Whether you’re a fan of Batman or not, the chiseled abdominal contours of his kevlar suit are fodder for the imagination. But there’s more to the Caped Crusader than his armor. The man beneath the suit — Bruce Wayne — forged his mind and body into a commanding crime fighting machine.

And much like the Dark Knight who bursts forth into action and promptly fades back into the shadows, our favourite bodyweight routine — Kevlar Core — made a brief but impressive appearance late last year only to fade back into our stash of “secret weapons.” This is the type of routine that a guy like Wayne relies on for an unbreakable  core.

Well, Kevlar Core is going to make another brief but much needed appearance — with your help…

And just like Batman would sometimes team up with other heroes like Superman, we’re going to team up with our good friend Dr Kareem Samhouri to make sure you start working on your own Kevlar Core.

Read his article below and let us know in the comments why you think you need a kevlar core. Or you could even let us know of a time that your solid core saved you (just like the story Kareem shares below).

The best comments are going to get a FREE copy of Kevlar Core. We’ll announce the winners on Sunday here on the blog.

#1 Tip For A Kevlar Core

by Dr. Kareem F. Samhouri, CSCS, HFS

Neuro Metabolic Six Pack Abs Expert

There is a distinction between strong and unbreakable.

Unbreakable wins, every single time.

I remember the first time that I felt unbreakable with my Kevlar Core…  but before I get to that, I want you to totally relax your mind and try to imagine what you’re going to read below:

“I was rollerblading around dusk in Miami, FL, close to my apartment, which was by the bay.  My fiance (now wife) started to get some speed on me, so I did what any gentleman would do… I sped up!

…and like a proper peacock I flaunted my confidence as I proceeded to blade directly into a chain that was ‘hiding’ between two poles.  I hadn’t seen the chain with the glimmering reflection of the sunset in the distance.

Fortunately, superhero-like reflexes saved me as I managed to land in a perfect push up position a good 10-15 feet in front of those poles.  I couldn’t believe it… It was instinctive, almost natural.

This, my friends is a result of unstable surface training, and doing it with a brand new level of intensity.  A level of intensity that provokes the inner animal and allows you to fully release your strength to compete for another, stronger day.  Personally, I fight through my workout, rep after rep, beads of sweat pouring from all directions, doing exercises like:

• For example, doing a Super Slow Bent Leg Deadlift on Dyna Discs and I drive up through my hips, muscles perfectly balanced, and core tight as can be, wondering only for a split second whether or not I’ll make it to the top…
• Or maybe I’m hitting a Vertical Dumbbell Crossover Push Up with 10 second isometric holds every 1/3rd range of motion and my body wants to give out until I let go of it and give way to my inner strength…
• I might suggest rapid alternating Split Jumps with Olympic Presses side by side with Jumping Squat Bursts if you really want to challenge your soul…

My mind is focused on the goal of my workout; my soul already owns the moment and my body trembles as I reinvent the definition of difficult in my mind and take charge of this situation.  I find inner strength that makes me feel unbreakable.”

Ok – we’re back.  Now, how excited are you?

That’s what it takes.  It takes mind power, determination, and intensity to survive in your battle for six pack abs.

My #1 Tip For A Kevlar Core is to realize the power of your mind.

You will win this battle; you have to.  Prepare yourself.

______________________________________

What an awesome story from Dr K. Inspiring as always… Share your own story below and you’ll be well on  your way to building your own kevlar core. You need to be able to express what you want before you can start building it… AND you may just win yourself a copy of THE Kevlar Core program while you’re at it. We’ll announce the winners on Sunday.

Related posts:

1. Bodyweight Exercise For The Core And More…
2. How To Build A Solid Core With Bodyweight Exercise
3. The Perfect Pushup Technique

We’ve been incredibly busy these past few weeks with the release of TACFIT Commando 2.0. I’m sure you’ve been following the online buzz, and you’ve already heard all about it. For those who don’t know, we co-authored the program with Scott Sonnon, founder of the Circular Strength Training system.

One of the things people like most about Commando is how portable it is. Our approach to bodyweight exercise has always been to design workouts you can do “anytime, anywhere” — portable fitness for busy people who still want to maintain a great physique no matter where they are.

With tools like that, there’s nothing holding you back from looking great, feeling great, and performing great.

I’d like to share one of my favourite exercises for doing exactly that.

The Rock-Up Deck Squat is sort of an all-in-one cardio workout. It’s a great exercise for working your legs and core, and if you do it for high enough reps or for time, you can use it to get in a complete exercise session when you’re traveling, or during holiday seasons when you just don’t have a lot of time to work out.

The other great thing about the Rock-Up Deck Squat is that you can do it in about the same amount of space you need to lie down in. It’s perfect for the living room, the office, and especially for hotel rooms. This is one of my favourites when I’m on the road doing assignments for travel magazines.

There’s a lot going on in this exercise, so we’re going to break it down into components. I want you to start by mastering the Knee Drop Spinal Rock. Practice it until you have the form down, and then build up to about 5 to 8 sets of 10 reps. Once you’ve got it down smooth and you can go for while, you’ll be ready to put it all together.

Here’s your Knee Drop Spinal Rock tutorial:

We’ll integrate it together into a larger movement pattern for the full Rock-Up Deck Squat in Part Two of this article.

Related posts:

1. Bodyweight Exercise For The Core And More…
2. The Perfect Pushup Technique

Coordination and agility are hallmarks of movement mastery. Success in the dynamic sphere of sport is often determined by your ability to turn the off-season strength, endurance, and speed gains you’ve built into complex, improvised movements on the field of play. That requires a different approach to training, one that focuses on channeling these attributes into neurologically sophisticated movements.

The Scorpion Base Switch is an example of such a movement.

It transforms pressing strength into elastic buoyancy. It conditions the vestibular system through constant rotation, which means you get used to rapid changes in orientation. And it opens the sides of the body by using gravity to lower the leg.

We often use this movement with grapplers because it conditions them to immediately right themselves and exert forward pressure when tossed over by a foot in the hip. They learn to quickly rotate around themselves and press down, removing further openings and reorienting in a new position, such as side guard.

You don’t have to be a grappler to practice it – anyone can benefit.

Remember to train both sides. Begin with continuous reps on one side, and then increase the challenge by working one side and then the other in a seamless flow.

If you own our Bodyweight Exercise Revolution program, you can substitute the Scorpion Base Switch anytime regular Base Switches are called for.

Related posts:

1. Bodyweight Exercise For The Core And More…
2. Bodyweight Exercise for Martial Arts Part 1 – Upper Body Force Transfer

The most common refrain we hear from people when we coach them on their nutrition is, “I can’t afford to eat like that.”

But the truth is, you can’t afford NOT to eat like that. We hear what you’re saying though. It can be tough at first to figure out how to eat for health and fitness without breaking the bank.

The trick is learning the skills necessary to beat the system. Most of us don’t know how to shop and we never learned to cook. Mastering the squat and the pull up are essential, but honing your abilities in the kitchen and the supermarket are nearly as important.

So I asked our buddy Dave “The Muscle Cook” Ruel to share some of his secrets with you. On the blog video today you’ll learn…

• A simple trick you can use to prepare your weekly shopping.
• What “brand” could be saving you hundreds per month.
• Who you need to nurture a relationship with to get great deals.
• Tricks to get high quality meat at budget prices.
• And more…

Click Below For Dave’s Anabolic Cooking

Related posts:

1. Muscle Food That Tastes Great

There are thousands of diet myths floating around the internet and the popular media. So who do you listen to? How about people who are used to getting awesome results with their clients and their own bodies.

Our buddy Dave is one of those guys who walks the talk. He’s even gone to the extent of putting himself through the gauntlet of bodybuilding competitions just to test his ideas.

But the best thing about Dave is he’s a Foodie. You know Ryan and I enjoy the finer things in life. We’re not willing to live off rubbery chicken and steamed broccoli. We don’t think you should either.

And you don’t have to!!

If you follow a few simple principles you can enjoy great food AND reach your fitness goals. In the video below our buddy Dave talks about a couple of those including…

• If and when you should eat carbs.
• What’s the difference between eating for fat loss and muscle gain.
• The danger of “bulking” to put on muscle.
• And a few more cool tidbits.

If you have any questions for Dave, drop them in the comments.

Click the button below to grab a copy of Dave’s book. Right now he’s giving us a super special deal. This is only for BodyweightCoach.com readers and only available this week.

So head over now before you forget. This may be one of the most important fitness skills you ever learn. Does that sound a bit over the top? It’s not. Cooking is the forgotten key to sustained fitness. If you can cook great tasting and healthy food, you can ENJOY your fat loss or muscle gain nutrition each and every day.

Click Below For Dave’s Anabolic Cooking

Related posts:

1. Muscle Food That Tastes Great

Putting on new muscle or shedding unwanted fat takes hard work and discipline. You need to dial in your nutrition and your training if you want to achieve your goals. But you DON’T have to skimp on great tasting food. Not if you know how to cook that is…

Listen to this short interview with our friend and colleague Dave Ruel. He’s a competitive bodybuilder but still insists on eating great tasting food. In fact, he’s so passionate about healthy cooking that he’s picked up a pretty cool nickname, “The Muscle Cook.”

You can check out Dave’s awesome cookbook here —> Anabolic Cooking

Related posts:

1. “Massive” Inspiration For Bodyweight Muscle Building
2. Bodyweight Training And Muscle Mass – Building The Functional Physique

Summer weather and beach vacations mean layers are being peeled off — for better or worse — exposing what’s underneath.

Many people are concerned with losing fat when faced with the prospect of summer attire (or lack thereof). But we also receive a TON of questions from people who are way more concerned with putting on some extra muscle.

Well, if you’re one of those people we’ve got a special treat for you. Our buddy Brad Pilon agreed to to share some little known muscle secrets with us. You can access the 20 minute audio interview below.

As always, Brad stirs up some controversy with this audio. You’ll probably find some of your assumptions being challenged. Brad doesn’t blindly accept conventional wisdom. He scours the science for proof and builds his programs from what he finds.

We’re sure you’re going to have questions. You might even want to tell Brad he’s full of crap — he won’t mind — and engage him in some debate. Drop your thoughts in the comment section below and Brad will be along to answer all of your questions.

Related posts:

1. Bodyweight Training And Muscle Mass – Building The Functional Physique

(This is a guest post from our friend and colleague Dr. Kathryn Woodhall, DC, CST — big things are coming from the Doc in the next couple months, so stay tuned)

Bruce Wayne’s mask, Tony Stark’s briefcase, Clark Kent’s glasses, Diana Prince’s bracelets and lasso — some of the coolest superheroes to ever grace the imagination were primarily defined by their props. They could go from zero to hero in the blink of an eye simply by putting on the right accessory. If only it were so easy for the rest of us to transform!

Wait, it actually is…

You may not develop super powers from following this advice — hey, who knows? — but you’ll definitely generate more power and transform your life for the better.  Best of all, you don’t need superhero trinkets to make it happen.

So what’s the secret?  Stand tall…and sit and sleep that way too!

Most of my friends have desk jobs and sit in front of computers for the majority of the day.  Sadly, many of them also have the posture to prove it.  They joke about it, but poor posture impacts your energy levels via your metabolism, your power, and your sex-appeal.

When you slump, your lungs don’t inflate as fully as they do with good posture, and you miss out on getting a full supply of air.  Air is distributed throughout your body to fuel your metabolism, and metabolism is responsible for your energy levels.  It’s also responsible for making you dead sexy by increasing caloric burn.

Try this small experiment with me:

• Holding your arms parallel with the floor, grab your left index finger with your right hand and squeeze.  Notice how powerfully you can squeeze.
• Now tilt the right elbow down toward the floor until your right arm is almost perpendicular to your right hand (leave the left arm as it is) and squeeze the left finger again.  Not the same is it?
• Move your right elbow up toward the ceiling until it is almost perpendicular to your right hand and squeeze again.   Feeling like a wimp yet?
• Congratulations!  You just demonstrated how optimal position translates into optimal power.  What if you applied that to your abs and back muscles?  Makes you want to sit a little taller, doesn’t it?

Now, on to sex-appeal…

What Women Want

We like broad shoulders that taper to narrow waists.  Slouch and you lose some of that shoulder broadness while also hiding your waist.  Why does this kill your sex appeal?  While we may not want you to actually do it, we don’t mind the idea that you could sweep us safely off to your cave when danger lurks.  If you aren’t strong enough to maintain your own posture, we wonder if the sabertooth will think you taste like chicken.

What Guys Like

Here’s a big secret for you—men like boobs.  The best push-up bra in the world will not help emphasize those particular assets if your posture leaves them sitting at your waist (which is also hidden by slouching).  Your figure is much more likely to be called “shapely” if you are standing or sitting tall.

The Superhero Look

So, what does “ideal posture” look like? From the side — while standing — an imaginary line running to the floor from the opening of your ear would line up with the middle of your shoulder, middle of your hip, and middle of the ankle bone that sticks out from the side.  From the front, your nose should be in line with your belly button, and an imaginary line should continue down to where it’s perfectly centered between your feet.

If you are seated, ideal posture is the same as standing except that the line stops at your hips.  To ensure good posture from the hips down, your feet should be flat on the floor and your knees should be bent to 90 degrees.

Who knew having the energy, power, and sex appeal of a superhero could be so easy?

No related posts.

Let’s face it – no one likes repetitive exercise, and boredom a big reason why people fall off the fitness wagon. They simply get tired of doing the same old pushups and situps over and over and over again.

If you’ve been hanging around bodyweightcoach.com for a while, you know we like to mix things up. We try to keep fitness fun while at the same time training the body outside of normal ranges. This increases your movement capabilities, adds new skills, and takes your strength building and fat loss to interesting new dimensions.

We’d like to share with you a cool exercise that puts a fun twist on the pushup. We call it the Screwing ‘T’:

The Screwing ‘T’ will add strength to your wrists, arms and chest, it’ll lock down your core, and it’ll add a bit of rotational power to your hips and legs.

Work your way up to 5 sets of 5, and then gradually add reps to each set as you get more comfortable with the movement. Remember to train both sides.

If you own our Bodyweight Exercise Revolution program, you can substitute the Screwing ‘T’ anytime Screwing Arm Pressups are called for.

Happy training!

Related posts:

1. The Perfect Pushup Technique
2. Bodyweight Exercise for Martial Arts Part 1 – Upper Body Force Transfer
3. How To Build A One-Arm Push Up — Bodyweight Exercise For Serious Strength

The lunge an indispensable lower body exercise in any bodyweight training program. But learning perfect technique is essential. A lot of people are doing them wrong — stalling progress or even getting injured.

Not to worry, Dr K is back…

Our friend and trusted colleague Dr Kareem Samhouri shared the intricacies of the perfect push up with us earlier this week. Now he’s back to make sure you’ve got all the right moves for your next lunge workout.

If you commented on the Perfect Push Up video, you know that Kareem takes your opinions and questions to heart. So let’s give him a HUGE BodyweightCoach.com welcome in the comments section below!

Hey everybody,

Dr. K back with you here again today.  Adam, this has been nothing short of exciting – we are a great team.  You have great people listening to what you preach and striving for their personal bests.

I’ve really enjoyed interacting with each one of you for the last few days.  Thanks for all of your enthusiasm and great feedback

Above, you’ll find a video that describes the most important componnts of a lunge, such as:

Where your weight should be

Which muscles you should activate for the greatest benefit and least risk

Exactly what not to do if you want to avoid hurting yourself

Lunge progressions and regressions for level of difficulty

And a few more solid tips to help you out…

Please do us a favor an let us know what you think below.  Feel free to leave any questions you have and we’ll be by to answer them.

Have a great day,

Kareem

Related posts:

1. The Perfect Pushup Technique
2. Bodyweight Training And Muscle Mass – Building The Functional Physique
3. CST Side Plank Thrust — Bodyweight Exercise