goals

Europe’s Most Wanted

October 21, 2014 By Al Kavadlo and Danny Kavadlo 33 Comments

Danny Al Ferris Wheel Europe PCC Workshops

This October has been a groundbreaking month for the Progressive Calisthenics Certification. For the first time ever, two PCC workshops took place on consecutive weekends, both overseas – and both a rollicking success! The PCC family continues to grow and grow. The passion for calisthenics transcends intercontinental boundaries.

First, we conducted our inaugural workshop in The Netherlands at Trainingscentrum Helena in Haarlem, Holland. Hosted by the #1 Krav Maga instructor in the world (outside of Israel), Martijn Bos, our premiere event in The Netherlands resulted in new calisthenics achievements from each and every attendee!

Support Press Holland PCC

Human flags, muscle-ups and elbow levers were all fair game for participants, as were handstands, archer pull-ups and back levers. Every single person who came to PCC Holland achieved at least one personal best. It’s an exciting experience to witness firsthand the birth of such excellence!

Europe PCC Muscle-Up

Knowledge was shared, friendships were formed and new PCC instructors now walk among us. The solidarity and kinship among the newest members of the PCC family is a heartwarming thing to behold. As usual, it was hard to say goodbye at the end of the whirlwind weekend!

PCC Group Photo Holland 2014

There was little time to relish in the success, however, as we soon headed over to Sweden to conduct our second PCC event in Gothenburg. The momentum of groundbreaking achievements that began in Holland didn’t slow down one bit once we arrived in the land of the midnight sun. Positivity breeds positivity, and the Sweden crew proved it. Some of the most recognizable faces from the international street workout team Barstarzz even showed up to earn their Progressive Calisthenics Certifications!

PCC Sweden 2014 Barstarzz

The fierce calisthenics vikings of Gothenburg continued in the tradition of previous PCC classes by smashing personal bests, inspiring one another and having a blast the whole time! We love our job!

PCC Sweden L-Sit on Danny and Al

Now that we are back in the States, it’s hard to believe how quickly it all went; time flies when you’re having fun! The good news is, we get to do it all over again next month! PCC wraps up the 2014 season with a return to the good ol’ USA. Our final event of the year will take place at Drench Fitness in Milwaukee, WI on November 7-9. Spots are still open for this event. Go sign up right now!

And for our European fans, do not fret! You will have three opportunities to attend the PCC next spring when we come to Germany, Italy and Ireland on three consecutive weekends!

No matter where we go, spreading the joy of calisthenics is fresh and exciting every time! We can’t wait to see YOU at our next event!

PCC Group Photo Sweden 2014

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About Al and Danny Kavadlo:

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

Danny Kavadlo is one of the world’s most established and respected personal trainers. He is a Master Instructor of Progressive Calisthenics and the author of Everybody Needs Training: Proven Success Secrets for the Professional Fitness Trainer. A true in-person experience, Danny is known globally as a motivator and leader in the body-weight community. Learn more about Danny at: www.DannyTheTrainer.com.

Goals, Goals, Goals

January 28, 2014 By Steven Low 12 Comments

Almost everyone I’ve talked to knows the importance of incorporating training goals to improve your performance. Basically, training goals allow you to build a routine around them that is specific to them.

For example, if you’re training for the planche, then you typically want to be working on planche isometrics as well as some other type of pushup motion – such as one arm pushups, pseudo planche pushups, or another similar motion such as dips to supplement your strength gains. You would make sure that your sets have at least 2-3 minutes rest between them (if not a bit more) to ensure muscle recovery. You would also ensure that you would have 3 or more sets of an exercise to ensure sufficient volume for building strength. Finally, you would attempt to progress on exercises as much as possible each week to make sure that you’re not stagnating.

Likewise, if you were working on gaining pure hypertrophy you’d want to have a mix of repetition ranges between about 5 and 12. You’d want to have about 30 seconds to about 2.5 minutes rest between sets. You’d want to make sure you’re mixing compound exercises and isolation exercises together in some sort of bodyweight and weights hybrid routine.

Each of these types of routines have specific goals, and from the goals – if you know what the literature says on training information – you can accurately build a routine towards your goals. That was the main thrust of my book Overcoming Gravity. To help trainees learn to build routines towards their goals in the area of bodyweight training.

Now, I didn’t talk as much about goals for other physical activities, which is the purpose of this article. From what I have observed most people do not understand that they even need to do this, much less have the information they need to know on HOW to do it. So let’s talk about some examples.

If you sprain your ankle or hurt your back lifting something, what would the common layperson do?

What would a doctor tell you to do?

If you guessed RICE – rest, ice, compression, and elevation – for the ankle, and muscle relaxers and rest for the back you’d be correct. However, these methods actually prolong your recovery from injury. This is what most people don’t understand, but it makes sense to them when you explain it.

For instance, if you went to a physical therapist after spraining your ankle or injuring your back would you choose to not do anything they told you to? Of course not. A physical therapist would typically work on the injured area to figure out if there are any potential imbalances or other issues that need to be rehabilitated. They would give you non-painful range of motion exercises with concurrent stability exercises, and they may use modalities for pain. They would also give you a home exercise program that you would be doing all of the other 5-6 days with exercises that you would need to do at least 1-2 times a day (if not more) when you’re not in therapy.

This happens across the board with any type of injury – even catastrophic injuries such as knee replacements, rotator cuff surgeries, or ligament repairs, or any other type of major surgery. Early mobilization, muscle activation, and stabilization exercises are the key to better outcomes.

So if you get injured, the best thing to do is never pure rest. There is always something you can be doing to rehabilitate it. In a lot of these cases, a common layperson or even an experienced trainee may need to see a professional to get specific injury advice. This is what I would recommend if an injury has not significantly healed within about 1-2 weeks with non-painful mobility, stability work, and other types of early rehabilitation.

No one wants to be injured for 1-2+ months and have no clue on how to make it better. Don’t do this to yourself if you’re injured! The goal behind an injured part of the body is to restore the stability and range of motion, manage the pain well, then move into more specific rehabilitation. This goal underlies all of the recommendations above.

Now, this information is good, but let me get into some of the more applicable information for everyone else.

For example, let’s take someone with a tight back from a previous back injury – from say, 6 months ago. Or even a tight back from just having one come on from hard training. Or how about a tight shoulder or elbow tendonitis that comes on after training hard?

What is the typical recommendation for these types of situations that aren’t exactly injuries but require some amount of prehabilitation?

The common thread with these types (that is echoed across Facebook, other social media, common training articles, forums including Reddit, CrossFit, Performance Menu, American Parkour, and other various forums I visit) is that you need to do soft tissue work. Most of this includes some sort of massage, foal roller, lacrosse ball, or other implement that helps to loosen the area.

I’m going to suggest to you that this is incomplete information. Why is this information incomplete?

The body has nociceptors in place to tell you if you are putting an area at risk of injury which will signify pain to your brain. Likewise, it has mechanoreceptors and other sensory feedback that will tell the body if an area is unstable or potentially at risk for injury.

What does a body do when there’s pain or instability? It tightens up the muscles in an attempt to protect the area from further damage. This is why all of the muscles around an injured ankle get stiff and tight.

What does it do if there’s potentially an overuse injury developing? It tights up the muscles again to protect the area, and signals to the brain a nagging type of pain or discomfort.

You see, many people use soft tissue work to loosen up the tight muscles that comes with previously injured areas or areas that are starting to develop overuse injuries, but they don’t do anything afterward to follow it up. This is why foam rolling without any follow-up is incomplete.

Most people’s goals are to get back to training, usually for optimal performance. Foam rolling in this case is definitely incomplete and does not get you back to the goal. Why? Because people have to continue foam rolling week after week if the back does not get less tight or improve measurably.

This is where you see your progress stagnating. If you’re beating your head against the wall not making progress then you need to change something up. As Einstein said, the definition of insanity is…

Let me give you an example of what someone would do if they have a tight lower back, especially from a previous injury.

So if you went into physical therapy, the physical therapist would likely work on your back to loosen up the tight muscles because they are not conducive to good movement. However, this soft tissue work would be followed up with muscle activation exercises, especially if there was a lot of previous pain.

Typically, these would include exercises specific for the tranverseus abdominus muscle because when there’s pain, the timing of the body’s activation of the muscle for core stability is thrown off. Then this training would be followed up with specific isolation exercises which would develop into compound exercises. This approach works for the majority of back related injuries.

So if you have a tight back, foam rolling is generally OK as long as there is no pain and it loosens up the area. But if that’s all you do for it then it’s incomplete. You will likely have to foam roll it indefinitely before and after every training session.

If you do foam roll or use other soft tissue work you should be following it up with exercises for prehabilitation. TVA activation is pretty specific, but a lot of the pilates and yoga poses emphasize keeping the core tight while doing leg lifts, bird dogs, hip bridges, and other exercises that work pretty well. Following this up with one of the best exercises for trunk stability, the reverse hyperextension, is typically right on the money. Performing reverse hyperextensions in a slow and controlled manner works most of the back muscles in an eccentric pattern which helps them to fire and turn on in the correct pattern again.

In conclusion, if you take nothing else away from this article, take these:

Everything you do for training should have a goal.

If you are doing prehabilitation work, it should be with the expectation that the area you’re working on is improving either in performance or getting better. If it’s not, then there’s something you’re missing.

Likewise, your warm up should have a specific goal. Your flexibility training should have a specific goal. Your skill training should have a specific goal. Your sleep you should have a specific goal. Even your nutrition should have a specific goal.

You should be looking to optimize and improve all facets of your training. And to do that you need goals. And you need to modify aspects of your training or your life to align with your goals.

Don’t keep beating your head against the wall with no results.

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About Steve: Steven Low, Senior PCC and author of Overcoming Gravity: A Systematic Approach to Gymnastics and Bodyweight Strength, is a former competitive gymnast who, in recent years, has been heavily involved in the gymnastics performance troupe, Gymkana. With his degree from the University of Maryland College Park in Biochemistry, Steven has spent thousands of hours independently researching the scientific foundations of health, fitness and nutrition. Currently Steven is pursuing a doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Maryland Baltimore which provides him with insights into practical care for common injuries. His training is varied and intense with a focus on gymnastics, parkour, rock climbing, and sprinting. He currently resides in his home state of Maryland. His website is http://eatmoveimprove.com.

The Week of a Thousand Push-ups

December 10, 2013 By Danny Kavadlo 23 Comments

As 2013 winds down and I reflect on the days and months behind me, I find that it’s impossible for me to go a moment without mentally celebrating the launch of the Progressive Calisthenics Certification. From the United States to Sweden (and soon to Australia, Ireland and more), the energy and talent that fills these rooms is simply magnificent. It is almost becoming a common occurrence to witness amazing feats, such as a first ever muscle-up, back lever, or pistol squat. As mind-boggling as that seems, these spectacular displays of strength, balance, and sheer training ethic are becoming what could almost be considered “normal.”

But it isn’t. Not to most.

The truth is that in the world of commercial fitness, these feats are about as far out as it comes. With machines comprised of shining stacks on sliding tracks have become the standard, our simplicity is bold like a ruby in a pile of rocks. We stand proud, defiantly deviating from product-based workouts encouraged by the man. Given the tightness of the calisthenics community, it is sometimes easy to forget how far we fall from the mainstream. We’re not looking for 7-minute abs and 21 day transformations. We seek something more. We are on the outskirts of physical culture, the edge of the norm. Dammit, we are the freaks and geeks of fitness!

So, what does that have to do with the Week of a Thousand Push-ups? Well, quite a bit. Even though the noble push-up is one of the most popular—and best—upper body exercise of all time, like the room full of Personal Records at the PCC events, the thought of doing nothing but a thousand push-ups for a week would blow most people’s minds. But that is exactly what my personal training client Mike did recently. As you know by now, we are definitely not “most people.”

Mike’s Story

Mike was going out of town for a week and planned on continuing his training even though we would not be meeting. We have trained twice a week for years and he is serious. On this particular business trip, his time was limited and he was going to be without a gym, bicycle, or pull-up bar. Although my personal clients know better than to make excuses, they are sometimes uncertain of what to do without me. I am often asked some version of “what should I do while I’m out of town?”, to which I generally reply: “Keep it basic–squat, push-up, pull-up.”

But this time Mike already had an idea in mind… and it was more basic and brilliant than I could have imagined!

“The week of a thousand push-ups,” he said.

The way it came out of his mouth, I thought it was a movie title: Simple. Concise. Even catchy.

Mike had it figured like this. There are seven days in the week, therefor an average of over 143 per day would put him at a numeric advantage. He intended to keep his plan as simple as possible, doing his first set to failure every day, then doing recurring sets throughout the day until he surpassed his daily goal 143.

Though it’s nice to start with a plan, like many activities in life, it’s often best to improvise. As I would have done under the same circumstances, Mike changed his intended plan throughout the week. Some days, he did indeed go til failure on his first set; others, he did multiple sets of twenty or thirty throughout the day. There were days of over 300 push-ups before noon. There were also days where he barely met his goal. There are many ways to skin a cat.

Needless, to say, my man Big Mike wound up doing way over the thousand push-ups he planned on! (The next time I saw him, we trained legs.)

Keepin’ It Real

Prior to his week of a thousand push-ups, Mike informed me that to “keep an even playing field’” he would be doing only push-ups of the classic variety—feet together, two handed, no incline. He explained that this method would eliminate the temptation to switch to easier variations if his goal of 1,000 proved too challenging. I respect his decision. The classic push-up is honest, strong and true. It’s a classic for a reason.

However, there’s also something to be said mixing it up, in push-ups and life.

Mix-Master Mania

Any one who truly knows me is well aware of my passion for the push-up in all of its wonderful forms. From the fragility of knee push-ups, to the muscular methods of plyos, to me, every single type of push-up has an art and beauty intrinsic to it that makes it stand on its own.

We already discussed some training techniques and methods (Divide evenly, go until failure, multiple daily sets), but what about different kinds of push-ups?

Although some push-up varieties are more challenging than others, it can be fun to do a thousand push-ups of several variations. Have fun and be creative. Mix it up! Here are just a few of my favorites:

The narrow grip push-up, shown here, places more emphasis on the arms.

The wide push-up is also a great variation and is a precursor to archer push-up.

Doing push-ups on your fists places a unique challenge on your hands, and extends the range of motion of your push-ups.

Get creative. Employing inclines is an excellent way to step up your game. Combine this method with different grips (like fingertips) for an added challenge. Have fun with it. The sky’s the limit!

As with the Week of a Thousand Push-ups, Mike and I have continued to keep our training exciting and, of course, effective. That’s what it’s all about. As is often the case, the client inspired me!

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When You Want to Succeed—Cut to the Essentials and Put Forth Supreme Effort

November 12, 2013 By John Du Cane, CEO and founder, Dragon Door 22 Comments

John Du Cane does his best to cut to the essentials and put forth a supreme effort, be it in Dragon Door business or his own health practices.

Michelangelo commented that sculpting his perfect statue was a matter of chipping away the extraneous stone until the perfect form revealed itself. He also commented that if people had any idea how hard he worked, they wouldn’t marvel so much at the results of his labor. And herein lie two of the secrets to great success in any endeavor: hone your skill at cutting to the essentials—and put forth an unremitting, focused, supreme effort.

As athletes, we are in the business of cultivating ourselves as ongoing works of art. We are physical culturists, dealing with one of the most malleable and frustratingly entropic materials imaginable: our own bodies. Nothing degrades like human flesh left to its own devices. Nothing falters and falls apart like a directionless, undisciplined spirit. The winds of impermanence are constantly blowing against the sand paintings we create of ourselves. Faced with such vulnerability and uncertainty, we continue to cultivate ourselves with pride and diligence, celebrating the transient beauty of our beings—or we disgrace ourselves and degrade into decrepitude.

Two entropic forces contribute to our decline—rather than our glory—as human works of art: Lack of focus and laziness. The road to lack of focus is paved with the baubles of variety. Laziness is a crisis of the spirit, best overcome by the inspiration of hero-figures and the connection to a group of mentors and motivating fellow-seekers.

Variety is a double-edged sword. We need variety to entertain us and to explore potentially rewarding new methods. Yet variety is the Great Distracter, pretending there’s a magic secret over the horizon, whose capture will finally reward us with success. When the real secret to progress is and always has been the diligent application of a few core, essential practices.

PCC Lead Instructor Al Kavadlo is a hard-working practitioner of the essentials and a role model for the dedicated cultivation of the body as an ongoing work of art.

In many types of physical cultivation, success can be measured. You document heavier lifts for more reps. You run faster, you punch harder. You reduce body fat percentages. You increase muscle size. You pass physical tests, you enter competitions. You keep a log book (right now, I have set strength goals for myself with kettlebell practice—and a daily log has made a huge difference to my progress.)

For many other types of physical culture—like my own personal practice of Qigong and Tai Chi—progress and success is extremely hard to measure. How do you measure movement skill or internal energy levels? Not easily! Much of the measurement here stems from your own internal monitoring and gauging of your well-being. Cutting down to the essentials and committing to a daily, dedicated practice becomes all the more crucial.

How are you doing these days with your personal physical cultivation? How is the artwork coming along? What could you discard or do differently from now on, to progress as a fine piece of ongoing art?

Live and Learn

July 2, 2013 By Jack Arnow 8 Comments

Jack Arnow performs a one arm chin-up at the age of 66

In high school I won a race by pushing myself past my limits. I just wouldn’t listen to my body. I threw up as I crossed the finish line, and was sick for the next 2 days. When I found chinning, I’d do reps until my muscles locked and began to spasm. I was a small, skinny, asthmatic kid who was overcompensating. I’d get injured often. I was poor and worked out in my apartment, schoolyards and parks. Back then I had no name for what I did, but “bodyweight training” probably described it best.

A friend brought me to a vacant lot in Brooklyn where Jasper Benincasa had put up a chinning bar. Lots of kids would work out on it and play stick ball or touch football in the adjacent streets. I became a regular, stopping by almost every day on my way home from school. It changed my life!

Now, more than fifty five years later I still workout almost everyday, primarily for the wonderful physical and emotional feelings that the workouts produce, but I also like the respect and attention that I get from young folks. And today’s wisdom is that it’s good for my health too!

Injuries, including elbow tendinitis and rotator cuff problems have long been my nemesis. Mindlessness and overtraining have been their root cause. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.

Focus on your day to day training, not just the high of achieving your goals. Future results are never a certainty, so enjoy the journey.

If your training ever becomes a chore, be creative and try new things. As I approached 50 years of age, training to regain a one-arm chin, I became desperate. Worrying that aging was causing my muscles to atrophy, I over-trained, despite the signals my body was giving me. Although I did regain the one-arm chin, I lost it again. Experiment on yourself to see what works for you, but always approach new routines cautiously and slowly in order to minimize the possibility of injury. I say minimize the possibility of injury, because you will make mistakes. All humans make mistakes. Another reason that injuries occur is that your body changes all the time. What worked today may not work tomorrow. You are a work in progress.

If you are feeling really good because you are advancing quickly towards your goals, that is a time for extreme caution. That’s when you may be likely to push it just a bit too hard and get injured. If you are upset that you are not advancing fast enough, or have reached a plateau, that’s another time to be careful. Perhaps it’s not a time to increase intensity or volume, but try something new. At all times listen to your body. Each day may be different. After one set, or one rep, or in the middle of one movement, stop if something feels wrong. Make training plans, but alter those plans if necessary. If you are uncertain how to proceed, stop to use your brain, the most important asset you have. Considering an alternative may prevent injury.

I last did a one-arm chin about 5 years ago, because I realized they were getting harder for me to do. I felt happy and smart to stop them before I became injured. I had taken up yoga, planned to get certified as a yoga teacher and wanted to continue to give massage. I did not want to risk my ability to do these things. The memorial for chinning legend Jasper Benincasa in March 2012 inspired me to try to regain a one-arm chin. I’ve advised many others how to train for a one-arm chin. I came to the conclusion that I should just listen to my own advice! I’ll be 71 in a few months and am enjoying my training immensely. It’s two steps forward and one step back. I’ve learned not to set time goals. Setting a goal such as “I will get a one-arm chin by January 1” is a terrible idea. Putting a time limit on reaching your goal may lead to making bad day to day decisions. You may focus on “getting there,” rather than listening to your body moment by moment. That will increase your likelihood of injury.

If you’re feeling weak one day, listen to your body and do less or even rest entirely. Keep in mind that you are a many-sided being, and all things affect how you feel, affect your mood, affect your strength and affect your ability to focus and recover. If you had to work overtime and are tired, if you had an argument with a friend, partner, or family member, if the weather is rainy and cold, if you are stressed out or many other factors can reduce your strength. It may even be more efficient to resolve non-training issues before continuing.

It has become clearer to me that my training and goals have long been one-sided and imbalanced. I reached very high levels in chinning (pulling) and front levers, but neglected legs, pushing and flexibility. I thank Paul Wade, and Al and Danny Kavadlo for my new insights, because I believe a more balanced approach will reduce injury. After doing half handstand push-ups at home this morning, I went to a neighborhood park in Brooklyn and attempted muscle-ups, assisted bridges and skin-the-cat. I couldn’t do a muscle up or skin-the-cat when I met Al and Danny recently, but I made them my goals. Today, a teenager in the park was impressed with my muscle-up, but I still can’t do skin-the-cat. Nevertheless, I taught the teenager to do one.

Whether you made a training mistake or not, accept injuries as part of training and being physically active. Don’t beat yourself up. Try to see the positive aspects. You may rest the injured area, and develop coordination and strength in new areas. Getting the injury can be a wake-up call to improve your technique or change another aspect of your training which will prevent further setbacks. An injury may temporarily (or perhaps even permanently) reduce your strength or ability. Although you should feel proud that you reached some of your goals, never forget that you are much more than your achievements. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that no-one will love or admire you because you can’t do them right now. Most of my friends, but especially my dear wife, think I’m nuts to spend “so much time” exercising. They love me anyway. They appreciate the many things I’ve learned from a lifetime of training: the value of determination, discipline, hard work, enthusiasm, passion and confidence. It’s relatively easier to be joyful when things are going great, but when you are injured or facing other difficult circumstances, continue to let your little light shine.

I believe you have the ability to become your own life and training guru. Learn from trainers and others with experience, read books, and be open to new ideas wherever you find them, but fundamentally no one has the capacity to know yourself as well as you do. Make it your responsibility to become your own guru. For bodyweight training, volume and intensity are very important. Too much and you will get injured. Too little and you may not reach your goals. And the particulars change often. After all is said and done, you are the best one to make that call. Review your growing experience, and try to apply insights often. People are similar but also different. Learn what works for you. Don’t think what works for you, works for others, and vice versa. If some things I wrote in this article don’t work for you, disregard them. That is natural.

Should you be able to internalize even one idea that improves your training or makes you happier, I will feel this article was a success.

(Video Courtesy of www.alkavadlo.com)

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Thoughts on Mobility and Flexibility Training

May 14, 2013 By Steven Low 5 Comments

One of the questions people looking to get into gymnastics or bodyweight strength training ask me is, “How much mobility or flexibility do I need in [insert body part here].”

To which I invariably reply, “It depends.”

The reason it depends is because each individual has his or her own goals that they are working towards.

First, let me define how I differentiate between mobility and flexibility:

Mobility generally refers to active movement within your given range of motion.

Flexibility generally refers to the passive movement of the joints towards the end range of motion with the goal to increase the total range.

The demands of a recreational gymnast are different from the professional athlete which are different from the serious strength trainee. And even these depend on one’s goals and level of commitment.

For example, in most athletics where you need speed, such as sprinting, football, basketball, or other sports, increasing hamstring mobility and flexibility beyond a certain point starts to decrease performance. In particular, the hamstrings need to be tight enough that the stretch-shorten cycle can activate, which helps to conserve muscular energy and provide the rubber band rebound effect that increases overall speed. If you give a sprinter the mobility and flexibility to easily move into splits like a gymnast, it will manifest as a decrease in performance.

On the other hand, if you are a martial arts practitioner you definitely need a large amount of flexibility, perhaps even full splits if vertical kicks are an important part of the specific martial arts. The mobility and flexibility demands of the particular sport and the techniques they employ matter a lot for how much mobility and flexibility training you need.

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Photo from: threetwoonego.files.wordpress.com

For your average recreational athlete looking to “get healthy” and perhaps develop some cool bodyweight strength movements, they may not need anymore hamstring flexibility than what is required to do a good bodyweight squat or pistol.

Alternatively, a specific gymnastics/bodyweight technique like the straight arm press to handstand may require significant hamstring flexibility to where you can do a full straddle or pike stretch where your chest can go to the floor.

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photo from: drillsandskills.com

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photo from: http://woman.thenest.com/

These different scenarios illustrate some of the conflicting nature of how much mobility and flexibility are needed to work towards certain goals.

If you are a sprinter or need great top-end speed for athletics but also want to work towards the splits or the straddle stretch for the straight arm press handstand, you need to be aware that these goals are at odds with each other. There will be trade-offs in your ability to sprint fast if you develop your flexibility beyond a certain point. If this is fine with you, then by all means do it. But the trade-offs are there whether you’re aware of them or not.

The shoulder in particular has the greatest range of motion of any joint in the body. A move like a German hang or skin the cat is good for increasing shoulder flexibility and getting the muscles and joints comfortable in an awkward position. It is also great for stretching and preparing for the back lever, which is one of the primary bodyweight isometric positions.

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Photo from gymnasticswod.com

If your goal isn’t to work towards manna, then it’s unlikely that you’ll ever need this type of mobility and flexibility in the shoulders.

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Photo from tumblr.com

However, the benefit of being able to move freely through a larger range of motion cannot be lost on the upper body. Unlike the lower body, where the muscles need to be tight enough to sprint effectively because of the stretch-shorten cycle, it’s very unlikely to do similar plyometric type movements with the upper body. So increasing the flexibility of the shoulders tends not to be a trade-off between various goals.

The main reason I train movements through a full range of motion over isometric or static positions is that it is better at developing strength. One of the key points within that is to become comfortable with your overall total mobility.

For example, if I was a random recreational athlete who wanted to be able to develop the back lever and many of the other gymnastics isometric positions, then becoming comfortable in a skin the cat / German hang is going to be useful. It helps you figure out how to apply force in and out of that position as well as become aware of what muscles are working when and where.

The same would be true of a squat. How can you become totally proficient with squatting if you never spend time at the bottom of the squat but only in moving through it?

This type of movement is delving into the realms between mobility and flexibility training. Maybe I don’t want to increase my shoulder hyper-extension anymore than I already have. Therefore, with the German hang, I use it as a general mobility exercise in the warm up. I can go from inverted hang down into the German hang and then pull back out. This allows me to develop the coordination, body awareness, and specific muscle activation that I need much like with moving into and out of the bottom position of the squat.

Once you have the flexibility you need, you just need to maintain it. You don’t have to spend additional time at the bottom of the position in order to stretch it out further.

So to answer the question “how much mobility or flexibility do you need?” you will have to specifically look at all of your goals and determine it from there.

If your ultimate goal is a manna then you will want to start developing the shoulder flexibility for it right away. You need the passive flexibility before you can start to apply active strength into the position. This is the two step process that should guide you through what you want to work towards.

If your goal is to be able to vertical kick for martial arts then first you have to be able to have the flexibility to do the splits. Thus, you develop your splits so as to improve your ability to actively use your legs to kick higher.

A sprinter may have all of the flexibility he needs to squat well already, while a desk job worker may need more flexibility in the calves, hamstrings, and hips in order to get down into the hole.

You need to specifically look at your body and your end goal and have a plan to bridge that gap.

Look at your goals and your current abilities

See the trade-offs, if any, and make adjustments

Train the flexibility, if needed

Then maintain with mobility work and apply active strength work

If you don’t really need more flexibility in certain joints, then you have no reason to train for it.

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About Steven Low: Steven Low, author of Overcoming Gravity: A Systematic Approach to Gymnastics and Bodyweight Strength, is a former competitive gymnast who, in recent years, has been heavily involved in the gymnastics performance troupe, Gymkana. With his degree from the University of Maryland College Park in Biochemistry, Steven has spent thousands of hours independently researching the scientific foundations of health, fitness and nutrition. Currently Steven is pursuing a doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Maryland Baltimore which provides him with insights into practical care for common injuries. His training is varied and intense with a focus on gymnastics, parkour, rock climbing, and sprinting. He currently resides in his home state of Maryland. His website is http://eatmoveimprove.com.

Reaping the Rewards of Patient Practice—Steady Progress and Injury Prevention

April 23, 2013 By Adrienne Harvey 21 Comments

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While many people have broken free of the “more is always better” idea in their bodyweight or calisthenics training, it still seems like there’s a tendency towards endless reps when it isn’t always necessary. That’s something I love about the approach to bodyweight training in Convict Conditioning, especially in the advanced progressions. I’m in maintenance mode right now (not trying to make significant changes in body composition), and am still able to acquire a lot of skill and strength with surprisingly low reps of near maximal-effort bodyweight and kettlebell drills.

Most of the time, there’s an element of spontaneity with my workouts—adapting them to the energy of the day, and making the most of it, even if that means it’s time to take a break. Also, I’ll use the time after a few days of rest to test my progress on a given move, or to establish a baseline for something I want to continue to learn. These “workouts” are often more like play. Primal Move has been a big influence on my programming—or lack thereof. My goals any more seem to be focused on the strict execution of certain moves or lifts—to the point that being able to do them on any given day in a variety of circumstances. I want to do incredible things and make it look easy, and that will only comes with patient practice.

At around 14 or 15 years old, I was in band class and remember seeing some of my good friends first learning to play the trumpet. They were trying their best, but they were making some terrible sounds. That same year, my family and I went to New Orleans and I saw a street jazz musician playing a trumpet with such ease that the trumpet might as well have been an extension of himself. He seemed to make the trumpet express whatever he wanted, however he wanted. Meanwhile back at home, my friends clumsily continued to mash what they hoped were the right combination of keys while struggling to maintain their breathing and embrasure.

Every move my friends were making was a conscious effort in this early part of their learning and obviously, a lot more practice was in order. The practiced ease and confidence of a professional musician, acrobat, or other performer is something that I greatly admire. The accomplished street performer who consistently delivers amid constantly changing and chaotic conditions demands equal admiration.

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The three stages of motor learning—cognitive, associative, and autonomous certainly apply to our training. In the cognitive stage every part of the movement or skill someone is learning is very conscious, right foot here, left foot there, etc. Sometimes people go through a mental checklist in this stage, every (remembered) detail is a conscious effort. In bodyweight exercise, during the cognitive stage we are also beginning to gain the necessary strength, along with figuring out where all our “parts” need to go! The first few times I tried to do a clutch flag I had to check and make sure my hands were facing the right directions on the pole, really think about which parts were on which side, what was stacked, where was the weight going, what needed to be tensed to the max. Now I can walk up to an appropriate parking pole and casually just pop up into a clutch flag because I’m well past the cognitive stage. Now that I’m learning the press flag, or “human flag,” I’m having to once again learn which hand goes where on the pole, where I’m facing… The process has started all over again—and that’s before getting to the strength components. (By the way the progressions for the clutch flag and press flag in Convict Conditioning 2 are just fantastic.) From the previous paragraph, my teenage friends were still in the cognitive stage, and the jazz musician in New Orleans was fully autonomous.

Generally speaking, when our form on a move gets sloppy, we are not learning, and our body and minds are in a self-protective mode. In most cases, this will lead to decreased performance with a greater risk of injury. Its so important especially with bodyweight exercise to remember that some of the moves can be near-maximal exercises. Without a barbell loaded up and bending in the middle, or a giant kettlebell to remind us, it can be easy to forget that we’re near our max—for muscles and the central nervous system. Keeping reps low, and staying fresh by taking necessary breaks (or supersetting non-related exercises) has been absolutely central to my own success. Just doing a few near maximal lifts or intense short sets throughout the day can be amazingly effective. It’s like making a small deposit in a savings account, which over time—and often more quickly than expected—really starts to add up. It helps to be dedicated, and it really helps to be a little stubborn!

Something I’ve been asked a number of times by people interested in bodyweight training is, “What do you do about injuries?” It sounds like a smart aleck answer, so I always try to phrase it politely, but what I really want to say in those situations is, “I just try not to have them in the first place, by stopping before it gets ugly.”

As a general rule, if I finally accomplish a goal exercise (a dead hang bar muscle-up is a good example), depending on how it felt, I might just stop right there and take a break. Regardless of where you are in terms of strength or skill, pushing a maximal move to exhaustion usually leads to some unpleasant consequences. I don’t want a potential injury or the lost training time that comes with it. An extra rep or two isn’t worth the risk. Besides, with a lifestyle which includes leading workshops, local classes, plus my own training, I simply can’t afford to take injury risks. Pretty sure your lifestyle doesn’t have room for needless injury either. I think, part of the learning curve with skillful exercise involves learning your own limits, and safely expanding those limits over time.

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About Adrienne Harvey, RKCII, CK-FMS, Primal Move Nat’l Instructor: I started studying kettlebell training over three years ago and became RKC Certified in October of 2010, and became an RKC Level 2 Instructor in July 10th of 2011. Kettlebell and bodyweight training have been absolutely crucial in my personal quest for fitness, and I love sharing these ultra-effective modalities with small groups and individuals. Similarly, developing recipes to further support performance, body composition, and general enjoyment is another passion. Go to http://www.giryagirl.com/ for more information about Adrienne!