Slackline – Setup
First off, you can pick up discounted slacklines from The Clymb. They change their inventory constantly, so if you don’t see slacklines now, just keeping checking back. Also, thanks to Frankie Najera of Gibbon Slacklines, who has posted up tons of tutorials already. Check out all his ‘Trick in a Minute’ videos here. These […]
Big Guy’s Guide to Holding a Handstand
My guest post on Diesel Crew site. Think handstands are just for 120 lb guys and little kids? Think again! Big Guy’s Guide to Holding a Handstand
The No Handed Planche (April Fool’s Joke from 2007)
The No Handed Planche The no handed planche is quite simply a planche variation where the body is held in a horizontal position to ground with no use of the hands. They are still kept underneath the body for balancing purposes, but they should not touch the ground. I’ll assume from the start of this […]
Handstand Training (one and two arm)
Fantastic books from the 50’s, written by York. Some things remain the same! York Handbalancing Courses
Maltese Cross Training – By David Durante
Free registration is required to read this great article about training the maltese skill on rings. This is the maltese – Maltese training
The One Arm Chinning Guide – By Jack Arnow and Alexander Lechner
My good friend Jack Arnow co-wrote a one arm chinning guide several years back. It was instrumental in giving me the inspiration to train for my own OAC. One arm chinning guide
Iron Cross Training
Another article by Chris Sommer’s on training the iron cross. Iron Cross training for bodybuilders
Planche and Front Lever Progression
Coach Sommer’s progression on Dragondoor.com for the planche and front lever. Great information! Planche and front lever progression
Bodyweight Skill Integration – By Jim Bathurst
Article I wrote for Performance Menu back in 2007. You’ll have to purchase a copy of the magazine in order to read it. Integrating bodyweight and weight training exercises
Interview with Jim Bathurst – By Yael Grauer
One of the first (and best) interviews. Check it out! Interview with Beast Skills
Interview with Jack Arnow
Interview with Jack Arnow January 26th, 2007 Jack and I Who is Jack Arnow? Ask him and he'd probably tell you he's just a guy who loves working out. He'd also say he likes to chin-up. He does like to chin-up and happens to be good at it … very good. At 64 years of […]
Front Lever
The front lever is a skill which looks easily attainable, but some may find themselves struggling with the just the basic progressive exercises. After the back lever, the front lever is a skill that one should strive to attain in order to strengthen up the midsection and upper body. You can perform it on the […]
Back Lever
In the ranking of strength skills on rings, on a scale from A to E, the back lever sits at the A level. This means it is one of the easiest strength skills to perform. That being said, it should also be one of the first skills you master. Especially if you are working towards […]
One Arm Elbow Lever
The one arm elbow lever (OAEL) is self-describing – it’s an elbow lever on only one arm. It takes as much balance as strength and while not the easiest skill, it is not as daunting as it may seem. Before you start… Now of course the first step to this skill is to learn the […]
Elbow Lever
The elbow lever is a position where the body is held up horizontal to the ground. But unlike the planche (where there is NO support along the length of the body), the elbow lever uses one’s elbows as a resting and balancing point for the body. This makes the skill much easier than a planche. […]
The Flag
The flag is a skill where one holds onto a vertical object and, with arms straight, holds their body horizontal to the ground. Correctly done, it’ll look something like this: Easy to see why it’s called a flag. UPDATE: I found this old photo of a balancing duo performing the flag. This was performed at […]
The Muscle-Up
The muscle-up is a skill that is essentially a pull-up followed by a dip. It is used to take yourself from below a sets of rings or bar to above a set of rings or bar. Many can do a pull-up, and many can do a dip, but transitioning between the two takes a certain […]
No Handed One Arm Chin-up
(a.k.a. the gooseneck chin) The no handed one arm chin is a variation of the OAC that has the added challenge of not being able to grip the bar with your hands. Instead, you’ll flex your forearm (gooseneck it) and hang onto the bar in preparation for the pull. The First Step Learn the one […]
One Arm Chin-up / Pull-up
The one arm chin-up and one arm pull-up are difficult skills to obtain. Depending on your starting strength, it may take you 6 months to several years to get the skills. Below I’ve written out the techniques and progressions I used to get mine. Feel free to use what parts you need. You may also […]
Removing Calluses
I’ve had several people ask me about removing calluses from the hands. If you’re doing a lot of gymnastics, weightlifting, grip training, or hand balancing (my 4 favorite hobbies) then calluses are an inevitability. They raise up and start to get pinched and can eventually rip off. This is a bit painful and a pain […]
Contrast Baths
I started doing contrast baths when my grip training started to ramp up, but this is a good, cheap recovery technique for anytime you’re beating your hands up, be it specific grip training or simply hand balancing. Do this in the evening after you’re done with training for the day. It’s real simple. You’ll need […]
Handstand to One Arm Elbow Lever
The handstand to one arm elbow lever is actually easier than the handstand to two arm elbow lever, in my opinion, due to minimal hand movement and the less restrictive nature of the OAEL on breathing. Of course you need a solid handstand, freestanding handstand pushup, and one arm elbow lever. But other than that, […]
Handstand to Elbow Lever
Something to keep in mind for this skill – While you may have the elbow lever down, and your handstand may be solid, this exercise will really test your total body control as you transfer between the two skills. If you have difficulty with the strength, I recommend working on your handstand pushups and especially […]
L-Seat to Handstand Press
�۬In the L-seat tutorial, I mentioned it would be beneficial to learn the position on your fingertips. This skill is the reason why. First, you’ll start up in the normal L-seat position – on your fingers, of course. Next, bring your legs back into the tuck position. Now you’ll bring your feet from the front […]
One Arm Pushup
The first thing that comes to the mind of many people when they think of a one arm pushup is the music-filled training montage in Rocky where he’s banging them out one after another. Or perhaps you think of Bruce Lee and his famous two finger pushups. What guy hasn’t had […]
Clapping Handstand Pushups
First off, I think it goes without saying that you’ll need to be very proficient in the freestanding handstand pushup. At least three or four in a row is probably a good minimum. If you are at this level, then this skill should come fairly easy. I use myself as an example for this. I […]
Freestanding Handstand Pushups
Now is the time to put together two skills you’ve been working on – the handstand and the handstand pushup. You may do both flawlessly, but putting them together and maintaining balance throughout the whole pushup will take a bit of practice. First, it goes without saying that your handstand should be solid. You should […]
Intermediate Handstand Pushups
After you become proficient with basic handstand pushups against the wall, there’s a very simple way to make the exercise more difficult. By jumping up and working the handstand pushup on some parallettes, chairs, or something similarly tall and stable, you can dip your head below the level of your hands and achieve a greater […]
Beginner Handstand Pushups
Today we’ll look at developing the handstand pushup against the wall. The first step is to obviously throw yourself up against the wall into a handstand. If this is already too great a step, try starting with the headstand until you feel comfortable upside-down. You should be able to hold this handstand position […]
Simple Handstand Press
Below is the technique for a simple handstand press. This means that both your arms and legs will be bending to make things easier. I recommend having the handstand fairly solid before you try this skill, as well as a couple handstand pushups against a wall. On to the press. You’ll want to get into […]
