One of the pieces of equipment that is used for improving various skills is the parallette. It is a small set of mini parallel bars that can be used for pushups, L-sits, planche moves, handstand pushups, and more. The set of parallettes demonstrated on that site are simple Do-It-Yourself models created out of PVC.

Today I set out to create my own set of parallettes so I could begin practicing various movements from the Beast Skills site. The cost to build a set of PVC parallettes is only about $20 and take 10-15 minutes to assemble.

I built mine out of 1 1/2″ PVC pipe and the pieces needed are:

• 10′ section of 1 1/2″ PVC pipe
• 4 T-joints
• 4 90 degree elbow joints
• 8 end caps (though I’m an idiot and only bought 4)

Here are 2 great tutorials about the actual build process though it is pretty self-explanatory.

Homemade Parallettes

DIY Parallettes

I did not use cement to put mine together and it doesn’t look like it will even need it. Plus, no cement, means I can disassemble them for easy storage. I used 18″ pieces for the parallel portion of the parallettes and 6″ pieces for everything else. I will probably change it to use 12″ pieces for the vertical sections to get a bit further off the ground and be able to do L-sit dips. 6″ is a bit low for that. Other than that I’m very happy with how they turned out.

As far as exercise routines for the parallettes, American Gymnast has a set of workouts on their site here (requires free registration).

This is their recommended beginner training guide (though I think I need the remedial training program):

• Tuck Sit 3-5 sets of 10 seconds
• L-Sit 3-5 sets of 10 seconds
• Tuck Planche 3-5 sets of 10 seconds
• Straddle Press to Handstand Against Wall 2 sets of 3-5 reps
• Handstand Against Wall 2 sets of 30 seconds
• Handstand Pushups Against Wall 2 sets of 5-7 reps
• Push-ups 2 sets of 7-10 reps
• Handstand Forward 1/2 Pirouette 5-7 reps

Probably take me a year to get worked up to that level of fitness (especially pirouettes without killing my self) but it is a good start and a great way to build my core. If you have a free afternoon, put a set of these together and get to training.

The first is an incredible book that breaks down overall diet and nutrition into pure simplicity. It is called Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating

It is written by Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard Medical School and after reading this book you can see through the silliness of all the fad diets out there. It really breaks down what constitutes a healthy diet and the science behind it. Much of it is based on the Healthy Eating Pyramid that the Harvard Medical School put together (shocking to find out after reading the book that the FDA pyramid was very tied to much lobbying by the dairy and cattle industry). I especially like that the book is very up front about stating things that are fairly certain based on the research, things that they think should be done but need more research, and things that should be ignored until further research is completed. It also goes into great detail about diet and nutrition and how it relates to various ailments (diabetes, high cholesterol, etc).

The other resource I ran across is the website and forums of John Stone. The John Stone Fitness site and especially his site forums are a wealth of information on strength training and overall fitness. You can see on the front page of John’s site the amazing transformation that he did himself. This sticky post at the top of the beginner forum has some incredible links on fat loss, strength training, and nutrition. They are worth spending some time reading even if you don’t dive into the rest of the forums.

His site and forums is actually where I found out about the Dr. Willett book that had such an impact on me. If you are interested in improving your health or just learning more about exercise and nutrition, check out these two resources. There is no down side to improving your overall health.