular to the ground throughout the movement?

Are your upper-arms approximately 45 degrees from your body at the bottom of each rep, so that you look like an arrow when viewed from above?

Have you found a hand position of appropriate width for your upper-arm length and that accommodates your shoulder girdle? Play with hand placement and rotation to find your best position.

Is your body in a straight line from shoulder to heel?

1) Pretend you have a big dial in each hand. When you hit the bottom of the rep, grip the dials hard and turn them as you push into the floor—the left one goes counterclockwise, the right one goes clockwise. Your hand and elbow positions shouldn’t change, but you’re gripping and turning those dials anyway. The harder the rep, the harder you turn those dials and push.

2) Just before the sticking point, bear down on the abs (low and deep, like you are going to get punched in the gut again). Keep that tension until you finish the rep.

3) Lockout at the top of the rep and relax, but don’t linger. Remember: you’re still holding a plank. Don’t sag when you relax—your next rep will be terrible if you start in a weak position.

4) Remember the pressurized breathing from squat tactic #3? Use that again.

The Hanging Knee Raise

PCC Hanging Knee Raises Position Check:

Is the bar deep in your hands, not near the fingertips? Do you have a strong grip on the bar?

Are you shoulders packed down so that you’re not dangling off the structures of your shoulder?

Are your knees and feet together?

Check again. Failure to get into the right position will reduce your body’s willingness to fire the abs and to flex the hips. Don’t believe me? Grab a bar with your fingertips, hang from your shoulder sockets, leave your legs flailing around and let me know how you did versus being in a strong position.

These tactics will be about limiting body-sway, which is typically what wrecks candidates on the hanging knee raise.

1) Lower the legs slowly after each rep. The shorter and lighter your legs, the faster you can go. The more you’re built like me, the more you’ll need to control the eccentric portion of the movement.

2) Do not relax at the end of a rep. You risk losing position and incurring sway.

3) When the reps begin to get hard increase your grip on the bar, your depression/packing of the shoulder-blades, and the pressure you’re applying between your knees and feet—double-down on your starting position.

The Pull-Up

PCC Century Test Pull Ups Position Check:

Do you have a deep grip on the bar—i.e., not near your fingertips?

Are your feet slightly in front of your body?

This is it. The moment when people complete 9 1/2 reps and wonder what just happened. Here’s how to avoid that:

1) Crush the bar. When the reps get hard your grip gets harder. You’re about to go for rep 100? Crush that bar like it’s covered in butter and you’re dangling over the Grand Canyon.

2) Right before the sticking point, bear down on the abs and glutes. Deep and low for the abs, hard for the glutes. This won’t help unless you’re already crushing the bar. You are crushing the bar, right? Good. Crush harder. They should have to pry your hands off the bar after your 100th rep. Want a high-five when you pass? Too bad. Your hands won’t open for the next several minutes.

3) Remember the pressurized breathing? Now’s your time to shine. Get air in at the bottom position. Start hissing out air at the sticking point. Keep hissing until you complete the rep.

4) Savagely rip that bar off the supports. Think about driving your shoulders and elbows toward the Earth, rather than pulling your head over the bar. Refuse to fail.

These techniques, properly utilized, should get you about a 20% increase in reps. Practice them and watch your numbers go up.

See you at 100 reps.

Al Kavadlo, Eric and Beth Bergmanns6