Author Archives: FormIsEverything

IntroductionI met Brian Hunter at the Progressive Calisthenics Clinic in NYC in October 2019. While most of us were quite challenged by this rigorous two-day instructor certification course, Brian was one of a select few “standout students”, for whom the whole thing seemed like a casual weekend retreat. At the clinic I learned that BrianContinue reading ““Comfort Wants You Dead”: An Interview with Brian Hunter of Coastal Calisthenics”

IntroductionNot long ago I was trying, and failing, to complete my first 5MD. The 5MD is the “five minute drill”, and although it has many faces these days, the original 5MD is 50 pull-ups and 100 push-ups in 5 minutes or less. If you have been doing these exercises for as many years as IContinue reading “Form Is Everything “Fit Over 40” Interview: Orlando Ortiz”

Steve: Tell us a little bit about yourself.  Your name, age, where you live, and what health and fitness activities you currently participate in.  Have you won any awards or set any records?  If so, please tell us about those.   Chris James: I’m Chris James. Currently 52 and living in the UK with my partner,Continue reading “Form Is Everything “Fit Over 50” Interview: Chris James”

Plainclothesmanperson: Noun. A police officer, especially a detective, who wears civilian clothes when on duty. And so I declare the Plainclothes Athlete to be one who wears regular clothes while exercising. Put another way, perhaps one who does not need to change clothes to exercise. Calisthenics is the perfect form of exercise. (I’m not biased.) CalisthenicsContinue reading “The Plainclothes Athlete”

The Big Three basic calisthenics movement categories are push, pull and squat. From these simple groupings can be found an endless variety of movements with every difficulty level imaginable and all you need for a lifetime of progress. Pushing exercises include all variations of push ups and dips. Squats include all manner of one- andContinue reading “Body Weight Pull Exercises You Can Do At Home and the Basic Equipment Needed”

The older I get (I’m 55) the less complexity I want in the things I like to do. In fact, nowadays I demand less complexity. My job (data analyst) is complex enough; I don’t have patience for complexity in my extracurricular interests. At work I’m known as a hard-core bike rider. That’s because I’ve beenContinue reading “It Took a Long Time to Get Here: Confessions of a Minimalist Bodybuilder”

Day 1 – 5/4/2020Described in my previous post. Weight is 194, girth circumference is 40″. Day 2 – 5/5/2020I weighed in yesterday (day 1, 5/4/2020) at 194 lb. and today at 190 lb. I do understand that body-weight fluctuates quite a bit largely due to water retention and such. Even so I am down 4Continue reading “The Common Sense Diet: Week One Documented With Conclusions and Plan”

I haven’t gained the COVID 15 but darn close to it. Fortunately I’ve remained consistent with exercise, maybe even increased it, throughout this pandemic and lock-down. So some of my weight gain is muscle, but only some. However, my eating habits have deteriorated. It’s time to address this. This article outlines a simple yet carefullyContinue reading “The Common Sense Diet”

I think we might need to talk about our alcohol consumption. My own alcohol consumption (more on that later) has not changed due to the COVID19 pandemic, but that is not the case for many others, from what I can see. And it does not absolve me at all (again, more later). Alcohol sales areContinue reading “On Drinking Alcohol and What To Do About It”