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 p...

Can Calisthenics Burn Fat?

This is a common beginner calisthenics question!

First the short answer is: 
YES, ABSOLUTELY.



Here is how to get started and make your own beginner calisthenics workout!



Second, the long answer:
Beyond burning fat and building muscle, calisthenics will speed up your overall metabolism, allowing to burn fat 24/7.

It is also about muscle quality and composition. And you get prime muscle quality with calisthenics.

Calisthenics isn't just about packing on muscle and burning fat; it's about cultivating muscle quality and a toned physique reminiscent of athletes in gymnastics and martial arts.

And achieving this goes beyond just the exercises – it's about how much and how well you eat.

In the end, your muscle mass attributes and qualities are shaped by your nutrition and the type of training you undertake, guided by your unique fitness goals, be it strength, power, function, endurance, skills, or speed.



Third, the longer answer:


The path to shaping ...

Muscle Growth with Push-Ups

Today, let's dive into one of the most underrated exercises.

Many mistakenly see push-ups as beginner's exercises, since anyone can do a push up.

Or sort of!

But I'm here to challenge that!

Push-ups are not just for beginners; they are, in fact, one of the most frequently butchered exercises out there (with pull ups).

It's time to rethink your approach and discover the muscle-building magic hidden within this seemingly simple movement.

Here the 3 most important types of push ups!

Mindset Shift:
First things first – let's reshape our mindset around push-ups.

Instead of fixating on rep counts, shift your focus to extracting the most from each repetition. Think of it as a full body workout, where your body tenses from head to toe.

Push-ups, when executed with precision, are far from easy. They are an amazing tool for enhancing overall fitness and sculpting the upper body. It's not only about how many you can do; it's about how much you can get from each rep.

Go...

Calisthenics when overweight?

I have sometimes heard: “I think I need to lose weight before I can start calisthenics”.

This is because people think they need to be able to do pull ups and hard push ups right away.

And this isn’t the case at all!

In fact, it’s the opposite!

Starting and doing calisthenics will make you lose weight.

You will also then become stronger and able to achieve the harder moves that you once thought was impossible!

Watch my client Antal’s transformation, from calisthenics beginner to achieving the muscle up in 2 years!

If you are a beginner and/or need to lose weight here are some useful substitutions for the movements you can’t do yet:

Push ups: 

• Start in a plank, do the negative repetition all the way to do get your chest to the floor, then use your knees to come back up. 
• If you can’t do that yet, start with standing push ups against a wall or elevated push ups with hands on a bench or chairs.

Pull ups:

• Grab a pull up bar you can reach with
...

Beginner Calisthenics Workout For Women!

You can do it at home or your favorite park if you have access.

This is a great workout for beginners. You don't need any equipment besides a resistance band if you have one. This routine include essential compound movements that will workout your entire body.

1. Warm Up: perform proper warm up drills to make your workout safe and more efficient. Try your best to apply proper form on each movement. If don't have a resistance band, do the band pull apart just pretending you are hold a band and creative resistance yourself.

2. Pulling and Pushing exercises: the pull and push combination will provide great training balance and work both your "front and back". If you don't have access to a low bar you can substitute the low bar pulls with doorway pull ups (scroll down the channel to check the doorway pull ups video).

3. Leg Work: we are using basic squats as it is one of the most important movement to master. It connects both upper and lowe...

How To Warm Up For a Calisthenics Workout!

Today, I want to talk to you about the importance of warming up before your calisthenics workout. 

The warm-up phase is a crucial part of your exercise routine as it prepares your body for the workout and aids in better recovery afterward. It's an essential component for avoiding injuries and making progress, so let's dive into it.

We'll be focusing on the hips/ankles, neck/shoulders, and wrists. 

By breaking it down like that, we can ensure that the warm-up is efficient and effective. So let's get started!

First, let's talk about the standing split, which is a static drill to open up your hips and engage your core. 

Start by standing with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointing outward at a 45-degree angle. Keep your rib cage tucked in and your pelvis tilted back. Engage your core and hold this position for about one to three minutes, or as long as possible. 

Watch the calisthenics standing split warm up here!...

6 Beginner Movements To Start Calisthenics!

Today, we're going to discuss the six main calisthenics movements for beginners. 

If you can't do a pull-up yet we have alternatives that you can work on and practice until you become strong enough to do them! 

Let's start with the Australian rows or inverted rows.

To perform this exercise, you'll need a low bar like a parallel bar or a pair of gymnastic rings if you don't have access to a low bar. You can also use a tree branch or any pole in the park. Ensure the bar or rings are low enough to mimic a lower bar. First and foremost, focus on your grip and grab the bar properly while keeping your wrists up. This is crucial for a proper pull-up form.

Next, you'll want to work on your body alignment. Create a hollow body position by tilting your pelvis, tucking your rib cage in, flexing your toes up, and staying on your heels. If you're unable to do this initially, you can keep your feet flat on the ground and bend your knees slightly for m...

How To Start Calisthenics: Make Your Beginner Calisthenics Workout Program

Today, we're going to discuss how to build your own calisthenics workout routine. 

Lately, I've been asked this question quite often. 

It's crucial to know how to create a calisthenics workout plan when you have to take your health into your own hands. So, I'm here to provide you with some tips for scheduling and planning your weeks to achieve the best results, whether you're a beginner or intermediate.

But before we dive into it, I want to mention that you can download my free workout here. It's a valuable resource that includes the intermediate template we'll be discussing today, along with other helpful tools like a one-day meal plan and a monthly healthy habits schedule. Feel free to make use of these resources to build healthy habits and develop a strong body through calisthenics.

Now, let's focus on the intermediate template in this document. Keep in mind that you can always adjust it if you're a begi...

Calisthenics, when will I see results?

Everybody has their own idea of what progress is when starting their calisthenics journey.

For some it may be weight loss, gaining more muscle, becoming more athletic or learning a new calisthenics skill.

These are all excellent goals and more often than not come all together eventually to those who stay consistent.

It’s crucial to remember what progress looks like and how long it takes in most cases. Indeed, it’s not always easy to perceive something that is not there yet while we put lots of effort in reaching those goals.

So here is an overall progress timeframe to better visualize the progress path.

In a nutshell, progress is a lot faster when you are just getting started. It gets harder to level up as you become better! The curve can look like a logarithmic graph for those who studied maths: it goes up quick and starts to plateau after.

This following timeline is an estimate that may vary greatly depending on people, training consisten...

5 Calisthenics Training Rules for Great Results!

Last we week we spoke about the best calisthenics training patterns.

In a nutshell, how many sets and reps to do, to get results when you workout.

In addition to how many reps to do, the "What and How" we do these sets and reps matters just as much.

So here are the 5 calisthenics training rules to follow for optimum workouts.

1 - Use full body training as a staple method

Combine pulling and pushing, legs work front and back. Also apply high intensity for each repetition and deep, long muscle contraction to optimize your training. 

2 - Train your core everyday

For 5 to 10 min with intensity.

3 - Train antagonist movements

Train muscles that work together. Aim for pushing after pulling for example. Start with the hardest exercises and sets of your training. Start with pull up sets before your push ups, or muscle ups before pull ups, for example.

4 - Use rather short rest time

Rest time plays a crucial role in training results. ...