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Progressive Calisthenics - The Official Blog for the PCC Community

bodyweight exercise

Top 5 Reasons Why an In-Person Workshop is the Best Way to Supercharge Your Training

August 29, 2022 By Danny Kavadlo Leave a Comment

Danny Kavadlo and Al Kavadlo Perform a "Four Man Flag" at the Holland PCC

It’s been ten years since the inception of the Progressive Calisthenics Certification. In that time, hundreds of trainers from all over the world have been certified in bodyweight exercise. Countless PR’s have been set and lifelong friendships have been made.

On October 1-2, Momentum Fitness in New York City will be hosting the ONLY Progressive Calisthenics Certification on the calendar. That’s right: this is the only PCC currently scheduled, so if you ever wanted to attend, now is the time.

At every PCC, amazing things happen. There is no question that this event will supercharge your calisthenics training like nothing else. Here’s why:

1. The Most Complete Programming

Pushups at the Holland PCC

There are many calisthenics courses these days. PCC is the first and the best. In fact, PCC is the only certification with eleven modules, including push-ups, pull-ups, muscle-ups, human flag, inversions, floor holds and more. There has never been a more comprehensive two-day bodyweight course.

The PCC Instructor manual was written by none other than Paul “Coach” Wade, the best-selling author of the Convict Conditioning series, and contains over 500 pages of the most detailed calisthenics writings and illustrations ever compiled.

There are two additional seminars. The first seminar, Principles of Progression, details the universal truths behind all calisthenics (and strength training) advancement. The second seminar On Bodyweight Programming explains how to put all this new information together for quantifiable results.

The weekend concludes with the legendary Century test. Click here for more on that!

2. PCC Is for Everybody

Large group photo from the NYC PCC 2017

Everyone is welcome here. That includes folks of all fitness levels, training backgrounds and body types. Every single attendee is encouraged in a friendly, inclusive environment. From the curious beginner to the beastliest bar athlete, calisthenics doesn’t discriminate. Progressive calisthenics accommodates everyone.

PCC also provides you with a strong connection to a supportive, global community for future training, forums and opportunities. This includes both friendships and networking. I’ve remained close both professionally and personally with so many of my PCC family over the years.

3. The Inspirational Power of the Group

Participant performs a human flag at the China PCC

I’ve seen it again and again: PCC attendees pushing themselves beyond their previously perceived limitations.

There’s a reason why more people have achieved their first muscle-up, pistol squat or human flag at PCC than anywhere else in the world. It’s the overflowing energy that comes from putting a group of calisthenics freaks in a room together. Remember what that’s like?

I’m thrilled to say that this is the first workshop taught by both myself and my brother Al Kavadlo in twelve months! We’re ready to bring the thunder!

4. No Substitute for an In-person Experience

Participant performs a dragon flag at the China PCC

If recent times have taught us anything, it’s that humans need real interaction with other humans. Sure, scrolling through social media and looking at fitness-related “content” is an easy way to pass the time, but it really doesn’t help your physical (or mental or emotional) health.

The experience you acquire at PCC is a stark contrast against the screens and solitude induced numbness to which so many of us have become accustomed. In a world overrun with online courses, PCC stands out. At PCC, every attendee receives personalized training geared directly to them. Corrections are physically presented in real time by experienced instructors who work directly with you. Under the scrutiny of a Master Trainer, you will achieve things you never imagined possible.

5. Continuing Education

Annie Vo assists PCC Participant in L-Sit exercise

The enhanced professional credibility you get from becoming a PCC is priceless. Dragon Door is an established leader in the fitness industry and PCC is the gold standard for calisthenics certifications. This is part of what gym owners look for when hiring trainers, as well as what potential clients need when seeking professional guidance.

Furthermore, while PCC is for everyone, not just fitness professionals, it qualifies for continuing education credits toward your personal training credentials. In fact, PCC is the only bodyweight workshop approved for CEC’s from ACE and NASM, the two largest certifying bodies.

Two participants at the London PCC perform a weighted bridge

It’s just a few more weeks before the calisthenics lightning strikes again. I can taste the electricity… Will I see you in NYC?

LET’S GOOOOO!

-DK

Filed Under: Progressive Calisthenics, Workshop Experiences Tagged With: bodyweight exercise, calisthenics certification, calisthenics workshop, Danny Kavadlo, NYC PCC, PCC Workshop, Upcoming Workshops

HYBRID STRENGTH TRAINING IS HERE!

November 30, 2021 By Danny Kavadlo Leave a Comment

Hybrid Strength Training by Danny Kavadlo Book Cover

definition of the word Hybrid

Hello I’m Danny Kavadlo. You know me. I have been one of the world’s most visible proponents of bodyweight training for over a decade. I still am. And while I’ll always express the importance of bodyweight exercise, I’ve personally trained in a hybrid style for over thirty years, lifting weights and moving bodyweight side-by-side.

For this reason, over the years, the one question I’ve received more than any other is: “Danny, how do I combine calisthenics and free weights?”

Search no more. The answer is here.

Not only have I practiced hybrid strength training for decades, I’ve spent the last three years putting this book together so I can answer this question for you as completely as possible. Finally… HYBRID STRENGTH TRAINING—How to Get Jacked & Shredded with Calisthenics & Free Weights has arrived!

Danny Kavadlo Performing a weighted Pull-up

There are almost endless variations of every exercise in existence. The exercises included in HYBRID STRENGTH TRAINING are the ones I use because they work, not because they’re trendy. In fact, quite the opposite: because they’re timeless.

All beginners need to start with the basics. Advanced practitioners continue with the basics, and add from there. Fundamental bodyweight exercises are the prerequisite. In other words, if you are unable to perform a bodyweight squat, then there is no sense in putting a barbell on your back.

Calisthenics is the greatest baseline, as well as the oldest and nobles form of strength training. It also gives the highest yield from the least gear. By manipulating the body’s leverage, range of motion and/or muscular emphasis, you can work every muscle in the body equipment free (or equipment lite). Furthermore, having less with which to work compels us to get creative with what we do have.

Employing free weights adds to your baseline, and takes you beyond. Although complete 100% isolation of any muscle is impossible, the nature of training with free weights allows us to target individual muscles and/or muscle groups with greater specificity than other modalities, while still employing our own powers of intramuscular communication. Additionally, free weight exercises are often simpler to scale. (You can adjust the load simply by adding or taking away external resistance, as opposed to calisthenics, which would require altering the exercise itself.) Finally, free weights provide the opportunity to lift a greater absolute load than the weight of an individual’s own body.

Ultimately, we gain the most when we fuse calisthenics and weight training, employing the most effectual exercises from both in order to maximize the value of every workout. Whether you overload your muscles by changing your body’s position (as with calisthenics), adding external resistance (as with weight training) or any combination of the two, you will make gains!

Hybrid Strength Training contains the most detailed programming I’ve ever committed to ink in my career. In addition to the three unique programs (Blue Flame, Red Hot & HELLYEAH!), we discuss training templates, recovery, set and rep schemes, training for max load, weighted calisthenics and much more. I want you to take my programs, exercises and guidance and make them your own, for a lifetime of progressive training.

Check out this video for more info and to get fired up!

Here is what the biggest names in strength have to say:

“I’m honored to call Danny my friend. His impact on my field of strength and conditioning continues to expand daily. This book is part of his legacy. Enjoy.”

—Dan John, Master RKC, author, Never Let Go

“Danny finally did it. I’ve been waiting years for someone to take on the behemoth task of writing a book about combining calisthenics and weight training. What better person to step up to the challenge than Danny f*#kin’ Kavadlo? Hybrid Strength Training is the perfect book for any fitness enthusiast, at any level.”

—Mike Fitch, founder & creator, Animal Flow

“I have been asked countless times over the years to recommend the finest source on combining weight training and bodyweight work… but I have always had to just shrug. Coaches and authors who really understand both disciplines at an elite level are few and far between. But the wait is over. FINALLY that book has been written!”

—Paul Wade, author, Convict Conditioning

I want to know what YOU think of HYBRID STRNGTH TRAINING! Let me know in the comments below. KEEP THE DREAM ALIVE!

-DK

Danny Kavadlo with Barbell

***

Danny Kavadlo helped pioneer the bodyweight fitness craze with Strength Rules, Diamond-Cut Abs and Get Strong, all of which went to #1 on Amazon. He has been featured in the New York Times, Huffington Post and Men’s Health, and is a contributor to TRAIN magazine and Bodybuilding.com. When he’s not traveling the world as Master Instructor for Dragon Door’s acclaimed PCC Certification, Danny works with personal training clients in New York City and virtual clients everywhere. Danny Kavadlo’s long awaited HYBRID STRENGTH TRAINING is available from Dragon Door Publications.

Filed Under: Announcement Tagged With: barbell lifting, bodyweight exercise, calisthenics, Danny Kavadlo, Hybrid Strength Training, strength training, weight training

Next Level Strength is Here!

June 11, 2019 By Al Kavadlo and Danny Kavadlo Leave a Comment

Next Level Strength Book Announcement Al Kavaldo and Danny Kavadlo

When we got started in fitness, we didn’t have many options. We were just two broke kids from Brooklyn, so we began with what was available to us: push-ups and pull-ups. This was not because we were necessarily “calisthenics guys” but simply because we didn’t have access to any equipment other than a basic doorway pull-up bar and the ground beneath our feet.

During the course of our journey, we would explore other methods of training. Once we were old enough to join a gym, free weights began to dominate our workouts. Though we never stopped doing push-ups and pull-ups, weight training had become the focus. We also experimented with machines, sandbags, medicine balls and everything else we could think of to maximize our strength gains. Additionally, as personal trainers in New York City, we wanted to familiarize ourselves with as many disciplines as possible so that we could provide the best service to all individuals.

Each of these modalities offers its own unique challenges and benefits. However, after years of experience with these different options, we eventually came full circle and returned to training with only our own bodyweight.

Pistol squats replaced barbell squats, L-sits replaced ab machines, handstand push-ups replaced military presses. The transition was so gradual that we hardly saw it coming. Little by little, we were slowly swapping out our favorite weight training exercises for their calisthenics counterparts. It is hard to say whether calisthenics chose us or we chose calisthenics.

Over the years, we have cultivated a following around the world for our unique style of bodyweight training, and we’ve been heralded for our ability to help our clients make maximal gains with minimal equipment.

We’ve written books about training with just a pull-up bar or no equipment at all. In Street Workout we even showed you how to make the world your gym.

In our previous release, Get Strong, we gave you our most stripped-down calisthenics program for building muscle and strength.

Although we have written extensively about bodyweight training, we still haven’t covered it all. Not by a long shot. In fact, within the bodyweight kingdom there are two important pieces of apparatus which we’ve never addressed until now: rings and parallettes. We’re still just getting started!

Next Level Strength Danny Kavaldo Abs

Why Rings?

It’s no secret that we’re big fans of the pull-up bar. You can do a lot more with a simple straight bar than many people realize. And while many of the exercises in our new book, Next Level Strength, can also be done on a pull-up bar, there are numerous subtleties rendering them quite different on rings:

-Rings require extra core recruitment. Unlike a fixed pull-up bar, rings are free-floating and unstable. They can swing back and forth, rock side to side and even rotate. This forces your body to stabilize itself to a greater degree. As there is always a risk of injury when working with an unstable apparatus, be cautious and take your time.

-Because they are not connected to one another, rings allow you to pass in between them on moves like the skin-the-cat and muscle-up. Whereas you must maneuver around a pull-up bar, rings will not get in your way.

-Training with rings can potentially be more forgiving on your joints, particularly those of the wrists, shoulders and elbows. By allowing your hands to rotate, your joints may move in a more personalized range of motion.

-Though some exercises are more challenging when performed on rings, others are more accessible. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword. Regardless, if you are used to training exclusively with a bar, those first few weeks of ring training may surprise you.

Next Level Strength Al Kavadlo Parallettes Pushup

Why Parallettes?

Parallel bars that are low to the ground are known as parallettes. Though they might not appear to offer anything special at first glance, these little, low bars are an amazing tool. Here’s why:

-Wrist pain is one of the most common issues associated with floor exercises like planks, L-sits and handstands. Since parallettes allow your wrists to maintain a neutral position during these and other exercises, they offer a great way to work around (and possibly help eradicate) any issues that may plague your wrists.

-Squeezing parallettes while practicing these exercises creates more tension in your upper-body, which can facilitate a greater mind-muscle connection. This will help incur greater strength gains, especially with regard to your grip, core and shoulders.

-Elevating your hands with parallettes makes many exercises more accessible than when they’re performed on the ground. Oftentimes, beginners lack flexibility and/or core strength. Having extra clearance beneath your body can make just enough of a difference to help you nail your first L-sit or tuck planche.

-You can adjust the width of your parallettes to suit your individual proportions, which you cannot do with affixed bars.

The Next Level Strength Program

The Next Level Strength program offers something for everyone. The workouts in our new book build strength, flexibility, control and body awareness. There is also a unique skill element to many of these exercises. To be clear, however, Next Level Strength is not gymnastics. Though some of the exercises may look like gymnastics movements, we are not competing with anyone but ourselves.

Are you ready to take your strength to the Next Level?

Get our new book Next Level Strength today and get started on building the body you deserve!

Next Level Strength Book Banner

Filed Under: Announcement, Progressive Calisthenics Tagged With: Al Kavadlo, bodyweight exercise, Danny Kavadlo, gym rings, gymnastics rings, Next Level Strength, parallettes, ring training

Bodyweight Badassery Meets the Sideshow at the Seashore

September 19, 2017 By Danny Kavadlo 8 Comments

Al Danny Kavadlo Coney Island

A few nights ago, as summer was coming to a close, my son and I went to the beach one last time this season. We sat on the sand and looked into the sky. Slowly, I closed my eyes and reflected on the rapidly dwindling summer days of 2017. Times come and times go. All we are left with is our memories. And there is one summer memory stands above all as the freakiest!

This past Labor Day weekend, my brother Al Kavadlo and I had the tremendous honor of serving on a panel of judges at the 10th Annual Coney Island Beard and Moustache Contest. It was our job to see which whiskers reign supreme in New York City and beyond. But there’s more: We were enlisted not only as judges… but also as performers!

The contest took place at the Coney Island Sideshow, home to circus showmen and human oddities throughout history. Hosted by performing strongman Adam Realman and “Handsome” Dick Manitoba (from legendary punk band The Dictators), the night was a celebration of classic New York, wacky and wild, in all its glory. The energy was infectious.

Adam Realman and Dick Manitoba

About halfway through the show, we had already viewed the hirsute contestants of several categories, including “Man or Beast” (best natural beard) and “Coney Island Curl” (best styled moustache). Now it was time for our act.

I can’t express what a remarkable experience it was to perform our bodyweight strongman act on this legendary stage. It warmed our hearts to be part of such a special history. From the sideshow performers of yesteryear, to modern day bodybuilders, to the pro-wrestlers we all admired as kids, there’s nothing like a strongman show!

In fact, as a kid growing up in South Brooklyn, it’s been a lifelong dream of mine to one day take the stage at the hallowed freakshow. Now I had my chance!

Al and Danny Kavadlo Partner Front Lever

We really wanted to do something special for the show, so we made it a point to feature only partner calisthenics in our act. Al and I demonstrated our signature partner front lever from the cover of Street Workout and the two-man human flag from Convict Conditioning 2. I even stood upon his back bridge as seen in Pushing The Limits. Most of the exercises we performed are detailed in our book Get Strong.

It was also a great thrill to serve as an ambassador of sorts, introducing the word of progressive calisthenics to a whole, new audience. The posse’s getting bigger!

Like the summer itself, our set seemed to fly by. Back to the facial hair! Soon, we were onto judge the “Dog and Pony” (best partial beard/chops) and “Carny Trash” (worst in show) awards. Bring it on!

Of course, the night ended with the coveted Brass Ring (best in show) and several other fantastic performances. Congratulations to all the winners and competitors of this amazing competition! The facial hair game is STRONG in Brooklyn!

Coney Island Beard and Moustache group photo

But for me, even more than the facial hair, keeping the strongman dream alive—bodyweight style—in Coney Island, Brooklyn is what made this night magic. Truly, this is one summer memory I want to hold onto. Fugeddaboutit!

Photos: Eliza Rinn and Norman Blake

****

Danny Kavadlo is one of the world’s leading authorities on calisthenics, nutrition and personal training. He is the author of several best-selling Dragon Door titles including GET STRONG and STRENGTH RULES. Danny has been featured in the New York Times, Men’s Fitness, and the Huffington Post. He is a regular contributor to Bodybuilding .com and TRAIN magazine. When not working one-on-one with clients in his native New York City, Danny travels the world as a Master Instructor in Dragon Door’s internationally acclaimed Progressive Calisthenics Certification. Find out more about Danny at www.DannyTheTrainer.com

Filed Under: Progressive Calisthenics Tagged With: Al Kavadlo, bodyweight exercise, bodyweight strongman, Coney Island, Danny Kavadlo, Freak Show, partner calisthenics

Taking The GET STRONG Transformation Challenge

May 16, 2017 By John Du Cane, CEO and founder, Dragon Door 26 Comments

John Du Cane Pull-Ups Get Strong Transformation Challenge
John Du Cane comes off the bench to help John Du Cane with the Get Strong Phase 3 Pull-up and Chin-up sets.

What mechanism acts as both the Great Protector of our health and well-being—while often acting as the Great Saboteur of our attempts at physical transformation?

That mechanism would be Homeostasis:

  1. “The tendency of a system, especially the physiological system of higher animals, to maintain internal stability, owing to the coordinated response of its parts to any situation or stimulus that would tend to disturb its normal condition or function.”
  2. “A state of psychological equilibrium obtained when tension or a drive has been reduced or eliminated.”

As the cliché goes, we are creatures of comfort. We seek to minimize pain and to quickly eliminate any perceived threat to that comfort. Without this overriding tendency, of course, our internal systems would collapse—as they de-regulate into a chaos of conflicting and unbalanced energies.

But when we seek to transform ourselves physically, the whole construct has to shift. No more Mr. Nice Guy. Now, we have to deliberately, savagely, nastily traumatize our own bodies—to shock them into change…

We have to willfully terrorize ourselves out of the sloth of our addiction to ease…

Far from reducing or eliminating tension and drive, we need to psych ourselves up into an unreasonable quest for dis-comfort, dis-equilibrium—and a kind of planned mayhem. We freaks of fitness storm the barricades of complacent physical mediocrity—and to hell with the naysayers and stay-at-home couch potatoes…

However, all this savagery of intent still screams for proper leadership. Whatever the fire burning in your belly, you’ll go nowhere fast if you don’t have wise guidance from fitness experts who are true masters of their game.

Otherwise we become a foolish, disorganized rabble, our dreams of physical transformation derailed by misinformation and false promises.

And here’s the great beauty of a well-organized, well-planned transformation program: it helps jump us out of the rut of our normal meandering exercise patterns. Instead of two steps forward, three steps sideways, one step back, woops, two more steps back, yikes, half a step forward and so on—boom, we suddenly have our marching orders, a goal to achieve, fire in our eyes, confidence in our hearts, competitive juices flowing and a sense of driving purpose.

30 perfect Feet Elevated Push-ups can be surprisingly demanding
30 perfect Feet Elevated Push-ups can be surprisingly demanding

Now—against all the homeostatic odds—we can embrace the pain-drenched ecstasy of the struggle for physical glory. And succeed, right? 🙂

Get Strong is exactly that well-organized, well-planned, proven program you can count on to effect the changes you desire. You can do it on your own, of course, but why not join forces with other bodyweight exercise enthusiasts?

So, when Al and Danny Kavadlo created their Get Strong 16-Week Transformation Program, we thought it would be perfect to include a community contest to help motivate us all to give this thing our best possible shot. We can join forces with a bunch of fellow maniacs, urging each other forward, come what may…

While waiting for the printed copies of Get Strong to arrive from China, I decided to preview the Transformation Program myself. Almost without any exception I train alone: bodyweight exercise, kettlebells and Chen Tai Chi. Mostly in my office. This is all well and good, but this solitary training has its pitfalls—as I quickly realized once I embarked on the Program. I will describe my experience below, but first, here’s the contest we devised:

To qualify:

  1. Submit one or more Before photos taken within three days of beginning the contest.
  2. Submit one or more After photos taken with three days of completing the 16-week contest.
  3. Submit an article detailing your performance progress through the Get Strong program, beginning with the Phase 1 Test as the baseline.

Entries can be submitted up to October 30, 2017, sent to support@dragondoor.com
Winners will be announced November 15, 2017.

Judges: Al Kavadlo, Danny Kavadlo and John Du Cane.

Grand Prize: $500 in cash, one free RKC or PCC workshop, interview, dedicated PCC blog piece.
Next four best entries: Interview, $300 off any Dragon Door workshop.
Next fifteen best entries: $100 off any Dragon Door workshop.

We have also set up a private Facebook group The Get Strong Transformation Challenge. Purchase the book and we will automatically invite you to join or accept your request to do so.

My experience with the first three phases of the Get Strong Program

The First Phase is called The Foundation—and it is literally that. Raw newbies would need the full four weeks, if not additional weeks, to be able to test out. The thing though about all the Phases, is the inclusion of one or more exercises that you may have been neglecting in your own practice.

John Du Cane Handstand
A work in progress on my Wall Handstand—some technical tightening needed on that left elbow…

At age 68, my current biggest vulnerabilities are my elbows and my right knee. I had reduced my pull-up practice because of tendinitis in those elbows, so I definitely felt the one-minute Active Hang part of the Phase 1 test. Those tendons were letting me know of their existence… Yes, I tested out with ease overall, but I realized Phase 2 was going to up the pain factor by a fair amount.

Phase 2 is called Brick and Mortar. I did NOT pass the Phase 2 test at the end of the four weeks and had to repeat Weeks 3 and 4. The villain was the Wall Handstand. Amazingly, I had never practiced handstands in my life. Strange, but there it is… So, I entered Phase 2 a handstand virgin and paid the price. The test requires a 60-second hold. I made it to 55 seconds! An undoubted weakness that I have enjoyed confronting in Phase 3—which requires two sets of 60 seconds in Week 4.

Did I have any other problems with Phase 2? For the testing, probably the toughest part was only being allowed one minute between each exercise. Those who have taken the Century at the PCC would appreciate the energetic demands of completing 30 Push-ups, 10 Chin-ups, 20 Hanging Knee Raises and 40 Squats plus an additional four exercises with just one minute rest between each…

On to Phase 3, Concrete and Iron, where things start to get more challenging for sure…

Phase 3 is where both my elbows and my right knee asserted themselves. Phase 3 introduces Assisted One Leg Squats and Bulgarian Split Squats. As a former sprinter and longtime martial artist my legs have been my strong point—pistols for instance were never a problem. However, for quite a while now, I have stopped doing unilateral leg work—and have just done regular squats or double-kettlebell squats. It was a shock to discover how much weaker my right leg was than my left. I have enjoyed the challenge of fixing that—big time.

Combining relatively high reps of Assisted One-Legged Squats and Bulgarian Split Squats is not the breeze you might think it to be…
Combining relatively high reps of Assisted One-Legged Squats and Bulgarian Split Squats is not the breeze you might think it to be…

My elbows are really squawking from attempting 2 sets of 10 Pull-ups, plus 2 sets of 10 chin-ups plus 3 sets of Hanging Straight Leg Raises—mixed in with other arm-intensive drills in close succession to each other. Here, I am straight-out being sensible. From bitter experience, I know that pushing into the realm of tendinitis will be highly counterproductive to future progress… There is good, constructive pain, then there is foolish, destructive pain… So I am going to take the time I need to advance without injury, whatever pace that might require.

John Du Cane Hanging Leg Raises
3 sets of 10 reps. I don’t feel this in my abs, but I sure feel it in my arms…

The most challenging new exercise for me in Phase 3 has been the Feet Elevated Pike Push-up. I had never performed this move in my life other—so another hump to surmount.

To succeed with the Get Strong Program, particularly when you are older, proper recovery is essential. I have become acutely conscious of needing that much more sleep, that much more rest and that much cleaner a diet. To that end, I have found Wim Hof’s ice therapy and breath-holding exercises immensely helpful. A very recent and wonderful addition to recovery has been my discovery of the Air Relax dynamic compression system. It’s hard to truly quantify, but I believe it has cut the recovery time for my leg work by perhaps as much as 50%. Exciting…

All in all, test-driving the Get Strong Transformation Program has been an exhilarating personal experience for me—and I have been immensely enjoying the additional strength I have gained from a religious adherence to the Kavadlo Brothers’ blueprint.

I hope many of you join me in taking the challenge—and I look forward to hearing your stories down the road!

Filed Under: Contest, Motivation and Goals, Progressive Calisthenics Tagged With: bodyweight exercise, calisthenics, Get Strong, Get Strong Transformation Challenge, John Du Cane, Kavadlo brothers

The Muscle Building Advantages of Calisthenics

January 10, 2017 By Matt Schifferle 30 Comments

Matt Shifferle Neutral Grip Pullup

I’ve been building muscle with bodyweight training ever since Convict Conditioning was first published. When I attended the first PCC, a few people told me they thought I still lifted weights because I had a decent amount of muscle. Not that I can blame anyone for their doubt. I was once one of those guys in the gym hogging up the preacher curl machine telling everyone that you needed to lift weights to build muscle. It’s funny how things change; now I believe calisthenics is one of the best muscle building methods, bar-none. Most of reasons for this belief are because of 5 massive muscle building advantages calisthenics offers you.

Matt Schifferle Neuro GripsAdvantage #1 Low maintenance training

Even die hard weightlifters admit that bodyweight training offers unmatched convenience and deficiency. You don’t need a gym or fancy equipment, nor do you need to wedge a long workout into a busy schedule. You just simply drop down to the floor or grab on to a bar and you’re in business.

While many admit to these advantages, others are unaware of just how convenience and efficiency are essential toward packing on muscle. This is due to the fact that building, and maintaining, a muscular physique requires months and even years of consistent training. The convenience and efficiency of calisthenics makes it easier to continue your training even as life becomes turbulent. This ensures your training stays consistent long enough to build the success you want.

Advantage #2 Technical progression

Building muscle through calisthenics isn’t really any different from building it with weights except for one thing: With weight lifting you keep your technique fairly consistent while adjusting the load you lift; with calisthenics, you use a consistent load while you modify your technique.

Progressing an exercise through technique requires you to develop more than just strength and muscle. You also need to develop the “softer” qualities like balance, stability, flexibility and muscle control.

When I first started training in progressive calisthenics I was humbled by how much I needed to work on these softer qualities. At first, it felt some of the exercises were not building strength or muscle because they were more about flexibility or stability. Eventually, I discovered that developing these softer qualities was the key to more muscle growth. The more I improved my softer qualities the more harder qualities like strength and power progressed as well.

Advantage #3 Emotional and mental focus

Effective training requires much more than tense muscle and proper technique. You need to put some heart into what you’re doing to reach beyond what you can currently do.

Which view would you prefer?

There’s just something about moving your body through space that requires more mental and emotional focus. Consider the difference between running on a treadmill versus hiking along in a path in the wilderness. These days, commercial gyms place televisions and similar electronic devices on their cardio equipment to stave off boredom and mental fatigue. Such distractions are not necessary and even unwelcome with bodyweight training. Through using exercises that require as much growth within your heart and mind you build the quality of your training and not just the intensity.

Advantage #4 Intellectual challenge and growth

Progressive calisthenics requires you to continuously analyze and improve how your body works. It strips away the false promise that your success depends on having the perfect routine or using the right equipment. This leaves you with little else to think about except to learn how to use your body better which is the true essence of effective training.

I wasn't able to do a pistol squat until I learned how to use my hips in a better way.
I wasn’t able to do a pistol squat until I learned how to use my hips in a better way.

Every workout is a lesson in how you are currently able to use your body and the weaknesses that you need to work on. Maybe you lack hip strength in your squats or perhaps your shoulders shrug from fatigue during push-ups. All of these little experiences invite you to explore how to adjust your technique and muscle control to improve how well you use your body.

Advantage #5 Workouts that are simple, disciplined and focused

I live by the 3 tenets of simplicity, discipline, and focus. Calisthenics embodies all three of these tenets perfectly because it requires mental and physical focus, continuous discipline and of course a simplistic approach to training.

It takes a lot of discipline to remain focused on simple workouts. The modern media constantly churns out advice that can quickly make training more complicated and fancy. Before you know it, you’re using a room full of gadgets to perform fancy exercises in a routine that’s based on rocket science. All of this fancy and complicated stuff might feel important, but it ultimately distracts you from what matters most.

Building muscle means focusing on just 3 things:

When your training involves little more than pushing yourself off the floor or lifting up your legs, there’s not a lot of clutter to distract you from working your muscles longer and harder. It may not be fancy, but that’s the point. The most exciting results are often produced from methods that appear boring at first glance.

 

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Matt Schifferle, PCC Team Leader a.k.a. The Fit Rebel made a switch to calisthenics training 5 years ago in an effort to rehab his weight lifting injuries. Since then he’s been on a personal quest to discover and teach the immense benefits of advanced body weight training. You can find some of his unique bodyweight training methods at RedDeltaProject.com and on his YouTube channel: RedDeltaProject.

Filed Under: Progressive Calisthenics Tagged With: bodyweight exercise, calisthenics, Hypertrophy, Matt Schifferle, muscle building

Natural Muscle—How Much Can You Gain…Really?

November 8, 2016 By Paul "Coach" Wade 333 Comments

Al and Danny Kavadlo for Paul Wade

I’ve found that these days I keep getting asked the same questions over and over. Why did you get those lame tattoos? How come your face looks so much older than your body? Who are you, and what are you doing in the girls’ locker room?

That’s my personal life, but in my life as a coach I get a lot of repetitive questions too. Since I wrote C-MASS, here is a doozy that crops up over and over again:

How much muscle can I gain without steroids?

Yeah, you’ve heard it too, right? Well I can’t promise you that I can give you a concrete answer, but at my age I sure am getting good at rambling—so if you’ve got five minutes, stick around and listen to old Uncle Paul. There’s five bucks in it for you. (There’s not.)

Alright. Let’s start with a baseline. (I’m going to focus on the males here because, well, it’s only the males that seem to care about gaining maximum muscle—forgive me, my bodyweight bodybuilding sisters.) How much does the average untrained dude weigh? Modern stats tell us that the average American male these days weighs around 190 lbs. But modern stats are misleading, because we are interested in muscular bodyweight, right? And let’s face it, the modern generation is the fattest ever. Fat Albert, fat. So let’s go back to the sixties—before the obesity epidemic was in full swing. In that decade, stats tell us that he average male was a much sleeker 166 lbs. Now, this wasn’t a lean, steel-cut “six pack” Kavadlo-type athlete—just a regular, untrained not-fat dude. So let’s make this a pretty rough weight for “Mr. Average”—166 lbs.

Now, the Million Dollar Question: how much muscle could our Mr. Average gain, just through training and eating right?

The problem with answering this question in the modern era can be summed up in one word—drugs. Drugs have skewed Joe Public’s vision of what can be achieved by training, more than most people could even imagine. (More on that in a little bit.) So in order to look at what’s really achievable naturally, we need to go back to a time before steroids hit the training scene.

You might be surprised how far back that actually is. Most people probably associate the first true “steroid-era” with the seventies, and the larger than life physiques of men like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno, as seen in the movie Pumping Iron (which was based around the battle for the ’75 Mr. Olympia). In fact, similar (and in some cases, identical) compounds to those used by the seventies crew were already for sale in the US in the late fifties. The Soviets were experimenting with steroid-based drugs for Olympic lifters in the forties, which is no surprise because testosterone was first synthesized in the early thirties. If we go even further, natural testosterone—from animal cajones—was first being injected into humans as far back as the nineteenth century. (Hell—that’s before even I was born. I think.) So bodybuilding drugs ain’t new, kids.

As a good guideline though, we can say that—in America, at least—steroid-based PEDs were not being tested on weightlifters until the fifties. So if we go back to the forties, we should—probably, if not absolutely definitely—be able to find drug-free, natural bodybuilders at their peak. This, in turn, should maybe give us at least a clue how big and lean our Mr. Average could aspire to get, at a push.

So let’s look at arguably the best (and most muscular) bodybuilder from the forties: the guy the other lifters all called “the King of Bodybuilders”: Clarence “Clancy” Ross. Clancy was Mr. America 1945—the biggest bodybuilding title in the world back then. (The Mr. Olympia title wasn’t created by Joe Weider until 1965.) How big was he? He was about 5’10, with 17 inch arms, and he weighed in at 185 lbs pounds, soaking wet.

First things first—to many of you on the fitness scene now, this will seem like a ridiculously light weight for a “big” guy. Hell, lean bodybuilders nowadays sometimes hit the stage at close to 300 lbs! So as a result some of you may be thinking…185? At 5’10?! Did this guy even lift?

Uh, yes, He did. In fact, Clancy was a monster who outlifted 99% of modern bodybuilders: he could curl 200 lbs, bench 400 lbs, squat 500 lbs and—get this—perform a standing press of 320 lbs! (Good luck seeing that in a modern gym.) He was also a big fan of traditional calisthenics.

That 185 sure looked good on old Clancy. He had a six-pack like bricks on a building, pecs like huge slabs, muscular, separated quads, round, thick delts and loaded guns.

Bodybuilding King—Clarence Ross!
Bodybuilding King—Clarence Ross!

Actually, Clancy was undernourished and underweight for his frame when he started training. But if he had been the “average” male weighing 166, that would mean he put on close to 20 lbs of muscle as a result of his training and diet (actually probably more like 25-30 lbs, as Clancy was leaner than the average guy.) There were a tiny number of men in the forties who were bigger than Clancy—George Eiferman is an example—but there are always going to be taller guys or real genetic outliers who screw the curve. The fact remains that Clancy is a great example of what “big” is for a male of good health, average height, and normal-to-excellent genetics.

In reality, when guys ask me about how much muscle they can add, it’s obviously impossible to answer. You’d need to see into someone’s genes to know the answer—to also know their hormone levels, dietary habits and work ethic. But as a good rule of thumb, most men who are not underweight and are dedicated to their training and eat and rest adequately can gain 20-30 lbs of solid muscle via training alone. (Obviously you can dial up or down the numbers according to height.) Clancy is an extreme example—among the world’s best—but as you can see from his photo, 20-30 lbs of muscle on a fairly lean physique is enough to make you jacked as sh**. Hell, if you are lean enough, as little as ten pounds of muscle added to your frame will make you look like a buff dude. Toxic drugs are not required to look great.

At this point, a lot of younger guys will be shaking their head, and saying I’m just an ancient loser who’s setting the bar too low for athletes. (They’re right about the ancient loser part, sure.) I get emails all the time about this guy and that guy who does bodyweight-only on YouTube, and is built like a friggin’ Pershing tank. Many of them weigh 200 lbs with change, and are often sliced to the bone. These men are putting on 40 plus pounds of muscle using bodyweight training, their fans tell me. Well, sure they are. They are on steroids. Do you think you are only allowed to use bodybuilding drugs if you lift weights? Jesus, there’s steroids in all sports now. Hell, even the International Chess Federation started doping tests for steroids in 2003. (I’m not kidding. Look it up.)

Why are so many modern athletes lying about their natty status? A simple law of human behavior. Anything which gets rewarded happens more, and anything which gets punished happens less. There are lots of rewards for lying about drug use—more fans, more views, more sponsorship, more respect, etc.—and plenty of punishments for telling the truth—stigma, being banned from sports, jailtime, etc. Of course these guys lie: I don’t even blame them. The problem is though, it creates false expectations, particularly for the younger athletes. They think they suck, or their training sucks, because they don’t look like some juiced up balloon in six months. As a result, they either get despondent and quit training—and so lose a myriad of lifelong benefits—or figure it out and take the drugs, ruining their hormonal profiles and setting up a future health minefield along the way.

It’s understandable that so many people overestimate the amount of muscle that a natural athlete can put on, because drugs have skewed their view of reality beyond belief. To see just how much drugs have changed the picture, check out the biggest bodybuilders after drugs began to infiltrate the scene. Let’s take a look in time lapse, every twenty years:

  • The best bodybuilder in the world in 1945 (Clancy) weighed 185 lbs.
  • Twenty years later, the best bodybuilder—the 1965 Mr. Olympia, Larry Scott—weighed 200 lbs: heavier AND leaner than any Mr. America in the forties. (All this, and he was three inches shorter than Clancy!) What caused this huge jump? By now bodybuilders were using the oral steroid Dianabol and almost definitely injectable steroids like Deca-Durabolin, which was available from the late fifties. They were probably taking fairly light to moderate doses (by modern standards) and only using the drugs before competition, coming off them for long periods.
  • Twenty years later—it’s 1985 and the world’s greatest is Mr. Olympia, Lee Haney. At 5’11, Haney weighed in at a phenomenal 245 lbs. With paper-thin skin and dehydrated, Haney weighed about 70 lbs more than old Clancy! What caused this quantum leap? Maybe Haney was just more intense in the gym, or trained better? In fact, no—by all accounts, Clancy Ross could outlift Lee Haney on his best day: so it wasn’t the training. The real reason is that by now the top bodybuilders were using much larger doses of drugs, for much longer periods. They were also “stacking” multiple oral and injectable compounds, and beginning to use low doses of Human Growth Hormone (HGH)—which, at the time, was extracted from corpses, meaning that if the dead body had a disease, you got it too. (Oh, it made you a bit bigger than the competition, though.)
  • Fast forward another twenty years to 2005 and basically things have got ridiculous at the top level. Mr. Olympia now is Ronnie Coleman, and he’s stepping onstage weighing 290 lbs (!), ripped to bejesus, and looking something like a cross between a walking chemical toilet and a badly-drawn comic book. This guy weighed well over a hundred pounds more than poor little Clancy, while being only about an inch taller. What caused this latest “improvement”? Huge doses of the same old steroids, now stacked year round, plus much larger doses of more modern, synthetic growth hormone, along with widespread heavy use of insulin, which it turns out, is a another massively anabolic drug when applied in a certain protocol. Hell, guys are now literally shooting oil into their muscles just to keep the expansion happening.

This is the context modern students of bodybuilding have to enter—is it any wonder they have lost all sense of what’s real? Let’s get some reality back. Let’s look back to the old physiques—the guys under 190 lbs, with abs: look at Eugen Sandow (180 lbs), Clancy Ross (185 lbs), Roy Hilligenn (175 lbs). These men were pinnacles of strength AND health, and looked as big (and healthy) as any normal person could want.

Hilligenn: shorter and lighter than Clancy, but still a slayer.
Hilligenn: shorter and lighter than Clancy, but still a slayer.

One more common question, to finish. This muscle gain—20-30 lbs—can it be done using calisthenics? Or are weights required? My answer is: maximum muscle mass CAN absolutely be achieved with bodyweight-only training. External weights are not required. You only need to look at the current rash of calisthenics stars who are using the same kinds of drugs as the hardcore bodybuilders used back in the sixties (Dianabol, Deca, test). Guess what? They have the same types of upper-body measurements as the bodybuilders had then! This is because your muscle mass is not determined by your training stimulus, but by your hormonal profile.

I hear gym lifters tell me: yeah, bodyweight exercise might be good for the upper-body, but you can’t build huge legs with calisthenics alone. Again, this is something of a modern illusion. what folks don’t realize is that all these “huge” legs aren’t being built with barbells but drugs. Remember—it’s the steroids that make you big…the training is way down the list! Look at those huge, overgrown cows and bulls these days; they have huge hips and asses just like modern bodybuilders, but it’s not because they are going to some secret bovine gym. It’s because they are being shot with hormones—steroids and growth. In fact, some popular modern anabolic steroids (I’m lookin’ at you, trenbolone) are literally just the dissolved animal steroid pellets farmers give to livestock to make them bigger.

It ain’t the drugs, bro! It’s heavy squats!
It ain’t the drugs, bro! It’s heavy squats!

It’s a prevalent myth that you only grow if you take steroids and train hard. There are plenty of studies that show you will grow more than any hard-training natural athlete just by sitting on the couch, if you are loaded up with steroids. It’s your hormone levels that primarily cause growth: like I say, training is very secondary. Remember: these drugs are legitimately used for people with horrible injuries and wasting diseases, to add muscle mass…the patients aren’t lifting weights, but the drugs work anyway. Remember going through puberty? When over a year (or even a summer, in some cases) you went from being a scrawny boy to suddenly having some muscles? It happens whether you exercise or play video games. It was caused by a sudden surge of natural steroids.

Training heightens the effect of the drugs, but not nearly as much as most non-athletes think. Clancy Ross built 24 inch quads by doing squats with 500 lbs…meaning his LEGS in 1945 were the same size as Ronnie Coleman’s ARMS in 2005! I’m pretty sure Ronnie wasn’t doing 500 lb curls. Work your legs hard with squats, one-leg work, sprinting and jump training, and yes, they will reach their natural limit. But they won’t ever be 36 inches unless you’re also willing to inject your body every day to make them that way.

Okay, ramble over. Go back to work. And remember, brethren—all this is just my opinion, based on what I’ve seen. I’m not claiming to have the final answers on fat-free mass indexes or stuff like that. If you still have questions, I’d love to hear ‘em. Slap them in the comments below and I’ll answer. If you think I’m wrong, yell at the screen. Or, better yet, hit me up in the comments section and tell me where I’m screwing up.

I’ve got a pot of coffee on the stove, and I’m always ready to learn.

Filed Under: Motivation and Goals, Progressive Calisthenics Tagged With: bodyweight exercise, C-Mass, calisthenics, Convict Conditioning, Hypertrophy, muscle gain, muscle mass, natural muscle, Paul "Coach" Wade, Paul Wade

Pink Ribbons and Strong Women

October 18, 2016 By Benji Williford 4 Comments

exercise to help beat cancer

All too often, a person’s mindset toward training can be superficial. Most people who work out are focused on improving their physical appearance, or achieving a personal accomplishment.

So what happens when this mindset is turned on its ear, and you are instead faced with uncertainty due to extreme adversity? Do you become defined by a diagnosis? Do you shut down and give up?

October is breast cancer awareness month, and statistics show that 1 in 8 U.S. women will get diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in their lifetime. I personally can’t think of anything that signifies adversity more than receiving a cancer diagnosis.

Among many clients with many great stories, I’ve had the honor to train with three women that not only endured a breast cancer diagnosis and treatments, but did so with strength and poise. I met and started training with two of them post-treatment, while the third was diagnosed after she had already been training with me.

None of the three were defined by a diagnosis or allowed themselves to become victims. Instead, they each went on their own introspective journey to determine what was really important and find their purpose to persevere. Essentially, it came down to longevity and maintaining independence. Calisthenics training was at the top of the list to achieve these goals.

Why calisthenics? I decided to ask my three clients (Denise, Lori, and Ginny) for their thoughts on why they train.

Denise Mackey-Natz is a salon owner, wife, and mother:

Denise one-arm handstand

“I went through breast cancer and treatment July 3 – December 31, 2009. I had a lumpectomy and 8 rounds of chemo followed by 25 radiation treatments. It’s crazy to say, but that was the “easy” part for me because I always had an end date in mind to keep me focused. In February of 2010 I started tamoxifen for 5 years every day. This was the hardest part of my journey because the end date was so far away. In early spring a dear friend of mine convinced me to train with Benji. I truly believe that this saved me! My body was so weak. Regular visits with Benji have not only helped my body get stronger, but also my mind! And the friendships I have made throughout my workout journey will last forever. My husband and I even go one night a week together. It is our date night and we look forward to it every week!”

Lori Eklund Walsh is a therapist and mother:

Lori Raised pistol squat

“Throughout a variety of stressors and challenges the past few years, I have used my ability to maintain my workout routine as a benchmark for how well I am managing. In my mind, if I can’t get up and go to boot camp, I’m in trouble, need to take a serious look at what is going on, and make lifestyle adjustments accordingly. This was never truer than this past year after having been diagnosed with breast cancer. My goal was to not let the cancer and my treatment interfere with day-to-day life. Being able to continue my regular workout routine was paramount to maintaining my health and sanity. My Tuesday-Thursday workout group provided me with a supportive, encouraging, caring community that helped keep me motivated and grounded. People said I was an inspiration, but really, they were my inspiration. They told me I was beautiful when I showed up bald after losing my hair. They told me I was strong when I felt drained and weak. They laughed with me and cried with me, but most of all they welcomed me, accepted me, and just loved me.

I don’t have any scientific proof of the benefits of maintaining my activities at the level I did. But I firmly believe that the cross-body movements, balance, strength building, focus, and coordination applied from my calisthenics training helped keep me motivated, improved my mood, increased my stamina, minimized the size-effects from the treatments, and aided in memory and concentration. I was fortunate to have been in pretty good overall health at the time of my diagnosis, and even more fortunate to have been able to be with a group of people who were instrumental in helping me stay healthy during the course of my treatment. “

Lastly, Ginny is a widow, mother, grandmother, and all around bad-ass:

Ginny advanced rail push-ups

“I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, resulting in a mastectomy. After just returning from my checkup, I can report once again that I am still cancer free and in good physical shape. This did not happen by not being proactive. When first learning of my cancer, my doctor emphasized how very important it will be to maintain a regular exercise program, along with good nutrition, and weight control. Exercise has made a huge difference in my life. As my doctor said, it plays a big part in producing antioxidants in my body, which is so important. Daily exercise and good nutrition keep me mentally and physically healthy. This regimen is not just for those of us who have been diagnosed with cancer, but very important for everyone as a preventative measure.”

What drives you to train? I encourage you to look deep inside to identify your true purpose, and I hope it’s never due to the need to overcome extreme adversity.

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Benji Williford, PCC, RYT, CF-L1 is a Personal Fitness Trainer located out of Eau Claire, WI. Benji believes that, “A successful fitness program is based on positive dialogue between the mind and body.” He can be reached through his website: http://www.benjiwilliford.com/, or by email: Benji@ChainReaction-Fitness.com.

Filed Under: Motivation and Goals, Progressive Calisthenics Tagged With: Benji Williford, bodyweight exercise, calisthenics, cancer, cancer surviors, motivation, PCC, purpose of training, SCC, staying motivated

The Centerline Principle of Strength & Power

April 26, 2016 By Matt Schifferle 20 Comments

Matt Schifferle Centerline

I first learned about the magic of the centerline principle in martial arts. Everything from powerful kicks to dodging punches involved moving in relation to the center of my body as well as the center of my opponent.

As it turns out, the centerline is not only the key to powerful kicks but also developing strength and muscle when applied to progressive calisthenics.

Technically, your body has 3 center lines, one for each plane of movement. The scope of this post is focusing on the centerline that divides your right and left side along the sagittal plane.

Each plane has its own centerline. This article focuses on the frontal plane centerline.
Each plane has its own centerline. This article focuses on the sagittal plane centerline.

Focusing on your centerline is critical towards your strength and muscle building efforts. It opens the door towards developing more muscle control as well as improved performance. It also greatly reduces stress around your joints. Even your balance and agility will greatly improve by directing your muscle tension towards your centerline.

MattSchifferleMusculardiagramThe image to the right shows how the muscles are arranged to direct muscle tension inwards towards the centerline. Almost every muscle has at least a few muscle fibers that direct force inwards towards the spine. This is yet another reason to practice back bridge progressions, as they develop all of the muscles in this image. While the bridge is classically described as a move for the posterior chain, it is also one of the best techniques for developing tension towards the centerline.

Knowing about the centerline is good, but it’s even more important to know how to use it in practical application. Below are three lessons on how to apply the centerline principle in your training.

 

Lesson #1: Avoid the “splat”

The centerline principal works because it encourages the tension in your muscles to converge between the right and left halves of your body. This serves as a powerful transfer of physical energy up against gravity.

You can find evidence of this even in nature, as anything that has been pushed up against the force of gravity is the result of two converging forces. A common example is the Rocky Mountains here in my home state, which were formed through converging forces deep within the earth pushing upward.

Converging forces push mountains up against the pull of gravity, just as they lift you up as well.
Converging forces push mountains up against the pull of gravity, just as they lift you up as well.

On the contrary, an object that does not have converging force holding it together eventually flattens out. A quick example is dropping a snowball or a glass bottle against a concrete sidewalk. As gravity pulls against the object and it meets an unyielding surface, the matter of the object spreads outwards. This is what I call the “splat effect” and it can happen to your body anytime you are working against gravity.

Gravity causes objects to spread out against the ground or floor. In this push up, I have to use my chest muscles to keep my elbows from spreading outwards.
Gravity causes objects to spread out against the ground or floor. In this push up, I have to use my chest muscles to keep my elbows from spreading outwards.

Through directing your muscle tension towards your centerline you gain stability and muscle control so you can more effectively drive yourself up against the pull of gravity.

 

Lesson #2: Progressively apply force closer to your centerline

Many of the progressions in Convict Conditioning involve moving the hands and feet closer together. Close push-ups and squats are a great example of this. When you employ this style of progression you are putting force in a more direct perpendicular line against gravity. This brings you a host of benefits including greater flexibility, balance, muscle control plus more range of motion in the joints. It also forces you to be stronger since you are pushing your centerline in the most direct vector against gravity for the greatest distance possible.

Going narrow in grip or stance is a great way to make use of the centerline principle.
Going narrow in grip or stance is a great way to make use of the centerline principle.

It’s important to understand that simply pulling your hands or feet closer to your centerline is only part of the progression. You also want to pull your elbows and knees closer in as well. To a certain degree, you can even pull your shoulders and hips in slightly. I like to think of trying to make myself as narrow as possible. This helps me draw myself inward sort of like a guy sucking in his gut on the beach, only now I’m pulling myself in sideways as opposed to front to back.

 

MattSchifferleScrewLimbsInwardLesson #3: “Screw” your limbs inwards

Many of the muscles in the legs and arms “wrap” around your body’s bones and joints, sort of like stripes on a candy cane. Even muscles that look like they run straight up and down the limb have an origin and insertion point that is slightly offset from one another. The reason for this is to partially create inward torque along the limb as you move about. This inward torque is very important for creating that converging force within the body when doing unilateral movement such as throwing a ball or taking a step.

Screwing in your limbs is a little counter intuitive at first because your arms and legs torque in opposite directions to one another. Your right arm and left leg torque in clockwise while your left arm and right leg torque counterclockwise. It’s sort of confusing at first, so I just keep in mind that the knees and elbows both torque inwards. The knees torque in towards your centerline as they bend in front of you, while your elbows toque inwards as they bend behind you.

As the elbows torque in or out the tension in the back follows towards or away from the centerline.
As the elbows torque in or out the tension in the back follows towards or away from the centerline.

It’s important to note that torquing your legs inwards doesn’t mean your knees cave inwards. When your torque is applied there should be very little lateral movement in both the knees and the elbows. This is why I refer to applying limb torque as “locking up” the limb. It makes it stiff and stable just like twisting a towel makes it stiffer.

MattSchifferleTowel1

Lock it up! Applying torque on your legs or arms will make them more stable. Lock it up! Applying torque on your legs or arms will make them more stable.

If you can apply all three of these centerline lessons you’ll quickly discover more strength, stability, and power than you’ve had before. More importantly, your strength will become more functional and you’ll prevent joint stress that will erode your health and vitality. Just like any aspect of progressive calisthenics, using the centerline principle takes time and practice, so be patient with it. Also, look for opportunities to apply it even if it doesn’t impact the moving limbs. You’ll be amazed at how torquing in your arms can improve abdominal activation with hanging knee raises. Keeping your hands together is also a great way to make narrow and single leg squats more challenging.

Best of luck with your training and let me know if you have any questions down below in the comments!

***

Matt Schifferle a.k.a. The Fit Rebel made a switch to calisthenics training 5 years ago in an effort to rehab his weight lifting injuries. Since then he’s been on a personal quest to discover and teach the immense benefits of advanced body weight training. You can find some of his unique bodyweight training methods at RedDeltaProject.com and on his YouTube channel: RedDeltaProject.

Filed Under: Progressive Calisthenics, Tutorial Tagged With: bodyweight exercise, calisthenics strength, fitness, Martial Arts, Matt Schifferle, PCC, power, progressive calisthenics, strength, tutorial, workout

Building the Foundation for Spectacular Progress, Programming with the SCC

February 9, 2016 By Adrienne Harvey 22 Comments

Raised Push-up Adrienne Harvey

After reading an online article last week, I had a brief flashback from my early days of strength training—or what I thought was strength training. In the 80s, bodybuilding came into the popular consciousness (along with aerobics and some of the most regrettable workout wear ever) and took its seat as the basis for mainstream strength training. For decades, the general public (which included me in the late 1990s, early 2000s) didn’t know that we were trying to use the ideas of this physique-based sport-specific training to build strength and general health. Most of us thought that doing these moves would help us to get stronger, more in shape, and improve our health—and they did to a point. But like many others, I was often confused because my real-world strength had only mildly increased along with my improved body composition and heavier machine-based lifting.

Also unfortunately, being short meant that many of these “standard” machines just barely fit me. Come to think of it, I remember seeing people of all shapes and sizes fidgeting with the machines in vain attempts to make them “fit”. The other even more frustrating effect was that I felt clumsy, both in and outside the gym. I’d trip over my own feet and just generally felt disconnected… and didn’t know what to do about it. Maybe I just wasn’t a coordinated person?

Fortunately, I eventually learned that I just needed to change the way I was training.  And soon after, I noticed my pull-up numbers began to increase as I learned to use my whole body for the lift, not just my arms and upper body as I’d learned to with the bodybuilding approach. And while it was still good that I could even do pull-ups that way, I’d been stuck on the same 3-4 satisfactory reps for a very long time.

When Convict Conditioning was first published, I balked at the early steps, thinking I was somehow magically beyond them. I couldn’t have been more wrong! I needed to start from the beginning and fill in the missing pieces of my training. It was necessary to “get over myself” to realize the extreme value of those beginning steps—especially when building the strength foundation necessary for advanced moves down the line. There are no “hacks” or “shortcuts” that can take the place of a solid foundation.

With all of that being said, it is still difficult for people to know how and where to start with bodyweight training, even if they are experienced with weight training or even if they’ve been training with kettlebells. In Convict Conditioning as well as Al Kavadlo and Danny Kavadlo’s books there are suggested workouts, examples, and instructions on how to customize your own programs. Yet somehow many of us still struggle to know where to start, or how to program a lot of this almost too-simple-to-be-true training for our clients or groups.

In Convict, we’re told to simply work through the progressions, only moving ahead when the reps are comfortably met… not barely met. Over time, we learn not to cheat ourselves when rushing through the progressions. It’s the beginner’s mind concept… and it works! But how do we teach it to others in the context of a session?

The other so-called “problem” with bodyweight training often comes from the lack of restrictions and the fact that it really can be done anywhere. With so few “rules” it can be easy to feel lost instead of liberated at first. This is one of the many reasons I’m thrilled with the new one-day Strength Calisthenics Certification workshops. They teach precisely what you need from the beginning… and more importantly, how to teach it to others. At the first ever SCC in New York, even experienced trainers and exercise enthusiasts found themselves “filling in the gaps” of their training with these powerful basics and the philosophy behind them. We never really outgrow the “classics”.

Aussie Pullups How To

Many of us (and our clients) may first come to basic bodyweight exercises with some baggage and the feeling that we “already know what we’re doing.” We often find that our ideas might actually be stuck back in high school PE class, or from following along with an old exercise video! What a client may remember from PE might be fuzzy at best, and you may find out that they have a bad attitude towards the exercises because sub-standard form has been causing pain! As a trainer (even if you’re training yourself), you need to understand and communicate the value of starting back at the beginning.

The SCC has all the basic building blocks for your own training, and for training others. The 400+ page manual also includes a programming guide for all levels and for multiple goals (including of all things, bodybuilding!) The SCC guide will help you get the coordination-boosting, real-world-strength-boosting, foundation–building benefits for yourself and your client/students. While your creativity will still need to be applied, these ideas will help you create workouts with skill building and movement pattern improvement—along with strength and conditioning.

Below is an example of a workout heavily inspired by the SCC materials and which could be adapted for a variety of beginner-to-intermediate situations.

Start with a warm up. At the PCC and SCC, we teach to warm up with the earlier, and often earliest progressions for the various movements we’ll be training in a given session, I also like to apply this to the Trifecta movements from Convict Conditioning Vol2 (when you go to the SCC, you’ll notice that the bridge and midsection hold moves also appear in the SCC manual), and scale it in much the same way. Some people have been confused with the Trifecta and have tried to jump right in with the later steps, even if they have not yet worked up to them in their regular sessions. Short bridges, beginner seated twists and bent-leg raised holds are great “warm-up” versions of the bridge, twist, and l-sit specified in Paul Wade’s Trifecta… even if you’re advanced or working with advanced students, revisiting those early steps for the first few reps is a great warm-up and “check in” with the body on a given day. Remember, these are active movements requiring active tension for full benefits. The other function of this focused warm up is to get our minds ready to work. Even a loosely structured warm-up can focus our attention on the task at hand, while breaking us away from our minds chattering away about the experiences of the day. In my own training, I think I do warm-ups as much for my mind as for my body!

Shoulder Bridge

Trifecta “Warm-Up” Example:

  • Short bridge and 5-second holds for three reps
  • Raised or knuckle-based N-hold (5-10 second holds) for three reps
  • Straight leg hold or easy twist hold (5-10 second holds) for three reps

Repeat (with the same versions of the exercises, or if you have progressed in your training, you have the option to move up a step or two)*

The SCC-Inspired “Beginner” workout example below uses a blend of the approaches given in the programming guide, but the core of the ideas below were from the section for deconditioned exercisers. The original form of this workout was designed for a deconditioned client with a fair amount of retained strength. I’ve adapted it for a more general purpose, but please tailor it to your own situations.

Senior PCC Adrienne Harvey Self-Assisted Squat

Review the movement patterns of each exercise for a few reps before starting, this will allow you to take extra time to make any changes before starting the real work sets. You’ll soon know whether there will be an opportunity to move forward in this session or the need to revisit an earlier step. For this workout, we did just a few reps of the assisted squat (with vertical pole or partner), horizontal pulls (Aussie pull-ups, bodyweight rows), incline (hands raised) push-ups, leg raises from the floor. While this can be progressed to any more advanced level, the original intention of this 3x week workout was to build up a reasonably deconditioned person—it can also be a nice way to come back to working out after illness.

Here are the work sets (do two rounds):

  • Self-assisted squats, 10 reps
  • Aussie pull-ups, 10 reps
  • Incline push-ups, 10 reps
  • Leg raises from the floor, 10 reps

Following this section, some may wish to follow up with some basic conditioning exercises such as jumping rope for time, or a brisk walk home from the park.

Finally, I find that “cooling down” with the version of the Trifecta I described above can be not only a useful way to end the workout, but a way to assess how you feel about the work sets, and to note any improvements as well. It’s subtle, but this “cool down” can really be a big motivator to stay the course!

This is just one example adapted from the SCC programming section, and while most people who train others will agree that most of our clients will be deconditioned, general population people, the SCC programming can also ramp up to spectacular levels of difficulty and challenge.

I hope to see you at a future SCC or PCC workshop!

*Trifecta progression examples for the second round: wrestler’s bridge or full bridges, L-sit from the floor, full twist hold… but remember there’s no reason to rush forward.

 

****

Adrienne Harvey, Senior PCC Instructor, RKC-II, CK-FMS, has been RKC Certified since 2010, and RKC Level 2 certified since 2011. Kettlebell and bodyweight training have been crucial in Adrienne’s personal quest for fitness.  A core member of the PCC team, Adrienne loves sharing her knowledge with small groups and individuals. She also loves to develop recipes and workout programs to further support performance, body composition, and of course—FUN. Go to http://www.giryagirl.com for more information about Adrienne.

Filed Under: Progressive Calisthenics, Tutorial Tagged With: Adrienne Harvey, beginner workout, bodyweight exercise, calisthenics, how to write workout programs, PCC, program for beginner, program for deconditioned, progressive calisthenics, SCC, Strength Calisthenics Certification, Why SCC, workout

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