I think they call it “progressive training” or “progressive calisthenics”. And I think this below is a part of it…
About a month and a half ago my workouts changed significantly -from traditional weights workouts to workouts where I use mainly the weight of my own body and in some exercises – additional weight attached to my. I now train on bars, parallel bars and floor. I have certain goals to achieve, like:
- front lever and reverse lever
- one-arm pull-up
- human flag, and other similar strength/core exercises, using body weight
I’ve already achieved certain levels in some exercises, like the Dragon Flag with 10 lbs medicine ball (see video), wide grip pull-ups with 65 lbs for 3 reps and underarm grip pull-ups with 95 lbs for 1 rep clean. I heard a guy say on Youtube that if you want to be able to do a one-arm pull-up you have to be able to pull-up with extra weight attached to you that equals at least 70 percent of your body weight. For me that’s close to 110 lbs. I think I’m getting close, so let’s see..
Another one of the many I’ve been practicing and attempting to improve on is a type of a push-up with both hands extended in front of my head. I don’t know the name if it, but I can tell you it isn’t like the typical push up where the most of the tension is felt in your triceps and chest muscles. This is almost strictly a core exercise and it requires a very strong mid section – both abs and lower back. I am up to around 8 of these. One of these days I’ll shoot a video (when I get to do a few more reps or may add some weight on my back.. smile).
I have been trying also to stand on one arm and one leg from the same position that’s required for the push-ups that I just described. I asked my wife yesterday to take a picture of me doing these stands. Here it is.
I also asked her to clean it up from the mess in the background and then I put it up at the top of the website – I think it’s fun and it gives the visitor an immediate idea of what this website is about… at least approximately..
My ultimate goal, as far as this specific exercise goes, is to be able to do the push-ups on one arm – not the stands only. I’ll keep on trying, and may be soon..
Bottom line is, “progressive training” (or “progressive calisthenics”) rocks!! Let me tell you, this builds a body like no other workout with weights that you are already familiar with. It’s worth trying for sure!