Strength & Conditioning World Tour 2014 – Part 2: Munich, Germany
Last weekend I had the chance to attend the Progressive Calisthenics Certification seminar hosted by Al and Danny Kavadlo in Munich.
For those of you not in the know, the Kavadlo brothers are arguably the most well-known calisthenics instructors on the planet.
Al especially has written several books on the topic of advanced bodyweight training for strength, and both of them have been featured in the bestselling Convict Conditioning series (you can see them on the cover of CC2 to the left).
The 3-day seminar consisted of static holds such as handstands, L-sits and front and back levers as well as dynamic movements like push-ups, pull-ups, pistol squats and all their variations ranging from very easy regressions to advanced progressions.
Basically each day we had the opportunity to pick Al and Danny’s combined experience and knowledge of bodyweight training, then go out on our own and test our individual limits to see which progressions to start implementing in our own training in order to reach higher levels of bodyweight mastery.
Apparently the weekend brought about many “firsts” for almost everyone who attended the seminar, as several people got their first muscle-up, back lever, dragonflag or L-sit done. My best moment came on the final day while practicing freestanding handstands when I hit one for 5 seconds and a few for approximately 3 seconds.
Perhaps some magic rubbed off on me from the seminar since three days after it I got my first ever muscle-up on rings while training at the legendary Tompkins Square Park in New York, but that’s a whole ‘nuther story.
At the end of day 3 we were required to take the Century Test, which consisted of 40 air squats, 30 push-ups, 20 hanging knee raises and 10 pull-ups performed in a row in less than 8 minutes. I believe close to 90% of all the attendees passed the test. Personally I found the test to be very easy, though some people struggled with it, especially on the push-up and pull-up portions of the test.
All in all I enjoyed the weekend at the PCC seminar a lot. Danny and Al turned out to be great teachers and even better people as they were very approachable and humble while dispensing invaluable information.
I thought it was also awesome to meet people who are better than I currently am at bodyweight movements as that always provides a new reference point for what is possible and a higher level to aspire to.
That’s also one reason why this blog and our training program is called “Next Level Athletics” – no matter how strong and capable you currently are, there’s always room for setting your sights higher and getting better.
One guy in particular, an Austrian bar athlete named Andi, personified this idea perfectly with some of his trademark moves like flying muscle-ups and solid front lever holds. Seeing him perform his feats reminded me of a Barstarzz seminar I went to last year, where I had my mind blown as I saw some of the more incredible calisthenics moves performed live for the first time in my life.
To top everything off, Munich has a really nice street workout park situated in the woods next to the Isar just outside of the city centre. I went there on my first day in the city and was pleasantly surprised to see several locals taking advantage of the many various pull-up and dip stations available for a quick workout.
Nothing better than training outside in the warm sun on a beautiful day!
I’ll be flying over to the US next, so stay tuned – I’ve got some good stuff for you in the weeks ahead.
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