bodyweight exercise

Bodyweight Training Works, Go To The Next Progression!

bodyweight training

Just when you think bodyweight training is worthless, let me quickly restore your faith.

I know what you’re missing.  It’s the same thing most people are missing when they are looking to leverage bodyweight exercise to boost strength, boost power or burn fat.

It’s called progression.

Progression can mean a few different things:

1)  Load progression (increase in weight)

2)  Skill progression (increase in motor skill demand)

I chose to limit the progressions to loading and skill.  Could you say volume is a progression?  Of course, but I am convinced that MORE VOLUME IS NOT WHAT MOST PEOPLE ARE LACKING WITH BODYWEIGHT TRAINING PLATEAUS.

Just the thought of marathon sets of exercises that you are already good at makes me cringe.  I’m guilty of avoiding essential increases in loading or skill in favor of more volume also.  It’s soothing to your ego knowing that you can dominate a bulk set of push ups or squats.  I’ve been there, I know first hand.  Comfort feels good.

But comfort doesn’t get your stronger, leaner or more athletic.  Especially if you’ve got lofty strength or aesthetic goals and you’re attempting to leverage bodyweight training to get there.

So, progression is probably what you are lacking, but the great news is that once you have identified that proper progression is the missing link, the solution becomes rather simple.

Take the push up for example.  If you can rip out 20-30 bodyweight push ups no problem, you need to take the next step to either a)  rear foot elevated push ups, b)  externally loaded push ups c) 1-arm push ups.

In some instances, I am going to suggest going straight to 1-arm push ups to restore that faith.

Why?  Because the first time you set up and lower yourself into the bottom of a 1-arm push up, your eyeballs are going to feel like they are going to pop out of your skull, catching on your orbital bones.  Seriously, you’ll feel like a weakling.  The point of sending you to the 1-arm push up gallows is to expand your thought process to how effective bodyweight training can be if you’re willing explore new realms.

Generally, a lot of people who are great at strict 1-arm push ups also have incredible upper body strength and as a byproduct, a decent physique.

The junction where functional performance meets physique is an ideal point for most people.  It really stinks to be all show and no go or all go and less than ideal show.  But who am I to make that statement, because if you enjoy either one of those scenarios, it is your prerogative to embrace that happiness.

So as I mentioned, 1-arm push ups aren’t necessarily where I want you to start working your progressions, because the point of exercise progressions is to make one’s way from one challenging movement to the next, progressing as fast as your strength, stability and motor control can tolerate.

In school, most people don’t go straight into Calculus, right?  They have to work through the progressions of basics of mathematics before they earn the right to tackle Calculus.

Bodyweight training, heck, all forms of physical effort work in the same way.

The above example involved upper body pressing, more specifically the push up.

However, progressing the lower body, particularly the squat can be just as simple.

As a beginner, you might start with improving your technique, strength and work capacity in the basic bodyweight squat.  After improving the aforementioned qualities, you will need to move on to higher level variations of the squat.  If you’re adamant about staying true to a minimalistic fitness approach like bodyweight exercise only, the next progression might be to elevate one leg onto a bench or other form of support, and perform what many call Bulgarian split squats, or rear foot elevated-single leg squats.

RFE split squats remove one foot from the base of support while simultaneously increasing the loading on the working leg.  Instead of two legs contracting to move your body up and down, you’ve now got one leg doing the work, an obvious increase in loading.

The next progression from the RFE split squat are either assisted bodyweight pistol squats or full bodyweight pistol squats.  I mentioned assisted bodyweight pistols because it might be helpful to hold on to something while you allow your body to “feel” the mechanics of an unsupported squat.  There’s no shame in assisting yourself until you’re physically read to let go and go for the fully unsupported bodyweight pistol.

As it stands right now, bodyweight pistol squats are the greatest lower body strength exercise known to man.  That’s a big and bold statement, but I cannot dream up another exercise that accomplishes as much as the free-standing pistol squat.  A bodyweight pistol is just the beginning, because adding load and varying duration of time under tension dropping into and out of the “hole” can both work to advance your performance.

It can be quite interesting to observe the right side/left side differences in balance, strength, stability and skill acquisition.

For me personally, I have found that my right side, which is my non-dominant leg, is much stronger than my left side.

So the bottom line is this… bodyweight training is phenomenal.  Just because you don’t have access to weights or you’re simply looking to switch up your training routine, doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice results.  The key is to understand your current performance, your goals and then choose the right progression to accelerate your arrival at the next level of performance and goal achievement.

Make sure that you are tracking your performance from workout to workout.  It’s important for tracking progress and creating the next plan of attack.

 

Cheers to bodyweight movement…

 

KG

 

 

Just Bodyweight Exercise

Quick Tips

Bodyweight training is making a serious comeback in my own training habits.

It’s easy to forget about how effective bodyweight exercise is.

I’m guilty of it for sure. But I’ve recently returned to what I consider the foundation of all exercise, basic bodyweight training. “Basic” doesn’t mean easy. Single leg squats, single arm push ups, hybrid pulling movements, handstands and crawling variations are some of the most challenging movements in the exercise rolodex. Especially when you hold yourself to strict technique.

Workout equipment is always going to be evolving and innovating, but the idea that you can get a highly effective workout anywhere and anytime is incredibly valuable.

The rules of bodyweight training don’t differ much from more traditional forms of resistance based training. There are advantages/disadvantages and sacrifices to every form of exercise when you think about it, and bodyweight strength and conditioning is no different.

Nearly all of the major movement patterns are present: pulling, pushing, squatting, lunging along with various forms of cardiovascular conditioning such as running, hybrid movements like burpees, mountain climbers, and crawling.

I used the word “nearly” in the previous sentence because there is still no viable way to load the hip hinging pattern using just bodyweight. Deadlifts are still a no go, especially if you are staying minimalist with your definition of bodyweight training.

However, since the rise of glute thrusts and other glute activation drills, strengthening the backside without equipment seems feasible. Progression is the key here, especially since many strong individuals will find that the double leg versions of bodyweight hip bridging and bodyweight hip thrusts just don’t load the backside enough.

Progressing to a single leg version of the hip thrust is the ticket here. Go for increased reps, slow the tempo of movement down or hold the top (lockout) position for time.

Let’s not forget about the vast amount of abdominal focused training that bodyweight exercise has to offer. Plank variations, hollow body rocks, crawling, slow mountain climbers and hanging leg raises are all incredibly challenging exercise when performed with strict technique and adequate time under tension.

Progressing the intensity -and therefore the training effect of bodyweight exercises- can also provide a unique challenge.

Knowing when to increase reps, increase time under tension, increase the intensity and skill challenge of a movement pattern all come into play here.

Single arm push ups are a great example here. The transition from a traditional push up to a single arm push up is drastic when it comes to the increasing demands in stability and loading. There is also a grooving issue early on, where the body simply hasn’t been exposed to what’s required physically to complete a quality rep/set of single arm push ups.

In these situations, I will either break up the movement or add assistance in the form of a resistance band.

Breaking up the exercise into its segments typically involves working the eccentric portion of the exercise first.

So, for the single arm push up, I will focus on the lowering portion (eccentric) exclusively for a few weeks, or until I have developed the control, strength and stability to progress to adding the concentric (ascending back to the top) portion of the exercise. Eccentric training isn’t sexy and even 3-5 seconds of lowering can feel like an eternity, but it’s a gateway method to arrive at the next logical progression of an exercise.

If you have access to a resistance band, you can loop it around your chest and receive assistance during key moments of the lift. For a single arm push up, it can be challenging to push out of the bottom of the exercise, and this is where the band assistance technique works wonders. Since the band will be stretched to the maximum at the bottom of the push up, you’ll receive the most assistance where it’s needed most.

Band assistance is fantastic for working up to chin ups, pulls ups and single leg squats.

If you’re looking for a simple yet effective bodyweight training session, try this one…

Set #1:
10 push ups
10 squats
10 hollow rocks
—> Repeat for 5 rounds, or work continuously for 10 minutes w/o rest.

Set #2:
10 chin ups
10 lunges (right/left)
10 yards and back crawling

Conditioning:
10 burpees every minute on the minute for 10 rounds.

Adjust the progression of each exercise to fit your strength and skill level. Everything can be adapted to your needs.

Leave the workout feeling invigorated and empowered knowing that you can handle your bodyweight…

Cheers to bodyweight training!

KG

The Best Thanksgiving 2013 Workout… (That I could come up with…)

Quick Tips

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I designed this workout to be a gut check burn out training session in honor of Thanksgiving 2013.

I’ll be honest, this workout is a beast.  

Normally, I abide by the “any fool can make another fool tired” motto, but hey, there is nothing wrong with crushing yourself every now and then.  Physically and mentally it feels good to attack a workout like you’re ascending to the peak Everest, just don’t make it an all of the time habit.  

Sustainable training habits, remember? 🙂

The workout is minimalist by design, using primarily bodyweight exercise to induce a massive training effect.  Notice that I offered an alternative to kettlebell swings if you don’t have any kettlebells.  The best part about this workout is that you should be able to execute it in a telephone booth.  In others, no matter where you’re at for this Thanksgiving 2013, this workout is a fully portable, anytime, anywhere workout.  You don’t need much space to kill it with this one.

The workout leverages a brutal ascending rep scheme.  What does that mean exactly?  It means that you’ll start the workout by executing each exercise in order (1-5 from top to bottom) completing 1 rep of each, then 2 reps, then 3 reps, then 4 reps, 5, 6, 7, 8 , 9, 10.  When you finish the last set of 10 burpees, you’re done.  Grab a drink, towel off and mop up the pool of sweat on the floor because its time for your recovery nutrition before you (and me too) gorge yourself on all of the Thanksgiving fixings.

As the volume increases by 1 rep for each round, take rest as it is needed.  Ideally, you would work through without rest as much as possible, but since exercise technique is vital, you may need to stop and breathe.  In this case, take a few seconds to gather yourself and push up.  Stay on your feet during this rest, don’t sit down.  Breathe deep and center yourself.  It’s just physical work, you can manage it, right?

If you cannot perform pistol squats or chin ups, remember the exercise regression for each.  Regress to traditional bodyweight squats or rear foot elevated split squats (aka: “Bulgarian Split Squat”).  For chin ups, loop a band around your knees for assistance or use small jumps to help initiate the pull vertically.  If you need more of a challenge, strap on a weight or add weight.  I can’t imagine would need it considering how high the volume is.  

By high volume, I am talking about 145 reps… for each exercise.  145 reps x 5 exercises = 725 reps.  That’s a lot.  That’s the kind of volume that can cause ridiculous muscular soreness in the coming days, and probably reduce you to scheduling rest days to heal your body.  You’ll bounce back.  🙂

Grab a stopwatch and time how long it takes to complete the workout.  If you’re up to it, bookmark this blog and leave your time in the comments section.

I’m sure there are a lot of workouts circulating the internet today, but give this one a shot.  If you can’t make it happen today, give it a shot tomorrow.  Lord knows we will all have plenty of calories banked from all of the feasting that awaits us.

If you’re a loyal reader of this blog, I’d like to offer a sincere thank you.  I appreciate you taking time out of your day to improve yourself physically, leveraging my workouts and other tips to give yourself a physical advantage.  It’s a great journey working to improve yourself physically.  

I’ll be releasing ebooks in 2013-2014 and also transitioning to a custom blog/website design.  Time to turn pro 🙂

 

 

Cheers to Thanksgiving and offsetting the damage with a kick ass workout!

KG