How To Improve Your Front Lever

The Front lever is one of the hardest move in calisthenics. 

It requires a very strong back and core, as well as good shoulder and hip mobility.

- One of the best way to train it is the advanced tuck hold.

Here are some pointers:

• Squeeze your knees together
• Point your toes
• Don't let your hips fall
• "Push" the bar away from you to keep it at your hip level
• Breathe slow and steady

The goal is to hold that position for as long as you can and repeat for 5 sets.

- You can also combine the advanced tuck with full assisted holds using a resistance band. Wrap the band around the bar and place it around your feet and/or hips. 

Go for 5-10 sets of max holds with the band.

- You can also practice negative front lever reps where you come from the top hold then descend and try to hold when your body becomes parallel to the ground.

Here again go for 5-10 negative repetitions.

- Lastly spend some time training your dragon flag as a great accessory...

Try This Quick Calisthenics Pull Ups and Push Ups Challenge!

I wanted to try a quick calisthenics challenge: do 50 pull ups and 100 push ups, as fast as possible.

It's way more challenging than it sounds.

The hard variable is time. Trying to complete all the repetitions in a short time is where it gets tricky.

Your rest time is minimum and each repetition gets harder as you go.

1- For the pull ups, I split the sets as follow: 10-10-10-5-5-5-5

My time for the pull ups was: 6min 40 sec.

I started pretty good on the first 3 sets of 10, with about 20-30 sec rest in between. Things started getting tough around the last 2 sets of pull ups where I had to struggle my way up.

Here is how to get better at pull ups if you are getting started!

I took about a minute to reset the tripod between pull ups and push ups.

2- For the push ups, I did: 30-25-20-15-10

My total time after the push ups was: 9 min 50 sec.

While the goal was to rest as little as possible, my form started to suffer after my...

Do this before every leg workouts!

That combination of movements addresses your entire lower body as well as some upper body.

This will greatly improve your leg workout results overtime!

• The standing back bend stretch helps opening the shoulders, rib cage and hips.
• Then down to foot and toes activation to make sure the big toe muscle chain is active and ready to push for a whole workout. Squatting on your toes also allows for full bent knee range of motion.
• Moving on to hips, ankle and shoulders with the standing frog. This movement is a major tool to improve hip and shoulder mobility.
• Side to side rotations are great to address thoracic spine mobility. You can do it both in a squat and lunge variations.

Go for 4-6 reps of each movement. You can repeat the sequence 1-3 times.

Get ALL my calisthenics programs, mobility routines and coaching here if you need more guidance!

Improve Your Posture With This Easy Back Stretch

Poor posture is very often related to a weak mid-back.

It can and is commonly combined with other weakness within the back muscle chain.

Use this very easy mid-back  stretch to align your back and say goodbye to any back pain.

Keep your core and pelvis engaged, and breathe thoroughly as you stretch.

Repeat the sequence 3 times.

You can also do this to release your lower back!

Get my FULL calisthenics course and coaching here if you are new!

If you are not stretching your shoulders regularly, chances are they are tight!

As someone who suffered from a chronic shoulder injury, I use this sequence daily to keep my rotator cuffs mobile and healthy.

Here are the details:

• I like to start with classic shoulder dislocates with a 6 ft. stick. The name sounds crazy but it's actually really good to practice.

• Then I move on to the "figure 8" stretch to add a bit of complexity to the shoulder rolls.

• I finally do partial side to side raises as shown as the last exercise in the video.

You can go for 5-10 repetitions of each exercise and repeat the full sequence 3 times for a great shoulder warm up!

If you need further guidance, you can get ALL my calisthenics and mobility programs, as well as personal coaching here!

Here Is An Easy Sprint Warm Up!

If you don’t want to end up in a wheelchair like Kevin Heart, use this simple drill before you go for a sprint!

Warming up your legs and hips is crucial before you sprint, to make sure all joints and muscle chains are ready for it.

My favorite drill to warm up for sprints is leg skipping combined with back pedaling.

This combo helps activating the hips, legs, knees and feet along with the hear rate.

Aim to lift your knees high when skipping and bring your heels up when performing the back pedal.

Repeat the sequence in the video for 3-5 sets.

Pair that with 5 minutes of hip and hamstring mobility work to begin your session.

Get ALL my calisthenics training programs and coaching here if you are new!

Survival of The Fittest? Really?

It’s bullsh*t.

In the real world, it’s the most adaptable that survive.

T-Rex are extinct while small rat-looking mammals that lived underground for thousands of years now dominate the world.

Insects and octopuses are adaptation masters which have been around for hundreds of millions of years.

The biggest guy does not always win when endurance come in play.

David beat Goliath.

Even Thanos loses at the end!

You get the point.

You have to be “agile” in the way you approach things in order to finish on top.

It’s great to be the fittest too, to have the perfect plan, with the perfect timing and nutrition intake that goes along with it. Last but not least perfect sleep.

However, it just does not really happen in real life, thus the need to adapt to the conditions we are facing at that exact moment.

We all have unexpected changes of situations that occur from time to time.

The key is to know how to handle those changes.

So...

The Back Bridge Benefits

This might be the least sexy move with the most benefits you’ll see today.

The back bridge and its dynamic variations are an essential tool for overall back mobility and good posture.

It is something I have neglected for a good part of my life. I started to change that when I realized my mid/lower back was my missing link.

I’m still far from the acrobat level but at 43 it’s night and day compared to what I was able to do in my 20’s.

I like doing dynamic knee raises paired with the bridge to work on my motor control when up-side down.

It is surprisingly hard to lift your legs when the body is engaged into an arched position. This requires to re-calibrate how we use our hip muscles in order to lift our legs.

Go for 4-6 reps and repeat for 3 sets. 

You can ideally mix those reps sets with 3 sets of maximum static holds.

If you can't do the full bridge yet, simply start with an elevated version of the bridge, with parallel bars or yoga...

You Don’t Need To Be 8% Body Fat

Getting big, diced and shredded is the most common goal for most people, wether when they are getting started with fitness or already on the workout train.

But it’s a very far off, sub-optimal and inefficient way to approach training.

My goals are multi-dimensional:

1 - Lean mass and muscle density improvement

If you are 10-15% body fat (for men) or 15-20% (for women), you are a healthy individual. And more likely to perform better at ANY sport than someone under the 8-10% mark. Make sure to focus on muscle density and a fast metabolism. Yes you want to be lean, no you don’t want to be malnourished. 

2- Performance based results

Your real-life capabilities – from sprinting to pull-ups, dips, and handstands – are an authentic reflection of your overall well-being. Mastering essential strength, athleticism, and skill-based activities showcases your true potential.

3 - Form and Mobility Enhancement

Aiming for...