There are many systems of strength calisthenics dating back thousands of years, and PCC is a modern attempt at synthesizing the best existing protocols and techniques into a more systematic model.
The PCC system is founded on four guiding principles:
1. STRENGTH
Calisthenics exercises can be used for various purposes; to build endurance (running is a calisthenics exercise), to gain mobility (yoga is a calisthenics system), to achieve explosiveness (bodyweight plyometrics) to build balance, good movement, or fluid grace (floor gymnastics, parkour, etc).
Very often calisthenics is seen as a useful warm up to heavy gym exercise; think of push-ups, jumping jacks, jogging on the spot, etc. So we can see that calisthenics can be viewed in multiple ways.
None of these objectives or methods are "wrong"; the way we approach calisthenics simply depends upon our objectives. The objective of PCC is strength development. Strength can also be approached in multiple ways, but for our purposes we shall define strength as: the ability to control the body with increasingly demanding leverage and asymmetry.
PCC is unconcerned with the ability to lift heavy external weights, as valuable as that may be. Increased leverage may be, for example, straightening one’s legs while performing a leg raise. Increased asymmetry may be the use of one-arm to complete a pull-up instead of two.
2. PROGRESSION
The "P" in PCC stands for Progressive. Here, progression refers to the increase in difficulty over time. This means that one of our objectives is to learn how to make exercises more demanding in terms of strength. Typically, many athletes performing calisthenics exercise increase the number of repetitions they can perform over time; for example, during push-ups or sit-ups. This increases the volume of the exercise; it does not increase the difficulty of the exercises, which remains the same.
At the heart of PCC is an exploration of the science behind making calisthenics exercises increasingly difficult. One of the reasons barbell training has become so popular over the last century is due to the creation of the adjustable barbell; the equipment can be made heavier or lighter in small weight increments. This adjustment makes an exercise easier or harder, to suit different individuals, and to meet the changing needs of individuals over time.
The goal of progressive calisthenics is learn how to make a bodyweight exercise easier or harder in a similar manner. A movement such as push-ups for example may be made easier by performing it on an incline; this is called a regression. It may similarly be made harder by performing it with the feet raised; this is called a progression.
Movements like push-ups can be divided into many such steps, and placed in order of difficulty. This sequence of increasingly difficult exercises is called a "chain". It is desirable to include as many variations of an exercise within a chain as possible; just as it will be helpful to have as many different plates as possible to use with a barbell. This will allow a coach or athlete a lot of scope for selecting a given difficulty level.
PCC is not primarily about fixed lists of exercise chains; there is nothing "set in stone" about the chains or exercise orders given in the system. PCC is more about helping athletes and coaches appreciate the principles behind those chains, so that they can manipulate the intensity variables of any exercise they wish to work with.
3. MINIMALISM
PCC follows a minimalist, Spartan approach, not in terms of programming, but in terms of training equipment. Many gymnastics systems use a wide variety of specialist equipment; for example, hanging rings, multiple high-bar set ups, vaulting horses, hanging strap or rope devices, etc. The PCC is based around minimal equipment; primarily the floor and a horizontal bar.
Where extra equipment is required, it is rarely specialist and can often be easily found or accessed; walls, boxes, vertical poles, etc. (To this list should be added standard parallel bars for the dipping chain, however these can be found in all gyms and most parks or playgrounds).
There is nothing wrong with extra training tools; however if a coach or athlete does not understand the principles of progression using minimal equipment, they will not be able to utilize specialist equipment to its full potential. The basics should be learned first. An athlete who cannot perform good pull-ups on a bar has no business exploring pull-ups on the hanging rings.
4. VERSATILITY
PCC is a system which looks at the science of technical progression. As such, it is about bodyweight techniques, and the best way to arrange and understand them in terms of sequences of difficulty; i.e., chains. It seeks to make the human body analogous to a versatile piece of weight training equipment—it will teach you how to make any type of bodyweight exercise "very hard" or "very easy" or anywhere in between.
This quest for increased versatility is different from being a programming method. To look at a simile for a moment, an adjustable barbell can be made "very easy" or "very hard" to lift, or anywhere in between, simply by removing or adding plates.
PCC is not a method of programming. Just as the barbell is not a method of programming. There are thousands of workouts, routines and training approaches that can be applied to a barbell. Similarly, there are multiple approaches that can be applied to PCC chains—once you know how they work.
PCC is not a "school of strength", but an educational process to expand the technical "toolbox" of coaches and athletes. Once this toolbox is full, you can apply any programming method you wish to it. Strength can be used for different purposes; to increase functionality, to build muscle, to generate power, and so on (for different programming approaches, see also chapter 26). All of these can be applied to PCC chains.
The PCC Ethos
As well as the above four principles which inform the PCC system itself, there are also several values which underlie the PCC organization and the application of the system. These constitute the "spirit" or ethos behind PCC. They are:
- PCC is complementary, not exclusive or critical. Many training approaches take on "cult-like" status, and in our opinion this is a mistake. PCC is not designed to "replace" anything. It is designed to be of use to practitioners of other systems, such as martial arts, bodybuilding, yoga, military methods, etc.
Similarly, although PCC is not about the lifting of external weights, it does not condemn weighted training (machines, barbells kettlebells, etc.); indeed, PCC techniques and weight-training techniques can be used productively side-by-side in any program. Equally, PCC is different in approach and equipment from formal gymnastics—however the two are not in opposition. To many PCC-advocates, traditional gymnastics is a source of instruction, inspiration and aspiration.
- PCC is non-dogmatic. There is nothing in PCC intended to be taken as scripture; for example, the order of the chains; suggested exercise performance; training approaches; etc. These are intended to be useful guidelines to help coaches and athletes increase their own learning curves and knowledge bases. All PCC participants should feel free to explore and experiment with the PCC system, and develop their own approaches as a result. Absorb what is useful to you, reject what is useless to you. (The only exception to this rule might regard safety advice.)
The Structure of this Manual
While not comprehensive—no training manual can ever be comprehensive—the PCC Instructor’s Manual is intended to contain enough information to allow participants to competently grasp the fundamental principles of progressive bodyweight strength training. As such, it is a large volume, and it might be useful to break down its contents for readers.
Part I of the book deals with exercise descriptions. This is split into two sections; Dynamics (which deals with moving bodyweight exercises), and Statics, which deals with bodyweight holds. The Dynamics section contains exercise chains for 7 movement-types:
1. Push-ups
2. Pull-ups
3. Handstand push-ups
4. Horizontal pull-ups
5. Dips
6. Leg raises
7. Squat movements
The Statics section contains exercise chains for 7 types of hold:
1. Press holds
2. Midsection holds
3. Bridge holds
4. Handstands
5. Back levers
6. Front levers
7. Side levers (human flags)
These basic movement-types and types of holds are not set down in any significant order (but of course the chains are given in approximate order of difficulty). Where possible, extra regressions and progressions are given with individual techniques, however it should not be assumed that the list given is comprehensive.
Similarly, the basic movements and holds are not all-encompassing; there are multiple alternative exercises that might have been included in this manual (and which can still be analyzed as part of the PCC system). We have selected the most fundamental and well-known exercises to demonstrate the principles; once progressive principles are grasped, any calisthenics exercise can be made progressive.
Part II of this manual comprises an anthology of essays related to progressive calisthenics training. These essays may be divided into two groups:
a. Advanced bodyweight theory: Bodyweight mechanics, kinesiology, injury, psychology, etc.
b. Programming options: The variables involved in programming, programming for different goals, program templates, etc.
Whereas Part I of the manual is intended for continual reference, the essays in Part II are there to help the participant further develop his or her own philosophy with regards to bodyweight training generally.
Table of Contents
1. PCC: An Introduction 1
PART I: TECHNICAL INSTRUCTION
a. DYNAMICS
2. Approaching PCC Dynamics 15
3. Push-up Chain 19
4. Pull-up Chain 51
5. Handstand Push-up Chain 87
6. Horizontal Pull-up Chain 111
7. Dips Chain 133
8. Leg Raise Chain 161
9. Bodyweight Squat Chain 187
b. STATICS
10. Approaching PCC Statics 221
11. Press Lever Chain 223
12. Midsection Hold Chain 251
13. Bridge Hold Chain 275
14. Handstand Chain 295
15. Back Lever Chain 321
16. Front Lever Chain 349
17. Side Lever Chain 371
PART II: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
a. Bodyweight Theory
18. Principles of Bodyweight Progression 403
19. Bodyweight Mechanics 425
20. Essential Kinesiology 437
21. Equilibrium Theory 451
22. Natural Movement Pattern Training (NMPT) 463
23. Potential Bodyweight Injuries 487
24. Mental Skill Set 511
b. Programming Options
25. The Square of Programming 523
26. Rehab, Skill, Strength, Hypertrophy 526
27. Mechanisms of Progress 541
28. Program Templates 551
