Moving to a new location, stay tuned!
The Kipping Muscle Up versus the Strict Muscle Up: Which is better? Well, they’re different. Not better, not worse, just different. I honestly don’t care which one you choose to perform, but I do have a strong opinion on which one you should focus on learning first. But no matter which one you choose as …
Continue reading “Kipping vs Strict Muscle Up: It’s All About the Transition”
GMB Fitness has created a new introductory level bodyweight training program, Elements, that we like so much that we’re recommending it as the perfect lead-up to Animal Flow. Requiring no equipment, and letting you work at your own pace, Elements is designed to help people of all fitness levels establish an incredibly strong base that …
Continue reading “Review: Using GMB Fitness’ Elements Program as Animal Flow Prep”
I’m excited to bring you our first post from our Animal Flow Master Instructor Clifton Harski. Clifton has a long history as a student of human movement, including as a lifelong athlete and collegiate basketball player who also holds a degree in Kinesiology His current position as Director of Programming for Fitwall, plus his previous …
Continue reading “Climbing and Swinging: Amp Up Your Pull-Up Strength!”
The Reverse Lunge Shrimp Squat is a great progression for one of my favorite bodyweight training subjects, single leg squat training. This is a fairly advanced exercise that will help you in your training for the Shrimp Squat, which is in itself an impressive variation of the Pistol Squat. In the GBT System, both the …
Continue reading “Reverse Lunge Shrimp Squat: Get a Leg Up on Your Squat Training!”
The “Pinnacle Exercises†are what we call the most advanced, staple exercises of the Bodyweight Athlete. But just as their name implies, the Pinnacles represent the higher level achievements in bodyweight training- nobody starts there. An entire continuum of regressions, progressions, and conditioning exercises need to be mastered along the way. In this tutorial, I’ll …
Continue reading “Floor Conditioning for Front and Back Levers: Training Without Bars”
Here at GBT we like to think of ourselves as a “Home of the Bodyweight Athlete,” bringing together multiple bodyweight disciplines, including hand balancing, progressive calisthenics, skills-based training, gymnastics, parkour, breakdancing, bar work, and other practices that use your body and gravity. In my travels for GBT I now get to meet so many awesome …
Continue reading “Travis Brewer: Professional Bodyweight Athlete”
I’m psyched to bring you this guest post by one of my favorite fellow bodyweight athletes, Al Kavadlo. He’s not only a lead instructor for the Progressive Calisthenics Certification (PCC), but is a prolific author (see below for links to my reviews). His latest book on flexibility and stretching is a must-read for anyone into …
The Reverse Hyperextension Elbow Lever is another great bodyweight training exercise that can be performed anywhere without any equipment, which is why I chose it for this week’s tutorial to post while I’m traveling. The exercise itself is a great combination move that increases the intensity and complexity of each individual component when they are …
Continue reading “The Reverse Hyperextension Elbow Lever: Strength with Full Range of Motion”
The Flexed Roll is a great way to build a foundation for performing a solid roll, an incredibly useful maneuver that crosses many bodyweight disciplines. While creating the GBT and Animal Flow systems, I was inspired by many different disciplines like Parkour, Gymnastics and Break Dancing. As a student of these different avenues of self …
Continue reading “The Flexed Roll: Roll Your Way to a Stronger Core!”
The Hip Hinge Forearm Push-Up is another great bodyweight conditioning movement that serves as an awesome exercise by itself, while also preparing your body for more advanced progressions. The human body is an incredible network of levers that act together to create movement in all directions. We can change the leverage at a joint to …
Continue reading “The Hip Hinge Forearm Push Up: Bodyweight Leveraging at its Best!”
I’m pretty excited to bring you this review of Gold Medal Bodies’ new “Floor Two” program. Like many of you, I’m always interested in reading about and watching new things from all areas of the fitness industry – sometimes it’s a real pleasure, and sometimes not so much. With Gold Medal Bodies, though, I am …
Continue reading “Review: Gold Medal Bodies “Floor Two” Program”
Parallel bars are an awesome bodyweight training tool for practicing your hand balancing, and this week we’ve got two incredible exercises for you to try out: the L-Sit to High Hip Tuck; and the L-Sit to Straddle Press-Up Handstand. Whether you are a gymnast, bar athlete or general bodyweight enthusiast, Parallels are an excellent place …
Continue reading “Parallel Bars: From L-Sits to Tucks and Presses and More!”
The Turtle Freeze is a staple hand balancing move in break dancing. But it’s more than just a fun dance move – it’s also an incredible exercise for creating total body tension as well as wrist, shoulder and trunk stability. This week we stopped by the practice spot of our boy Kevin “New Cre†Sanchez …
Continue reading “Turtle Freeze: Put Some BBoy Style in Your Hand Balancing!”
This week’s video tutorial is a double feature, covering two Parkour essentials: the Wall Run and the Cat Leap. And we’re super excited to have Professional Parkour athlete and American Ninja Warrior David “Young Flip†Rodriguez teach us how to master them. Both of these movements are not only great exercises, but are also two …
Continue reading “Parkour Wall Run and Cat Leap: Train Like a Ninja with Young Flip”
Hand balancing is an incredible practice and a huge part of bodyweight training. Not only is the work great for increasing your shoulder girdle stabilization, but it can also be a killer way to challenge your entire body and improve your neuromuscular connectivity. And, way beyond your basic handstands, the opportunities to challenge your strength, …
Continue reading “Static Frog with Back Extension: Turning a Classic Exercise Upside Down”
I’ve been putting a lot of time into my Hand Balancing practice lately and just can’t say enough about how much it contributes to a bodyweight workout routine. Our Advanced Frog Stand tutorial that we posted a year ago this week turned out to be one of more popular videos, exceeding 30,000 views. So, we …
Continue reading “Advanced Frog Stand Variations: Fun With Hand Balancing!”
Training using animal movements is great for strength, stability,and conditioning. Learn how this increasingly popular discipline can benefit your own workouts!
When the winning video for our Advanced Bodyweight Workout Challenge included the creative push up to ninja kip up as one of its exercises, we knew right away we wanted to feature a lesson on how to do the kip up. The challenge winner, Brazilian Alexandre C. Alves, had submitted an impressive combination of bodyweight …
[singlepic id=5 float=center] While in NYC this past week, I had the pleasure of meeting up with New York’s very own Al Kavadlo (fitness guru/bodyweight enthusiast) and Rebecca Evens (Budokon instructor). It was an excellent opportunity to take three different backgrounds and styles of bodyweight training and bring them together for one intense workout! If …
It’s one of the most soulful experiences you can have on the water. Just you and the ocean. Moving rhythmically with the swell. Realizing your insignificance in relation to the great mother Earth. With each swoop your navigating through the open blue. It’s just like, well, walking on water. I’m talking about paddle boarding of …
