Bar-Barians – Ninja Masters of the Pull Up Bar!

This post is to prove to people they can reach an ultra-high degree of conditioning with something as simple as the pull up bar.

I’ve been writing a lot about body weight training and I’ve personally been trying to get better at pull ups and chin ups. You guys may or may not have heard of the Bar-Barians, but these guys are flat out impressive.

They don’t train with weights, but I would go as far to say that they are most likely in better shape and more ripped than just about anyone in your gym. If you have never been exposed to the Bar-Barians, prepare to be “Wow’ed”!

[The Bar-Barians were founded in 2004 and are based out of Brooklyn, New York. These guys are some of the most impressive athletes I have ever seen. Brooklyn has a reputation for being a tough area, but I’m guessing people don’t mess with this group.]

Don’t Let Their Tough Demeanor Fool You…

I’ve spent the past few days scouring their forums and reading their blog, etc. These are some of the most supportive guys I’ve run across online.

They really want to teach people how to get in incredible shape focusing on body weight work. The underlying message of their site is to overcome obstacles physically, to gain confidence and hit goals in the other areas of your life.

I fully endorse what they are all about and I’m trying my best to increase their exposure.

Here is a Great Video of Zeph (Co-founder) of Bar-Barians

[Zeph is 32 years old and makes this body weight stuff look like child’s play. You can’t tell in this video but Zeph has extremely good muscle definition. Physiques and strength levels like this are something to aim for. He is in outstanding shape.]

A Little More About the Founders of the Bar-Barians

Jude and Zeph, both born and raised in Brooklyn, co-founded the Bar-Barians in 2004.

They began teaching the benefits of body weight training in Brooklyn and it grew by word of mouth. This underground training subculture grew and they decided to add 3 more guys to help them run their organization…Rick “Slick Rick” , Andy “Ninja Man”, and Ben “Bolo Ben”.

The Bar-Barian Ranking System – A Challenge For You

The two co-founders along with the other guys form a group of 5 called The Core or Bar-Core.

Their purpose is to rank members of the Bar-barians. The Bar-Barian Membership is free but you have to earn the titles with hard work. The rankings are as follows: Bar-Pledge, Bar-Candidate, Bar-Baron, and Bar-Elite.

Right now it seems that these guys are looking for Bar-Baron’s. You don’t have to qualify for this title in person, you can submit a video…but qualifying isn’t easy!

Bar-Baron Requirements“As far as the physical goes, anyone at any level is eligible to train with the us, but you must meet the prerequisites to be bestowed the title of the Bar-barians Bar-baron. Even Bill Gates could not wear the title of Bar-barian. It is something that cannot be bought or easily attained. Only through hardwork and dedication can one become a real Bar-barian. Physical requirments include:
1) 40 Dips
2) 20 Pull Ups
3) 50 Push Ups
4) 5 Muscle Ups
All of these done in 6 minutes or less”

Here is Jaz…A “Bar-Baron” from Bondi Beach, Australia

[This isn’t Jaz’s qualifying video. This is just a video he made demonstrating 27 muscle ups in a row! Most of the population wouldn’t even come close to doing one of these. They aren’t as easy as he makes them look!]

I’d Love to See Some of You Qualify As Bar-Baron!

Make sure and visit their site and join their forum if you are interested in getting stronger at body weight exercise.

The Bar-Barian Forum is pretty active with 148 users currently from all over the world. They even have a part of the forum where people submit videos of themselves trying to complete the Bar-Baron requirements or performing other amazing body weight moves.

Even if you just want to get better at pull ups or dips, this is a great resource.

Please Help Spread the Word About These Guys

Their ultimate goal is to grow this thing to a global level…kind of like how Crossfit grew by word-of-mouth.

If you have a blog, you can either link to this post here…or do one of your own. More than ever, we need people to understand that it doesn’t take a ton of equipment to reach high fitness levels. I think these guys are going to make a really positive impact…especially on the large amount of inactive young people.

They make getting fit look fun…and kind of bad-ass!

Note: I’d love to hear how close people are to the level of Bar-Baron! I’m guessing I could do between 20-25 dips, 12-13 pull ups, 40-45 push ups, and no idea for muscle ups. The problem is these are my numbers without doing these back-to-back. My push up number would go way down if I did dips just a few minutes earlier!