Looking for new ways to work out? The Monkey Bar Gym utlizes "old school" body movement exercises, think handstands and pole climbing, to rebuild your fitness foundation.
The Monkey Bar Gym
Old School Playground Fitness for Adults
Remember when jumping rope and playing tag at recess were a part of your daily routine? When inventing games and playing with friends were the highlights of your day? Most adults have given those playful memories a page in a photo album, smiling nostalgically at the yellowing images. The term “exercise” is associated with sweating and pumping on stationary machines while dodging the mirror. The imagination is gone; it’s just become a routine. Cue the Monkey Bar Gym. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, it deconstructs the typical workout facility, and shuns the glitzy hype. Out are the notions of static weights and machines. In are “old school” exercises from childhood. The friends on the playground are back, as part of the training methods involve partnering up and encouraging one another to kick up into another handstand.
Jon Hinds, a certified strength-and-conditioning specialist, conceived the Monkey Bar Gym method of training when he realized that the traditional weight training he was using was actually hindering his athletic performance. An avid basketball player, he noticed his vertical wasn’t improving and he felt slower. Inspiration struck after watching a runner workout. He writes on his website that he realized if he wanted to run faster, he needed to run. If he wanted to jump higher, he needed to…you guessed it, jump! After four months his vertical improved an impressive 14 inches.
So what is Hinds’ secret? He went back to basics, back to whole body workouts and nutrition. Handstands, jumping rope, running, dodging, and using medicine balls, with no mirrors or music blaring overhead. He even promotes classes remiss of old school days, push-ups, pole climbing, box jumps, shuttle runs, minus the sneakers squeaking on the gym floor. In the Monkey Bar Gym, people workout barefoot, as this aids in balance and helps strengthen feet. Feet are sadly neglected in strength and balance exercises, despite the fact that they are a main proponent in bipedal motion. Shoes can actually weaken the tendons and the muscles, which may lead to podiatric problems down the road. Literally starting from the ground up with movement based exercise takes the focus off muscles and puts it back where it belongs: on the person as a whole entity.
Big names like Daryl Strawberry and Anfernee Hardaway have benefited from the Monkey Bar Gym method of training. Not only does this gym offer superior exercise, but whole foods based nutritional advice as well. A visit to the website can analyze your diet, give you some tips about where and how to begin improving it, and offers more in-depth service from a nutritionist. Not in the Madison area? There are daily workouts posted on the website (www.monkeybargym.com) that can be tried at home, after a nod from your physician of course. Some require a wall and a step; most just a willingness to drop any preconceived workout notions and embrace the child within. So kick up to a handstand against a wall. Pick up a jump rope and begin your Monkey Bar Gym workout and your second childhood.
