Well, as you all know, I've just returned from spending some vacation time in good old NYC, the epicentre for the calisthenics movement. The best thing about it is that despite pigging out on all the delectable foods in one of the greatest cities in the world, I came back home looking more lean than I've been in awhile, and even lost a few pounds! How did this happen? Three simple rules that can be applied whenever you are on vacation or at home: 

1. Skipping breakfast. "Breaking the Fast" of course can happen any time of the day, but in this sense, I am referring to the popular usage of eating first thing when you wake up. Seriously, if you are not hungry in the morning, there is no need to force yourself. Periods of daily fasting are known to aid in fat loss. This also limits the chance that you will overeat during the course of the day, since you will not be able to collectively stuff as much in two meals as you would in three. Ideally, you would keep the consumption window at around 8 hours or less if you can. So, if you first break the fast around 1 pm, your last intake of the day should occur no later than 9 pm. Easily attainable.

2. Calisthenics workouts indoors and at the local park right after waking up. Empty stomach workouts are another great way to stimulate that fat burning furnace. Don't worry if you aren't able to do nearly as much as you  normally would at home. When on vacation, all you can really ask for is maintenance, as opposed to actually building new muscle. All I basically did each morning was 3 to 4 total sets of 4 minute Tabata sessions or supersetting alternating upper and lower body exercises (for either 4 minutes or 10 mini-sets apiece, whichever comes first). Total elapsed time = 12 to 16 mins!

3. TONS of WALKING, here, there, and everywhere. NYC is one of the few cities where you can get away without having a car, but this can be easily emulated wherever you live as well. All you need is about 30 minutes of brisk walking per day. Anything extra... you're playing with house money!

And there you have it! This simple plan is certainly more than achievable when on vacation. In the end, you will enjoy your trip much more than you would have otherwise, with ZERO guilt! And as mentioned before, there is no reason why you can't also try this at home!

Just a tiny bit of this above, and you can have all of THIS below and even LOSE WEIGHT!

Lali's Dominicano Beef Stew with Rice and Beans

New York Pizza with the works at John's Pizzeria

Shake Shack... better than In-n-Out?

Taisho Yakitori (Japanese food that is not sushi)

So, I was up late the other night, and noticed an infomercial for the latest piece of home exercise equipment called The Rack. In all honesty, it really isn't all that special - basically a run of the mill foldable dip rack - something that's been in existence for awhile now.

For upper body development, the dip is without a doubt one of the best exercises you can perform, with a myriad of variations for adding resistance, from altering the time period of each rep, to changing the angle, to even adding some external weight.

What makes this ad interesting is the giant $14.99 plastered all over, leading people to think that this is the final price. However, if you click on the links on the site, you will soon realize that this is merely for a one month trial, and the actual sticker price is $160! Granted, this is certainly not mindblowingly exorbitant, but why even bother when the local park has this very same set up... for FREE?! Better yet, you can just set up a couple of chairs at home, and do the same exact workout!

To this day, the only piece of infomercial exercise equipment that is worth the money is the Iron Gym pull up bar, one of my favorites, and something I use on almost a daily basis. You can easily find it at many retailers for as little as $20, and is definitely a wiser investment than The Rack.

P.S. Do you seriously think these fitness models in the commercials really got this ripped solely from using said product?

 

Well, as many of you may have heard, the site that I use to host my blog, Posterous, has recently been purchased by Twitter. While this is great news for the developers of Posterous, the future of the service, and more importantly - the actual users - is in doubt.

So, in other words, whether this blog will remain or cease to exist in the coming days or weeks is anyone's guess. However, not to worry! All along, I have also been publishing these same entries on the First Cut Fitness Facebook page. In addition, I have a lot more useful links and information on the Facebook page than I do here, so make sure to check it out!

Hopefully, we shall know the fate of this Posterous blog within a few days, if not weeks. Until then, continued strength and fitness to you!

We get asked this question a lot. Since we are pro-calisthenics, this must mean we are against the actual lifting of weights, right? Before we get into more details, let's clarify. "Lifting weights" indeed also covers calisthenics, as your own body is considered "weight," but semantics aside, when most people think of "weightlifting," it pertains to the metallic objects at the gym.

So, are we actually against the usage of gym equipment? Not at all! As a matter of fact, we were all pretty much gym rats back in the day before getting bitten by the calisthenics bug. Once in awhile, we'll feel compelled enough to actually visit the gym to whip out some compound movements, such as deadlifts and squats (never any curls or isolation exercises), but the majority of our program still involves only bodyweight, including 100% of upper body movements.

When training our clients, we certainly recommend calisthenics for ease and convenience, but of course it all depends on their needs and wants. We have a few right now who are on strict bodybuilding and powerlifting workouts, while others are doing nothing but calisthenics.

What it boils down to is what resources you have available to you, and what your end goals are. The workout you most enjoy doing, and see the best results with, is the one you will stick with.

I usually reserve this space to generate my own content, but today I came across a simple, yet to the point article that really hammers home the benefits of calisthenics. There is a reason why the movement for bodyweight training has blown up recently, and will only continue to do so in the near future and beyond.

Top 6 Reasons Why Bodyweight Calisthenics Are Important

by Coach Eddie Lomax

When I look at many popular physical fitness training programs I am often shocked at the overwhelming absence of bodyweight calisthenics exercises.

Do you really need a costly gym membership and access to all the shiny machines or expensive equipment and magic powders to improve strength, conditioning and fitness?

Absolutely not!

Bodyweight calisthenics exercise is one of the most versatile, effective and beneficial training methods available to both the serious athlete and non-professional fitness enthusiast.

1. Bodyweight Calisthenics Can Be Done Anywhere

You don't need expensive gym memberships or costly equipment to benefit from bodyweight calisthenics... you have everything you need right here and now.

Indoors or out... there are a multitude of bodyweight calisthenics exercises that you can perform to greatly improve strength, conditioning and fitness. 

2. Bodyweight Calisthenics Are The Perfect Place To Start

If you are just starting a physical fitness training program... bodyweight calisthenics are the perfect place to start.

Bodyweight calisthenics will prepare you with a physical base from which to effectively and safely add more advanced resistance training.

Learn how to control the weight of your own body first before exploring other training methods.

3. Bodyweight Calisthenics Can Be Adapted For Any Fitness Level

There are many variations to bodyweight calisthenics exercises... giving you the ability to make them easier or harder.

This is why they are great for beginners as well as seasoned fitness enthusiasts.

4. Bodyweight Calisthenics Train Natural Body Movements

Often, resistance training methods do not directly improve movement patterns that are naturally used in everyday life... but this is not the case with bodyweight calisthenics.

Fitness excellence is often measured by your ability to control the movements of your own body... and not your ability to control the movement of an object.

Train the way you naturally move to see more physical improvements applicable in the real world.

5. Bodyweight Calisthenics Can Improve Muscular Strength, Power And Endurance

Depending on the exercises used, the reps and sets and the intensity... you can effectively target strength, power and endurance separately or collectively.

Vary rarely are the challenges of sport, work and life one dimensional... but rather a combination of strength, power and endurance weaved together.

Bodyweight calisthenics are a great way to train all three and the seamless flow from one ability to another.

6. Bodyweight Calisthenics Can Simultaneously Improve Strength And Cardiorespiratory Endurance While Burning Fat

When most of us participate in a fitness training program we want to improve strength and cardiorespiratory endurance... and simultaneously burning off unwanted fat.

Bodyweight calisthenics can do all three... in the same workout.

By varying the exercises, stresses and intensities of your workouts you can effectively and efficiently get stronger, better conditioned and leaner.

Conclusion...

Don't let the simplicity of bodyweight calisthenics fool you... they are one of the best tools you have for the improvement of strength, conditioning and fitness.

And just because they look simple does not mean they are easy or ineffective... just try a one-armed push up, one-armed pull up of one-legged squat if you don't believe me.

Bodyweight calisthenics exercise should be the foundation for any physical training program... It is the perfect place to start, and should remain an important part of your fitness workout program as you add more training methods.

People often ask me what the true definition of "calisthenics" is. In the simplest terms, it basically constitutes performing strength building exercises using nothing more than what good old mother nature gave you. This means not doing any type of "weight training" in the typical sense.

Now, this does not mean that I am anti-weightlifting, not in the slightest. I actually have a background of going to the gym for 10+ years before ever getting into this whole calisthenics movement, so I definitely endorse the merits of both. As a matter of fact, for many, it would be most beneficial to dabble in a mixture of the two. However, for the most part, I currently pretty much do nothing but calisthenics, and also endorse that to my friends and clients.

Here comes the tricky part. Every once in awhile, someone will "catch" me with some sort of weight in my hand, be it a sandbag, dumbbell, etc., and ask me if I'm cheating on my own principles. Well, not necessarily. There indeed is a fine line, and some people may have differing definitions, but here is my take on it. By adding weight to an exercise that I already perform consistently without weights, it is merely making it more challenging through increased resistance. For example, slapping on a backpack full of rocks when doing pull ups, doing dips with a weight belt, running with a weight vest, or practicing punching drills with light dumbbells are all effective methods of taking your skills to the next level.

In a nutshell, I am still lifting my body as the main source of resistance, and not solely relying on external weights to provide it. The idea is that you do these same exercises regardless of whether you have the weights or not. The weights are only to compliment the movement to make it more difficult.

Here is a great article about adding weights to simple calisthenics.

Well, it's about that time of year when the kids are all back in school! What does that mean for us exercise enthusiasts? The parks and playgrounds are all free! Join me as I partake in a quick workout at the local park, one of many more to come as I kick off the new season!

I know it is almost cliché to talk about quick fix workouts for those with limited time, but I am a firm believer that in order to obtain and maintain a fit and stellar physique, there is certainly no need to be be killing yourself for hours on end at the gym. Along with the aforementioned Tabata Method,  this is definitely one of my favorite no frills, no hassle workouts, and often used in my rotation. Basically, it is based on Ross Emanait's "No Excuses" system, and all it takes is 10 minutes per day.

In a nutshell, you choose four calisthenics exercises that you can do comfortably, yet are still somewhat challenging. I typically like push ups, burpees, squats, pistols, handstands, pull ups, and muscle ups, but you can also do running in place, box jumps, planks, mountain climbers, shadow boxing, etc. You should preferably have enough variation to make for a full body workout, so try to include both the upper and lower body. These four exercises shall be performed in this manner, with no breaks:

Round 1: Each exercise 1 min = 4 mins
Round 2: Each exercise 45 secs = 3 mins
Round 3: Each exercise 30 secs = 2 mins
Round 4: Each exercise 15 secs = 1 min
Total elapsed time = 10 mins

And there you have it! 10 minutes to a lean, mean physique using nothing but bodyweight exercises. Oh, and did I mention that you do this all nonstop? Of course, this would be the ideal, but if you need to catch your breath or if you get stuck on an exercise, by all means, take a quick break, but just make sure it's not too long! And as mentioned earlier, don't pick movements that are way too easy, nor ones that will have you gasping for air in a matter of seconds!

An alternate pattern I like to use is this:

Round 1: Each exercise 1 min = 4 mins
Round 2: Each exercise 1 min = 4 mins
Round 3: Each exercise 30 secs = 2 mins
Total elapsed time = 10 mins

This one sometimes works better than the first because in Round 4, 15 seconds apiece is sometimes not enough time, considering that it usually takes a few seconds to switch from exercise to exercise.

I normally like to perform this first thing in the morning as the perfect way to kick off the day. Start off doing this 3 times per week, or if you are game, you can even go every single day as long as you switch things up. Prepare to get psyched up physically and mentally for work or school every morning!

As most of you know, I am a proponent of natural bodyweight calisthenics exercises over pumping that iron. Of course, there are good and bad qualities to both, and I wouldn't necessarily say that one is better than the other, but one thing that calisthenics has over lifting metal weights is the convenience.

Sure, going to the gym, and seeing all the other people giving it their all is plenty motivating, but first you have to actually get there, and above all, you must fork over your hard earned cash just to get in the door. Why waste time and money when the best gym of all... is the one right where you are standing?

When it comes to overall effectiveness and ease of performance, few exercises can match the good old fashioned push up. Whether you are just starting out or a seasoned athlete, a consistent push up routine can provide one heck of a workout. As a matter of fact, if you were to choose only one exercise to build up the upper body, you'd be hardpressed to find something better.

One of the best programs I have found for those just starting out or looking to add a little extra to their repertoire is called One Hundred Push Ups. This step by step tuturial is just the ticket to sculp a bit of lean muscle onto that physique for the summer beach months, and if done correctly, can be accomplished in six weeks or less. I know it is cliché to mention maximum results in minimal time as a means of motivation, but in terms of return on investment, few routines can match this when it comes to "bang for your buck." Now, if you'll excuse me, time to go bust out another set!