When I met Betsy last October, it had been a while since she had last worked out. As a former varsity tennis player, however, she was able to jump back in quickly, immediately becoming one of my most committed and consistent clients. During the months that we trained together, Betsy made significant progress in her strength, endurance and agility. When she left NYC for California in… Continue reading

Body Weight Exercises, Client Spotlight

I am a big proponent of working out on the road and my recent visit to San Francisco gave me a great opportunity to practice my parkour moves in a new setting. There's nothing like a new city to help invigorate your workout! San Francisco is a beautiful place with lots of parks and other places to practice vaulting, rail walking and the human

Body Weight Exercises, Inspirational

The urge to climb is one of our most primitive instincts and it need not be ignored. Tapping into your inner Tarzan can also be a great workout! I recently got to go caveman at NYC's famous Central Park for my first all-tree-climbing workout. It proved to be more challenging than I expected - but it was a lot of fun! Not all trees are created equal… Continue reading

Body Weight Exercises

The pull-up is my all time favorite exercise. It's simple, effective and can be varied in an endless amount of ways. Pull-ups work the entire upper body, particularly the lats and other back muscles. The Basics The standard pull-up is performed while hanging from an overhead bar with your hands a bit wider than your shoulders and your palms facing away from you. Keeping your whole body tight… Continue reading

Body Weight Exercises, Pull-ups!

The L-sit is a classic isometric exercise that works your entire body, emphasizing the abdominal muscles. In order to perform an L-sit, you'll need a strong core, strong arms and better than average flexibility in your hamstrings. I recommend learning the L-sit by practicing on parallel bars or push-up bars (although you can practice this move with no equipment). If you have bars, begin by holding yourself upright, like… Continue reading

Body Weight Exercises

I know what you might be thinking, "Advanced muscle-ups? Aren't muscle-ups already an advanced exercise?" Yes, the muscle-up is a fairly advanced exercise by itself, but with practice, muscle-ups will eventually become manageable. That's when it's time to raise the bar! Plyo Muscle-ups If you know about plyometrics, it's easy to figure out what a plyo muscle-up might look like. To do this move, keep pushing… Continue reading

Body Weight Exercises, Pull-ups!

Having a strong core is an essential component of fitness; the plank is the most simple and fundamental core building exercise you can do. The term "core" generally refers to your abs, lower back and obliques. When holding a plank, you engage all of these muscles. Whether your focus is bodyweight training, weight training, yoga or anything else really, the plank is likely to come up… Continue reading

Body Weight Exercises

Vaulting is a technique used to hurdle an object (often with a running start). Unlike a track and field hurdle, however, you use your arms when you perform a vault. There are countless variations on the basic vault (one arm, two arms, 360 degree turns, etc) but the idea remains the same - get your body over a sturdy object quickly and efficiently. Parkour Vaulting Another great… Continue reading

Body Weight Exercises

Jumping jacks are one of the most well known bodyweight exercises out there, but when was the last time that you actually did any? Just like jumping rope, the jumping jack (technically referred to as the "side-straddle-hop") is a low intensity plyometric exercise that involves your entire body. And like jumping rope, jumping jacks can turn into a serious cardio workout if done for a long… Continue reading

Body Weight Exercises, Strength and Conditioning

The pistol squat is one of my favorite bodyweight exercises. Pistols are challenging on many levels, requiring core strength, leg strength and flexibility. I often get asked about this exercise, so I decided a formal tutorial was in order. Once you've gotten comfortable with two-legged squats, you're ready to learn the pistol. I like to break it down into three phases. Pistol Squat… Continue reading

Body Weight Exercises, Working Out Your Legs