Matt Schifferle

There is nothing like a strong pair of legs.

You can keep your strong core, wide shoulders and massive arms. My experience has taught me that all of the strength and conditioning in the world is practically worthless without a strong set of legs.

But hold the phone, strong muscles alone won’t build strong legs. True strength for the field, court or mountain requires much more than a lot of horsepower in the engine. In order to fully unleash your lower body strength you must also possess the following:

– Balance and control

Strong muscles without balance and control is like putting a massive engine in a car with bald tires and worn out brakes. Either you’ll never use all of that power or you’ll end up crashing. Control ensures you can use all of the power you have and use it in the most effective way.

– Flexibility

For every muscle you contract there is one that must lengthen. When the muscles are tight and resist lengthening you’re literally fighting your own tension. Becoming even a little more flexible ensures that you’ll have less resistance holding you back in everything you do.

– Strength and stamina in supporting muscles

When it comes to leg strength, we tend to focus on the bigger muscles in the legs like the quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves. These are important for sure, but what about some of the smaller and more subtle muscle groups like the ones in the feet and hips? While not the biggest or most powerful lower body muscles, weakness in these smaller muscles can greatly handicap the bigger muscles.

Calisthenics is a very effective way to condition all three of these characteristics. It’s impossible to even attempt moves like lunges and single leg squats without developing balance, flexibility and strength in the supporting muscles.

That being said, it doesn’t hurt to further develop those weak links in the lower body chain. Doing so can make your weakest link so strong that your entire body can reach new levels of performance.

The following video showcases an exercise which is great at developing your balance, flexibility and strength.

This exercise does wonders at unlocking some of the lower body strength that’s been dormant in your lower body. Just running through this routine a few times before each leg workout will leave your legs and hips feeling brand new within a few weeks. It’s also a great cool down afterward to refocus your mind.

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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 www.RedDeltaProject.com.

It’s a pleasant Sunday morning at the gym and my friend is looking at me like I’ve turned into the Mad Hatter. Someone on the treadmill asks from behind me,“What are you on and how do I get some?”

I’ve just finished a set of pull ups and I’m jumping around the gym like a man possessed. I’m smiling ear to ear and in a state of near euphoria.

“Calisthenics” I answer the guy on the treadmill. “It’s a good trip you should get on it.”

I’ve done all manner of exercise from bike racing to weight lifting over the years but nothing makes me feel as alive as calisthenics. The reason can be summed up in just two words:

Body awareness.

At the PCC, the term body awareness was thrown around quite a bit. Some were crediting it for the reason why the strength of calisthenics transferred so well to sports and activities. Others gave body awareness credit for the power to push themselves beyond perceived limits. But while all that stuff is great, I believe it’s the power to deeply enjoy an exercise that makes heightened body awareness so rewarding.

As a trainer I’ve noticed a relationship between how much a client is aware of their body and how much negativity or enjoyment they experience from it.

In the case of a negative relationship, individuals often regard their body as an opposing force. They relate to their physique as something that must be tamed and (heaven forbid) punished into submission. This often creates an inner conflict through which they have little hope of winning. As I always say, you simply cannot fight yourself and win.

On the other hand, if someone has a heightened sense of body awareness they tend to foster far less negativity about their body and how it operates. In some cases, they even find the work pleasurable. They understand that the burning muscle and labored breathing isn’t their body punishing them, but rather those are the sensations of applying their own strength and discipline through the power of their mind. They feel strength surging through their body rather than struggle.

Calisthenics is unique in the fact that body awareness and appreciation is required to do the exercises. It’s very difficult to even attempt some of the moves without a high level of physical awareness.

For some folks, the requirement of awareness is scary and intimidating. They can’t distract their attention with a TV or smartphone. For others, like myself, the focus allows us to savor the rich sensations that can saturate our exercise experience.

In either case, turning the attention inward and savoring the sensations of an exercise can be a deeply enjoyable experience. So much so, that it can even make someone who once greatly disliked exercise to jump for joy while doing it.

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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 www.RedDeltaProject.com.

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