Pushing the Limits! Total Body Strength With No Equipment

Al Kavadlo has produced another fine book (cf "Raising the Bar" by Al). This is a beautiful book. The pictures are of amazing quality. If you want an exercise book for your coffee table, this is it. But they do demonstrate very well exactly the points that Al is making in this book. Most of the pictures are of Al and his brother, Danny. In the early part of the book, Al includes pictures of a few women doing the workouts.Al has given us basic exercises for beginners, and on to valid, possible, achievable progressions to elite athleticism. Every exercise is described clearly and the pictures demonstrate the exercise very well. The necessary warnings and precautions are prominent. The routines are well thought out and well outlined, easy to follow. Al has concentrated on pushups, squats and inversions with the variations of each. If you want to achieve human flags and dragon flags, this is the book to use. Like "Convict Conditioning" by Paul Wade, this is an excellent presentation of how to get strong and ripped with body weight exercises. The two books vary tremendously in style and methods of presentation and in exercises concentrated on. Both are excellent, just different approaches for different people. Another author with excellent books on bodyweight is Logan Christopher. If one were to collect these three authors, one would have all the essential information on body weight conditioning necessary. Each is complete into itself, but with understanding of reading and practicing of all three, one would be an expert on body weight conditioning. And, if following the training in the books, be in magnificent condition and shape.A good buy.

I'll be 69 in May.I play very competitive softball and exercise every day.I ask you, "What is the number one goal in an exercise program? Go ahead. Formulate your answer. Don't look below.It is to avoid injury. No mater what you do today, the only thing that will significantly effect your condition six months from now is an injury.Al's blogs and books have helped me immeasurably. To compete with the youngsters in my sport, I work on strength every day. Al has given me a way to do this while protecting my joints from injry.Thank you, Al.Let's Play Two!Jerry

This book is awesome and a great help. Definitely helps discover new ways to increase the challenge of calisthenics. I would've given it a full 5 stars if Al didn't recycle some of the material from "Raising the Bar". It's a great read but a couple chapters were repeats. I get it, it was written this way because some folks won't buy both. Regardless, I feel it's a great book and I recommend it to anyone looking to learn more about Push calisthenics.

This book is well worth reading for the variations on the big three. His approach to exercise is reasonable and consistent. I like his insistence on mastering the basics before moving on and going slowly and listening to your body. For more detailed progression through basic to advanced workoutscheck out Paul wades convict conditioning

Not really helpful for form ,mostly pictures of exercises and some don't even help you to know the full motion of the exercise,was expecting more information for the price

I love calisthenics (story time!): When I was a boy in the 1980s Arnold was Conan and I wanted to get big and strong. Mom didn't want to buy me weights until I was a little older. My uncle, however, was quite willing to show me some basic calisthenic movements and a great foundation was built. I never got Arnold big (never juiced either) but I was always one of the stronger and more muscular guys in my circles and thus well enough respected and liked. Eventually I did get weights and like those workouts too (end of story time) and calisthenics are NOT a replacement for weights if you want to get REALLY BIG AND STRONG but they are safer, easier, cost far, far less time and money, etc. and so for anyone who isn't a pro athlete or action movie star the weights aren't really strictly speaking necessary.OPINION: if you're a guy and think you need to get jacked to impress the ladies... just learn to speak (like person to person, not like a sleaze to a "date") and dance well.Back to calisthenics: I love the growth it's seen recently and don't mind that people are capitalizing on that, it gets the word out.Al is strong and able and does a great job of inspiring other. He practices what he preaches (unlike people who get jacked on gear and lipo and then show you some $39.95 ab gadget). He also explains the movements and cues well enough for this book to stand on it's own.I paid $40 for this book. That's usual for Dragon Door and while it is steep as printed paperbacks goes I haven't ever felt let down by any purchase from them. In my estimation part of what I pay for is the guarantee that the author/product has been selected into a circle which will not permit poor quality work.If anyone has read the Convict Conditioning books this book is going to be a lot of old territory, although different enough that I don't regret owning both. What is very different between this book and the CC books is the lack of structure in this one. There is very little discussion of sets and reps and no levels scheme. I like the "here is a way to make ____ easier/harder" approach and then letting the self-motivated person get creative with it all and find their own path. I know that's not for everyone and it's also not the surest, fastest way to progress and get strong but I enjoy it more--it makes "working out" more like grownup playtime than "working out".If you want to get stronger, faster or need/prefer strict regimentation then the original Convict Conditioning book is a better choice than this one (I would honestly also suggest CC if you want to get started with body weight training and don't know where to start, what good form looks like, etc.). If you're more into fun and would like a calisthenics "program" that borrows more from tricking and gymnastics than pure strength training then Pushing the Limits! is likely the better option.I really liked the photos and spreads. A snobby photographer friend of mine doesn't (but he is really good at what he does and not afraid to point out faults in other peoples' work). There were two or three typographical errors that I noticed too... so if that sort of thing bugs you, or you're critical about photo composition, I suppose you might find greater fault with the book than I did.Bottom line: Worth $40 if you're into or want to get into calisthenics.I recommend it for anyone who 1) is interested in learning more about calisthenics and how to use easier/harder versions of similar exercises to get stronger, 2) anyone who is already into calisthenics and wants some familiar reading with a new twist 3) anyone wanting to add some trickier skills to their routine that is more fun and looks cooler than just pure strength work 4) any fan of Al or probably "Coach" Wade, 5) people practicing or familiar with Convict Conditioning and wanting to liven things up or get a new viewpoint on body weight workouts.I would honestly recommend getting Convict Conditioning first, or together with Pushing The Limits! especially if 1) you want or need more structure, 2) are more purely interested in strength and athleticism than tricks, 3) want a far simpler program or 4) are totally new to calisthenics and don't have a clue where to start or what constitutes correct execution of the basic calisthenic movements.

Great read.. Al Kavadlo offers solid info and regressions and progressions for each movement. I have had this book for couple years and find new stuff every time I revisit it.

I'm an intermediate fitness person finding ways to grow stronger through parkour and bw training. Al Kavadio breaks down the harder moves in a simplified manner that are easy to understand. The pictures help a lot. Definitely worth the money

This is the 4th book I've read by the Kavadlo brothers. They both bring different experiences and knowledge to the calesthenics and body weight world. And they know their stuff. This book by Al is a fantastic read full of very useful advice. What I love about it is the no nonsense simple approach. In a world where we are over saturated by complicated fitness and health advice it's refreshing to read books by people who can show you that hard work and a simple outlook is all you need to get results. Very grateful and highly recommended.

It is a book on bodyweight exercise, but more importantly it is on the logical progressions between each exercise. You see bodyweight exercise is just like any other sort of exercise, at some point lifting your body becomes pretty easy and you have to knock out quite a few reps before you feel that “burn” … so one way of stopping you from having to do 200 pull ups (if only) is to make the pull up harder somehow.Some people might put some weighted belt on and pull up wearing that, and this definitely works! But this book is more about variations of exercises rather than adding weight to your bodyweight workout.Al provides you with variations to make the standard bodyweight exercises easier and harder … and there are a lot of variations let me tell you! Which is why it turns into a reference book after the first read through (glad I got an eBook of it now).Near the end of the book, Al provides you with a list of exercises or workouts that you could perform to start with … everyone’s number one question really “what do I do to get stronger?”. However it is Al’s philosophy, or at least my take on it, that exercising should be seen as fun and a game and not something that is so strict … Fancy running around and doing some parkour type exercises, or mixing up your pulls with a headstand, if it feels like fun then just do it, it’s probably better for you this way. Which is why it is always great to find a like minded partner to train with, you’ll likely be friends for life!Also you can check out his YouTube channel "Al Kavadlo" which is packed full of useful information and examples of exercises!Thanks for putting this book together Al, we appreciate it!All in all I give Al’s book a 5 star rating!

Anyone who has watched Al Kavadlo on you tube knows that this man walks the walk when it comes to calisthenics, in this book he shares his wisdom on three standard exercises, the push-up, the squat, and the bridge. Sounds too basic? Think again. Kavadlo will be your guide to maximising your performance on these exercises so that you will, if you are consistent in following his advice be way beyond average in performance after a few months. I have come to believe that the basic well known exercises performed well are all you need for physical fitness and strength, everything else is mere fluff. If you have this book and the Convict Conditioning books with perhaps Mark Lawrence's You Are Your Own Gym, you have the tools along with your own body to maintain superb physical fitness for life.

Excellent book! has definitely helped me improve my technique on my calisthenics journey. After reading this and implementing the techniques my reps decreased, however I am know back up to speed constantly improving on technique. As they say 1 step back 2 steps forward!! highly recommend, inspirational

Everything the Kavadlo bros do is gold. This is no different. Invaluable knowledge and great attitude to life. Recommend.