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Progressive Calisthenics - The Official Blog for the PCC Community

Convict Conditioning Vol 2

Partner Calisthenics: It’s Still Bodyweight Training!

June 28, 2016 By Al Kavadlo and Danny Kavadlo 13 Comments

Kavadlo Brothers Front Levers

We’ve often said that the possibilities are limitless when it comes to bodyweight training. Beyond all of the variations and combinations of calisthenics exercises that can keep one busy for a lifetime, the realm of partner bodyweight training opens up an entirely new avenue to explore. Though we recommend a solid foundation in bodyweight basics like push-ups, pull-ups and squats before attempting these moves, once you have established a baseline of strength and body awareness, you can have fun playing with these partner variants.

When performing coordinated bodyweight exercises in tandem with another human being, the proprioceptive challenges are increased, and you are forced to pay extra attention not only to your own movements, but those of your partner as well. The following exercises are all about communication and working as a team. Both parties must use their entire bodies in distinct ways to achieve success in this arena. Remember to switch roles with your partner when practicing these exercises, as each person’s role is different within each move and experiencing both sides of the equation will lead to a more well rounded training session.

So grab a friend and let’s get started! Hey hey hey – it’s still bodyweight training!

Human Flag and Human Flag Pole
This is the exercise that the Kavadlo brothers first became known for in the Dragon Door community. We appeared on the cover of Paul Wade’s Convict Conditioning 2 performing this feat which went on to become a signature exercise for us. The book also went on to become one of Dragon Door’s best-selling titles and has since been published in nearly a dozen languages. People all over the world have now seen this iconic image immortalized on that infamous cover.

German Convict Conditioning

The human flag is impressive enough when performed on a steel pole, but when it’s performed on another human being it is even more amazing!

At first glance, it’s easy to discern that the flagger has some extra work on his hands. Obviously, no one’s skin is completely taut, no matter how hard they train, so the flagger must constantly adjust his grip—and many other nuances—to the uncontrollable wavering of his partner’s skin.

The flagger must also be extremely conscious of where he places his hands. The lower hand should be placed close to the foot to maximize stability. If you put it too high, not only will you put yourself in a mechanically disadvantageous position, you may snap your partner’s shinbone!

The partner being flagged upon (the human flag pole) faces an enormous task as well. First of all, you’ve got to be as solid as a rock—both physically and in your mental focus—for someone to flag off of you. Secondly, be prepared to subtly lean away from the flagger as they lift their feet off the ground to get into position. Failure to counter the flagger’s weight will result in both of you toppling over. Extend your free arm to help strike a balance.

Reverse Human Flag and Human Flag Pole
Though still a challenging move in its own right, this “foot flag” variant can be more suited to intermediate level practitioners than the previous incarnation. Unlike the original human flag and human flag pole combination that put us Kavadlos on the map, which is harder than it looks, this variant is actually less difficult than it may appear.

Kavadlo Brothers Partner Calisthenics

Begin by having the person who will be the “pole” stand with feet together and knees partially bent. The flagger will then proceed to hold their partner’s hand(s) for stability as they step one foot up on top to their partner’s thighs. (Try to keep your feet low down on your partner’s thighs and close to the knees for a more solid foundation.) From there, the flagger will carefully slide their opposite foot behind their partner’s head (the partner can use his or her hand to help) and begin extending the body outward, while actively flexing that foot toward the partner’s neck for stability. When both people are ready, you may slowly begin to release the hands.

As with the previous variation, the person acting as the pole must lean in the opposite direction of the flagger in order to provide a counterbalance. It is important that the partner lean back from the hip and extend from the back, rather than solely at the knees, to provide the right leverage for this balance.

Partner Shoulder Stand
For those of you who feel that the previous exercises may be too advanced, the partner shoulder stand can be a slightly less intimidating place to start.

Begin on your back, with both arms in the air above your shoulders. Lift your feet with your knees bent to around 90 degrees, then have your partner stand below you and grab the tops of your shins. From there, they will lower their upper traps/shoulders into your hands and begin shifting their weight forward off of their feet. Keeping your elbows locked, press away from your chest like you are locking out a push-up as your partner shifts their weight entirely into your hands. The person on top should aim to get their hips in the air above their shoulders, eventually lifting themselves into a full inversion, supported only on the knees and hands of the other person.

Partner Shoulder Stand

Biceps Curl Front Lever
This is the feat that we can be seen performing on the cover of our new ebook Street Workout. While the standard front lever is already a difficult bodyweight challenge in its own right, performing it while hanging from the arm of another human being can pose an additional challenge.

First and foremost, the person acting as the base must keep a solid footing. From there, bend at the biceps of the arm to be levered upon until your forearm is parallel to the ground. Be prepared to keep complete body tension all over, particularly in this arm, as it will be supporting the entire weight of your partner.

At this point, the person performing the front lever needs to grip said forearm with all the strength he or she can muster. A mixed grip (overhand/underhand combo) is recommended to combat the elasticity of the skin. As is the case with the aforementioned Human Flag and Human Flag Pole, a bar is much more rigid than the epidermis. Now both partners need to maintain tension in the arms, abs, legs, glutes and shoulders as the party performing the front lever moves into position, keeping their arms locked out at the elbow and body parallel to the ground, while maintaining a straight line from shoulders to hips to feet.

It’s very common for people to inadvertently fold at the hips when attempting the front lever. Do your best to avoid this pitfall by looking at your toes to make sure you are maintaining a straight line from shoulders to heels. Smiles and scowls optional.

Street Workout eBook

These exercises are just the tip of the iceberg. Watch the video below for more!

Filed Under: Progressive Calisthenics, Tutorial Tagged With: Al Kavadlo, calisthenics, Convict Conditioning Vol 2, Danny Kavadlo, Kavadlo brothers, partner calisthenics, partner exercises, partner training, progressive calisthenics, street workout

Calisthenics Grip Training

July 22, 2014 By Corey Howard 31 Comments

Handshake

I’ll never forget Gary. It’s not that Gary was such an amazing person, in fact he was quite bland. Imagine shaking hands with someone’s limp lifeless, overcooked soggy noodle hand. That was what made him disappointingly unforgettable. We’ve all met someone like that, and it creeps most people out. Shake my hand like you mean it!

On the other side of the spectrum is Rich. Rich has been crowned the World Arm Wrestling Champ many times. After introducing him to my father, my dad said, “that was like sticking your hand into a bunch of bananas! I wasn’t sure I was getting my arm back!” Your handshake says a lot about you. Grip strength says even more.

Al Kavadlo Human Flag
Grip strength is an essential part of many advanced calisthenics exercises, such as the infamous human flag, demonstrated here by PCC Lead Instructor Al Kavadlo.

How can a strong grip help?  First, your grip is the linkage between your body and whatever it is you’re trying to control.  If you’re trying to put heavy objects overhead, a crushing grip can actually tighten the linkage in your shoulder and give you a safer press.  If you’re a calisthenic ninja, killer grip can keep you on the bar for more pull-ups or help your handstands as you grip the ground and drive upward.  But how on earth can you develop card tearing grip strength using only calisthenics?  According to Paul Wade in Convict Conditioning II, finger tip push-ups and towel hangs are all you need.  From my own experience, he’s right!

Finger tip push-ups are simple; just do a push-up on your finger tips!  Well, there’s a bit more to it than that.  This one killer exercise strengthens the entire hand from the fingers up through the forearms.  It’s easy to let your ego get in front of you with this one, so be sure to progress slowly and cautiously. I recommend starting these as incline push-ups.  This enables you to keep your technique spot-on and stay injury free.

Fingertip Setup Hand Position
Make sure you set your hand up with your fingers locked and spread.

It’s important to make sure you set your hand up with your fingers locked and spread.  Try and create a tall wide support structure with your fingers.  Ideally you want your fingers to look like they are flowing right up into your arm, there should be no odd bends or strains.

As you make progress with these just keep moving closer to the floor, and once you’re able to do 8-10 quality fingertip push-ups, try one arm push-ups, or 3 finger push-ups.

AlKavadlo Three Finger Incline Pushup
PCC Lead Instructor Al Kavadlo demonstrates a 3-finger incline one arm push-up, unofficially known as the “Heavy Metal” push-up.

Towel hangs can start out easy, then progress to a battle of will between your body and your mind.  These work amazingly well for developing grip endurance as well as thick muscled forearms.

Again I strongly suggest starting out with a grip training drill you can do fairly well and slowly progress to the harder stuff like one arm hangs, thicker towel hangs, longer hangs, or even pull-ups or leg raises with a towel.  I would also encourage you to pull the shoulders down away from your ears while you hang.  This tightens up the shoulder complex and creates more stability.  Once you can hang for about a minute I’d suggest you bump it up a bit.  Remember, everything can be made more challenging with simple calisthenics tweaks.

Corey Howard Towel Hangs for Grip Strength
I love to use towel hangs for developing my grip!

I caution you about pushing too hard and trying to progress too fast.  Sometimes you can overwork these smaller muscles and not even know it until you have a painful case of tennis elbow.  Remember for most people, grip is the smallest link in the chain.  The last thing you want to do is allow your brain and larger muscles to overpower your grip work and cause an injury.

Grip training can be tricky but the rewards are huge! I can tell you from my own experience, Paul Wade’s combo rocks!  After doing these two movements fairly consistently I’ve had to add a link in my watch, and can no longer slip my wedding ring off for any pull-up work.  My forearms, wrists and fingers have thickened up a bit.  If you increase the size of the motor, most of the time you increase the output as well…. More grip strength!  More pull-ups!  Fire it up!!

***

About Corey Howard, PCC, RKC, CK-FMS: Corey Howard strives to constantly become stronger, and to help others to achieve their fitness goals. He is the owner of Results Personal Training, and can be reached at www.resultsptonline.com or www.coreyhoward.com.

Filed Under: Progressive Calisthenics, Tutorial Tagged With: bodyweight exercise, Convict Conditioning, Convict Conditioning Vol 2, Corey Howard, grip strength, grip training

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