How calisthenics changes your body!

Discover Your Inner Strength!

Ever dream of a sculpted physique?

Imagine chiseled abs, rippling muscles, and the agility of a gymnast – all achieved without stepping foot in a gym.

Sounds impossible?

Think again!

Calisthenics training, harnessing your own bodyweight as resistance, unlocks this potential and redefines fitness on your terms.

Let’s dive deep into how calisthenics revolutionizes your body, both inside and out.

Building a Better You: The Strength Revolution
Forget bulky weights and intimidating machines. Calisthenics uses compound exercises, engaging multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Pull-ups sculpt back and biceps, while push-ups build chest, shoulders, and triceps. Dips target triceps and chest, while squats and lunges strengthen powerful legs. This holistic approach builds functional strength, translating into everyday activities with ease. Lifting groceries? No sweat. Climbing stairs? A breeze.

Don't Forget the Power...

The Worst Healthy Foods!

Being healthy starts with what we eat!

And there are a lot of fake "healthy" foods to avoid to get and stay in shape!

So let's debunk 3 of the worse healthy foods out there:

1. Milk Alternatives

At the top is soy milk, then almond, oat milk, and lastly coconut milk.

All these milk alternatives have different health down sides.

The common thread is that they are full of additives, gums and anti-nutrients that are harmful to us in the long run when consumed regularly.

These reduce protein digestion and absorption as well as increase gut inflammation and bloating.

It's fairly common to see these products used by people who drink coffee.

So my best advice would be to consume better quality coffee and develop the habit of drinking it black.

Note that you can also add a tea spoon of butter or coconut oil in your black coffee  for the fat benefits!

If you are using these products in your oatmeal, you can easily replace them with almond or peanut butter.

Simply...

The Secret To Grow Your Back With Calisthenics!

Training your grip and back are the most important thing when building your upper body.

Most people focus on mid-chest when starting their fitness journey, and often end up lacking upper chest, back and grip strength.

This specific muscle groups will be a limiting factor for progress in the long run.

Here are some simple calisthenics training tips to grow your lats and improve grip strength.

1/ Use a "fat grip" to make the pull up bar thicker and activate more forearm contraction. You can also use a towel or t-shirt to thicken the bar if you don't have "Fat Gripz".

2/ Use a wide grip when doing pull ups.

3/ Include wide-grip chin ups in your routine (the external rotation of the shoulder pulls more on the lats muscles and make them more engaged).

4/ Include overhead press exercises in your routine.

5/ Here is an intermediate-advanced calisthenics training routine you can use on your pull and push days:

• Wide Fat grip pull ups x 55 (11...

How To Train Calisthenics With Bad Weather!

Bad weather is the only real enemy of outdoors calisthenics training, along with extreme heat.

But there are ways around that!

1/ The first option is to stay indoors.

For those who like to go to the gym, that’s an option, then you can train exactly the same way you would at the park.

I personally don’t like the gym environment and prefer home workouts when I have to stay in.

If you live in a place where bad weather or extreme heat is the norm, then investing in a few items such as a doorway pull up bar, dips bar and a few resistance bands goes a very long way!

But you don’t even need any equipment to get a good workout at home.

Here is what I did last Saturday at home, for my push day:

• 300 push ups: 50-30-20-30-70-30-20-20
• 100 ab raises: from the floor, keep your feet on the ground with bent legs and lift your torso off the ground, to bring it to your knees).
• Time: 30-45 min.

2/ There is also a second option: face the...

Simple Calisthenics Workout For Back, Shoulders and Chest

Maximize your fitness gains and save time when needed!

Training calisthenics is great to work on compound movements, maximize gains and save time when needed.

Today I want to share one of my favorite calisthenics routines to train back, chest and shoulders.

Note that every set will also highly engage your abs so your core gets covered as well!

I love using that protocol when training solo and try to keep a solid pace though the workout.

Here are the calisthenics exercises that I do:

• “Fat grip” Wide pull ups to chest + Isometric holds (top-middle-hang on every last rep) x 5-7 x 10 sets
• Deficit pike push ups + isometric hold (bottom) x 5 x 10 sets

Rest:

• I go for minimal, yet efficient, rest time with 30-90 seconds of rest between each set.
• It goes without saying that rest time is lower during the first supersets and tends to get higher towards the end of the workout.

Combining explosive pulling movements and...

Simple Calisthenics Leg Workout!

Build a strong lower body with the horse stance.

It’s one of those that looks easier than it is!

I put it next to the chair’s pose in yoga.

While holding the pose, focus on keeping your legs as engaged and stable as possible.

You will feel your leg posture giving up with time. Fight it.

Keep your adductors, glutes and core very active during the hold.

Also make sure to stay grounded with good ankle and foot activation.

Lastly breathe through the hold and approach the move as a meditation practice.

I did 3 sets of 1.45-2min. My goal is to be able to hold it for 4 min eventually.

Go for 3 sets of your max hold. Rest 2-3 min between sets.

Make it a regular practice (3 times per week) to build solid legs and core.

Get my full calisthenics course and train with me here!

-----------------------------

Calisthenics Training FAQ’s

----------------------------
 

What is Calisthenics Training?
Calisthenics, rooted in the ancient Greek...

How To Grow Your Brain!

Have you ever wonder where will power comes from?

The Anterior Mid-Cingulate Cortex is a fancy name to describe a part of the brain that have been newly studied.

This could be an answer and one of the most fascinating news of the year.

New research shows that when people do something that they DON'T WANT TO DO, then that brain area gets bigger.

This applies to anything, not just fitness.

For example, that part of the brain is shown to be smaller in obese people. It then gets bigger when they diet.

That part of the cortex is also larger in people such as athletes and normal people who see themselves challenged and then overcome that challenge.

Last but not least, in people that live a very long time, that brain area keeps its size and does not shrink with time.

In a nutshell, scientists are starting to think of that part of the brain as the source of will power and maybe even the source of the will to live!

The key take out here is that doing things you don't...

My First 2024 Pull Up Workout!

I had to step back a bit from training my upper body for the last 4 weeks of 2023.

This was due to different minor injuries, some tendonitis and chronic fatigue, after a full 2023 year of constant, non-stop work and workouts.

I stayed active everyday and arranged my workouts around legs, running and core during the month of December.

I also did some rehab work with bands and active mobility (wrists, shoulders, hips, knees and feet).

Today was my first “real” pull-push day in a month. It was great to be back at it!

I used an additional gripping tool that you simply wrap up around the pull up bar to make the bar thicker and harder to grip.

It makes it almost impossible to wrap your thumb around the bar making the forearms and the entire pulling muscle chain work much harder.

The "fat grip" pull ups are a great tool if you want to build strong forearms and increase your pull ups. They make pull ups twice as hard!

Here is what my full workout...

The Simple Recipe for Success

There are a few secrets that successful people use to live a healthy and wealthy life, despite the ups and downs, no matter what day it is!

Here are my 3 secrets to keep growing and progressing in 2024!

1. Progressively get rid of bad habits

That means, identifying and being aware of your own flaws, then pro-actively finding and implementing solutions to change them overtime.

For example:

• If you are overeating at night, you can simply re-arrange your schedule around food during the day. That means eating a bigger and more nutritious breakfast, and eating dinner around 6-7pm. It's also important to prioritize fruits (apples, pineapple, berries) for late snacks.
• If you train regularly and are not seeing muscle gains, make sure your training routine is adapted to your goals and focus on getting enough calories and protein through the day.
• If you have bad posture or chronic pain, start doing 3-5 minutes of mobility work daily.   

2. Create or be...

What To Do After Christmas Eve!

If you are like me and like to eat good during the holidays, then this training tip is for you.

My wife cooked a great "Fench bistro" Christmas dinner: steak with mushroom sauce, sauteed potatoes, and garlic green beans, followed by a decadent chocolate tart and blueberry coulis.

We had some great red wine from Paso Robles to along with the meal.

The meal was a amazing.

All that being said, an easy trick I use right after a successful Christmas dinner is to speed up my metabolism!

I don't forget the essential life hacks.

And this includes: do not be inactive on Christmas day!

So, I go for a 2 mile, run, on an empty stomach (I do drink a bit of water before running) first thing in the morning, on Christmas day!

It feels great!

You sweat a lot of toxins out, and you can even breathe heavy towards the end if you try to finish fast (I sometimes try to sprint the last 30 seconds of my 2 mile run).

The best beginner running tip is to start running...