02/01/2011 Monkey Bar Gym | OutsideOnline.

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Bodywork
Hang Time

At the Monk ey Bar Gym, fitness is fun again

By Frank Bures

IT WAS IN LOS ANGELES while training pro athletes and celebs in 1993 that Jon Hinds decided there was something
wrong with the American gym and its emphasis on machines and mirrors. So the certified strength-and-conditioning
specialist developed his own vers ion of functional-strength training, bringing his clients to a section of Santa Monica beach
with old-school equipment like ropes, rings, and poles. They climbed, they walked on their hands . They loved it—and s oon
Hinds was getting dramatic results with the likes of Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis.

"I just couldn't stand the thought of going into another gym after that," Hinds says . Until, that is, he thought of a way to make if
fun again. In 2001, in his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, Hinds opened what, for lack of a better term, could be called an
anti-gym. He named it the Monkey Bar Gymnasium, a nod to the full-body motor mechanics —that is, fun—of our youth. "My
simple philos ophy is that I follow nature in almost everything we do," s ays Hinds . "And nature is about movement. In nature
we run, we jump, we crawl, we climb. So we take variations of those movements , kick up the intens ity, and integrate them
into training regimens that stress full-body movement." Last year the gym had to double its size due to demand, and its
online membership (monkeybargym.com) is growing 5 percent a week, s ays Hinds .

At right are the key ways the Monkey Bar Gym differs from all the others you've seen. Turn the page for a Hinds -approved
workout you can do at home.

Breaking the Rules

To rethink the gym, Hinds first had to tear it down. Here are a few of his simple rules.

No Mirrors
No preening in the Monkey Bar Gym. The focus is on how you feel and move. "When you feel good and your body's fit," says
Hinds, "you look damn good."

No Machines
Mus cles weren't made to be worked one at a time. They're parts of s ys tems that work together. "Machines are purely about
isolated movements for aesthetics," says Hinds. "People get on the machine with the whole purpose being ‘I have to los e
fat,' not ‘I want to hike a mountain.' "

No Weights
Nobody does endless reps with dumbbells in the Monkey Bar Gym. Instead, the workout uses only body-weight res is tance,
medicine balls , kettlebells, and controlled movements , gradually progressing through three levels, from stability to strength
to power.

No Shoes
You've got toes; use them. Hinds 's program strengthens your whole system from the ground up, and that starts with your
feet, which he believes are weakened by shoes. Let your feet do what they were meant to do—balance, stabilize, and
support.

No Stretching
Toe touches are out. Hinds does n't allow any static stretching in his gym. Members instead do yoga-based "active
stretching" to improve flexibility and warm up at the same time.

No iPods
Mus ic players aren't banned, but members don't use them, mostly because trainers and trainees are in constant
communication. "The isolation of both the muscles and the mind when people are on machines is completely unhealthy,"
says Hinds.

The Program
For bes t res ults, Hinds advises you to work out five times a week, alternating strength and conditioning programs and doing
alignment exercis es daily. Start with the two programs at right, one 10-minute conditioning day and one 45-minute strength
day. But don't overdo it: Start small and build slowly through a natural progression of movements with three distinct stages:

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02/01/2011 Monkey Bar Gym | OutsideOnline.com
stability, s trength, and power. Mas tering one level (e.g., stability) before moving on to the next (e.g., strength) is how his gym
members get from barely being able to do a knee push-up to being able to walk 30 yards on their hands. For more sample
exercises, including Hinds's 60-Day Fitness Challenge, a precis ely monitored two-month program, go to
monkeybargym.com.

Alignment [Daily]
Practice holding thes e positions for 60 seconds each day. Prone Mountain (b) Lie facedown, keeping your nose an inch off
the ground. Reach toward your knees with your hands and extend your body from heels through the top of the head. Supine
Bridge (c) Lying on your back, plant your feet six inches from your butt and six inches apart. Place your arms out to your
sides, elbows at 90 degrees and palms facing inward. Now raise your butt off the ground and hold.

Conditioning
STABILITY Jump Rope (a) Complete 75 forward and 75 backward jumps as fast as pos sible. Then do 20 pike-ups . Begin in
an inclined-plane position, then roll feet in toward hands by "piking" hips up and then back down, to a s traight pos ture.
Repeat 3 times .
STRENGTH Jump (More) Rope Work up to 150 forward, 150 backward, in less than 2 minutes. Then do 20 pike-ups.
Repeat 3 times .
POWER Double Jump Rope Complete 50 double jumps forward, 50 backward, in less than 3 minutes . Then do 20 pike-
ups.

Strength [Lower Body]

STABILITY Full Squat (d) To get your body alignment dialed, begin with weight-free squats, working up to 3 s ets of 16 (under
20 seconds per set). Keep your chest and butt out, knees and toes aligned, and weight evenly distributed on each foot.
Squat down, bringing your thighs parallel to the ground, then s tand back up.
STRENGTH Controlled Jump Jump up slightly at the apex of each s quat and descend into a controlled, deep squat. 3 sets
of 10.
Advanced: Jump higher; repeat. Controlled Box Jump Repeat onto a box or step (elevated 12 inches ). Concentrate on good
form. Do 3 sets of 10.
POWER Box Jump Sets Same as Controlled Box Jumps , focus ing on height and speed. When you can do at least one
jump per second, raise the height of the box. 4 s ets of 10. Power Box Jumps Us ing s mall hand weights or tubing resistance
(Hinds designed the Lifeline Power Jumper for this purpos e), do Box Jump Sets with weight/resis tance. 4 sets of 10.

Strength [Upper Body]

STABILITY Assisted Chin-Ups Grasp a ceiling-hung cable or rope, or a bar, at a 60-degree angle. Lean backwards with your
back straight and weight on your heels and pull yourself up to standing pos ition. When you can do 20 reps, move the rope to
90 degrees , perpendicular to the floor. Work up to 20 reps again, then move to next level. Repeat 3 times . Lateral Floor
Walk Start out in a pus h-up pos ition and crab-walk laterally one direction, then return to the s tart. If you can walk 30 yards
easily, move up to the Lateral Wall Walk. Repeat 3 times.
STRENGTH Chin-Ups Alternating forward and backward grip with each set, work up to 10 or more unass isted chin-ups
(pulling up from hanging pos ition). Repeat 3 times. Lateral Wall Walk With a wall behind you, kick up to a handstand and
place your feet on it. Facing the wall, walk on your hands laterally. Work up to at leas t 30 yards. Repeat 3 times.
POWER Kip-Ups Grasping a secure chin-up bar, swing your legs back and forth for momentum and pull yours elf up to touch
your chest to the bar. When you've mastered those (20 reps ), move on to gorilla kip-ups: At the apex of each rep, s lap your
hands to your chest or behind your back. Repeat 3 times. Lateral Wall Walk, Reversed With a wall in front of you, kick up to
a hands tand and place your feet on it. Back to the wall, walk on your hands laterally. Work up to at least 20 yards. Repeat 3
times.

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