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Progressive Calisthenics - The Official Blog for the PCC Community

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Workout Tips for Busy Professionals

April 5, 2016 By Brad Sadler 23 Comments

Brad Sadl and wife, Laura train calisthenics together
“Hey Honey, let’s quit!”

That’s what I said to my wife today about two minutes into the workout we were doing together.

She looked at me incredulously and said, “No!”

Well, back to push-ups, pull-ups and squats for me.

Once we finished the workout, I was glad I’d chosen to train with my wife. Usually, I’m the one to push her, but today I needed some encouragement.

Let me back up just a bit. I love to workout. It’s one of the biggest pleasures in my life. Not only do I love to workout–but I love bodyweight workouts. I love all kinds of push-ups, pull-ups, muscle-ups and levers. Sometimes I wish I could make working out my entire life–but already I have a career that I love.

I’m a physician–a psychiatrist. A busy psychiatrist. I run an inpatient service and I recently started an outpatient practice as well. I am on call every 3rd week for 7 days straight. It’s a lot of work. There are nights I don’t get any sleep. Sometimes that makes it hard to stick to my training. Thankfully I’ve found a few ways to help keep myself in check.

Here’s how I’ve been able to do it:  

Plan your workout schedule to correspond with your workload: I know that I’m on call every 3 weeks. That call is 24/7 and it lasts 7 days. Ugh! That week that I’m on call it’s REALLY hard to workout. By the end of the week, I’m dog tired and getting in my workouts is almost impossible.  Instead of giving up completely, I now treat that week as a deload week. I plan to work out really hard the first two weeks. I do the majority of my strength work, longer workouts, more intense workouts those two weeks and I rest more and do shorter workouts during the call week. I also don’t expect myself to perform as well when I’m on call so I don’t beat myself up if I’m not where I want to be. You can do it too. Have an upcoming project at your job or a busy season? How about a cyclical business? Plan your workouts accordingly.

Let others motivate you: Sure it’s great to work out alone. I do enjoy that. Typically, I can design my own workouts, I can motivate myself to do them at a fairly high intensity, and I enjoy the solitude of listening to my favorite music (heavy metal and gangsta rap) while getting it in.  Sometimes though–when things are busy I can’t quiet that nagging part of my mind–the part that tells me I’m too tired to do this. The part that asks, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a chocolate sundae and watch TV?” This is why I work out with my wife. We motivate each other. It’s good to have her there right with me. Other days, I leave the house and go to the gym.  I get motivated by working out with my friends.  There’s something that brings out the best in you if there’s a bit of friendly competition in your workouts.

Animal motivation: I love dogs. I have 4 of them. I have VERY active dogs. My dogs need walks. They need play time. On days when I’m too tired for an intense workout, I take them for long walks. Sometimes I even take them for a run. If you have a pet, they need exercise too, so you’re helping them and you’re helping you!

Brad Sadl, PCC, with his Dogs
Learn a sport: Every Friday evening, I go to the local gymnastics gym for a private session with my awesome gymnastics coach. There’s nothing like paying an instructor, coach or fitness professional to motivate you. There are plenty of times I feel tired on the drive over–but once I’m there I’m happy and engaged with the learning process and I always leave feeling happy I went.  Starting to learn gymnastics at the age of 40 was a humbling experience as well. I’m the oldest person in the gym by sometimes 30+ years and the young gymnasts are amazing. Sometimes, I just stop and watch. I’m astounded by what the young gymnasts can do. Watching them encourages me to push myself to get better.

Eat well: I’ll admit it, this one is kinda hard. When I’m really busy with work and I’m not sleeping well, I crave sugar. I crave chocolate. I have a hard time saying no to sweets and processed foods when I’m stressed. I know this about myself. I justify eating a cookie or having a couple glasses of wine at night because I’m tired. I worked hard, I deserve it. Sound familiar?  I know I’m not the only one. I noticed that after leaving my old job and starting my new practice, I was eating worse. I was gaining a little weight, and I wasn’t feeling as motivated. I recently doubled down on my eating. I haven’t been allowing myself to give in to the thought, “I deserve this.” I also have a trip to Cancun coming up that motivated me to get back on track with eating. I feel better, my workouts are better, and my energy is better. Not only that–my abs are back and that keeps me happy! A lot of people find temporary motivation in an upcoming trip, a wedding, the summer. The trick is, I think, to keep coming up with motivating ideas. Once you’re married–don’t become complacent. Once you’re back from your trip or once the summer ends don’t stop all the positive changes you made. Keep coming up with reasons to eat better and pretty soon it will become habit and habit is harder to change.

Take a day off:  What? Isn’t this supposed to be about motivation to work out? Yes. Yes, it is.  Sometimes, the best thing I’ve ever done for myself is to take a day off or even two. Come back refreshed. Come back when all your muscles are rested. I promise, you won’t lose all your gains in two days. In fact, once you’ve rested your overworked muscles and your mind–you will come back stronger than ever. I’ve had some of my best PR’s after 2-4 days of rest. If work has been killing you–don’t go and kill yourself even more in the gym. The body can only handle so much stress. If you’re in overdrive all the time–something is going to go wrong.

Have fun: Workouts don’t have to be stressful. They don’t have to be long. They don’t have to leave you gasping for air. I know there’s something you’re good at.  Everyone has something they can do well, even if it’s simply walking. Indulge it once a week. Indulge it briefly every day. Anytime you’re moving that’s good. There will be time for working on weaknesses, getting stronger, and building muscle, but some days you just need motivation. You need the spark that’s going to get you going. Go ahead and do it if you love it.  Even if you did it yesterday or this morning or 5 minutes ago. Something is ALWAYS better than nothing.

Sign up for the PCC: Making the commitment to take the PCC was one of the best things I ever did to enhance my training motivation. Once I was signed up, I knew there was no backing out. I also knew that if I wanted to make the most of the weekend, I would need to practice my calisthenics regularly in the months leading up to the event. When PCC weekend came around, I was able to try new things and learn new skills because I had built a proper foundation.

I hope this list helps inspire you to find ways around your busy schedule. Even if you don’t do it exactly how I do it–I’d love to hear the ways you motivate yourself when life throws you that curve ball!

Brad Sadl at the PCC with Al Kavadlo

****

Brad Sadler, MD, MS, PCC is a full-time psychiatrist and avid fitness enthusiast. He loves spending time with his family, and practicing calisthenics.

Filed Under: Motivation and Goals, Progressive Calisthenics Tagged With: Brad Sadler, calisthenics, motivation, partner workouts, PCC, progressive calisthenics, staying motivated, workout partners, workout strategies

Perfecting The Hanging Knee Raise

March 22, 2016 By Al Kavadlo 21 Comments

Al Kavadlo Hanging Knee RaiseI get a lot of questions from potential PCC candidates about our Century Test. It’s understandable that folks want to be prepared for the testing that comes at the end of the PCC weekend, and it’s often the same questions that come up:

Am I allowed to come off the bar during the pull-ups?

Am I allowed to rest in a “down dog” position during the push-ups?

Can I bribe the instructors in order to pass?

Do I really have to go all the way down on all 40 squats?!?

Hardly anyone asks about the hanging knee raises. And this is precisely the problem. (For the record, the answers to the other 4 questions are NO, NO, NO and YES.)

Though far more people have failed the Century during the pull-ups than during the hanging knee raises, I believe that many of those who couldn’t complete their pull-ups had trouble at least in part due to the knee raises having taken more effort than they anticipated. If you’re struggling by your tenth hanging knee raise, it does not bode well for the rest of the test, even if you manage to hang on long enough to finish the 20 required reps. This is why perfecting your hanging knee raise is a key part of training for the Century. It’s a great strategy to make sure you have gas left in the tank to complete the test, and the extra time spent hanging from the bar can only help your pull-up game in the long run.

PCC_UK-Stephen-Hughes-Landers-HangingKneeRaise2The first few times I taught the PCC workshop I was surprised by how many people could not perform a proper hanging knee raise upon entering. At this point, it no longer surprises me, but it still sometimes amazes me when otherwise solid candidates struggle with this exercise. It’s not the hardest move in the world, but it does take some practice. Particularly in the context of the Century, performing 20 clean reps in a row is a more difficult task than many expect it to be, yet it seems like lots of folks show up for the PCC having never even attempted more than a single rep. People either underestimate the hanging knee raise, or they’re too focused on all the pull-ups to even notice this relatively modest exercise.

As such, many PCC candidates end up getting “no-repped” on a lot of their hanging knee raises due to poor technique, which wastes both time and energy. If you wind up getting no-repped 6 or 7 times during the hanging knee raises, not only does that leave less time to rest before your pull-ups, it can also zap your strength and vitality.

If you want all of your reps to count, the biggest thing to watch out for is excessive swinging. This is especially true during the lowering phase of the movement. Though a slight degree of wavering may be unavoidable, anything more than that is unacceptable.

In order to facilitate a controlled descent, think about pointing your toes and reaching your feet slightly forward in the bottom position, almost like a gymnastic “hollow body” hold. This will help you avoid picking up excessive momentum. Also make sure to maintain tension in your abs, and don’t let your legs swing behind your body at the bottom of the rep.

Al Kavadlo Hanging Knee RaiseFocus on raising your knees with control as well. Avoid moving too quickly and aim to pause briefly at the top of each repetition to make sure that you remain steady.

Furthermore, it’s crucial to make sure you have a solid grip. Squeeze the bar tightly, keep your elbows locked, and actively pull your shoulder blades down and back to minimize any swinging.

Though range of motion is less often a concern on this exercise than the others that comprise the Century test, it is essential that your knees are raised above hip height for a rep to count. Focus on tilting your hips and pelvis forward at the top of each rep in order to fully engage your abs and ensure that your knees come up high enough.

It’s great to understand all of those concepts theoretically, but it’s another thing to actually put in the time to get a feel for the exercise physically. The key to perfecting your hanging knee raise is very simple: lots of practice. Do them before your pull-ups to warm up or do them afterwards to burn out. Just make sure you do them before you come to PCC.

***

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 five 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.

Filed Under: Progressive Calisthenics, Tutorial Tagged With: abdominal training, abs, Al Kavadlo, Century Test, Hanging knee raises, hanging leg raises, HKR, HLR, PCC, PCC Workshop, progressive calisthenics, The Century Test

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

CALISTHENICS: 20/16 20 Exercise Tactics and 16 Programming Approaches to Keep the Dream Alive (Part Two)

January 12, 2016 By Paul "Coach" Wade 147 Comments

LeadImageAlDannyPhoto1

Apparently one of the movie sensations of 2015 was Fifty Shades of Grey—a flick about the pleasure you can get from absorbing punishment. Well, I didn’t see that pile of crap myself, but I can see we have plenty of dedicated masochists in the house today…you came back after reading Part One. Good for you!

This article ain’t about making that mythical “new start” for the New Year—new starts are easy as pie. It’s keeping going that’s hard, good buddy. With that in mind, the first part of this article was about new training techniques and approaches to keep things fresh. This second half is about finding some new programming approaches to help you express freedom and creativity in your training. You’re not meant to use ALL the stuff I present to you here—just take it as the ramblings of a crazy mind. Who knows? Hopefully by the end of this article, you’ll have some fun new toys to whip out when you feel the urge.

Enough smut. Let’s go!

#1. MASTER THE SQUARE OF PROGRAMMING

I’m a big believer that athletes should develop their own programs—teach a man to fish, and all that jive, huh? With this in mind, I want to expose you to a useful bit of PCC theory we use to help coaches and trainers visualize the basics of programming.

There are four basic variables of any program:

  1. Mode is what you do;
  2. Volume is how much you do;
  3. Intensity is how hard you do it; and
  4. Frequency is how often you do it.

Imagine these four as axes on a square—the “corners” of the square being maximum (highest reps, intensity, volume, and the peak complexity/skill of the mode—e.g., compare kneeling pushups with high-skill hand-balancing):

Diagram1_image2

Now, in theory, any workout you care to imagine will make a pattern on this square. By visualizing different patterns, you’ll be able to understand all these four variables’ roles in a program. For example:

a. Injury rehabilitation

This requires lots of volume, lots of frequency, and low intensity, over very easy-skill exercises. So the square pattern might look like this:

Diagram2_image3

b. Skill training

Learning complex bodyweight skills—such as an elbow lever—also requires lots of practice (volume and frequency). But you should keep fresh, which means lower intensity. So the square pattern will look more like this:

Diagram3_image4

c. Hypertrophy training

The muscles need plenty of rest (low frequency) but moderate volume if they’re going to grow. You need fairly basic exercises, and you need to work them hard (intensity):

Diagram4_image5

d. Strength training

Sets are moderate to high, reps are low—making the total volume somewhere in the middle. Intensity is high, exercises are big and basic:

Diagram5_image6

What’s that? You disagree with the data pictures in the squares? Perfect! The beauty of this approach is that you can tailor your own squares. What line graphs are to understanding and displaying economics, the square of programming is to understanding and illustrating programming theory. Think of it as a shorthand. Look at your personal goals, then see where your own workouts fall in the square.

Neat, huh?

#2. UNDERSTAND YOUR REPS!

One of the biggest favors you can do in programming your training is to understand the role that reps play. It sounds obvious, but if you want to get strong, you are going to do it more efficiently with sets consisting of low repetitions. If you want muscle growth (hypertrophy) you need more reps. For a mix of strength and size, you need somewhere in the middle. For rehab purposes—you need higher reps still

Enough jawing—a picture is worth a thousand words. Memorize this chart, then eat it.

Chart1_image7

Yep, you’ll find these type of charts differ slightly. But you’re reading my article, so I guess you want my opinion on the matter. Just for you, brown eyes—in black and white.

AlKavadloPlayingNinjaChina-001

#3. NINJA PCC STRENGTH TACTICS

I’m often asked the best way to train for strength—not mass, just strength. In the PCC Instructor’s Manual we put out eight tactics which should be considered the foundation of all strength training—honestly, I can’t put it better than I did there, so I’m going to share them with you here:

  1. Keep strength work brief and focused. Strength and volume are mutually exclusive. Focus on low reps, and take plenty of rest in between sets when strength training.
  1. Warm up. The nervous system can take time to “wake up” and generate maximum strength output. Gradually increase the difficulty of your work sets (without burn-out) during a training session to tap into your full strength potential.
  1. Brace yourself. The idea of “bracing” when the body is needs to exert or absorb force (the two are the same) is an ancient one. Prior to your technique—whether static or dynamic—deliberately flex all your muscles, and keep them tense as you train. This would comprise an excessive energy drain during a higher volume set (e.g., a hypertrophy set), but when applied during low-rep pure strength training it works well.
  1. Grip/root. Generating tension in the hands during training increases upper-body power by amplifying nerve branches running through the torso to the arms and hands. Powerlifters have used this technique for decades, gripping the bar hard during deadlifts and bench presses. Grip the bar as strongly as possible during bar work, and focus hard on “gripping” the floor with your fingers during pushups. When your feet contact the floor (e.g., squats), employ the same tactic with the feet, by generating static torque in the legs, calves and feet, and bracing the lower legs. This is called “rooting”.

RaisedPushUp_image8

  1. Inhale to improve leverage. Breathing in a big lungful of air prior to a positive movement can increase strength on many techniques. When the lungs are full, pressure inside the trunk increases, making the torso more “solid” as a leverage base.
  1. Utilize controlled exhalations. Learn to “hiss” as you exhale during negative movements. This will dramatically tighten the trunk muscles and core. Controlled exhalations can increase force production during a punch or a kick; this is why boxers and martial artists seem to hiss when they strike powerfully.
  1. Find your psych. High levels of strength are associated with hormones like epinephrine, which can be produced by emotional arousal. You are unlikely to see a strength record broken by a relaxed athlete—learn how to apply controlled aggression.
  1. Employ plyo. Explosive movements (jumps, clapping pushups/pullups) force the body to rapidly recruit huge numbers of motor units, amplifying neural facilitation. Performed before work sets, plyo temporarily raises the baseline of strength.

Expensive manuals of strength have been based around these eight simple techniques, which can double a novice’s strength in a matter of months if applied consistently. You’re welcome.

 

#4. 1-10-1

This is a very traditional approach to bodyweight training that’s about as old as the dinosaurs. It got popular again in the 70’s and 80’s when Arnold S. (yeah, that Arnold S.) discussed it in several training articles.

It’s a beaut for getting a lot of training under your belt on the basics like pushups, squats and pullups. Just pick an exercise you can do for over ten reps and hit it like this:

Set # Reps: Set # Reps:
1 1 11 9
2 2 12 8
3 3 13 7
4 4 14 6
5 5 15 5
6 6 16 4
7 7 17 3
8 8 18 2
9 9 19 1
10 10

Gupsidedown_image9

It’s a basic pyramid, allowing you to get 100 reps in total over 19 sets. Training this way has a lot of pluses: it’s high volume, and allows you to build in a lot of reps into your program without getting too fatigued; it also works great as its own warm-up. Sure, this is not the program for you if you’re on the hardcore edge of your training—trying to eke out another rep on a tough exercise, or master a new step—but it’s an excellent device to help you build on the basics. And who doesn’t need more of the basics? The basics are like exercise candy, baby!

 

#5. TIMED WORKOUTS—THE PRESSURE VALVE

I feel sorry for modern trainees for a lot of reasons. The prevalence of steroids and dumb expectations is one reason. The utterly mental obsession with programming is another.

I’ve been called a throwback and a Neanderthal for my programming ideas: or, to be fair, my LACK of ideas! When I started training we generally picked up a few bodyweight exercises from watching others do them, then we did them. We trained hard as we could, increased our reps and got stronger. We didn’t really talk much about programming.

Folks today are obsessed with programming. Maybe it’s the internet—I dunno. But they talk about rep ranges, cycling, periodization, percentages…Jeez, if training had been like this when I started, I might not have bothered. I wouldn’t have understood that shit!

I hear from a lot of guys in a similar position. They want to train hard—they are aching for it—but their routine is getting them down. They find it boring, constraining, being stuck in a workout rut: but they’ve expended so much time and energy working on the “perfect” program, they feel constrained to follow it.

My solution: for a few weeks, throw your program in the garbage. Seriously. Replace it with a stopwatch, and do this:

  • Set yourself a fifteen-minute period every other day for training.
  • Try to give yourself access to a bar, a basketball, and the floor.
  • Do NOT plan your workouts hours ahead of time!!
  • Take five minutes before training to put some ideas together about what to do. No more.
  • Feel free to change your plan “on the fly”. Improvise.
  • Do not repeat workouts. Try to keep fresh.
  • Try to train as nonstop as you can for the fifteen minutes.

This is actually a surprisingly refreshing, exciting method of training. The best thing about it is that it completely removes any mental pressure than has built up, and is cramping your training. You might be thinking—fifteen minutes….damn, that ain’t long. But trust me, when you are faced with filling that time, nonstop, you’d be amazed what you can pack in there!

AlWallSplit_image10

And what should you be looking to pack in there? This is where the creative fun starts…anything you like that’s bodyweight is game! Here are some options:

  • Mobility work: twists, hamstring stretching, joint rotations, Egyptians, teacups…all groovy.
  • Skill-strength work: any exercise you can barely perform for a single rep? Great! Keep returning to it during your training session!
  • Pushing: pushups, jackknife pushups, chair dips, tiger bend pushups
  • Pulling: Aussie pullups, pullup variations
  • Cardio: Burpees, star jumps, running on the sport, jumping jacks, shadow boxing, up-and-downs—all for nice, high reps.
  • Grip work: Fingertip pushups, timed hangs
  • Inverse work and balances: Handstands, headstands, elbow raises, crow stands
  • Leg work: Pepper in plenty! Squats, close squats, shrimp squats, lunges, broad leaps, vertical jumps, spin jumps, etc.
  • Soft tissue work: any sore spots? Time to massage out the trigger points you’ve been neglecting!

See what I mean? That’s plenty to pick from right?

Don’t forget—you don’t need to stick to a strict rep range, or even a strict order. You can do ten pullups, or ten sets of one. You can do five sets of pushups, or none. You can start the session with grip work, then return to it later. It’s your call—you’re free again!

 

#6. THE HEAVY-LIGHT SYSTEM

You beautiful, fresh-faced hunks of gorgeousness are too young to remember, but back in the seventies and eighties, there was a war going on in gyms. Not the Cold War, or a war between Man and Machine—a war of bodybuilding styles.

In one camp were the heavy lifters. They claimed that unless you were bending bars with giant weights, and getting stronger on a diet of doubles, triples and singles, there was no way you could reach your brawny potential. On the other side were the muscle pumpers, or spinners; these guys insisted that bombing and blitzing the muscles with higher, exhausting, pumping reps was the true key to getting truly swole.

Eventually, thesis and antithesis found their synthesis, and bodybuilders began using the heavy-light routine. This involved beginning your bodypart training with the biggest weights on compound exercises you can handle. From there, you move to higher rep exercises to engorge the muscles and keep them pumped and primed. A nice solution, no?

You can also explore this general method with bodyweight training. There are several ways to go about it, but here’s what I suggest:

  • Pick an exercise you can barely perform for one repetition: maybe a strict handstand pushup for shoulders. (This is the “heavy” portion.)
  • After warming up, perform that technique for five single repetitions.
  • Take at least a minute between reps—more if you want to.
  • Now pick two pumping exercises for the same area; say, pike pushups and handstand inverse shrugs. (This is the “light” portion.)
  • Perform two sets of each “pumping” exercise, aiming at 10-15 reps.
  • Rest less than 30 seconds on the lighter work.

This approach might seem old-fashioned and mixed up to modern athletes—but if you can stomach it, it actually has a lot going for it. For a start, it allows you to explore your full strength potential when you’re fresh, allowing you to constantly master newer and harder bodyweight feats. (Don’t forget—you can use holds, like levers or free handstands, for the “heavy” bodyweight stuff—since it’s one rep, you don’t need to be moving.) The lighter (but harder and more painful!) work ensures that your muscle mass will always be constantly growing.

HeadstandNYCPCC_image11

I’d advise cycling three workouts:

  1. Horizontal push/pull (pushup progressions, Aussie pullups or back levers)
  2. Lower body and abs (squats, leg raises or front levers, bridging)
  3. Vertical push/pull (handstand work, pullups)

This template allows for a lot of finagling—you can go three times in a row, three times a week, and so on. Give it a shot, handsome.

 

#7. DEFAULT MODE—CLASSIC CONVICT CONDITIONING

Most of you reading this will have a pretty good idea of what the Convict Conditioning view of sets and reps is. But a few of you won’t, which is why I want to take a moment to outline it here. Convict Conditioning is at the opposite end of skill work, and is heavily set in the muscle and strength building portion of the square of programming. There are some minor variations, but at its heart, Convict Conditioning couldn’t be simpler:

  • Warm-up well with 1-4 lower intensity sets
  • Perform 2 hard sets of 8-10
  • Rest until recovered between sets
  • Take 48 hours+ before hitting the same exercise again
  • When you reach a rep target, find a way to make the exercise tougher
  • Wash, rinse, repeat

This, ladies and gents, is what foolproof basic training looks like. Convict Conditioning is essentially old school, intense, power/bodybuilding-type training—which is why so many bodyweight aficionados, mired as they are in gymnastics-born systems—find it difficult to accept. Convict Conditioning is about gradually and progressively using bodyweight training as a tool to build muscle and raw strength. It is NOT about using skill-type methods to teach the nervous system into performing bodyweight “tricks”. This can be done quite quickly—but so what? If you are performing Convict Conditioning-style bodyweight work, and someone tells you to stop, because you could progress faster through the steps using skill-style or GTG training, run to the hills. They do not understand the system, nor what you are trying to achieve. It’s like a skinny guy walking into a gym and telling a bodybuilder to quit his methods and switch to Olympic lifting, cuz “you’ll be able to get a heavier clean and jerk much quicker that way”. The two are different things!

DannyChicagoWrestlersBridge_image12

Is the Convict Conditioning way “best”…? Well, best for what? For becoming a skilled gymnast, no. For racing through progressions, no. For building a blend of muscle and strength simultaneously? Yep, I believe it IS the best. Yeah, you can apply other methods, but if you are looking for a method to use as the backbone of your training, something you return to over and over, you could do a lot worse. I say that with no ego—two hard sets and home? C’mon, I didn’t invent that shit. It’s been around since the pyramids, and will be around—and working well—long after I’m gone.

 

#8. SUPER HARDCORE: 5 X 5

If there’s a “classic” set and rep scheme for mass and power in the weightlifting world, this is it—the hallowed 5 x 5. 5 x 5 was heavily used and promoted by super-stud Reg Park, who was “Ah-nold’s” hero back in the fifties. Reg not only built the most badass physique on the planet (yep, he took gear—sorry but he did), he also moved more weight than Charlie Sheen has done coke, being the second man ever (after big Doug Hepburn) to bench press 500 pounds—and this was in the damn fifties, when the average man would have trouble rolling that weight.

How did he do it? He did it with his classic 5 x 5 routine: a method that became so popular, it’s still the mainstay of many hardcore routines to this day. There are many variations of this workout, but the basic one involves:

  • Picking 3-5 BIG exercises—no isolation fluff!
  • Perform five sets of five reps
  • The first two sets should be progressive warm-ups
  • The final three sets should be with the same weight: your top weight
  • If you can’t get five on the last three sets, continue training with that load until you can
  • When you can get five on the last three sets, jack up the load a little bit

Like most other basic approaches, this one can be stolen for bodyweight. Is it perfect? Hell no. But it’s a change, and sometimes that’s what the body—and mind—really needs.

Just pick a bodyweight strength exercise you can perform for 6-8 reps, if you’re pushing all out. Then perform two warm-up sets with easier drills (two sets of five reps) then hit your hardest exercise for three sets of five. Like Park said—if you can’t get fives on the last three sets, stick with that exercise. If you can get the three sets of five, move to a harder variation. Do this for a few of the big exercises—pushups, pullups, squats, handstand pushups—and you have a serious strength and size workout on your hands.

The trickiest part of repurposing weights programs for bodyweight use is having enough progressions at your fingertips. When you want to move forward with a barbell, you can just slap five pounds on the bar and repeat. But with bodyweight, you need to be more subtle. Tiny progressions can be made, however, if you have the right knowledge—the “hidden steps” as I can them. Slight shifts in hand or foot position; limb alignments; different body angles; depth changes. This was the real reason that I worked on the Progressive Calisthenics Certification with John Du Cane and Al Kavadlo. I wanted to create an entire generation of super-bodyweight trainers and coaches, with a toolbox of progressions so vast, that any programming method would become possible!

Don’t ever listen to goofballs who tell you that you need to use “special” programming approaches for bodyweight. It’s not true—whether you are performing dumbbell bench presses or one-arm pushups, your muscles have no idea whether you are performing calisthenics or hoisting a bar. They only contract and relax—that’s it. They don’t go onto Reddit to discuss the nuances of their day. If a collection of sets and reps works for weight-training, it will, under most circumstances, work for bodyweight!

 

#9. HUNDRED REP SETS?

Let’s face it—if you were to look at the rep ranges of the average calisthenics athlete throughout their career, you’d be faced with a mind-blowing level of tedium. What’s your favorite rep range? 6-8? 8-12? Truth is, we’re creatures of habit. Once we find rep ranges we like, we usually stick with ‘em. That’s no bad thing: until we get bored.

Let’s change things up. Kiss them single and double digits goodbye, and let’s go triple. You haven’t lived unless you’ve performed a hundred reps straight on a calisthenics exercise:

Set # Reps:
1 100

The method couldn’t be simpler. Grind away at an exercise until you hit a hundred. Probably best not to start with pushups though—unless your last name is Kavadlo.

https://youtu.be/9GL17uq_tB4

If you’re new to this method, start with light stuff—kneeling pushups, half squats. You’ll be amazed at the feeling these “easy” exercises give you in your muscles. As well as enjoying the burn, you should savor these high-rep delicacies, knowing that you are building your circulation, lactic acid/waste removal systems, releasing endorphins and natural analgesics, nourishing the joints and basically just being cool as f**k.

As you gain in strength and stamina, every dedicated athlete should aspire to this kind of level:

  • Close squats x 100
  • Pushups x 100
  • High incline pulls x 100

What? You want to do them all in one session? God damn, you stud! What a workout! Let me know how it feels to be awesome!

 

#10. ABBREVIATE TO ACCUMULATE

Human instinct is to overcomplicate anything we think about a lot. Unfortunately, the Golden Truth of programming is the opposite of this—if in doubt, simplify.

I recently read a program designed for the absolute beginner who wanted to get as big and strong as possible. I couldn’t believe it—there were about twenty exercises over three workouts! There were flyes and lateral raises, machine movements, this and that. You’ve probably seen similar routines yourself.

This is totally wrong. Getting big and strong—quick—is like beating someone up. If you really want to destroy someone, don’t hit them all over their body, in dozens of places. Pick only a small number of places and pound them there—over and over and over again. It’s the Principle of Concentrated Energy. This is Sun Tzu, Von Clausewitz shit I’m giving you here, son!

HollandPushUpPCC_image13

Those of you (the smart ones) familiar with my training philosophy will know this already, but it bears repeating. To get bigger and stronger, cut back. Cut back your exercises and your sets. You only have so much energy—neural energy, muscular energy, hormonal energy. You need to pour that energy where it counts: the big efforts on the big exercises. It’s pure Pareto Principle: 80% of your gains come from 20% of what you do. So put everything you can into that 20%!

If you are deadly serious about just getting as big and strong in calisthenics as fast as possible, do this:

  • Pick three movement types: a vertical push (the pushup family), a vertical pull (the pullup family) and a lower body move (the squat family)
  • Begin with fairly easy versions of the exercises to learn form, condition your joints and build psychological momentum
  • After a light warm up, perform two hard work sets
  • Work hard to build reps—while keeping your form pure. The harder you work, the faster you will progress
  • Every time you meet a rep goal, move up to a slightly harder exercise (use the rep targets and progressions in Convict Conditioning)

Progressive bodyweight training really is as simple as that. Why do we constantly wring our hands over it, and overcomplicate it? You could write that shit on a match box.

At first—when the exercises are easy—you should be able to perform all three exercises per session; either three days per week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) or on alternate days. As you get stronger and it takes longer to recover, take two days off between workouts. When progress slows down again, think about performing pushups on day one, squats on day two, pullups on day three, and repeating on a six-day cycle, with one day off each week.

One final tip—if you are really serious about jacking up your strength—emotional and physical—in 2016, grab hold of my favorite strength book: Strength Rules by Danny Kavadlo. I don’t get paid a red cent for promoting his book, but I’d be dishonest if I didn’t tell you this book is awesome. I learned a huge amount from it. Get it and build your year around it. You can thank me in 2017!

 

#11. BODYBUILDING: “GOLDEN AGE” PROGRAMS

One of the less fashionable ways to use bodyweight nowadays is by applying a bodybuilding template. Why? Because the idea of bodybuilding—isolating different muscles—is seen as very dysfunctional. Calisthenics naturally lends itself to total body training. But you know what? Screw being hip—let’s do it!

One of the classic bodybuilding programs is the old three days on: push, pull, lower body. On push and pull, you’re going to be working 3 different movement-types during each session; four, for lower body:

A. PUSH:

Horizontal pushes (pushup variations, elbow levers)
Vertical pushes (handstand pushups, handstands)
Triceps work (bodyweight extensions, tiger bends, dips)

B. LOWER BODY: Squat progressions

Squat progressions
Bridge progressions
Leg raise progressions
Bodyweight calf work (one-leg raises, jumps, etc.)

C. PULL:

Horizontal pulls (Aussie pullups, front lever work)
Vertical pulls (Pullup progressions)
Biceps work (close pullups, supinated Aussie pullups, etc.)

This is another template that stands a lot of tweaking. In the sixties, the big bodybuilders would generally do this three-session cycle over three days (Mon to Wed), really hitting their heaviest weights and busting ass. Over the next three days (Thu to Sat) they’d repeat the cycle with somewhat lighter days, taking Sunday off completely to recharge for the next week. Hardgainers can still follow the routine, but doing the three days over Monday, Wednesday and Friday, rather than twice per week. Most drug-free bodybuilders fall somewhere in the middle, perhaps taking a day off after leg day and before the next cycle, thus spreading the three workouts over five days rather than three or seven.

AdrianVSit_image14

In my humble opinion, an even better way to work the three-day cycle is to mix up the upper-body work: swap biceps to the push day, and triceps to the pull day. Why? Well, for starters small muscle groups like arms can be worked more frequently and still grow. But the most important reason is intensity: after pushups and handstand work, most athlete find it impossible to give their triceps a damn good beating. But after pullups? Triceps are still fresh for the slaughter. Same principle for biceps. Check it:

A. UPPER-BODY I:

Horizontal pushes (pushup variations, elbow levers)
Vertical pushes (handstand pushups, handstands)
Biceps work (close pullups, supinated Aussie pullups, etc.)
Hanging forearm drills

B. LOWER BODY:

Squat progressions
Bridge progressions
Leg raise progressions
Bodyweight calf work (one-leg raises, jumps, etc.)

C. UPPER-BODY II:

Horizontal pulls (Aussie pullups, front lever work)
Vertical pulls (Pullup progressions)
Triceps work (bodyweight extensions, tiger bends, dips)
Fingertip pushup drills

 

The best way to hit this for most athletes?

DAY 1: PUSH/BICEPS

DAY 2: LOWER BODY

DAY 3: OFF

DAY 4: PULL/TRICEPS

DAY 5: OFF

Like I said before—this isn’t set in stone. No programming is. You can skip the rest days if you’re raring to go, or add in more if you are always sore/not recovering. Nothing bugs me more than coaches who say; use my program as it is, or not at all…don’t change a thing! Athletes are not retards. They are individuals, with brains. If they don’t have ideas, experiment and start working stuff out for themselves, they’ll never learn what works for them. They’ll always be dependent on external “experts”.

Still, I guess that works well for the experts, right?

 

#12. WE COULD TAKE IN AN OLD STEVE REEVES MOVIE…?

Back in his day—the drug-free forties and fifties—Steve Reeves was the greatest bodybuilder in the world. His physique was so impressive—previously unheard of mass, combined with classical lines—that it led him to Europe and made him, for a brief time, the highest paid movie star in the world.

https://youtu.be/nisz2sMQ6d8

Reeves built the bulk of his muscle on plain vanilla training: the whole body done a deal three times per week, with just one working set. Yep, Reeves used weights, but it doesn’t mean we can’t rip off his template and apply it to bodyweight training:

  1. Burpees: 20 reps
  2. Australian pullups: 10 reps
  3. Jackknife pushups: 10 reps
  4. Jackknife pullups: 10 reps
  5. Pushups between chairs: 10 reps
  6. Close squats: 15 reps
  7. Bridge pushups: 10 reps
  8. One-leg calf raise on step: 20 reps
  9. Incline tiger bend pushups: 10 reps

You might need to tailor this workout to meet your strength level: feel free to drop or add reps, or alter the exercises. This is just an idea, folks.

Often we make our training too complex. We overthink it. Reeve’s original-style routine is a great way to go back to basics, and get a good honest workout under our belts.

Make no mistake, this kind of template can be very powerful. Reeves himself claimed that he put on thirty pounds in his first summer of training this way! Ironically he was later disparaging of this kind of “simplistic” training, saying that he’d moved on to more sophisticated methods. Maybe that was a bad move—Steve put on thirty pounds of muscle in his first three months with this method, but didn’t gain twenty pounds over the next two decades.

So much for sophisticated!

 

#13. JOE HARTIGEN SETS

One of the most perfect set-and-rep schemes I ever came across was invented (or reinvented) by my mentor, Joe Hartigen. I wrote more about the Hartigen Method here, but it fits in really well in this article. It looks like this:

Warm up: with easy sets of 5 reps

Set # Reps:
1 5
2 4
3 3
4 2
5 1

Looks simple huh? It is!

Just pick the hardest exercise you can perform with great technique—five reps should be very close to failure. Warm up with a few easier exercises—but keep to five reps. Then, get stuck into your work sets. Do your five rep-max set, and rest for a minute or so. Now, draining as that set was, after a minute you can probably still manage four reps, right? So do it. Another minute’s rest and you can manage three, and so on—right down to one.

AlFingerTipPushups_image15

I love this method, which is why I’ve talked about it before. This is an elegant way to train. Unlike methods like 5 x 5 and 1-10-1, it allows you to get your hardest effort out the way immediately, and with the most efficiency.

Those of you who’d like to learn a little more about Joe’s broader training philosophy, check the article I wrote here.

 

#14. GERMAN VOLUME vs CALISTHENICS

This is another method drawn from the weights world—bodybuilding specifically—just to show you future greats that you don’t have to limit your mindset, just coz you are working with the greatest gym ever—the human body.

In C-MASS I discuss the difference between building strength and building mass. This confuses some folks, so I keep it stripped back: high load/tension is what builds strength. Stress/chemical drain is what builds mass. Typically, bodyweight athletes have taken their techniques from gymnastics, which is really more about building strength than mass. That’s why you have so many skinny guys performing amazing bodyweight feats. The trouble is, athletes interested in bodyweight then look at all these skinny guys and think: damn—calisthenics doesn’t build any beef at all!

Not true. You just need to apply bodybuilding methods—which drain the muscles—as opposed to gymnastics methods, which prime the nervous system.

Say what you like about their methods, but bodybuilders know how to program for mass!
Say what you like about their methods, but bodybuilders know how to program for mass!

With that in mind, here’s a classic pure mass method, straight from the Eastern Bloc. Although the name, German Volume Training, sounds kinda scientific and intimidating, this method is simpler than you might think, and actually translates effortlessly to bodyweight work. Pick an exercise you can perform 20-30 reps with, in good form. Then perform ten sets of ten reps with that exercise, with sixty second’s timed rest in between sets:

Set # Reps: Set # Reps:
1 10 6 10
2 10 7 10
3 10 8 10
4 10 9 10
5 10 10 10

 

  • Pick only one exercise for this method
  • If you can’t make the full hundred, note your reps and try to improve each session
  • Scale back your other exercises to a minimum during this protocol
  • Use the method for one exercise only, twice a week
  • After a month, return to regular training

I know this approach will have the low-rep skill-strength lovers pissing down their pant legs, but trust me—it works. At first, achieving the full ten sets of ten will be impossible. Your muscles will be screaming, your body pumping out more stress hormones than an actress getting a lift home with Bill Cosby. But persevere. Radical jumps of muscle size have been noted on this routine.

You’re a crazy radical, right? You’ll try something nuts once in a while? I knew it. That’s why I love ya like I do.

 

#15. HEAVEE DUTEE, BABEE!

In Convict Conditioning I advocate damn hard training on all work sets. I don’t however, advocate going to complete failure; I believe you should always leave a little bit of energy in your limbs in case you need them to defend yourself, or for another emergency situation. It’s how I was taught, and it’s how I teach now.

That doesn’t mean I think training to failure is a “bad” thing. It’s more like following through when you go to the bathroom; you don’t mean to do it, but sometimes you just push a little too hard. We’ve all been there. My ultimate view of training-to-failure is simple: your adaptation (how big and strong you get) is in direct proportion to the intensity of the stressor (how hard your training is). In other words, the harder you train, the better you get. Modern babble aside, everyone who has trained long-term knows this in their heart of hearts. You know it too, right?

Mentzer_image17The king of High Intensity Training was Mike Mentzer. He shocked the training world with his one-set-to-failure philosophy, and he practiced what he preached. It was hard to argue with those results, either: back in ‘78 he was the first ever bodybuilder to win the Mr Universe with a perfect score. Many in the know also thought he was the winner of the highly controversial 1980 Mr Olympia, which was actually taken by a well out-of-shape Arnold S., who entered as a last minute contestant.

What would Mike make of bodyweight training? Actually, we have a pretty good idea, because his mentor—the famous Nautilus machine inventor, Arthur Jones—was, ironically a big fan of bodyweight work. He went so far as to write that pullups, dips and one-leg squats would maximize any athlete’s muscle mass.

Fancy some calisthenics, Heavy Duty style? I suggest this:

DAY 1:

Pullup progression:
8-10 strict reps (to failure)
2 forced reps
2 ten second negative reps

Handstand pushups:
to failure

DAY 2:

Squat progression:
10-15 strict reps (to failure)
2 forced reps (or self-assist)
10 reps (with an easier progression: to failure)

DAY 3: OFF

DAY 4:

Dip progression:
8-10 strict reps (to failure)
2 forced reps
2 ten second negative reps

DAY 5: Off

Repeat cycle

That was fun, eh? But screw “fun”, Paulie…is this program any good? Yes and no. If you want to ramp up your muscle and strength over ten next ten weeks, and you have a partner willing to help with the forced reps, go for it. But after ten weeks you’re gonna start dreading training. You’ll find little niggling injuries. You’ll get colds. These are all really your system’s way of avoiding the pain. For long-term results, if your training ain’t fun, it’s not gonna happen.

…Speaking of fun…

 

#16. ULTRAREPS: 1000 PUSHUPS IN 12 HOURS

Low reps and keeping fresh—strength as skill—is the dominating approach in bodyweight strength, and it has been in years. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s all a part of God’s Great Creation. Like dysentery, or pubic lice.

But let’s be honest—it’s gone too far. You’ve got athletes terrified of reps. Scared crapless of actually pushing themselves, and busting their butts on basic exercises like squats, pushups and pullups. The way some of these dudes today program, you’d think their dicks would drop off if they hit double digits on an exercise.

I’m here to tell you: that’s bullshit. There are times a man (or woman) needs to push themselves way beyond what they ever thought they could do. Doing this builds huge chemical stores in the muscles, massive stamina and intestinal fortitude.

In jail there is one bodyweight challenge which is taken very seriously indeed. The man who completes it earns instant respect as one of the true “black belts” of cell athletics. Forget singles, doubles and triples. Forget twenty rep sets. You thought a hundred reps was big boy stuff? How about a thousand reps in a single day?

DannyKavadlo_image18

It might sound impossible—and for most people, even very experienced calisthenics athletes, it is. But if you lay the groundwork and prepare for it methodically—a lot like training for a marathon—it can be achieved. You can achieve it. Before we get to anything resembling a program, here’s some Cliff Notes on the prep:

  • The pushups need to be tolerable. Getting the chest 4-6 inches from the floor is acceptable, as is moving fast. Slow and controlled is great, but if you try that shit here it WILL kill you.
  • Yeah, you need to get good at pushups before you do this. Unless you can do fifty reps in a regular set, don’t even think about this.
  • You also need good recovery ability throughout the day. Unless five hard sets of pushups (doing double figures) is easy, keep trying until it is.
  • You also need good recovery ability day-to-day just to get through this training. This is really just the result of consistent, fairly frequent training over the last few months. Unless you can perform pushup sessions with minimal soreness the next day, don’t try this at home.

Once you meet these basic criteria, you can think about beginning the real training. Obviously, a thousand pushups can’t be achieved by strength training—it’s all about stamina. The key to a successful build-up is gradually developing this stamina. If there is a “secret” to acing the 1000 Pushup Challenge, it’s this: many small drops fill the bucket. The easiest way (!) to make the grand is not by huge, mega-sets, but by lots of small sets, frequently.

Think about the math. If you woke up and tried to bust out 150 pushups straight away, you’d probably exhaust yourself for the rest of the day. But if you did two sets of twenty every half hour, over twelve hours this would equate to 960 pushups. You’d only need to make 40 before bed, and you’d hit the grand.

This is the best way to approach your conditioning. There are several ways to go about this—I’ve used and endorsed several—but here’s a good one, lasting just eight weeks:

  • Strip back your other training to zero over the next eight weeks. Pushups hit the entire body; from the arms and torso to the legs, and even the toes. Don’t worry, you’re conditioning ain’t going nowhere.
  • Work out every other day. (Remember—you’re building stamina here, not muscle.) Your goal is ten sets of pushups, max reps. Take two minute’s rest between sets. Constantly try to bring up your numbers through the eight weeks. Ten sets of 25 is a good start, although much higher reps are possible with time.
  • One day per week, have a “test” day. On test day, you’re going to be skipping the usual ten sets, and trying to build up your stamina throughout the day. Stamina can be developed a LOT quicker than strength. Test days should build in volume like this:

WEEK 1: Perform one set of 25 every hour over ten hours (250)

WEEK 2: Perform one set of 25 every half hour for five hours (250) then every hour for the next five hours (125) (TOTAL: 375)

WEEK 3: Perform one set of 25 every half hour for seven hours (350), then every hour for the next five hours (125) (TOTAL: 475)

WEEK 4: Perform one set of 25 every half hour for ten hours (500) then every hour for two hours (50) (TOTAL: 550)

WEEK 5: Perform one set of 25 every half hour for twelve hours (600)

WEEK 6: Add a second set of 25 reps to hours 1-3 (675)

WEEK 7: Add a further second set of 25 to hours 4-6 (750)

WEEK 8: Add a final second set of 25 to hours 7-9 (825)

TEST DAY: From here, you should be good to give the challenge a try the following week. Your goal on challenge day will be to hit two sets of 20 every half hour for 12 hours—you will add a twenty-fifth session of 2 x 20, or 4 x 10—or whatever you can manage to get forty reps!—before collapsing into bed. This makes 1000.

Some final tips:

  • Take two days off after every test day. You’ll need it.
  • This prep is flexible. If you can’t meet the test day standards on a given week, keep training until you can.
  • Take the final four days OFF before you attempt the challenge. Stretching is fine, but no pushups. This will allow your muscles to overfill their energy reserves. Don’t panic—you won’t regress.

Can you really do this?! Of course, if you want it. The body was designed to perform bodyweight exercise, and it can do better than you give it credit for. Yoshida of Japan did 10,507 pushups non-stop. You can do this, bro.

———

Phew! That’s quite a little programming journey we took there, huh? From low reps to ultrahigh reps, from strength training to pure bodybuilding, old school to bleeding-edge. Quite a little mental tour.

Was this info-dump systematic? Nope. Was it logical and consistent? Hell, no—it half the stuff in there contradicted the other half. (Like the Bible.) But that was the point of these two articles—freedom, change, variety. Acquiring ability to break off the shackles of our usual training and have the guts and motivation to try something new—trust me, that is how we keep in the game, year in, year out.

Remember, there are good routines and bad routines, but there are no perfect routines…and any calisthenics training is better than just quitting, because athletes who quit regret it down the line and wish they’d kept their hat in the ring. I guess from that perspective, “perfect” is whatever keeps you training, right?

Thanks for reading this—or skipping to the end and pretending you did. Either way, old Coach had a fine time sitting writing this for you guys and gals. I really, really hope you can take something from it that helps ya, however small. Please hit me up in the comments with any thoughts, questions, or just to say hi. I will answer all of you, and have a fantastic time doing so!

Big love again goes out to Adrienne and all the Kavadlo clan for the huge help they gave me in delivering this little ankle-biter.

***

Paul “Coach” Wade is the author of Convict Conditioning, Convict Conditioning Volume 2, the Convict Conditioning Ultimate Bodyweight Training Log, and five Convict Conditioning DVD and manual programs. Click here for more information about the Convict Conditioning DVDs and books available for purchase from Dragon Door Publications.

Filed Under: Motivation and Goals, Progressive Calisthenics Tagged With: calisthenics, Convict Conditioning, Paul "Coach" Wade, Paul Wade, PCC, programming, programming workouts, programming your training, progressive calisthenics

The Top 10 PCC Blog Posts of 2015

December 29, 2015 By Al Kavadlo 19 Comments

PCC 2015 CollageWhat a great year it has been for calisthenics and the PCC! Danny and I traveled all over the US and Europe in 2015, bringing the Progressive Calisthenics Certification to new places like California, Italy and the UK.

In addition to reaching new markets, many of the venues that had previously hosted the PCC, like Trainingscentrum Helena in Holland, and Soho Strength Lab in New York City, saw even larger attendance than at last year’s events.

While I was fortunate enough to connect with hundreds of you in person this year, the PCC has impacted hundreds of thousands more through this blog.

With the year coming to an end, it’s become an annual tradition for me to take a look back and select my favorite blog posts. Once again, it was hard to pick ten, but I did my best!

Here are my favorites, in no particular order:

–The man, the myth, the legend, Paul “Coach” Wade kicked off the year by telling us how to add 20 pounds of muscle mass in one year with calisthenics. Did any of you give it a shot?

–My brother and PCC Master Instructor Danny Kavadlo explained why there’s no reason to be afraid of getting hurt during a workout.

–Senior PCC Adrienne Harvey reminded us that revisiting regressions such as the short bridge and shoulderstand squat can lead to surprising advancements in our training.

–PCC standout Matt Schifferle explained how understanding the concept of technical convergence can take your training to the next level.

PCC NYC Raised One Arm Pushups–It’s always an honor to get a blog post from a calisthenics legend like PCC Instructor Jack Arnow.

–PCC Instructor Eric Buratty wrote this entertaining and informative post about getting in the zone for your workout.

–Right after earning his Progressive Calisthenics Certification, newly-minted PCC Instructor Eric Bergmann passed along some great advice to avoid the 99 rep curse and complete the PCC Century test.

–While PCC Instructor Ali El-Khatib updated us a full year after taking the cert to explain how his life had changed following the PCC.

PCC NYC Wrist Stretches–My wife and fellow PCC Instructor Grace Kavadlo penned this helpful tutorial on the crow pose and its variations.

–And lastly, I had fun ironically pointing out that talk is cheap.

That’s it! Enjoy the articles, have a Happy New Year…

…and Let’s Do Some Pull-ups!

Pic4

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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 five 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.

Filed Under: Progressive Calisthenics Tagged With: 2015 in review, calisthenics, PCC, progressive calisthenics, top 10, top 10 blog posts 2015

Three Easy Stretches to Improve Your Calisthenics Practice

December 22, 2015 By Al Kavadlo 14 Comments

Wonder Wheel Bridge Al Kavaldo

Anyone who’s practiced calisthenics long enough knows firsthand that mobility is a crucial component of bodyweight exercise. Calisthenics staples like L-sits, back bridges and pistol squats all demand a high degree of flexibility, but even less obvious exercises like pull-ups and handstands require mobility as well.

While practicing those moves in and of themselves can help you improve your range of motion, supplemental stretching can elevate your calisthenics game to the next level.

Here are three simple stretches that you can practice daily to improve your overall mobility. Just try to hold each pose a few times a day while you take several deep, slow breaths. There’s no need to set a timer or be too dogmatic about it.

Speaking of dogs…

Updog

What’s up, dog?

For starters, it’s a great way to prep your spine for bridge work. It also opens your hip flexors, warms up your triceps and provides a good stretch for your abdomen.

Begin in a push-up position, then drop your hips toward the ground, lift your chest and look up. Be careful not to let your shoulders shrug up by your ears. Think about pulling down and back through your shoulder blades like you would during a pull-up. Press your hands into the ground, lock your elbows and gently contract your quads to prevent your legs from dragging on the ground.

Al Kavadlo Up Dog

Downward Dog

Downward Dog is a helpful stretch for building flexibility in the entire posterior chain as well as opening the shoulders. It will loosen your hamstrings for L-sits and pistol squats, plus it can improve your handstand as well.

Begin on your hands and knees with your toes curled under your heels, then slowly lift your hips into the air while pressing your chest toward your thighs. Try to keep your back as flat as possible while pressing your hands into the ground and reaching your hips into the air. Do your best to maintain straight arms and legs, though it’s okay to allow your knees to bend and/or let your heels come off the floor. In time, work toward fully extending your legs and pressing your feet flat. People with tight calves may find it helpful to bend one knee while straightening the other, alternating sides.

Al Kavadlo downward dog

Seated Twist

A powerful stretch for the hips and spine, the seated twist is also one of Coach Wade’s three favorite stretches, as noted in Convict Conditioning 2. The full expression of the exercise, which involves binding the hands, is also a great stretch for the shoulders. Seated twists are helpful for any calisthenics move that requires rotation, such as the side crow or dragon pistol squat.

Sit on the ground with both legs extended straight in front of you. Now bend your right leg and cross it over the left, placing your right foot flat on the floor. Twist your trunk and reach your left arm out in front of your right knee. Your right hand should be placed palm down on the floor a few inches behind your back as you twist and look over your right shoulder. From here you can bend your left leg as well, tucking the foot beneath your opposite hip. For an added stretch, reach your right hand behind your back while threading your left hand through the opening beneath your right knee, bringing your hands into a bind (or gripping a cloth between the hands if a bind is not yet attainable). Make sure to repeat the stretch on both sides.

Seated Twists

I encourage you to use these stretches to warm up at the start of your calisthenics practice and/or to cool down at the end. The more time you spend in each pose, the better they should start to feel. Also feel free to practice throughout the day any time you feel stiff.

To find out more about stretching to improve your calisthenics practice, check out my book Stretching Your Boundaries – Flexibility Training for Extreme Calisthenic Strength.

Pic5StretchingYourBoundariesBookCover

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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 five 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.

Filed Under: Flexibility, Tutorial Tagged With: Al Kavadlo, breathing, calisthenics, downward dog, flexibility, mobility, PCC, progressive calisthenics, seated twist, Stretching Your Boundaries, twist, updog, yoga

Calisthenic Conditioning Boosts Brain Power

December 15, 2015 By Joe Schwartz, DC 15 Comments

Al Kavadlo, One-Arm Elbow LeverIf you look around most mainstream gyms, you’re likely to see people using fancy-looking machines to try hitting each part of their bodies individually. This “isolation principle” of weight training gained popularity with the rise of bodybuilding, where it is effective in sculpting individual muscles in isolation and hoping to counterbalance that effort with each muscle individually, putting them together in a “Frankenstein” fashion to build a muscular physique.

Putting all the cells and body parts of a cadaver together, however meticulously, will not create a person capable of performing the miraculous feats humans are capable of performing. The problem lies in that a muscular physique alone does not translate into athleticism nor overall health. It is largely for appearance, and in some cases, raw strength. This is not to say that all those with muscular physiques are not athletic. Athleticism is a talent that is either practiced or naturally present. Just as talent alone is not enough, however, a muscular physique is not enough in the pursuit of overall health and optimum performance.

Critics of calisthenic conditioning often claim it lacks a progression element typical in weight training or machine resistance such as plate loaded or hydraulic cam or cable devices. Truth be discovered, there are near infinite progressions for every calisthenic exercise placing greater demand and stimulating progressively increasing power and strength.

So what does this have to do with brain power? Simple: The more you force different groups of muscles to work together to overcome a challenge, the more recruitment of brain, nervous system and muscle activation you achieve. Practicing this pattern over time makes you more efficient in executing similar challenges. It makes your system smarter! This is how we are designed to function, not in individual parts, but as a whole. This explains ancient systems of exercise and conditioning like martial arts, Yoga, and other physical practices dating back to the dawn of man. It wasn’t until recently we became attracted to the notion of isolation training for aesthetic outcomes and thought we were smarter than the ancient wisdom that brought us here.

Danny Kavadlo teaching at a PCC Workshop
The “Chain of Command” Principle

Like an elite military or business system, your brain’s recon teams bring information in for central processing and a proper response. Practicing these responses regularly with varying degrees of challenge builds reactions that are more reflex in nature than thought-based. Receptors in muscles, joints, tendons, fascia and other body parts perform the recon work. They gather information about the environment in response to gravitational stresses. This is where the juice is. Vary those stresses in multiple planes of action with varying degrees of difficulty and bingo! Practice consciously so you can react well in stressful situations.

In my studies and 30-plus years of clinical experience, I see one common element in people suffering the wide array of health problems. This common element is that people do not move enough and when they do, it is not in a beneficial way. All their effort goes into a rather mindless propulsion of a machine typically while seated. No attention is given to practicing consciously challenging movements! Often these efforts to “exercise” are misguided and result in repetitive strain or outright injury, which causes many people with good intentions to quit entirely.

Defining Exercise

My definition of exercise is any activity you engage in regularly that counteracts the stress and strain of what you do most of your day (at work and during leisure time). We sit too much. We do not move our eyes enough. We do not challenge our balance and equilibrium enough. We do not challenge our muscles to work together in synchronized patterns to evoke the brain and muscle “memory” required to sustain optimal brain health and physical conditioning. Calisthenic conditioning directly addresses these deficits. Moving your body and recruiting muscle and joint receptors in novel ways builds protein in these nervous system pathways in unison rather than simply building proteins to make a muscle larger. Keep in mind the age old principle that you either “use it or lose it”. Nowhere is it more profoundly true than in the brain and nervous system. To make the best use of time invested in a conditioning program it makes sense to engage the brain, nervous system, musculoskeletal system, and mind all at once while exercising. Comparing calisthenic conditioning to isolation exercises performed on machines, treadmills or other cardio machines is a “no brainer” (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun).

Clutch Flags at a PCC Workshop
Calisthenic exercises (ideally in a natural setting) provide huge potential benefits and rewards. By moving your body against gravity in various patterns and planes you establish and condition your “chain of command”.  In the absence of a natural setting, the movement of your head and body while performing calisthenic exercises should be adequate to improve your health far better than sitting on a circuit training machine pumping out repetitions of isolation exercises. The “chain of command” I refer to in simplified terms is your brain, nervous system, muscles, joints, and connective tissues, along with the parallel connections between the nervous system and every cell and tissue of your vital organs. A healthy brain and nervous system, an athletic physique, and the ability to perform impressive physical feats into your later years are just but a few side effects of calisthenic conditioning. Healthy blood chemistry, balanced mental state and ideal body composition are but a few more benefits. It is well worth the effort to re-establish your physical and mental potential for optimal health and well-being.

****

Dr Joseph A. Schwartz, DCJoseph A. Schwartz, DC has 31 years experience as a practicing chiropractor with an emphasis on neurology, rehabilitation, nutrition, strength and conditioning. His mission is to empower others so they may exceed their expectations for vibrant health and well-being.

Filed Under: Progressive Calisthenics Tagged With: benefits of calisthenics, benefits of exercise, brain health, brain power, calisthenics, Joe Schwartz, nervous system health, PCC

How the PCC Changed My Life

December 8, 2015 By Ali El Khatib 12 Comments

Ali El Khatib Support Press

For me, the PCC was not just a calisthenics certification, it was a life-changing, eye-opening experience.

In October of 2014 I traveled from my home in Egypt all the way to Haarlem, Holland to attend the Progressive Calisthenics Certification. Going into a gym full of people I’d never met from all different nationalities was an intimidating experience by itself. That was when the learning began, however–just bouncing ideas off of people with different backgrounds than myself.

Al and Danny have a great way of welcoming people. They’re both very warm, and very hospitable, but I personally believe they’re opposites. Al is more of a lighthearted, relaxed type of guy while Danny is energetic and intense. This got me thinking, if these two guys are opposites, yet both are extremely successful, what does that mean? The answer is this: there is not one way to connect with your clients and achieve success. The only way is to be true to yourself, and strive to always improve and serve your clients as best as you can. That was one of the most valuable lessons I took away from the weekend.

Another thing I realized is that Al is skinny, while Danny is more muscular. Although that might not seem like much to most people, here’s what it taught me: forget aesthetics. Yes, neither Al nor Danny look like your typical bodybuilding meatheads, but they can do feats that would put most of the bodybuilding community to shame. The things I saw that weekend–slow muscle-ups, stand-to-stand bridges, one arm pull-ups–are the true signs of strength as far as I am concerned.

Al Kavadlo Stand to Stand Bridge

The biggest lesson I learned from the PCC, however, is to forget the dogma. I’d have to admit, I was the type of person who was obsessed with “sets and reps” and “the right way” of training. What Al and Danny taught me was to expand beyond right and wrong. As Al says, “There is no right or wrong, there are only actions and consequences.”

In this age of information overload where everyone considers themselves an expert, it’s hard to come out with truly valuable information. Ironically, the message that Al and Danny taught me, which is to be open to all possibilities, got me to shut some things out. They encouraged me to start questioning things, to focus less on information, and more on quality of information.

Too many people think the way you learn is by sitting in a classroom, listening to a teacher, and getting an A on the test. Fortunately, life doesn’t work like that. Real learning happens in the application of new lessons, from getting feedback, and by constantly trying to improve.

Since returning to Egypt, I quit my corporate job, and started my own fitness company called The Movement, where I’ve been coaching group classes and training people one-on-one.

Ali El Khatib The Movement

Every time I work with a client, I’m constantly asking for feedback on how we could continue to improve the program. That doesn’t mean that I’m soft or that I let my clients off easy. They will tell you that I push them–and I push them hard–but that’s why they appreciate me. They know that I’m pushing them for their sake, and they trust me. Part of my job as a coach is to remind my clients of why they sought me out in the first place.

Though it may not be for everyone, sometimes, especially when I feel they’ve made considerable progress, I will invite my client to dinner to celebrate. For me, this is a way of increasing our rapport and it tends to create a positive association to training. It is also a good way to inspire them to eat healthier.

Most of my clients are novices who’ve almost never worked out, so doing something fun and having a laugh outside of the gym shows them a side of training that they never knew existed. This is the vibe I got when I first entered Trainingscentrum Helena in Haarlem, Netherlands.

The PCC experience got me to tell the people who want my advice on the best workout plan to “find what works for you–what you enjoy, and do it.” People have a hard time understanding this simple sentence, and I believe I would’ve too if it wasn’t for the PCC.

****

Ali El Khatib is a PCC instructor who quit his corporate job to venture into health and fitness. Ali founded “The Movement” which aims to provide people with Physical, as well as Mental solutions to achieve true health.

Filed Under: Progressive Calisthenics, Workshop Experiences Tagged With: Ali El Khatib, PCC, PCC Workshop, progressive calisthenics, Progressive Calisthenics Certification Workshop, workshop experience

The SCC is Here!

November 10, 2015 By Al Kavadlo 20 Comments

First Ever SCC Workshop Group Photo
Since the launch of the Progressive Calisthenics Certification (PCC) nearly 3 years ago, my brother Danny and I have had the amazing opportunity to teach calisthenics to fitness professionals and enthusiasts all over the world.

The reaction to the PCC has been tremendously positive. Those who attend get better at moving their bodies, but many people are moved emotionally as well. Each person brings their own unique experience to the group and we all leave with new knowledge and inspiration. The only thing stronger than our attendees is the camaraderie formed during the time spent training together and learning from one another.

FirstSCC2
Though the success of the PCC has had a powerful impact on the underground calisthenics scene as well as the mainstream fitness industry, the 3-day course can be intimidating to some. Furthermore, many people who’ve expressed a desire to attend the PCC are simply unable to make a 3-day commitment.

The brand new Strength Calisthenics Certification (SCC) is changing all of that. By providing a 1-day calisthenics experience focused solely on Coach Wade’s “Big 6″–the squat, push-up, pull-up, bridge, hanging leg raise, and handstand–the SCC offers calisthenics fans the chance to test the waters without having to dive in headfirst.

FirstSCC3
Last Saturday the SCC made its debut in New York City. Fitness enthusiasts from all over the world came together in the Big Apple for a fun-filled day of calisthenics and strength coaching. Attendees hailed from Germany, Ireland, and Canada, as well as many of the 50 states.

In addition to Danny and myself, the entire PCC leadership team was on hand for the debut of SCC: Adrienne Harvey, Angelo Gala, Beth Andrews and Logan Christopher were all there helping to coach and inspire our SCC hopefuls.

FirstSCC4
We spent the morning focused on floor calisthenics, including loads of push-up, squat, bridge and handstand variations, then got on the pull-up bar in the afternoon to work on hanging leg raise and pull-up progressions. Everyone was challenged to push themselves and many personal bests were set. We even had one attendee achieve her very first full pull-up!

After the training I lectured on a wide variety of topics including principles of progression, bodyweight programming and the reality of the personal training business.

AlKavadloAtFirstSCC5
The day seemed to fly by in a New York minute and everyone had an amazing experience. When all was said and done, we had a brand new group of freshy-minted calisthenics warriors!

Though the first SCC has come to an end, this is really just the beginning. Look for more SCC workshops to be announced in the weeks and months ahead. I hope to see you at a PCC or SCC in 2016.

We’re Working Out!

-Al

AlKavadlo6

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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 five 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.

Filed Under: Workshop Experiences Tagged With: Al Kavadlo, calisthenics certification, calisthenics workshop, entry level calisthenics certification, PCC, SCC, SCC NYC, Strength Calisthenics Certification

99 Reps

October 27, 2015 By Eric Bergmann 12 Comments

John Du Cane Speaking At PCC

“There’s an epidemic.  99 reps…”

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

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

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

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

The Squat

PCC Century Test SquatsPosition check:

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Push-Up

PCC Century Test Push UpsPosition Check:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Hanging Knee Raise

PCC Hanging Knee RaisesPosition Check:

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

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

Are your knees and feet together?

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

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

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

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

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

The Pull-Up

PCC Century Test Pull UpsPosition Check:

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

Are your feet slightly in front of your body?

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

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

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

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

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

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

See you at 100 reps.

Al Kavadlo, Eric and Beth Bergmanns6

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

Filed Under: Progressive Calisthenics, Tutorial Tagged With: Century Test, Eric Bergmann, how to pass the Century Test, PCC, PCC Workshop, progressive calisthenics

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