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Swapping Scaffolding Poles for a Professional Outdoor Gym

outdoor garden gym station

Swapping Scaffolding Poles for a Professional Outdoor Gym

The following case study looks at the Ghavi family and the installation of their new Xorbars outdoor gym.  Our case studies are designed to help you find your perfect garden gym.

 

  • Client: The Ghavi Family
  • Product Purchased: Warrior Gym
  • Tallest Bar Height: 2.4 Metres
  • Added Extras: mini bars, sanding and oiling
  • Family Members: 2 x Adults 2 x Children
  • Adult Age: 40+
  • Children Age: 5 & 7

 

CaseStudy_Ghavi1

About the Family

A lovely family base in Oxford, Dad and Mum early 40’s and two energetic girls aged 7 and 5, were looking for a set up the would work for them all!

The girls had been climbing on scaffolding that has been surrounding the house for the last year

and due to their new found love of climbing so much, the parents felt that they wanted something to keep them climbing now that scaffolding had gone.

Through various conversations with ourselves here at Xorbars, the family wanted something that they could all use on all year round, a home gym for all ages where they could train and have fun with family and friends.

Designing the Perfect Outdoor Gym

Mum and dad started off designing their own gym, looking at lots of different options, but by the end of the design process they decided that the Warrior Gym had everything they required and was the one to go for.

“We would like an installed pack combining stuff for kids and grown ups” 

Getting the Height of the Pull up Bars to fit the Whole Family

The gym was installed at 2.40 metres which is the general height that most people opt for. This was so dad being the tallest (5ft 11) had to do a little jump to reach the monkey bars. There were some additions to the Warrior Gym, mum and dad opted to have 4 ladder bars on one side of the monkey bar, this is ideal for smaller children aged 5 to 6. For older kids then usually 3 ladders bars are sufficient. Two were also added to the other side so that the kids could climb down but also so that dad could look at training to do the human flag.

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First Time Using the Outdoor Gym

On the day of installation the children are given 5 minutes to see how it feels. Then they have to leave it for 2to 3 days. Both of the girls were so excited to get to use the gym, and they loved it! They flowed easily from each section of the Warrior set up, in fact the five year old girl could swing on the monkey bars and miss out every other rung which was impressive. Big smiles all round, happy children and parents really pleased with the end result.

Gym Installation Time

The duration of the installation took 2 days, it was a harder than a usual installation because the roots off the large redwood pine tree (which was sited behind the set up) caused a lot of trouble. But the customer achieved the look they wanted as the gym blending in perfectly with the garden.

The previous equipment the children had in the garden was a freestanding metal climbing frame, but this had become unstable and also too low for them now.

Customer Review

[blockquote author=”” link=”” target=”_blank”]“Great communication before installation and during. James worked through rain to dig holes in our root laden ground and kept cheerful throughout. After finishing James then stayed late to talk the family through how to use the bars safely. We are more than happy with the installation and the materials used are high quality. I would highly recommend Xorbars to anyone. Thanks!”[/blockquote]

A Final Word from the Kids

As the installer left the premises he could hear the girls busily arranging for all their friends to come over 3 days after the installation to show them their new and exciting gym.

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The School of Calisthenics

School of Calisthenics

The School of Calisthenics will see you now!

We have some exciting news.  We have been working with the guys at ‘The School of Calisthenics’ based in Nottingham and we are pleased to announce that Xorbars will be endorsing their calisthenics training programs along with their workshops and classes.

The School Of Calisthenics

Why Choose the School of Calisthenics?

There are many training programs, videos and people out there offering their incite into calisthenics training and like with all things some of it is good and some of it no so.  Here at Xorbars we take a great deal of pride in our calisthenics products and therefore will only tell you about people and companies that take the same level of pride in what they do.

These guys are serious professionals. We are talking Sports Science Degrees here not that quick two week course on personal training.  They clearly understand the human body and how to maximize your training progression quickly and safely.  So what are you waiting for?  Take a look at the three main ways the School of Calisthenics can help you achieve the impossible!

The Calisthenics Framework to Training

The School of Calisthenics Framework provides athletes with a progressive system that enables students to learn and achieve the various skills and movements in calisthenics. The calisthenics framework used by the School of Calisthenics caters for all ability levels, and will provide you with the exercises necessary to begin or support your calisthenics journey. Applying the framework and training at the right level of difficulty will support you to achieve your calisthenics goals.

All you have to do is add is some time, persistence and consistency. Do that and the framework will take you there.

Options 1: Download their Calisthenics Training Books

The School of Calisthenics has free training books on calsithenics as well as some specialist training books on those must master movements like the human flag – and yes with these guys, you really can do it.

Option 2: Sign up for their Virtual Classroom

  • Beginners Online Training Classroom: Follow the weekly beginners lessons to develop your skills, build strength and get fit. With lessons and tests on mobility, strength and skill development.
  • Join the Virtual Classroom and become part of a community of like minded calisthenics ‘students’ to help support and encourage each other.
  • Challenge yourself and develop your calisthenics skills at your own pace with lessons, hints and tips from our expert tutors.
  • Powered by Edufii, a purpose built app designed for coaching and education our tutors will give you personal individualised coaching and feedback.
  • Don’t get stuck and frustrated, join the virtual classroom and get coached from anywhere in the world.
  • Sign up for the Beginners Classroom for only £9.99 ($12.49) per month.
  • NO CONTRACT, CANCEL AT ANYTIME

Option 3: Take Part in their Calisthenics Workshop

That’s right!  You can actually train with these super fit guys and take your calisthenics training to the next level. The tutors provide workshops not just teaching the School of Calisthenics Framework but educating you in understanding how to develop and to continue to progress your calisthenics journey.

“Great progressions and suitable for all levels. Stimulated both mind and muscle. The tutors created a great learning environment which was challenging but fun!” – Owen Jackson

School of Calisthenics
39 Fernleigh Avenue,
Nottingham
UNITED KINGDOM
Tel: 07738008145
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New Installation Check List

outdoor pull up bar installation

As always here at Xorbars our team is working hard to think up ways to make the installation of your outdoor pull up bar or garden gym as easy and as simple as possible, which is why we now have an online PRE-INSTALLATION check list to help our installers know a little more about your garden prior to their arrival.

After placing an order for an installed outdoor pull up bar or garden gym you will be asked to complete the following form: THE CHECKLIST

Why is the Checklist so important?

One of the tricky parts of installing outdoor pull up bars throughout the UK is that we don’t get to see the site (your garden) until the actual day of the installation.  Which as you can probably imagine can sometimes cause a few issues…read on…

A recent pull up bar installation story…

It was a beautiful day and after finally finding the customers house we parked up ready to get going.  What we didn’t know was that the customer wanted us to install his outdoor gym at the back of his garden about 100 meters away from the drive.  Normally not a problem.  However in this case, the back of the garden was also up what is best described as a mountain.

We painstakingly ‘lugged’ all the tools up the aforementioned mountain only to the find that the hose would only reach about half way up.  So out came the buckets – imagine one of those 80’s martial arts training montages.

Now it was a lovely sunny day and the customer was a delight, rewarding us with a couple of bottles of Champagne for our troubles.  But it would have been much easier if we would have know a little bit more about the location prior to our arrival.

So once you decide on your perfect outdoor pull up bar or garden gym and want Xorbars to install it for you, then we will kindly ask you to complete our garden pull up bar installation checklist.

‘Unleash Your Pulling Power’

The Xorbars Team

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Ash Dykes Outdoor Pull Up Bar

Xorbars are pleased to announce that the British Adventurer Ash Dykes has been getting the most out of his recently added Xorbar Outdoor Pull Up Bar.

Ash is an extremely accomplished adventurer and we hope that through Xorbars he can take his training to another level and look forward to hearing about his next epic adventure.

ashdykeslogo

More About Ash Dykes

British Adventurer, Extreme Athlete, 2X World First Record Holder, (FHM:- “One Of The Worlds Most Fearless Outdoors Men”). (Wales Online:- “7th coolest person in Wales”). Speaker, Muay Thai Fighter, Master Scuba Diver.

Ash has been invited to 10 Downing Street on two occasions after his feats, was shown social support by Bear Grylls, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Duncan Bannatyne and won the 2015 UK Adventurer of the Year Award and the 2016 Welsh Adventurer of the Year Award.
He was featured on The Times, Forbes, The Guardian, Mail Online, BBC World News, ITV, Arise TV, Discovery Channel, Channel 5 etc.

In 2014 – Ash became the first person ever to walk across Mongolia solo & unsupported, over the Altai Mountains, Gobi Desert & Mongolian Steppe, 1,500 miles in 78 days whilst pulling 120kg in a wheeled trailer carrying provisions needed to survive.

In 2016 – Ash became the first person ever to traverse Madagascar’s length, through it’s interior taking on eight of the highest mountains on the fourth largest island in the world, 1,600 miles in 155 days. Tackling Desert, Savannah, Tropical dry forest Jungle, Mountains and facing many mishaps along the way.

From the age of 19, Ash boarded a plane & left to explore what was out there, this lead him to undertake the following exploits, to name a few: –

• Cycling Cambodia & the length of Vietnam (1130 miles – 15 days)
• Trekking the Himalayas in North India
• Cycling a part of Australia (700 miles – 13 days)
• Escaping the outback’s of Australia after a nasty break down in the wildAsh Dykes
• He learnt how to survive in the jungle with a Burmese Hill Tribe
• Cycled the length of Britain for charity (985 miles – 7days)
• Walked 200 miles across Wales in the dead of winter
• Trekked alone through the Alps during winter & was just missed by a landslide
• Worked as a scuba diving instructor for two years in Thailand
• Trained & competed against the locals, in the local martial art or Muay Thai (Thai Kickboxing

To find out more about ash please visit:

Ash Dykes Website

Ash Dykes Facebook

 

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Back Levers with Xorbars

back levers tutorial

How to do the Back Lever exercise, muscles worked, and a video tutorial.

Often performed in Calisthenics, Street Workout, and CrossFit, the Back Lever is one of the fundamental static strength holds in Gymnastics. It can be performed on rings, or a pull-up bar.

This was one of the first impressive gymnastic holds that I managed to attain. I remember feeling such a sense of accomplishment when I could do the straight-leg (“Full”) version.

Muscles Worked

Where do I start? This is a total body exercise!

The Back Lever is a static strength exercise. I find it works my Lats, Upper Back and Posterior Deltoids (Shoulders) very hard.

Surprisingly, one of the weakest links is the lower back.  Most people aren’t used to lifting their hips up like this in any gym based exercises—so you may find that you’re strong enough in the upper body to hold the position, but too weak in the lower back to extend your legs.

Other supporting muscles worked to a lesser extent are the Abs, Glutes, Pectorals and Quadriceps.

Prerequisites for the Back Lever

  • Must be able to do Skin the Cat [Here] for 15-30 seconds continuously, otherwise you might rip your shoulders off. ? Preferably you can also roll back up in a tucked position
  • 6 Pull-ups or Chin-ups

Back Lever Exercise Technique

Always begin exercise with a dynamic stretching warm up [Click Here].

Then do a few reps of Skin the Cat in a not very taxing manner, to further warm up the area and avoid injury.

The Back Lever puts a lot of strain on your shoulders, biceps and elbows, so it’s best to really take your time moving from one progression to the next, otherwise you can end up with an injury thattakes months to recover from. 

  • Progression 1: Tuck Back Lever
  • Progression 2: Advanced Tuck (similar to the shape of a dining room chair)
  • Progression 3: One-leg straight
  • Progression 4: Alternating one-leg straight (like bicycling)
  • Progression 5: Full Back Lever (straight legs)

After this you can progress to Back Lever Pullouts, which is doing the Back Lever down to Skin the Cat, and then pulling your body back up to an Inverted Hang.

Pullouts are a lot harder than lowering! Once you’ve mastered the Full Back Lever as a static hold, you may find you’re only able to do Pullouts with a tucked body (rather than straight legs). It’ll take time to build the strength to do it with straight legs.

Watch the video tutorial

 

Technique faults to look out for

  • Body not horizontal — you’ll make quicker progress when you practice this exercise with a Calisthenics Instructor, rather than on your own, as you think you’re horizontal, but you’re probably slightly above it
  • Hand width — don’t make the grip too close, otherwise you won’t be able to do pullouts

George Choy (Certified Calisthenics Instructor)

For more information on George Choy or to visit his excellent website for more workouts and healthy eating tips and recipes, please visit www.busyparentfitness.com