A Warning on Dumbbells and... Will Ferrel

What is Progressive Calisthenics?

Posted something about Progressive Calisthenics three days ago on my facebook wall. But the comments became about Italian Food:

Click here to read Al Kavadlo's Original Article.

Uneven Pullups: Legs or no Legs?

Pullups

Have you ever seen the last installment of the Rocky films? C’mon, I know you have. There’s one scene where Rocky wakes up early morning. He goes to his backyard while drinking coffee. Lo and behold, a pullup bar awaits at the back of his house. He does some pullups and goes back to drinking coffee. A pullup bar and some coffee, what more do you need?

(Watch How to Do Uneven Pullups)

Uneven Pullup is the7th step in the pullup progression of Convict Conditioning. It is done by holding the bar with only one hand while the second hand grips the first arm’s wrist. Trust me, it's more difficult than it looks.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For those who don’t know what an ordinary pullup is, it's when you grab a horizontal bar above your head and pull yourself up until the bar is chin level. It's done without any assistance from the legs like jumping up or stepping on a chair. It requires solid pulling muscles from the back and the arms. It targets the latissimus dorsi and the biceps. Of course, it also requires strong forearms and core muscles.

If you want a cobra-like back, do pullups, period!


Legs or no Legs?

Another requirement of a strict pullup is one should do it without raising the knee forward. This is because raising the knee gives momentum and makes the pull easier.

A pullup is not like a pendulum. You don’t swing from back to front. It is more like a yo-yo. You pull up and lower down slowly.

"A pullup bar and some coffee,

what more do you need?"

However, this is where I depart ways with the local gym expert. In my opinion, swinging the knee is different from raising the entire leg especially for uneven pullups. I say this because I find it more difficult to do the uneven pullup when I raise my legs. 

I do not have a scientific explanation for this. All I have are assumptions.

Assumption 1: Perhaps because when you raise your legs in a straight line, part of your weight is put way in front of you instead of just below your arm. Thus you are pulling weight below and are pulling weight in front of the bar. When you combine these two directions, you get a diagonal vector. In other words, you need more stability in order to perform it.

(Directions of the weight when leg is raised.
The proper form is to straighten the legs
unlike in the picture.)

Assumption 2: The difficulty could also be coming from focusing your efforts on two things at the same time. First, you’re telling your arms to pull upwards. Second, you’re telling your core to raise your legs. Third, you’re telling your entire body to perform these two tasks together. Thus, you are also working on the coordination between your upper and lower body.

I used to do uneven pullups without raising my legs. However, when I first did it with raised legs, I was surprised at how difficult it was. I felt my abs tighten. My core muscles fired up! I realized that it was a different beast altogether.

It is difficult to understand without trying, however. Go to the gym. Find a pullup bar and pull yourself up. At the same time, raise your entire leg in a straight line 90 degrees from your body. Do it slowly. Are you ready to be a marine? Now pull!


Back to Basics

The only problem is when you use the momentum of your legs to pull yourself up. My solution is to do it slowly. Also, do both exercises! Who says you can’t do both? Don’t raise your legs on the 1st set. Then, raise your legs on the 2nd set. No, it’s not forbidden to be creative with your workouts!

There are a lot of variations for the pullups. There’s the Australian Pullups, Archer Pullups, Wide-Grip Pullups, One-arm Pullups, Narrow-Grip Pullups, Muscle-Ups, Weighted Pullups, Clapping Pullups, etc. Each has its own target muscle fiber and a unique characteristic.  Nevertheless, in reality, the basic pullups is all you need. If you can do 10 strict pullups, then you’ll be okay. Nothing more, nothing less. ***

Side Crow Stance

This is the Side Crow Stance or Parsva Bakasana in Sanskrit. It's increases flexibility by twisting your spine. But I don't think it's very beneficial. It just looks cool in pictures.

Side crow stance and all other poses similar to it are like the "selfie" photos (see link below) of yoga. Have you seen profile pictures in social networking sites where people perform hand balancing and yoga poses? I, myself, am guilty of this. And I probably will continue to do this. Sorry. It's just cool!

(Watch what a side crow stance is)

However, for fitness sake, I recommend twist holds rather than the side crow stance.

Why? Because if your goal is to increase spinal flexibility, why include a hand balance drill to it? If something is already effective and efficient, why change it? As the old adage goes, do not fix something that is not broken.

(Below is a beginner's twist hold)

(Below is an advanced twist hold)

I feel that doing a spine rotation with a hand balance not only complicates it but also makes it more dangerous. Again, we don't want to play or goof around with our spines.

To summarize, if you want to take a cool picture, then by all means practice a side crow stance. Just be careful not to injure yourself. But if you want a stronger and more flexible spine, twist holds are more effective and less dangerous.

___________________________

Click here to know more about the Side Crow Stance

Click here to read more about Twist Holds

Click here to read more about "Selfie" Photos

Closing Bridges

Skill unlocked! Finally able to do "closing bridges" after a year of practice. :-) This is the 9th step in the bridging progression of the book "Convict Conditioning".

(Watch video below)

Bridges are actually a lower back and an abs exercise. This is not just for playing "limbo" or "chinese garter".

In yoga, these are called "Back Bend Poses." They are also supposed to give proper posture.

Give the progressions a shot! However, always remember to start at the easier steps first (see the link below). I don't have to remind you how dangerous spinal injuries are!


Click here to read more about Convict Conditioning.

Click here to see Back Bend Yoga Poses.

Click here to read an Interview of the book's (Convict Conditioning) author, Paul "Coach" Wade.

Living off the Grid and Convict Conditioning

  These things are essential to living off the grid. All of these, I accomplish without leaving my small apartment.

  “What about exercise?” since I’ve started this journey, this question has plagued my mind. “Can I still get an effective workout while living off the grid, so to speak? What about going to the gym?

          Since we entered the world, we were already born to buy. It is very difficult to reverse it. We always find ourselves walking around in the mall or surfing the internet, looking for the next stuff to buy. We are addicted to window shopping. A lot of people, including I, are trying our best to counter this, however.

After six (6) months of trying CC

          In terms of fitness, let's ask ourselves what our culture tells us to buy? Perhaps barbells, dumbbells, running shoes, smith machines, drugs, etc. For what? To maximize our workouts?

  Luckily, I’ve come across Paul “Coach” Wade’s book, “Convict Conditioning”. It outlines six basic exercises using only your own bodyweight. 

  “Pushups? That’s effortless!” others might say. To be honest, that’s what I also uttered at first. Okay, I’ll admit, pushups are stress-free compared to bench presses because of the barbells. Somehow, it doesn’t bother me. Because it only means that, without the barbell, the movement for a bench press is also very easy.

          Better yet, try one arm pushups if you dare! Or try one arm pullups! Remove your leverage to make the movement more difficult.

  Although it’s not 100%, I’ve been decreasing my consumerist lifestyle. For instance in my workouts, I don’t pay gym membership fees simply because I don’t go to the gym. I exercise at home with very minimal equipment. Nevertheless, I still get a hardcore full body workout.

  I am like the protagonist in a zombie apocalypse movie. I live off the ground. I do what I can with what little I have. The poor man’s workout!

  I can exercise anywhere. So even if I travel for work or for leisure, I can still keep on track of my program.

  I don’t buy protein shakes, creatine, or any other supplements. I am not dependent on certain products. I eat rice, meat, and vegetables with the occasional pizza. I get my nutrition from all natural sources.

  So what happens if all the merchandise and equipment we depend on disappears? Can we make our own product from what raw materials we have? Can we become producers instead of merely consumers? I encourage other people to lessen our reliance on corporate products and outside forces. I encourage everyone to start manufacturing things for their own needs.

  I say these while I take another sip from my tarragon tea. The sun slowly rises. ***

After a year of CC training

Click here to read about Convict Conditioning

Click here to read about Living off the Grid

Paeng's Thoughts on Pacquiao's Defeat

Just some thoughts from a boxing fan:

Habang pinapanood ko ang labang Pacquiao vs. Marquez 4, dumarami  na rin ang mga nagpopost ng status sa facebook at mga tweets na nagsasabing, "mag-retire ka na, Manny" o "humihina ka na."

I disagree. I think Pacquiao's team simply chose the wrong strategy for that fight. Hindi siya natalo dahil sa tumatanda o humihina na siya. Hindi rin dahil dinaya siya.

Ebidensya? 'Di ba mas duguan ang mukha ni Marquez kaysa kay Pacquiao?

Inaabang-abangan ko ang round 6 kung saan sabi nila dumapa si Manny. Inaabangan ko pero kinakabahan din ako bilang isang Pinoy. Kahit alam ko namang siya lang ang yumayaman diyan.

Balik sa topic: Pacquiao was being aggressive and reaching too far trying to double his range. 'Ika nga ni Chino Trinidad, a popular boxing analyst, "Manny did less lateral movements than before. Puro linear attacks." In my opinion, that tactic gave Marquez the advantage because Marquez is taller.

Pero bakit pinili ni Manny ang technique na iyon kung matatalo pala siya? Simple lang, parang sugal kasi iyan. Kapag malaki ang taya, malaki rin ang panalo. Pero nandiyan ang panganib na maaaring malaki rin ang talo. Kumbaga, isinugal niya ang panga para mas malayo ang abutin ng kanang kamay. Ngunit tuwing sumusuntok siya, nae-expose ang gilagid niya sa banat ni Marquez. It was a risky move. This was exemplified by the overhand punch that knocked Pacman down in the 3rd round.

An overhand punch, sometimes called a hay maker, is a long reach punch that comes from an upward angle. It is powerful and difficult to block. Katulad ng mga suntok sa away-kanto.

(Watch how to do an Overhand Punch)

His strategy also made him susceptible to counter punches. Let me explain. A punch is like a train coming directly towards you. If you move backwards, you'll still be in front of the vehicle and it will still demolish you. But if you move to the side, you dodge the onslaught. Nakasuntok ka pa ng dalawa hanggang tatlong beses.

In fact, what knocked Manny out in the 6th round is a basic counter punch. Marquez moved to the left then let out a straight right. He was about to give a left hook to the body when he noticed Pacquiao going down.

Hindi tsamba yun. Kung papanoorin ulit ang 6th round, makikita nating dalawang beses ginawa ni Marquez and technique na ito. Kumbaga, praktisado siya. Parang timed bomb ang kamao niya na nag-aabang ng tamang pagkakataon para sumabog.

Next thing we know, the referee signals the end of the fight, Juan Marquez celebrates and Jinkee becomes hysterical trying to wake Manny up.

(Watch how to Counter Punch)

Kung gayon, sino ang dapat sisihin? Wala! Sumugal sila, nagkataong natalo. Ganoon na nga ang nangyari, malaki ang nalugi sa kampo nila kasi humigit-kumulang dalawang minutong nakaplakda si Pacquiao ayon sa tsismis.

Dapat bang mag-retire si Manny? Kung ayaw niya, eh 'di huwag. Pero kung ako sa kanya, titigil na ako. Dami na niyang pera eh. That's beside the point, though.

On another note, ang galing ni Manny noong 5th round! Idol pa rin. Congratulations!!!

Oo nga pala, 'wag mong masyadong seryosohin ang mga sinabi ko. Inaalikabok na ang gloves ko dahil hindi na ako nagti-train. Lumalaki na nga ang tyan ko eh. Parang 5 months pregnant.

Note: I'm just a boxing fan. No experience in the ring or as a coach. So don't take this seriously.

Click here to read another take on Pacquiao's defeat.

Also, read this to read Coach Roach's Post-Fight Interview.

(Here's a clip of Marquez practicing that million dollar punch

during his preparation for the fight)