Whether you are starting as a beginner, or are an advanced practitioner just looking to improve your skills, you’ll find something here for you! Keep checking back, because we are adding new articles and videos every week.
Kipping vs Strict Muscle Up: It’s All About the Transition
Written by Mike Fitch on December 21, 2016
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,... more»
Hand Maintenance for the Bodyweight Athlete
Written by Mike Fitch on November 23, 2016
If you’re into bodyweight training, you’re no doubt spending a lot of time on your hands. And while we might not normally pay them a lot of attention, your hands are kind of a big... more»
Mastering the Single-Arm Push-Up
Written by Mike Fitch on June 15, 2016
The Single-Arm Push-Up is frequently cited as a prime example of bodyweight strength and prowess. But if you’ve begun the road to mastering this skill you know that it is a lot more than just... more»
Floor Pike Push-Up: A Starting Point for the Handstand Push-Up
Written by Mike Fitch on April 2, 2015
The Floor Pike Push-Up is one of the first lead up exercises that is absolutely essential to master if you ever want to perform a free standing, flat back Handstand Push-Up.
Watching a video of a... more»
Climbing and Swinging: Amp Up Your Pull-Up Strength!
Written by Clifton Harski on November 10, 2014
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... more»
Reverse Lunge Shrimp Squat: Get a Leg Up on Your Squat Training!
Written by Mike Fitch on September 2, 2014
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... more»
Floor Conditioning for Front and Back Levers: Training Without Bars
Written by Mike Fitch on August 15, 2014
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... more»
Stretching Made Simple (by Al Kavadlo)
Written by Al Kavadlo on February 18, 2014
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... more»
The Reverse Hyperextension Elbow Lever: Strength with Full Range of Motion
Written by Mike Fitch on September 21, 2013
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... more»
The Flexed Roll: Roll Your Way to a Stronger Core!
Written by Mike Fitch on August 5, 2013
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... more»
The 6-Point Pull-Up: Making Use of the Cable-System Pull-Up Bar
Written by Mike Fitch on June 18, 2013
The 6-Point Pull-Up Variation is a great sequence of pull and chin ups that I put together to make use of the typical Pull-Up bar set up you find on most cross-over cable columns. I began doing this... more»
The Walking Pistol Squat: For Even More Complexity and Balance!
Written by Mike Fitch on April 18, 2013
The pistol squat is the essential leg exercise for the Bodyweight Athlete. For strength and stability there’s no other movement that compares. The Walking Pistol Squat takes your pistol training to... more»
Advanced Pull-Up Variations From Simon Boulter
Written by Simon Boulter on March 25, 2013
I’m psyched to bring you this guest article and video from Simon Boulter. Pull-Ups are the basis of our Horizontal Pulling Patterns in bodyweight training, and I bet you already incorporate... more»
The Hip Hinge Forearm Push Up: Bodyweight Leveraging at its Best!
Written by Mike Fitch on March 4, 2013
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... more»
Shoulder Weaving: More Practice for Handstand Control
Written by Kálmán "Kiwee" Attila on December 28, 2012
Perfecting a handstand is a fantastic goal for so many reasons – it’s a great skill, is central to overall hand balancing and gymnastics practice, and makes for an excellent exercise... more»
Parallel Bars: From L-Sits to Tucks and Presses and More!
Written by Mike Fitch on October 23, 2012
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... more»
Turtle Freeze: Put Some BBoy Style in Your Hand Balancing!
Written by Mike Fitch on August 27, 2012
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... more»
The Archer Push-Up: You’ll Love This Variation!
Written by Mike Fitch on August 1, 2012
This week’s exercise brings us back to a Horizontal “Pushing” Pattern (ie Push-Up category): The Archer Push-Up, which is a great total body exercise that is also helpful for training for a... more»
Wrist Exercises: Stretching and Mobilizing Matters!
Written by Mike Fitch on July 18, 2012
Wrist mobility exercises and stretches are an important tool for anyone who is into bodyweight training, hand balancing, or, of course, Animal Flow. This week’s video was inspired from a recent... more»
Intro to Rope Climbing: The S-Hook
Written by Mike Fitch on July 3, 2012
Rope climbing is one of my favorite alternatives for your vertical pulling patterns (after all, you can’t do pull-ups all the time!). It can be extremely challenging to work your way up to... more»
Parkour Wall Run and Cat Leap: Train Like a Ninja with Young Flip
Written by Mike Fitch on June 15, 2012
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... more»
The Tornado Pull-Up: Strength With a Twist
Written by Mike Fitch on May 21, 2012
The Tornado Pull-Up is a great variation on the timeless pull-up exercise. It’s no secret that Pull-Ups and Chin-Ups are one of the best exercises around. Sure, it might be impressive to see... more»
Static Frog with Back Extension: Turning a Classic Exercise Upside Down
Written by Mike Fitch on May 8, 2012
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... more»
Band-Assisted Muscle-Up: Master Your Technique!
Written by Mike Fitch on April 26, 2012
The Band-Assisted Muscle-Up is the next step in our Muscle-Up tutorial series, where we’re working toward achieving the incredibly challenging and super-impressive Slow Muscle-Up. Our ultimate... more»
Plyometric Body Row: Pulling With Power!
Written by Mike Fitch on March 26, 2012
The Plyometric Body Row (also known as an Australian Pull-Up) is a great way to build speed and power in your horizontal pulling pattern. The Body Row overall is an extremely versatile exercise that... more»
90-degree Pike Push-Up: More Stability, More Strength
Written by Karen Mahar on March 16, 2012
The 90 degree Pike Push Up plays a major role in our journey towards the Handstand Push-Up. Not only is this exercise great for building shoulder stability and strength, but it puts us in a... more»
Band-Assisted Plyometric Push-Ups: Defy Gravity!
Written by Mike Fitch on March 1, 2012
The Band-Assisted Plyometric Push-Up provides a great way to learn the Plyo Push-Up, a killer horizontal pushing pattern that can be used to develop explosive strength. And, this gives us the... more»
Advanced Frog Stand Variations: Fun With Hand Balancing!
Written by Mike Fitch on February 10, 2012
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... more»
SwissBall Back and Hip Extension: More to Life than Crunches!
Written by Mike Fitch on February 2, 2012
The Swiss Ball Back and Hip Extension is a great trunk exercise for any level Bodyweight Athlete. This is a fantastic “extension” exercise that works everything from the hamstrings and glutes, up... more»
The Tuck Front Lever: Intro to Static Exercises!
Written by Mike Fitch on January 26, 2012
The Tuck Front Lever is more than just a great static or isometric exercise – it is also the starting point for progressing towards the Fully Extended Front Lever with its impressive show of... more»
The Negative Wall-Supported Handstand Push-Up
Written by Mike Fitch on January 19, 2012
The Negative Handstand Push-Up (wall assisted version) is yet another step in our quest to master the Unsupported Handstand Push-Up. Bodyweight training is all about systemic progressions, and the... more»
Single-Arm Body Row: Build Your Arms and Back!
Written by Mike Fitch on January 12, 2012
The Single-Arm Body Row is another great advanced bodyweight progression, this one being an excellent exercise for sculpting rock hard arms and a massive back. If you’ve been following our last... more»
The Archer Pull-Up: Add This to Your Rings Training!
Written by Mike Fitch on January 4, 2012
I’m excited to post this video on the Gymnastic Rings version of the Archer Pull-Up. It’s a great variation of the straight bar Archer and is another exercise you can add to your suspension... more»
Front Kick-Throughs: Using Animal Flow Moves in Your Own Routines
Written by Mike Fitch on January 3, 2012
We’re kicking off the new year with a bonus video for you: the Front Kick-Through, a killer trunk exercise right out of our Animal Flow Workout video. The Front Kick-Through is a total body... more»
Pike Push-Up: Building Strength for the Handstand Push-Up
Written by Mike Fitch on December 21, 2011
I have to say the Pike Push-Up is one of my favorite bodyweight training exercises! Not only is it great for building rock hard shoulders, but it’s going to be your “go to” exercise while... more»
Learning the Kipping Muscle-Up: The Complete Lead-Up Exercise Series
Written by Mike Fitch on December 8, 2011
In the realm of bodyweight training, being able to perform a Muscle Up is like a badge of honor. And rightfully so: there are few exercises that require so much strength, power and skill. Learning... more»
Single Leg Box Squat: On the Road to the Pistol
Written by Mike Fitch on November 18, 2011
The Pistol squat is an impressive feat of strength, and the Single Leg Box Squat is a great place to start!
One of the challenges of bodyweight training is finding creative ways to continue to... more»
Lead-Up Exercises to Muscle-Up: Part 3 The Muscle-Up Dip
Written by Mike Fitch on November 10, 2011
The Muscle-Up Dip is an important piece of the puzzle in learning to do a full Muscle-Up. This week’s video is the third exercise in our four-part series leading up to the Muscle-Up, so if you’ve... more»
Lead-Up Exercises to Muscle-Up: Part 2 The Kipping Pull-Up
Written by Mike Fitch on October 21, 2011
Welcome to Part-Two of our series, “Lead Up Exercises to the Muscle-Up”! This week’s exercise is the Kipping Pull-Up, an absolutely essential technique in learning the first phase of the... more»
Swiss Ball Push-Up with Single-Leg Jackknife
Written by Mike Fitch on October 14, 2011
There are few bodyweight training tools as versatile as the Swiss Ball, and this week’s exercise, the Swiss Ball Push-Up with Single-Leg Jacknife, takes full advantage of the possibilities. This... more»
Lead-Up Exercises to Muscle-Up: Part 1 The Jumping Muscle-Up
Written by Mike Fitch on October 4, 2011
Few exercises rival the full body challenge of the Muscle-Up. In order to help you achieve your first Muscle-Up, we’ve put together this four-part video series that breaks it down into three... more»
The Single-Arm Ring Push-Up: The Ultimate Progression!
Written by Mike Fitch on September 25, 2011
The Single Arm Push-Up is an impressive feat of strength all on its own; add in the instability of the gymnastic ring, and you’ve got yourself an incredibly challenging exercise that can topple... more»
How Do You Use the Animal Flow Workout?
Written by Mike Fitch on September 18, 2011
One of the questions I get asked the most is how to incorporate animal movement exercises like the Animal Flow Workout into bodyweight training and fitness routines. So I’m really excited to write... more»
Fitness Ropes: For Serious Warrior Conditioning!
Written by Mike Fitch on September 7, 2011
We are excited to sell high-quality, custom made Fitness Ropes in many sizes and materials. Since a lot of people aren’t sure how to best use them, we’ve put together this article and... more»
180-Degree Spiderman Jump: Superhero Plyometrics!
Written by Mike Fitch on September 2, 2011
With the 180-Degree Spiderman Jump, this week’s post takes its movement right out of the pages of the comic books! And like most of our GBT exercises, we are challenging you to step outside of the... more»
The Best Body Row Progressions for Total Back Development
Written by Mike Fitch on August 18, 2011
Body rows are great bodyweight exercises for developing your back muscles. And you’d be surprised at how many variations you can do, making them progressively more difficult by allowing you to take... more»
The Dynamic Side Plank (This Ain’t Just Lying Around!)
Written by Mike Fitch on August 10, 2011
The Dynamic Side Plank is a simple movement that packs a whole lot of punch. You’ll love what it does for your obliques and overall trunk- and it’s a great lead-in for learning to do the... more»
Jumping and Static Frog Combination: Not Your Child’s Leapfrog!
Written by Mike Fitch on July 28, 2011
The traveling and static frog combination in this week’s exercise gives us a new animal flow exercise that brings together some powerful traveling moves with static holds building amazing strength... more»
The Tornado Jump Lunge: One Killer Leg Exercise!
Written by Mike Fitch on July 21, 2011
The basic jump lunge is a fantastic plyometric exercise, and it gets even better with the variations we add this week to create the “Tornado Jump Lunge.” Using plyometric movements in... more»
The Bodyweight Tricep Extension
Written by Mike Fitch on July 14, 2011
The Tricep Extension is usually a staple exercise for anyone looking to strengthen or develop this specific muscle, and this week I’m happy to show you how it can be done using just your own... more»
