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13 second one arm handstand!

My best one arm handstand to date! 13 hard fought seconds. Continued progress in this skill will require more mobility in the shoulders, which I am currently and forever working on.

Read More » | November 20, 2016 | Category: Videos | Comments: 19

15 Ring Handstand Pushups – STRICT

About nine years ago, before CrossFit was a household name, they posted up several challenges on the CrossFit main site. The last remaining uncompleted challenge – Do 15 strict handstand pushups on the rings! Contact with the strap was ok, but climbing them with your feet was an immediate DQ. Today, I realized that the […]

Read More » | October 7, 2016 | Category: Videos | Comments: 1

24 excellent band exercises

RubberBanditz sent me some bands (The Bar Master Calisthenics Kit), so I’ve decided to film just a few of the many exercises you can do with them! If you’re interested in picking some up, help support Beast Skills and buy them here – http://rubberbanditz.com/idevaffiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=409 You’ll see in the video that bands are super versatile – […]

Read More » | September 19, 2016 | Category: Videos | Comments: none

102Kg Snatch

Still working. Still getting it done. PR from last fall – 102 Kg snatch. Always stuff to improve, but this felt strong. Check out my instagram (/beastskills), where I post up a bit more often!

Read More » | January 23, 2016 | Category: Videos | Comments: none

175 Squat Bail

  Digging through old footage, and I found this near-death experience!! Shot on my phone, so the video is a bit dark. Wanted to post it up here for posterity sake. Date on video and coinciding…

Read More » | October 18, 2013 | Category: Videos | Comments: none

One Arm Handstand – Fixing a problem (no music)

Youtube never likes when I have an awesome backing music track, so here’s the same video with no sound. —– My understanding of the one arm handstand conti…

Read More » | September 29, 2013 | Category: Videos | Comments: none

One Arm Handstand – Fixing a Problem

My understanding of the one arm handstand continues… I may not have the right terminology, but in this video I show an issue I was having with my legs and …

Read More » | September 29, 2013 | Category: Videos | Comments: none

9 second one arm handstand

Hey! I figured some stuff out and managed this clean hold the other day – my best so far (at least captured on camera) – and ONE second shy of my goal of a 1…

Read More » | June 28, 2013 | Category: Videos | Comments: 4

First Month Back – Cleans, Snatches, One Arm Handstands, Grip

So far this has been one life-changing year for me. I’ve been helping to open a new gym since March, and I had pleasure of getting married to the love of my …

Read More » | June 25, 2013 | Category: Videos | Comments: 3

Jack Arnow Visits XFit Foggy Bottom

I had the pleasure of getting a visit from long time friend and living legend, Jack Arnow, this past Friday as he visited CrossFit Foggy Bottom (where I am currently Director). Jack is 70…

Read More » | June 25, 2013 | Category: Videos | Comments: none

Super Thick Pull-up Bar – The “Beast” Bar, from SteelFit!

Frank, from SteelFitStrength.com, was gracious enough to let me try out this monster pull-up bar. It is a 2-3/8″ diameter bar (~6.03cm). As you can see, my h…

Read More » | April 15, 2013 | Category: Videos | Comments: none

The good, the bad, and the ugly – one arm handstand work winter 2013

I take a lot of videos during training – many are simply to help me see my body positioning. This is a very useful tool for anyone pursuing any skill – handbalancing or weightlifting. Here are many different shots over the past several weeks of my one arm handstand work.

Read More » | February 17, 2013 | Category: Videos | Comments: 2

Pelican Pushups

Excellent exercise that I learned about from this video (which is an excellent video) – www.youtube.com These are a progressive exercise for the inverted muscle-up, which I am working to obtain. In addition, these are definitely going to help my 90 degree pushups (see my 90 degree pushup vids), and

Read More » | September 14, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 4

Combo Skills

All ‘advanced’ skills are just a combination of the basics. Learn and master the building blocks and you can combine them to work on these skills. I am not a professional acrobat or gymnast, and my form is still decidedly rough, but I can put together what I know to

Read More » | September 5, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 2

Trap bar dead – (no sound)

525 lbs at 175 lbs bodyweight. Removed the original audio, as it was a bit distracting for the video.

Read More » | August 21, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 2 | Tags: , , ,

Trap bar deadlift – Triple bodyweight

Just a whole lot of heavy squatting and Olympic lifting these past several months. Haven’t touched the trap bar in ages, but wanted to see if I could do this. I think of this as a warm-up to eventually doing this on the normal straight bar. 525 lbs at 175

Read More » | August 21, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 2 | Tags: , , , ,

Ring Handstand Practice (8-8-12)

The ring handstand – a skill I had never really developed before – has been coming along well these past several months. I still have a lot of work to do to clean it up, but here are some holds from today. My advice – 1. Learn a regular handstand

Read More » | August 9, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: none | Tags: , ,

170 Kg squat @ 78 Kg (7-31-12)

Back on the bleeding edge of my squats, and feeling good. Here’s 170 Kg today, for the heaviest triple I’ve put up in a while. Looking to put up 182.5 Kg for three reps by year’s end.

Read More » | August 1, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 2 | Tags: , , , , ,

Slackline Practice – 7-30-12 – No Audio

A no audio version of my slackline practice video so that it won’t be restricted anywhere. You’re missing some sweet editing to Sleeper Agent’s “Get It Daddy” though. Closing in on 4 months with my newest obsession, the slackline. Still hot as heck outside, but not stopping me from some

Read More » | August 1, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 3 | Tags: , ,

Slackline Practice – 7-30-12

Closing in on 4 months with my newest obsession, the slackline. Still hot as heck outside, but not stopping me from some outdoor practice. List of skills, in order – Jump mount Jump mount – drop knee – double drop knee Pistol mount Elbow lever Jump (fail) Double drop knee

Read More » | August 1, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 3 | Tags: , ,

Proper Squat Depth – 125 Kg x 3

A companion video to my recent post about movement standards – www.beastskills.com Here you can see what I consider to be proper squat depth – the crease of the hip below the top of the knee. (Pause the video if you want) Barring any injury/pathology, get yourself flexible enough to

Read More » | July 11, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: none | Tags: , , , ,

Proper Squat Depth – 125 Kg x 3

A companion video to my recent post about movement standards – www.beastskills.com Here you can see what I consider to be proper squat depth – the crease of the hip below the top of the knee. (Pause the video if you want) Barring any injury/pathology, get yourself flexible enough to

Read More » | July 11, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 2 | Tags: , , , ,

One Arm Handstand Work – 7-2-12

Rough clips of some decent holds tonight. I’ve been filming from the side more frequently, as it is a LOT more informative for the handstand. DO IT. Still not where I want it to be, but still happy with the overall progress this year.

Read More » | July 3, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 3 | Tags: , , , , ,

One Arm Handstand Work – Start of May 2012

I’ve put such an insane amount of work into the one arm handstand. It is easily the most challenging skill I’ve ever worked. I know I still have a tremendous amount of work to do. There have been ups and downs in training, but here are some clips from the

Read More » | May 14, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 1 | Tags: , , , , , ,

90 degree pushups – negatives – 5-7-12

I worked the 90 degree pushup again in training today. I’m able to push out of one (www.youtube.com – but today I was looking to control the lower down as far as I could go. I used three set-ups of increasing height. The boxes were a bit harder to transition,

Read More » | May 7, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 3 | Tags: , , , ,

An Acrobat Does Weightlifting

My site, Beast Skills, is known for various gymnastic feats of strength. But I let people know time and time again that I enjoy lifting heavy weights too! Here’s a montage of my lifts from the Cap City Open. I went 6 for 6 and got two meet PR’s. Couldn’t

Read More » | May 3, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: none | Tags: , , , ,

Reverse Muscle-up aka “Elevator” Training

The evolution past handstand pushups – I’ve been working with my hands on tall boxes to replicate the “elevator”. Decent results. The body leans towards the wall slightly, and notice how the elbows/arms move behind the torso. Careful with the set-up – it’s easy to flip over and/or put yourself

Read More » | April 9, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: none | Tags: , , , ,

Improvised Dream Machine (gymnastics ring assist)

Improvised “Dream Machine” I put together the other day. The red belt is from a Vertimax, although any strong belt would do. I tied loops in the webbing (bowline knot) to connect it to the belt. The carabiners act as pulleys and cut one’s weight in half. It could use

Read More » | March 31, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 3 | Tags: , , ,

Crank Attempt

In honor of Jasper Benincasa’s Birthday (March 25th, 1921 – January 6th, 2012), I attempted to perform a “crank”. A crank is a hanging l-sit to front lever to inverted hang. Jasper was such a master of body weight strength that he could perform this slowly, taking over a minute

Read More » | March 26, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 1 | Tags: , , , , , ,

90 degree pushups – low

What to do after handstand pushups? Here’s a start – 90 degree pushups. They were feeling good this week. Here I’ve clustered 3 together (~10 sec rest between each). I am working to get low enough until I eventually get down to a back lever-like position and then pull back

Read More » | February 18, 2012 | Category: Videos | Comments: 23 | Tags: , , , , ,