WOW! Can you say BUSY:)!! Todays Workout & check out my Strong Meals!!

Monkey Bar Gym Chicago 60 Day Fitness Challengers testing during their introductory week!!
Man this is a good group of folks here:) They're training super hard and already learning MBG 3 really well!! It's always so cool to see the heart people have to drive hard, to make positive change!
Well that is happening in spades here:) haha
Today for us was a very busy day as well, lots of work on Lifeline stuff, taught 4 classes today and had a long MBG Chicago meeting and then did about 3 hours of online work:) looong day!
Has to be done though:) This is what we expected and now it is upon us:) So it's important for us to pay alot of attention to making sure we do not over do the workouts ourselves, to make sure we eat great, and to make sure we get plenty of sleep. We're doing our best on all 3:)
MBG 1 restoration - taught the Eischens Yoga in class today and led it in 2 more classes and took a little snooze (5 minute power nap) on the yoga floor too:) haha
MBG 2 training - did todays Top of 90 seconds workout

1. Press Ups: Did 5 sets of 9 reps with 70lb BXT...man this was tough...but great!
2. PUR Muscle Ups: Did 5 sets of 9 with PUR R8 (3)...was a bit tired on this one:)

rested a few minutes then did;

1. Cliffhanger crawls: 2 sets of 3 times to the top! This Cliffhanger bar is about 6' longer than madison:) 
2. Beat push ups: 2 sets of tons of various push ups to the beat....fun:)

MBG 3 plant based eating -
Maca' Cafe
soaked oats, dates, banana, pecans, raw protein
green drink
lemon coconut soup, broccoli, spinach and then a raw bar (moms raw, which is very good)
2 more Moms Raw bars
home-made vegan pizza: corn meal crust, tomato sauce, garlic, sesame oil, lentils, spinach, onions, tomatoes,
QUESTION FOR ALL:) now the last one had some GREAT comments:) lets keep it going strong!! Okay enough talk....seems like Ong Bak was a favorite, Bruce Lee a close second, then some Rocky and Gladiator ..... OKAY, this is a tough one:)   
What movies have made you want to fight/train and also made you cry?:) haha  No doubt their is some easy ones here:) and yes i've cried watching these movies:) haha Rudy, Gladiator....feel free to explain why too:) haha Gladiator at the end cause it was serious honor and he lived righteously, Rudy cause it was just cool as hell the little guy makes the play at the end and gets carried off....i was always the little guy til i turned 20 and began to grow....at 19 i was 5'8" 130lbs and weak as heck:) So i felt for him big time:)
let me hear you ALL!!!:) haha
peace my friends!
jon

Good Strong Workout today! Super simple green meals + some EY:)

Here is a quick intro video of Monkey Bar Gym Chicago:) Man i can feel the energy rising everyday!
Now with my boy Luiz Claudio joining us...Man it is off the hook bad ass!!
Each day we're getting tons of great folks coming in and learning tons of skills and technique for both our MBG fitness training and LCCT (Luiz Claudio Combat Team) training as well!
In our MBG classes each day we're really teaching alot of the stuff we do so well...Running, Jumping, Crawling and Climbing techniques as part of the warm up and then making those hard core for the workout:) Today we did handstand, kick up to handstands and then walking on their hands alternating with alot of simple to complex bar movements...a little side to sides, in/outs, bicycle up and downs:) all the good stuff!! Then we trained!!
For LCCT, man it is going great too, Luiz is the best BJJ instructor around, he's off the charts good and teaches with a ton of passion...man this is awesome to be together with him and i can honestly say we make an awesome 1, 2 punch for training and bjj:) I was lucky to get enough time to train with Luiz 4 times this week and roll for about 2 hours yesterday...it was awesome and the simple moves he's taught this week are for sure gonna give guys a very hard time i know:)
MBG 1 restoration - Taught and did Eischens Yoga in class today:)
MBG 2 training - Did one of my favorites:) J Rock!! 3 sets of 20 total reps
Handstand Push ups > Press Ups > Tricep layouts on the stall bars 1st bar
Muscle Ups > L seat chin ups > Jungle Gym XT muscle ups with slow neg
Man i love this one...simple and hard!!!
MBG 3 plant based eating! -

1. maca cafe'
2. bananas, dates, blueberries, pumpkin seeds, pecans, rice milk
3. collard greens, bananas, apple juice, raw meal (by garden of life) i'm trying this out as i ran out of source of life and this was all i could get:) it's not bad:), some raw food bars
4. spinach, edemame, onions, brussel sprouts, veggie patty (100% pure plants, nothing processed)

Super busy day, did alot of consultations today, taught 3 classes, wrote all march workouts, then filmed weeks 1 and 3, then took care of alot of business as well....productive...yes:) haha
QUESTION FOR YOU: what is your favorite movie that makes you want to train super super hard? Man there is so many this is a tough one:) I know i really like watching Bruce Lee movies for sure, like Enter the Dragon, Gladiator is good too....but my favorite for pure sick off the wall movement skills that makes me want to train MBG style and Martial Arts? That is "Ong Bak" man Tony Jah is wicked man:) if you havent seen it go rent it, make some of my favorite popcorn cooked in coconut oil, and the put some flax oil on it and then a bit of pink himalayan salt and ENJOY!!!
Can i get an AMEN my brothers??!!!!!!
PEACE!!
jon

Great BJJ training with Luiz, Great workout after, strong foods!! BXT, JGXT, PUR!!

This morning i got to sleep in and got a good 8 hours of sleep:) been working hard each day and it is good to see the folks enjoying the classes and now the brazilian jiu-jitsu too! Today in class we were training handstands and some bar work....man it is so simple and brings such happiness to folks it is really cool to see:) For example today, after training...luiz, mark (cool dude who is also a badass in muay thai) and i worked out as well...man we had a great workout...mark and luiz both super strong at body weight did muscle ups on the bars using the Pull Up Revolution (PUR) and man they loved it! They both got it immediately and were doing sets of 6 with the PUR immediately!  Then we used the Body X-treme Trainer (BXT) and we did some assisted planche push ups and they loved those immediately too:) To me this is just a blast, cause we're training dope movement skills!!:)
MBG 1 restoration - did a bit of Eischens Yoga after the noon class
MBG 2 training - PUR muscle ups & BXT planche push ups....then did cliffhanger slow crawls & BXT tiger handstand push ups (this one was done using 1 bxt band, facing the wall and going down to a handstand push up, then back onto the elbows, back to head touching again between hands and up) MBG 3 plant based eating -

1. rejuvalac and green kamut
2. maca cafe' 
3. banana, dates, pecans, raw protein powder, quinoa flakes 
4. kale, garlic, sprouted tortilla wrap, spinach, bell peppers, black beans
5. dates, cashews
6. mixed greens, mung beans, sweet potato
7. rice dream:)

Just so you all know i'll be putting more videos and pics up soon, my internet isnt working too well so it's not loading pics and videos at all....next week i'll have some good ones for you though:)
peach:)
jon

Big MBG Chicago 60 Day Fitness Challenge! Jungle Gym XT, Power Wheel

Today was a super busy day, jess and i were up for the 6am class, then worked, then trained BJJ with my good buddy Luiz Claudio who moved from Rio to teach here at the MBG!! Then i trained, then pretty much worked and had meetings the rest of the day til teaching again at 5pm and then teaching the 60 day fitness challenge at 6pm tonight! Man this is a busy day:)
Luiz is amazing! his technique is simple flawless and combined with his fluidity makes for a true master of brazilian jiu-jitsu...man we're very lucky to have him here at MBG Chicago. 10 years ago when i opened up my first Monkey Bar Gym in madison wisconsin he had just begun teaching brazilian jiu-jitsu...we trained at rickson gracie's academy on west pico blvd in west LA together (he was a purple and i was a white belt back in 95' when we met and we became good friends then and re-united again when i flew back to LA for rickson's championships at the UCLA campus in 2000. His team from Rio dominated, i was teaching in madison as a blue belt with no one to teach me so he once again became my instructor and came to madison 2 x year to teach seminars and it was awesome! Because of him (without question) i won the pan american and international world championships. 10 years ago, he and i talked about someday having a place for us both...and now it has arrived and i must say we both bring alot to the table....more than alot!!!:) It's awesome and we're gonna change the world!!
MBG 1 restoration - taught and did the Eischens Yoga today and that is always great!!
MBG 2 training - did some nice heavy work using a 24k attached to me while doing about 5 sets of cliffhanger crawls and planche dips...this was good simple hard work. after that did some rhythm reps for pulls and pushes...lots of side to side, in out and circle chins alternated with basically the same type movements but for push up variations...side to sides, tigers, alligators and all types....actually very hard workout:)
MBG 3 plant based -

1. maca cafe'
2. rejuvalac and green kamut powder
3. collards, corn, vegan wrap with black beans and kale and bell peppers
4. banana, orange, dates, seeds
5. collards, banana, raw protein powder, apple juice, bee pollen, flax meal, sunflower seeds
6. vegan pizza (home made) corn meal crust from whole foods, tomato sauce, collards, bell peppers, garlic, onions, spinach

got to get some rest now:)
peace!
jon

Great MBG 3 Day!!! Jungle Gym XT assisted full muscle ups...wicked man!!

Here's a quick video at MBG Chicago showing you all how to do an assisted full Muscle Up using
the Jungle Gym XT (the most wicked suspension trainer out!!!...okay i'm a bit biased:) haha
We're putting this exercise into the mix next month for sure so get your JGXT and get ready!
Friday at the Monkey Bar Gym Chicago was our best day yet! Had a whole bunch of people come by from all over chicago to take a class or do some Eischens Yoga with us or just to hang out:) We had a BLAST!!! The energy here at MBG Chi is off the hook already and we're loving it:) The super cool
Ladies of Lululemon came by almost everyday this week and that was a treat as they are full of positive energy!! We're already getting crews who train at certain times and man that is fun as heck!! It's sort of like the Cheers of Fitness as one member told us:) But in a healthy way:) haha
Today we're going to Rush Street Lululemon and Jessica and Erin are going to be telling folks about what the Monkey Bar Gym is all about and for sure will be doing some of our Eischens Yoga feedback which has blown some folks minds here in the windy city....we're use to how amazing it is and it's really very cool to be in a new place and see that light of holy s&^t look on someones face when they stand up and realize their pain is gone:) So if you're in Chicago or near by, come on by and say hey to jess, erin and later on myself and steffon....give us a high five when you see us:) hahaha
Steffon is coming down today too and he and i are filming month march and april's workouts. So i appreciate you all telling us your favorite MBG workouts too as we're gonna put them into the mix.
BIG SHOUT: Go check out this months Muscle & Fitness...We're featured and writer Jess Willard did an amazing story on the MBG...so check it out and spread the word my friends:) We're hitting it!!!:) haha
MBG 1 restoration - this whole week has been amazing for me personally in terms of my Eischens Yoga, never have i taught and done so much EY and i've really been loving it...in class on thursday night it was truly amazing the energy we had in class and the peacefulness all felt after class...i mean each pose felt awesome and the breath work was great and the whole vibe....just amazing. I have to truly say i loved teaching and doing that class and look forward to lots more!!! Our new Eischens Yoga dvd is going to be amazing and we're going to be filming it soon so keep an eye out on that my friends it will take your EY practice to another level!!
MBG 2 training - simple and powerful is all i can say
Jungle Gym 90 deg assisted FULL muscle ups (slow control negative too to really get that passing the bar feeling on the way down strong) did 50 total reps
Then followed that with some full tricep layouts on the stall bars 1st rung (about a foot off the floor) and laid out completely so getting crazy core work as well. did 3 sets of 6 reps.
alternated these with my favorite slow cliff hanger climbs...which we call sloth climbs for 3 sets.
man the cliffhanger bars are 'wicked man' if you're near us you got to come by and try these bad boys out!!!:)
MBG 3 plant based nutrition - same as above:) simple, strong!

1. Maca cafe' 
2. orange
3. spinach smoothie (spinach, green powder, hemp seeds, banana, dates, almonds)
4. dates and pecans
5. after workout - soaked oats, banana, raw (plant) protein powder, dates, flax meal, almonds
6. orange, mana bread slices with some raw cashew butter and 100% pure blackberry jam on it:)
7. cucumber/tomato salad, mung beans...Jessie makes this better than anyone!! it is crazy good!!

actually fell asleep soon after at 8:30 at night!! i was OUT! and got up at 4am...man the best sleep i've gotten since getting back from darwin.
hope you're all good, healthy and happy!!
jon

MBG Chicago is Rocking the Bells!! Last night was alive!! JGXT, PW, EY!!

Man today was a good day:) despite crazy jet lag and 2 hours sleep last night:) haha Had a good amount of folks come in today again and man o' man the energy is rising!! You can feel it:) tonight it was feeling like MBG Madison....high energy, super positive vibes, people helping people, people training their asses off!!...GREAT!!
SO tonights blog is short and to the point...as i'm tired as hell:) haha
MBG 1 restoration - Eischens Yoga 2 x today in class and did partner feedback work too:)
MBG 2 training - did top of the minute x 10 minutes for todays exercises basically and it was dizope!!:)

• HSPU's x 4, 4, 4, 3, 3
• ATW's (around the worlds) x 4, 4, 4, 3, 3

rested 5 then did

• Stall bar tricep full extension off the 3rd bottom bar x 8,8,8,8,8
• Jungle Gym XT muscle ups at 90 degrees x 10, 10, 8, 7, 7

these all felt great and despite fatique i was very happy with how i did:)
MBG 3 eating plants - strong again...got to, helps me stay sane:)

1. maca cafe, orange
   
2. kale, sweet potato, onions, lentils, pumpkin seeds, spouted tortilla, hummus
3. mixed greens, kamut, corn, peas, sunflower seeds, sesame croutons:)
4. almonds
5. maca cafe
6. coconut wild rice, collards, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, edemame, tofu

okay folks well i wrote this 5 hours ago and slept and now am awake again:) haha well 5 hours sleep is better than 2 or 3 huh:) it's improving!!
Last night it became very clear what we are doing and the reach we can have with the MBG...folks from all over chicago came in and loved the classes and stayed afterwards just to watch more classes and talk with friends...that is cool as hell...the vibe of the mbg is happening already. i've noticed this occurring during and after each class, already after just 3 days folks are feeling it and diggin' it:) Also last night we had lots of different people come in who have had injuries, have injuries, have aches and pains as well and it was awesome to have them in class too....why? cause we CAN help them!:) we can lessen or completely heal aches and pains in minutes most cases...for injuries we can get them feeling better in minutes...folks were digging that!!! The "VIBE" is something i really wanted to happen here in Chicago and i can already feel it happening! It's almost as if the place came to life last night and everyone could feel what will be....an amazing place to train movement, a place to hang with others who want a hard core training place and also a place that is truly conscious about connecting with our instinctive movements and others....just got to say....it was awesome:)
peace my friends!

jon

Yes!! Day 1 of MBG Chicago went great!!!

First MBG Chicago class at 6am!!! great 1st day!!!

today started early and ended late and it was a great first day!! the classes went great,
the students dug it big time and we had alot of great training and lots of fun!
The picture above shows them doing some Eischens Yoga during the warm up and
for jess and i that is another big bonus for us:) we do EY in each class so her and i get to
do Eischens Yoga 2-3 times a day!! hey hey hey:) body feels really good despite massive
jet lag and little sleep!!
listened to my body big time today and kept my own training pretty easy today.
MBG 1 restoration - Eischens Yoga beginner sequence at 12, 5 and 6...feels great!!!
MBG 2 training - did one of my favorites....press ups alternated with cliffhanger crawls. we put two Cliffhanger bar set ups next to each other here in mbg chicago, they're about 50% longer than mbg madison and made really really high level...awesome!! after doing about 4 series of these two then played around some with 1 arm handstand holds with one of our new students who is a circus performer as well and he loves the monkey bar gym big time so that was a blast too!!
MBG 3 eating - strong simple day of eating plant based:)

1. maca cafe'
2. soaked quinoa flakes, SOlife, pecans, dates, raisins, banana
3. kale, banana, coconut water, raw protein powder, mango
4. collard greens, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, basil, tomato, cucumber
5. orange

really really good start:) i'm happy:)
peace my friends:)
jon

Back home and opening MBG Chicago at 6am tomorrow!!!!!

Paul and Des Fogg, Jessica and I in Darwin, Australia!!:)

Hey hey hey!!!! MBG Chicago is opening at 6am tomorrow morning!! Man this day is finally coming:) Alot of work, still got alot to do....but we're opening. Jess and i just got back last night after 36 hours of traveling:) haha man that was a long trip:) and that is after getting a quicker flight from sydney to LA....would of had a 10 hour layover otherwise....dang!!! haha
So tomorrow we open...we will be teaching MBG 3:)
I'm getting back to my own training as when i teach intensives (six 9 hour days in a row) i usually do not train beyond the course...so i'll begin tomorrow again and so will begin blogging again.
when traveling it is really interesting, the stress of flying so far...planes are big time stressors...so i usually really load up on the green drinks, chorella and water, fruit and more water.
being in a super super hot environment....got to respect it and the flying...here i learned a tough lesson:) haha i went and trained right after getting there and of course it had to be a tough one at about 2pm and it was about 95 out and 95% humidity.....did it strong....but it crushed me after....lesson learned? when you travel along ways and it's hot....chill, focus 110% on recovery...that is just what i did after that and it worked fine...i felt better each day:) haha
a few good lessons i learned:)
my question to you is what are your travel and training techniques that work well for you so you dont bonk?
big day tomorrow, gonna sleep now:)
good night my friends!
jon

Jungle Gym XT, the BXT and Pull Up Revolution blowing it up down under!!

today we spent the first 3 hours of the course teaching our Eischens Yoga, then spent all afternoon basically showing and playing on the Jungle Gym XT, The BXT (body x-treme trainer) and the PUR (pull up revolution)....man we had a blast....got to say that was one of the funnest days of teaching and playing we've ever had at a course...they loved the simplicity of the movements, doing tons of stuff they'd never done before and then mixing it up big time...flowing with music, doing crazy movements and having a blast.
The Jungle Gym i'd have to say the fun stuff is doing things like assisted muscle ups...super slow feels just like a regular muscle up...then PUR muscle ups...then BXT planche push ups, handstands and press ups.
got to say when i asked them to go for it and get way outside the box of traditional movement the aussies did not fail!!:) haha
besides teaching for 9 hours straight for 6 days straight this week i'm not really doing much else besides chillin like a gorilla:) and eating lots of greens:)
basically what i'm eating while here is some:

1. spirilina (man this stuff is INTENSE:) haha
2. maca cafe'
3. soaked oats, raisins, walnuts, SOLife, banana
4. wheat grass
5. banana
6. green drink
7. chorella tablets
8. green drink
9. lentils, sprouts, spinach, hummus, sprouted bread, avocado

felt good energy all day and that is cool as teaching for this long day after day can be draining, maybe it's the people:) or the good food:) or both:) haha both are great!!!
QUESTION: ever train to the beat? rhythm reps? i know some of you have...and some havent...why for each is the question:)
hope you all are doing great!! sending you all some sun and love from down under!!:)
peace,
jon

Giving a holler from down under! MBG Intensive starts tomorrow, MBG 3 daily:)

hey my friends, man it's hot here:) alot is happening here if you've seen the storm coming to hit the east coast. Level 5 hurricane, pretty scary stuff, the folks on the east coast are very scared and it's the only thing on the news...going to hit tonight and tomorrow am.
since arriving we've been enjoying Darwin and trained with Paul Fogg yesterday, what a nice guy! If you all can ever make it here you got to look him up!! we did a crushing leg workout yesterday that literally wiped me out for today:) i mean wiped out:) haha, well not soo funny, i'm hurting:) the heat, the jet lag, and the hard workout...= 1 very tired jon:) so just messed around on todays workout and that was still too much...so i'm chillin' this afternoon to rest up for tomorrow...first of six 9 hour days:)
yesterday paul and paul junior (big pauls assistant trainer) all trained.
5 minutes of each section
Power Jumper + 120lb (2 reds) for 50 jumps to touch a 9'6" ceiling...this was actually very very hard!!
then we did 5 minutes of 64kg deadlifts for 53 reps in 5 more minutes. this one was for sure hard but not a surprise:) actually happy to handle the 128kg so easily for the 5 minutes
then rested and did some more fun stuff
Power wheel rollouts amap in 2 minutes..man love this one...got a good number 61:)
we also played around before training with, parallel bars, planches, levers, etc too...paul is like me that he loves doing the fun skills:)
MBG 1 doing the Eischens Yoga new beginner sequence we'll show you all next few months...added a few nice challenging poses to the mix...about 30 minutes i took on it on the boardwalk...good sweat and nice and quiet place to do it too:)
MBG 2 workout listed above
MBG 3 been keeping to our eating really well...jess made sure to bring some of our greens and paul took us to a very cool little organic store where we got great veggies, nuts, seeds, even an awesome veggie patty that is all pure plants:) carrots, onions, mushrooms, some nuts, beans...man great!!!
we've been drinking the green powders daily, lots of coconut waters and still starting the day with our favorite maca cafe!
it has been a bit of a challenge getting online my friends but we hope we got the problem solved:)
remember my friends, love your training, enjoy movement and challenge, eat for you and the planet and restore daily with the simple poses of Eischens Yoga to bring balance and strength to your mind, body and spirit:)
peach my friends:) haha
jon