From March 15-17, we had the opportunity to train with the preeminent parkour coaches in the country, Ryan and Amos from APEX Movement. The newest branch of their ever-expanding empire has recently opened its doors right in our backyard, so we knew we couldn't let the opportunity pass us by.

The idea of this course is not just to learn more about parkour, but to become certified coaches of our own. We figured this would be a great way to complement the calisthenics and bodyweight stuff that we already do. We've always implemented parkour conditioning into our teachings anyhow, so by obtaining this certification from APEX, it will only help to solidify our teachings. Look for more parkour-related content from us in the near future!

Oh, and the facilities are pretty nice too! If you are in the area, come check it out, and also see E's Yelp review here!

APEX Movement NorCal

930 Detroit Ave. Suite A

Concord, CA  94518

And by "TUT," we are not referring to good old King Tutankhaman, nor the dance moves that are named after him, but in this instance, it stands for "Time Under Tension." When it comes to calisthenics, in order to build muscle, it's not about how many reps you can bang out in a row, nor the amount of weight pushed or pressed, but rather, as the name suggests, how much time you put your muscles under pressure, or tension.

See how the gymnasts do long sets on the rings, parallel bars, and pommel horse? That is what is referred to as time under tension, and is the very thing that allows them to create such massive musculature. Doing a 100+ push ups every day, while an impressive feat in its own right, will not give you that long sought after shredded physique. As a matter of fact, despite the fact that your strength and endurance may have gone through the roof, your body may not look much different at all.

As demonstrated by the gymnasts, time under tension is accomplished by performing long, drawn out, continuous sets with multiple movements. For example, on the bars, you can start with muscle ups, then move onto front levers, back levers, ice cream makers, pull ups, etc. all back-to-back, nonstop. Basically, you just keep going until you get gassed. The same can be done on the floor, with varying positions of push ups, handstands, planche (or planche progressions), etc. Just remember to do each rep in a slow and controlled motion. The idea is not to do as many as you can, as fast as you can, but to be able to feel the tension on your muscles for the entire duration.

For an example of "TUT" in action, check out this video. It's one of our favorites.  ;-)

Happy training!

Not too long ago, I wrote an article about the pathetic state of calisthenics parks aka parcourse in the area. Well, no need to worry about that anymore. I was going about my morning routine the other day when I was rudely greeted by this.

The weird thing was that I was just at this park a few weeks ago filming my promotional video for MEELectronics. *Please vote for us by "Liking" the video on YouTube!*

I can't help but think that perhaps it was I who contributed to the demise of the park with my moves. Then again, I was merely doing what the equipment should have been intended for... had it actually been maintained properly. Good thing I wasn't actually working my magic when it collapsed! Then again, I could have sued the city for millions! Darn... missed opportunities are the story of my life.

To top if off, I got accosted by a homeless dude for infringing on his territory. The local parks and recreation will be receiving an e-mail shortly.

A few weeks ago, we at First Cut Fitness caught wind of the Sport-Fi S6 Challenge held by MEElectronics, one of the more desirable brands for quality earphones at budget prices. The S6 is the newest incarnation of the wildly popular M6, designed to provide superior sound while staying in place during more aggressive sporting activities.

Part of the deal to receive a free pair of earphones was to film and produce a video of ourselves using them while exercising. Lo and behold, here it is! We hope you find it entertaining, and please "Like" it on our YouTube page if you enjoy it, so we will have a better chance to win the grand prize! Thanks!

Here are some stills from the shoot!

Watch Sport-Fi S6 Challenge Video Here!

A few weeks ago, I made mention of the Rack workout bar I noticed on an infomercial. The verdict was that although this is a great piece of equipment, it is still grossly overpriced, and not absolutely necessary.

Just recently, I caught wind of this great product sold at Wal*Mart of all places. It is a standalone power tower that pretty much allows you to do all of the most effective upper body exercises, such as pull ups, dips, push ups, v-sits, , levers, planches, and it looks even sturdy enough for muscle ups as well.

If you have space in your room, garage, or even backyard (not sure about how rustproof it is), I would definitely recommend grabbing one of these for the bargain basement price of just $117! I just might order one myself.

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?