Category Archives: Rants and Raves

Stretching Your Boundaries

I am very excited to announce the release of my new book, Stretching Your Boundaries – Flexibility Training for Extreme Calisthenic Strength.

Stretching Your Boundaries includes over 50 different bodyweight exercises to improve your flexibility, mobility, joint health, and of course – functional strength! The book was written specifically with calisthenics enthusiasts in mind!

Here’s what people are saying about Stretching Your Boundaries:

“The ultimate bodyweight mobility manual is here! Stretching Your Boundaries belongs on the shelf of any serious athlete—it’s bodyweight mobility dynamite!” —”COACH” PAUL WADE, author of Convict Conditioning

“In Stretching Your Boundaries you’ll sense Al’s deep understanding and love for the human body. Thank you Al, for helping to bring awareness to perhaps the most important aspect of physical education and fitness.” —ELLIOTT HULSE, creator of the Grow Stronger method

“An absolutely masterful follow up to Raising the Bar and Pushing the Limits, Stretching Your Boundaries really completes the picture. Not only stunning in its color and design, this book also gives you the true feeling of New York City, both gritty and euphoric, much like Al’s personality.” —MIKE FITCH, creator of Global Bodyweight Training

Get your copy of Stretching Your Boundaries now!

Al Kavadlo 2013 Yearly Wrap-up

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog for helping make 2013 such a fantastic year! I am truly grateful for all the wonderful things that have happened!

This year saw the release of my most popular book yet, Pushing The Limits! – Total Body Strength With No Equipment as well as the debut of the Progressive Calisthenics Certification (PCC), the world’s first-ever bodyweight strength training certification.

With PCC off to an amazing start, my brother Danny and I have gotten a lot of press this year, including this article in the NY Times.

I’ve been a regular contributor to Bodybuilding.com for most of 2013 and I’ve recently landed a monthly column in their new partner publication, Train magazine. The debut issue is on newsstands now throughout the US, Canada and the UK. I’ll be sharing a new bodyweight workout in every issue, as well as an occasional extended feature.

While 2013 has undoubtedly been the biggest year of my career, next year is shaping up to be even bigger!

My next book, Stretching Your Boundaries – Flexibility Training for Extreme Calisthenic Strength is finished and set for release in mid-to-late January by Dragon Door Publications.

I’ve got a full calendar of workshops and certifications lined up for 2014, including events in Germany and New York City. Additional dates will be added in the months ahead. Check my upcoming workshops page for the complete list of events.

I’ve also been staying active on Facebook, where I recently surpassed 10,000 likes, and YouTube, where I am closing in on 20,000 subscribers. Check out my latest clip for some winter workout motivation!

PCC Sweden

The Progressive Calisthenics Certification made its European debut last weekend in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Over 60 calisthenics enthusiasts from half a dozen different countries showed up for a 3-day crash course in calisthenics and a chance to take on The Century to earn the title of PCC Instructor.

The event was Dragon Door’s best-attended European certification in the company’s thirteen-year history of producing fitness workshops.

This workshop also featured the debut of our indoor scaffolding set-up, which allows for a one-of-a-kind calisthenics “Street Workout” style experience.

The good vibes and mutual inspiration were at an all-time high. Every single attendee set new personal achievements and perhaps more importantly, we all had a great time and made new friends along the way! Thank you to Fredrik Högström for helping organize this amazing event.

When I first began my website and Youtube channel just over 4 years ago, I never would have dreamed something like this could be possible.

It’s been a pleasure and a blessing to connect with so many amazing people and we are still just getting started! Click the link for a list of all my upcoming workshops.

One more thing! If you haven’t been following my Youtube channel, make sure you subscribe so you can continue to get videos like the new “Ask Al” series seen below.

Kavadlo Brothers Workshops

Danny and I just returned from leading a Progressive Calisthenics Certification (PCC) workshop in St. Paul, MN.

It was an amazing event that involved groundbreaking personal achievements from every single person who attended!

The most exciting part?

We’re just getting started!

Danny and I have several additional workshops and certification opportunities scheduled for the months ahead:

If you’ve ever wanted to train with the Kavadlo Bros in person, this is your chance!

Click on the links below to register or find out additional information:


November 1-3, 2013 – PCC in Gothenburg, Sweden

November 16-17, 2013 – Kavadlo Bros 2-day Calisthenics Workshop in Pasadena, CA

January 18, 2014 – Kavadlo Bros 1-day Calisthenics Workshop in Randolph, NJ

February 21-23, 2014 – PCC in Melbourne, Australia

April 25-27, 2014 – PCC in St. Paul, MN

May 9-11, 2014 – PCC in Dundalk, Ireland

More 2014 workshop dates will be added soon!

Everybody Needs Training

I’m excited to announce that my brother Danny has just released his first book, Everybody Needs Training.

This is the perfect book for any fitness professional looking to grow their business or anyone who ever wanted to be a personal trainer but didn’t know where to start.

Here’s what people are saying about Everybody Needs Training:

“Danny Kavadlo’s training helped me to discover strengths I never knew I had, and I can take those lessons with me wherever I go, for the rest of my life. The wisdom and insight contained in Everybody Needs Training not only relates to being a successful fitness trainer, but can be applied for peace and success in many of life’s ventures. Danny is the best!”

—ELIZABETH GILBERT, New York Times #1 Best Selling Author, Eat, Pray, Love

“Like Danny himself, this groundbreaking book is incredibly smart, brutally honest, laugh-out-loud funny, and totally out of left field… you owe it to yourself to grab a copy of this masterpiece. I cannot recommend it highly enough.”

—PAUL WADE, Author, Convict Conditioning

“Everybody Needs Training is quite ‘something.’ I don’t think I have ever seen this kind of depth in the field. It’s both obvious and ‘wow’ as you read it. Amazing stuff. It fills a gap in the community that, frankly, surprises me no one has really filled.”

—DAN JOHN, Author, Never Let Go

Get your copy of Everybody Needs Training here!

PCC Australia

The Progressive Calisthenics Certification is heading down under!

Danny and I are extremely excited for the chance to travel to Melbourne, Australia to teach the PCC workshop on February 21-23, 2014.

Click here to sign up!

I’ve been getting emails from people all over the world asking when the PCC will be coming to their neck of the woods. Sit tight – PCC will be visiting many different cities over the next several years. Click here for a list of all upcoming PCC dates and watch for more announcements in the months ahead.

Kavadlo Brothers Update

With summer officially here, Danny and I are stepping up our game!

The New York Times recently ran a story about the Kavadlo brothers and our unique brand of bodyweight training. You can read the online version of the article here.

Nimble Fitness in NYC is hosting us for another bodyweight strength training workshop just like the one mentioned in the Times piece. This workshop will be limited to 15 participants, so make sure you sign up before it’s sold out!

Danny is putting the finishing touches on his debut book, tentatively entitled Everybody Needs Training – Expert Tips for Personal Trainers. Look for Danny’s book to be released by Dragon Door Publications later this summer.

I’ve also been hard at work on my next book, entitled Stretching Your Boundaries – Flexibility Training for Extreme Calisthenic Strength. That book will be available later this fall or early next year.

The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu website BJJ Legends just ran a review of my latest book, Pushing The Limits! – Total Body Strength With No Equipment. Read the review here.

This summer is the last time that I’ll be holding outdoor bootcamp workout classes at Tompkins Square Park. If you’ve ever wanted to train with me at Tompkins, this is your chance! There are only 8 more classes left. Contact me if you’d like to attend.

Last but not least, the next Progressive Calisthenics Certification in August is already filling up. Book your spot now before it’s too late!

The PCC Has Arrived!

The inaugural Progressive Calisthenics Certification workshop this past weekend was an amazing success!

Over 50 fitness trainers, athletes and exercise enthusiasts from all over the world showed up for a crash course in calisthenics and a chance to take on the Century workout to earn the the title of PCC certified instructor.

The enthusiasm of the attendees was overwhelming and the positive energy was impossible to ignore. Dozens of attendees achieved their first muscle-up, lever or human flag and many other personal bests were set during this groundbreaking event. It was truly a weekend I will never forget. Along the way, challenges were overcome, new friendships were formed and lives were forever changed.

The event blew away my expectations; between the wonderful attendees and my co-instructors Danny Kavadlo, Adrienne Harvey and Steven Low, this was the most impressive group of athletes I’ve had the pleasure of working with in my career so far.

Congratulations to the first class of PCC instructors! I can’t wait to do it again in August!

Al Kavadlo – June 2013 Update

This year has been going by so fast, it’s hard to believe summer is practically upon us. So much has been happening and so much more excitement is on the horizon!

This weekend, I’ll be leading the first ever Progressive Calisthenics Certification. You can read more of my thoughts on this groundbreaking event on the PCC blog.

In other PCC news, our first European workshop has been confirmed and will take place this November in Gothenberg, Sweden.

Write On!
I’ve begun work on my fourth book, tentatively titled Stretching Your Boundaries – Flexibility Training for Extreme Calisthenic Strength. The book will be released on Dragon Door Publications in early 2014.

My brother and fellow PCC master instructor, Danny Kavadlo, is also working on a new book. Danny’s book, Everybody Needs Training – Expert Tips for Personal Trainers, will be out this fall. I’m writing the foreword for the book and I’ve also been helping Danny with the photos.

Additionally, I’ve become a regular contributor to Bodybuilding.com. My recent article on handstands has generated a lot of interest in bodyweight training amongst the bodybuilding crowd. I’m very excited to get to spread the word about calisthenics over there!

Plus I’ve got two new YouTube videos for you to check out!

Zen Fitness

“Absorb what is useful, discard what is useless, and add what is uniquely your own.” – Bruce Lee

Throughout my life, I’ve experimented with dozens of different exercise modalities.

I’ve used barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, medicine balls, sandbags, and just about every other heavy object I could think of to try lifting.

I’ve done parkour, martial arts, Marathons and yoga. I even tried a Triathlon.

I believe my various experiences have helped me become a more well-rounded physical specimen, but after all of those things, I always come back to the simplest, most direct way of training I’ve ever known – calisthenics.

I love calisthenics training because it requires nothing more than your body, your mind and your warrior spirit.

You don’t need to buy anything, go anywhere or put on any special clothing. Anybody can start right now.

As Maya Angelou once said, “Ain’t nothing to it but to do it.” (Or was that Ronnie Coleman?)

There’s a lot to love about calisthenics, but my favorite thing is how it keeps you in the present. When you’re working on developing a new skill, you need to give all of your attention to the task at hand.

When you are completely focused on your training, the division between body and mind breaks down and everything else seems to fall away.

This phenomenon has been called different things by different people. Whether you call it mindfulness, samadhi, flow state or any other name, it’s a beautiful thing when it happens.

This is actually the subject of my first book, We’re Working Out! A Zen Approach to Everyday Fitness.

Over the years, I’ve learned and absorbed many things from different places, taken what’s worked for me, and used it all to develop my own theories and methods, which continue to adapt and take shape before my eyes. I’m constantly working to refine and expand my movement repertoire and I still look for inspiration in new and varied places.

I owe a thank-you to anyone I’ve ever trained, trained with, worked with, worked-out with or known in any capacity whatsoever. Some people have obviously had a greater impact than others, but everyone I’ve ever interacted with (even electronically!) has in some way shaped who I am today.

The video below shows a variety of exercises I’ve picked up (and in some cases modified) from different bodyweight disciplines, all blended into seamless, flowing movement.

Be present for your training, have fun and find your own path.