Posts Tagged ‘Pushup’
Snatches, Ring Dips, and Rope Climbs
My all time favorite lifts are the squat, deadlift, pullup, and pushup. You know, the basics. I’m all about the K.I.S.S. principle when training. There’s really no need to complicate things. I think with all the fancy equipment and hundreds of TV training gurus out there today, people tend to over think their training. It’s not that complicated.
Believe me!
Just think for a minute. What did people used to do before globo gyms, celebrity trainers, and the internet? Take a few minutes and google some of the old time strongmen. Those guys were incredibly strong and unbelievably well conditioned. They didn’t do anything fancy. They lifted heavy, sprinted, jumped, and ate clean.
I mentioned some of my favorite movements above but I’ve been expanding my horizons lately, trying to get better at things the give me a little bit of trouble.
Take a look at some of my new favorites!
Motivation and “Cindy”
Today will be short and sweet, just two quick things for you.
The following video clip is mandatory. If you don’t watch it now you’ll likely suffer through a sluggish and unmotivated weekend.
Refer back any time you’re ready to kick some a## and need a little extra juice.
Pretty good huh?
For my last deload session of the week I ventured in to the world of crossfit and knocked out cindy. For those that aren’t familiar with this one, it’s pretty simple.
5 pullups
10 pushup
15 squats
Set your gymboss timer for 20 minutes and complete as many rounds as possible.
I completed 19 rds. I had hope to knock out at least 21 so I certainly will be aiming for more the next time I knock out “cindy!”
That’s it for the deload week. I did two strength sessions and two conditioning sessions.
It’s only Friday and I’m chomping at the bit for Sunday’s session.
As the Wild Gorillaman told me: “If you’re getting itchy to train, you know the deload is working!”
The Strength Shed and Full Body Training
For about the last week I’ve been training exclusively at home. In preparation for opening my own warehouse gym, I’ve started stockpiling equipment. Last week I picked up a squat rack, 2 barbells, about 400lbs of free weights, dip station, and a ton of floor mats. It was a steal at only $200 for EVERYTHING! I felt like I had won the lottery when I found this stash!
I’ve set up everything in my shed which luckily provided enough room for everything. So I guess you could could say I have a “strength” shed instead of a tool shed. In addition to the above equipment, I have ton’s of sandbags, bumers, thick rope, and homemade sleds. So, I have everything at home to get to beast status! Below is what my new full body training cycle looks like.
Full Body Training Wk 1 – Day 1
1a – Power Clean + Throw 5×6
1b – Burpee + Broad Jump 5×5
2a – Zercher Squat 3×6
2b – Sandbag Clean 3×4
3a – Recline Rope Climb 3×10
3b – Pushup 3xsubmax
Full Body Training Wk 1 – Day 2
1 – Clean/Press 5×5
2a – BB Walking Lunge 3×16
2b – DB Floor Press 3×7
3a – Pullup 3xsubmax
3b – GHR Situp 3×15
3c – Dips 3xsubmax
This training phase will be simply but crazy deadly. In between I’ll throw in tons of GPP and conditioning to stay lean and mean while killing it in the “strength” shed!
The Most Underrated Upper Body Exercise – Part II
The Hindu or Divebomber pushup is one of my favorite variations. They are great for increasing shoulder mobility and flexibility, increasing time under tension, and promoting increased core and torso strength and stability.
Check out the videos below to get a good look at how to perform this awesome pushup variation.
There are tons of different pushups variations. A few of my favorite are feet elevated, w/ chains or other added resistance, using rings or blast straps, plyo pushups on to boxes, I could go on for days.
I don’t care what variation you use the point is just to do them. Leaving pushups out of your training is a major mistake.
After reading this go crank out about 30 pushups!
If you have to stop before you hit 30, that’s a pretty good sign you need more pushups in your training.
The Most Underrated Upper Body Exercise
If she can knock out 25 pushups and you can't, time to start cranking!
The pushup is the most underrated upper body exercise. Most everyone can do them but when it comes to training, most everyone does not regularly include them. In a world where everyone wants the big bench (and trust me the bench has it place) pushups are often neglected.
If you’re a training beginner, no matter your age, you must master the pushup before you move on to more advanced moves like the bench press or dumbbell chest press. Pushups help build your foundation. Move on too early to moves like the bench in your training, which is probably the single biggest training mistake out there and your progress will undoubtedly suffer. My athletes and clients don’t sniff the bench until they can complete at least 25-35 pushups on their own. From there we progress to using chains for added resistance as well as using other forms like rings or plyo pushups for explosiveness.
Think pushups can’t get you strong as hell? Take a look at the the guys locked up in the pen. These dude knockout hundreds of pushups everday in their cells. I’m talking sets of 50-100 pushups performed slowly with the strictest of form.
So, if you aren’t banging out pushups consistently with training, you’re missing out! Pushups hit your entire upper body. They should be a staple of everyone’s training.
Check out the videos below.
Get crankin’ son!
Let me know your thoughts on the pushup and some of your favorite variations.
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