8/7/2019 Monkey Bar Gym _ OutsideOnline

1/2

Bodywork

Hang Time

At the Monkey 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 m irrors. 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 itand soon

Hinds was getting dramatic results with the likes of Darryl Strawberry and Eric Davis.

"I jus t 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, Wiscons in, Hinds opened what, for lack of a better term, could be called ananti-gym. He named it the Monkey Bar Gymnasium, a nod to the full-body motor mechanicsthat is, funof our youth. "My

simple philosophy is that I follow nature in almost everything we do," says 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, says 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 s imple rules.

No MirrorsNo 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 dam n good."

No Machines

Muscles weren't made to be worked one at a time. They're parts of systems 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 lose

fat,' not I want to hike a mountain.' "

No Weights

Nobody does end less reps with dumbbells in the Monkey Bar Gym. Instead, the workout uses only body-weight resistance,

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 s trengthens 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 dobalance, stabilize, and

support.

No Stretching

Toe touches are out. Hinds doesn't allow any static stretching in his gym. Members ins tead do yoga-based "active

stretching" to improve flexibility and warm up at the same time.

No iPods

Music 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 com pletely unhealthy,"

says Hinds.

The Program

For best results, Hinds advises you to work out five times a week, alternating strength and conditioning programs and doing

alignment exercises daily. Start with the two programs at right, one 10-minute conditioning day and one 45-minute s trength

day. But don't overdo it: Start small and build s lowly through a natural progression of movements with three distinct stages:

02/01/2011 Monkey Bar Gym | OutsideOnline.com

outsideonline.com//travel-pf-monkey- 1/2

8/7/2019 Monkey Bar Gym _ OutsideOnline

2/2

stability, strength, and power. Mastering one level (e.g., stabili ty) before moving on to the next (e.g., strength) is how his gym

mem bers 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 precisely monitored two-month program, go to

monkeybargym.com.

Alignment [Daily]

Practice holding these pos itions 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 s ix 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 possible. 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 posture.

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 jum ps 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 squat 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 , focusing on height and speed. When you can do at leas t one

jump per second, raise the height of the box. 4 sets of 10. Power Box Jumps Using small hand weights or tubing resistance

(Hinds designed the Lifeline Power Jumper for this purpose), 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 aga in, then move to next level. Repeat 3 times . Lateral FloorWalk Start out in a pus h-up pos ition and crab-walk laterally one direction, then return to the start. If you can walk 30 yards

eas ily, 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 unassisted 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 yourself up to touch

your ches t 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 leas t 20 yards. Repeat 3

times.

Find this article at:http://outsideonline.com/outside/bodywork/200712/travel-ga-monkey-bar-gym-1-

sidWCMDEV_128489.html

1999-2010 Orbitz Away LLC Time Taken: 140 M illi Secs, Stellent Time: 114 M ill iSecs, ServerName: egawapp06pp.eg.orbitz.com

02/01/2011 Monkey Bar Gym | OutsideOnline.com

outsideonline.com//travel-pf-monkey- 2/2