Amid the recent COVID-19 outbreak, I’ve shared some home exercise videos to social media over the past few days. As long time readers will attest, I’ve been an advocate of home-based/low-tech workouts for the past 20+ years. With that in mind, I’m happy to share what’s worked well for me. Two examples include resistance bands and furniture sliders. Both are relatively inexpensive and quite useful for home training and/or when traveling. Resistance Band Training First, you’ll find a video demonstration of several resistance band exercises. Throughout the video, I am using 41-inch bands from Ir ..read more

Long time readers of the site know that I’m a fan of the sledgehammer, both for power development and conditioning. World champion fighters were swinging sledgehammers before any of us were born (ex. Jack Dempsey), and they continue to do so today. As a result, it’s no surprise that I’ve demonstrated sledgehammer swings many times. As a professional boxing coach, it’s an exercise that I strongly believe in. Yet, whenever I demo the sledge, my inbox fills with questions about the ideal weight of the hammer. And while I welcome all questions, size shouldn’t be the primary concern. The intent be ..read more

As mentioned recently, if you’re stuck in quarantine and unsure of how to train, it’s useful to study those who thrived in minimalist environments. In other words, learn from those who walked the walk. And some of the best examples you’ll find come from old school fighters. It was their life, not just something they tried for a few weeks. With that in mind, I’ll use this entry to share a few tips on how to create a homemade punching bag. Homemade Punching Bag Homemade punching bags are quite common in boxing. Many gyms lack funding, so it is essential to devise inexpensive workarounds. The ti ..read more

Following a recent entry about resistance band training, I received numerous questions about the handles demoed throughout the video. With that in mind, I’ll use this entry to provide a few answers and instructions. Resistance bands can obviously be used on their own, but there are times when I enjoy adding a handle or modifying the grip. Doing so can enhance some of the exercises as you’ll see below. Band Handle and Accessories Demo In the video that follows, you will see me spice up my band training with rope, PVC pipe, galvanized pipe, and a homemade handle that I first demoed on this site ..read more

I recently shared an image of handstand pushups from my homemade PVC parallettes. Shortly after posting the picture, questions began trickling into my inbox about how to make the parallettes and whether or not they were durable. With that in mind, I’ll use this short entry to address those questions as I’ve had the parallettes since 2011 and enjoy them for a variety of exercises. Durability To begin, most people do not realize how strong PVC pipe actually is. In the video below (the 7th exercise demoed), you can see me performing handstand pushups from the parallettes while wearing a weighted ..read more

Earlier this week, I shared videos of two old school legends to highlight the potential of low-tech training. It’s one thing for me to tell you what can be done in a rudimentary environment, but it’s even more useful to share examples from legends of the past. The first video featured 1972 Olympic gold medalist Dan Gable. The latter featured the legendary Masahiko Kimura and 1964 Olympic silver medalist Doug Rogers. And while I’ve shared both clips before, several people have asked where the clips came from and if there were longer versions. With that in mind, I will use this entry to post a ..read more

Earlier this week, I shared a video demonstration of resistance band good mornings. High tension band good mornings are one of my favorite posterior chain movements. And while I’ve written about them before, a new entry may prove useful, particularly as we wait out COVID-19. If you want a quality posterior chain movement that can be performed at home, band good mornings might be just what you’re looking for. The exercise has served me well for many years and has always been worthy of more attention than it receives. Resistance Band Good Mornings Below, you’ll see how I stand inside a 41-inch ..read more

In a recent entry, I encouraged everyone to keep pushing throughout the COVID-19 quarantine. Pushups are perhaps the most convenient exercise of all. They can be done anywhere. Yet, as we continue to push, it’s also important to pull. Unfortunately, pull-ups aren’t always as convenient to perform. Depending on your living arrangement, you may need to harness some creativity to concoct a pull-up solution. Pull-ups Anywhere With that in mind, I created a brief collage highlighting a few (of many) home-based pull-up options. I will then discuss each option below in more detail. View this post ..read more

Earlier this week, I posted a throwback to some training footage from approximately 15 years ago. My reason for sharing the old footage was twofold. First, I hoped to provide some ideas for garage/home-based workouts. The entire video was filmed at my old home in the garage, basement, and backyard. Perhaps more importantly though, I wanted to reiterate a message that I’ve preached for years. To put it bluntly, old school is still a great school. What worked many years ago continues to work today. There’s no need to constantly reinvent the wheel. Old School Training Demo Below, you’ll see vari ..read more

As I write this entry, most of the world is living in isolation due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Yet, while the pandemic has been devastating in many ways, I urge you to turn a negative into a positive by working on something that you’ve neglected before. For instance, I recently posted a video of several hand-eye coordination exercises. I’ve long stressed the benefits of continually challenging hand-eye coordination. That’s not exactly why I shared the video though. My goal was to simply highlight something different from the norm. Comfort Zones Before I continue, I’ll share the brief sampling ..read more