Author Archives: FormIsEverything

I use basic calisthenics exercises to build strength and muscle and preserve and improve mobility, flexibility and joint health. The workout discussed here, and shown in the video linked below, is a complete intermediate workout for those who are interested in building strength and muscle with basic exercises rather than progressing towards skills, and forContinue reading “A Complete Intermediate Calisthenics Workout for People Over 40”

An accessory to the fashion trend called The Paleo Diet is The Barefoot Shoe. Just as every upstanding Neanderthal watched his or her carbs, sprinted once a week, and made bone broth, so did the health-conscious cave-woman, man and child wear the latest barefoot shoes from Vibram. I discovered this when I became interested inContinue reading “Barefoot Shoes: A Cautionary Tale (The Flimzy Shooz Blooz)”

Continuing from my last article on how to progress body-weight calisthenics strength and muscle building outside of conventional means like increasing reps, increasing volume, and moving to more difficult exercises, I’m taking a look at the Mind-Muscle connection and how we might be able to progress by focusing on it. The Mind-Muscle connection always seemedContinue reading “On Progress and the Mind-Muscle Connection”

Traditional notions of “progress” in strength training are ubiquitous but you need to know that they have an expiration date. In weight training, progress means adding more weight, sets, reps or training days. In calisthenics, substitute harder exercises for more weight. For example, as a beginner, you may start with knee push-ups for two setsContinue reading “On Progress and Using Concepts Instead of Programming”

I love the micro-workout approach to strength training. There are a lot of ways to approach micro-workouts. For me, they are a way to break up a single workout into several parts and spread those parts throughout the day. For example, a typical full-body workout for me would be three sets of push-ups, three setsContinue reading “The Problem With Micro-Workouts”

This is Part 2 of my interview with San Diego Fitness trainer and high frequency basic calisthenics advocate Kyle Boggeman. You can read Part 1 here. Steve: In my own experience, one of the biggest challenges with frequent training is how to reconcile fatigue with the concept of making “progress”. In fact, you have toldContinue reading “The Power of High Frequency Basic Calisthenics Training: Interview With Kyle Boggeman, Part 2”

Back when I started training calisthenics I was very excited about the potential for building strength and muscle with basic movements such as push-ups, pull-ups and squats. That excitement has not waned ten years later and has served as the basis for my humble little book on the subject. Although calisthenics skills such as theContinue reading “The Power of High Frequency Basic Calisthenics Training: Interview With Kyle Boggeman, Part 1”

Not long ago I was contacted by Born Tough, makers of fitness apparel, gear, gym bags and accessories. They said they had found my site from a link on Fit Dad Fitness, and wanted to know if would test some of their new training apparel and provide an honest review. To be truthful, I thoughtContinue reading “Born Tough Elite Sportswear”

In a Nutshell – This guide is for those who are just getting started and/or those who want to build muscle and strength and are not necessarily interested (yet) in complex skills such as handstands, front levers and muscle-ups. This is a summary of my book The Progressive Calisthenics Program for Everyone with video accompaniment.Continue reading “How to Train Basic Calisthenics: A Step-By-Step Guide”

This incredible move is quite possibly the only push movement you ever need for strength AND flexibility! Why? Because it encompasses two yoga moves and two calisthenics strength moves. It starts with Downward Dog, dives down to a vertical push then Upward Dog and then to a pike push-up. WOW. The “dog” components are greatContinue reading “Dive-Bomber Push-Ups”