Develop Cat Like Agility with Animal Movements

27 11 2012

Last week I asked my facebook members what they would like to work on in their training.
I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of people who included Agility as one of their answers.

Too many attend gyms, lift weights, get stronger and leaner and in doing so become locked into the movement patterns they train the most. It’s not just the gym population but runners, cyclists and even many martial artists.

People become locked into the movements that they train in the gym at the expense of all other natural movements.
Hence we have cyclists who can’t run or jump. We’ve Judo/Jiu Jitsu players who walk around hunched over, we have strength athletes that can’t lift their arms over head and so on, so forth.

So to hear people recognising that agility is an important part of fitness makes my heart sing!
If you play a “chaotic” sport, such as rugby, Mixed Martial Arts and a few others that require constant changes in posture, changes in direction, height changes, speed & power generation in a variety of directions, then you’re probably going to be fairly agile already. But most sports are becoming more and more contrived, meaning the people that play them are becoming more and more locked into certain movement patterns which leads to losses in mobility and as a result agility.

And that’s those who play sports. What about those that simply lift for general fitness/aesthetics?
I was at another friends gym a while ago and was surprised at her own lack of athletic movement even though her I highly rate her strength training routines and the aesthetic results they give.

But without an athletic outlet, you simply end up looking good while standing still.  For me, that’s just not good enough, we need to look good in motion. We need fluid, cat like movements, not stiff muscle bound actions.

And the best way to do this?
With animal based bodyweight drills.

Animal movements have been a staple of traditional martial arts conditioning since day dot. And for good reason.
Animals run, jump, crawl, roll and simply enjoy their bodies. Animals don’t “train” they play.
And while, yes, we do need progressively programmed training, we must never forget to spend time playing.

Animal movements invite us to get on all fours and crawl, to roll, to spin, to jump and to flow.
and while they are doing so they train the body to move in various directions, not just the saggital plane.
They are joint mobility, they are asking for strength and power to be produced in unusual directions, re wiring the nervous system, developing coordination, endurance and with gentle persistence, agility.

During this Sundays bodyweight workshop I’ll be sharing a host of animal based drills taken from the Asian martial arts that ask you to roll, crawl and jump, forwards, backwards and with a little imagination can be combined into universal patterns.
All while having a bit of fun.

There are still a few places available.

Event: Bodyweight Workshop – Equipment free strength & fitness from the martial arts and more.
Location: Wild Geese, Magennis Place, Pearse St, D2
Times: 1000 – 1600
Cost: €50pp
To Book: email info@wildgeesema.com

Regards

Dave
http://www.wg-fit.com


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Categories : Bodyweight training

A Beast of an Exercise

5 08 2011

Here’s another entry in the No Equipment No Excuses workout arsenal and it’s an animal drill!

Plain old

push ups

are good, but a little 1 dimensional, once you can do a decent number (around 50) with good form, where do you go next?
Well I suggest you try this little beut.

The Bear Push Up is a combination movement that involves the entire body.  After a few reps you won’t know whether you’ve had to stop because of the pain in your shoulders, the pain in your quads or the pain in your lungs.
You will know that you’ve taken your Hips, Spine and Shoulder through a great range of motion, you’ll know that you’ve opened up the chest and lengthened those tight hamstrings. And you’ll know that all you major joints have been mobilised and lubricated.

There’s not much that this drill doesn’t do.

The limiting factor for many will be upper body strength, this is taxing on the shoulders. If this is the case, you are allowed to put the knees down untill you develop th

e required strength. For other, mobility will be an issue and for you guys, I suggest you back over my Mobility and Yogability posts, or simply work the Bear with a shorter range of motion.

Here’s the video:

I suggest using this either as a warm up before a weights session, a finisher at the end of a workout or as a main part of a bodyweight routine.

I combine the Bear, Pull Ups and  Single Leg Deadlifts into a Bodyweight Only strength workout when I’m in the park with the dog or away travelling.

As always, use your common sense and  take your time to learn the movement before adding it to any workout.

Have fun with this.

Regards
Dave

http://www.wg-fit.com

PS – The Level 1 Kettlebell workshop will be going ahead on the 21st of this month. If you haven’t booked your place, get on with it.

Also – Paul Cox is back from the Philippines (where he won gold at the Doe Pares world championships), so we can get working on our MMA Supplementary Training & Injury Prevention workshop. Keep an eye on the side bar for a date announcement, it’s going to be an amazing seminar!


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Categories : Bodyweight training

Building a bodyweight workout part II

15 01 2011

Alternating sets, or super sets work.

Not just for bodyweight training for just about training style, assuming of course, you do it right.

The key point to remember is that the two exercises must not compete with each other, they must be antagonistic.

What does this mean?
Simples, if you do a bicep curl, then you are obviously working the biceps so the triceps is inhibited to allow the arm to bend. While being inhibited, the triceps are relaxed and therefore getting time to recover.
If you’ve worked push ups and your pushing muscles are fried, take 30 seconds break and perform your bodyweight rows, rest another 30 seconds before returning to the push ups. You will have rested somewhere in the region of 1 1/2 to 2 minutes between push up sets but will hae used that time wisely. As well as the time spent resting there is evidence coming out to support the theory that due to the reciprocal inhibition caused by working an antagonist you actually get a more thorough recovery.

You don’t have to stick to true antagonists such as bicep/triceps, we can also use distal antagonists. as in upper / lower body or even unilateral antagonists such as right leg / left leg.

Here are a few pairings:

True antagonists:
Push Ups / Bodyweight Row
Handstand Push Ups / Pull Ups
Walkouts / Bridge

Distal Antagonists:
Push Ups / GHR
Pull Ups / Squats
Dips / Broad Jumps

Unilateral Antagonists:
Lunge Left / Right
1 Arm Push up left / right
Pistol Squat left / right

For fat loss we found that distal antagonists work the best. The cardio vascular system has to work very hard to supply blood to the working muscles in the upper body, then as you move to a lower body drill the blood is mostly redirected with some still being sent to the upper body to aid recovery. This puts your cardiovascular system under pressure so will get you breathing and skyrocket the metabolism into a fat burning furnace.

Try putting together a Density Training program, it’s simplicity in itself.
Simply take two antagonistic drills, set a countdown timer for 15 – 20 minutes and bang away. Do as many sets as possible, never going to failure, untill the buzzer goes of.
Ensure you record every rep, next time you repeat the workout, try to get more reps done, even a single rep more is progress.

Here’s an example:

Workout 1:
Push ups / Walking Lunge

Workout 2:
Bodyweight Row / Squat Jumps

Train 3 days per week alternating between 1 and 2.

Enjoy

Regards

Dave
www.wg-fit.com

PS – For the person who searched “Bodyweight Tricep Isolation Exercise” on Google and landed on this site – why isolate when you get better results from integrating, here are a few that will hit the tri’s hard and put some size on your guns:

Close Grip Push ups (place hands in a diamond shape, finger and thumb touching, and lower the forehead to them)
Dips, try to keep the torso vertical
One arm push ups
Handstands
Handstand Push Ups
Tiger Bend push ups 

Enjoy.


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Putting The Boot In

18 06 2010

I WISH the military looked like this

I have been known, on many occasions to stand and take the piss out of these “military” bootcamp classes that are all the rage right now.
I find the marketing and hype far outstrips the actual quality of training, and as for any resemblance to actual military training…. Lets not even go there!
So I find it slightly embarrassing to announce that I will be running a Bootcamp of my own.

I’m not embarrassed by the training on offer, or the fact it will be an early morning group program. I’m embarrassed to call it a bootcamp, but as that is what the market wants, it’s what the market gets.

Why a Bootcamp?
One of the Wild Geese kick boxers has been asking me to give him extra conditioning training for some time now, but he could never get to any of my classes and was too busy to make a private slot. So he chatted to a few people, including other kick boxers and came up with the Bootcamp idea.
And here we are.

What to expect
Because a fighter asked for this, it is built around the fighters needs. But what does that mean for a non combat athlete?
It means, that if you are willing to work hard and push yourself, you will be trained as fighter is trained. The advantage of this is simple, you will never find a more well rounded and complete athlete, someone who is strong, powerful, explosive, enduring and agile. Someone with a body that can not only deliver devastating power, but also absorb it. A body that remains powerful even when pushed to extreme fatigue.
And because form follows function, it will look lean and powerful. It will move smoothly, cat like, ready to explode into action at a moments notice.

The 4 week program start on the 28th June, all payments must be in by the 25th (1 week from today). The camp will run on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 7am. You will be done by 8am, sometimes earlier.
The camp intensity will build to a crescendo in week 3 and then taper down in week 4 as a few of the participants have a fight booked on the 24th July.

If you wish to experience the training needed to step into a ring, or if you are looking for a serious kick up the arse with your training, then here’s what you must do:
Email me (info@wildgeesema.com), phone me (087 672 6090) or message me on facebook (www.facebook.com/wgma.dave) to register your interest.

You will then need to pay, all payments will be taken in advance, the only refund opportunity will be if you are injured, in which case you will get 100% back. If you quit or get kicked out, you get nothing.
The cost for the 4 week (12 sessions) is €147. This works out at €7 per session.
Existing, regular, Wild Geese members receive a 33% discount.
Wild Geese Fighters with a date coming up train for free.
If you are not a Wild Geese Fighter, but have an event (doesn’t have to be a fight) on the horizon and wish to add this camp to your preparation, come in and talk to me.

This is NOT a military style bootcamp.
This is a training program for highly motivated individuals.

Wild Geese is an Attitude, if you have it, you will survive, if you don’t, don’t bother showing up at all.

Regards

Dave
www.wg-fit.com
www.wildgeesema.com/bootcamp.html


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Categories : Personal Training Dublin, Strength and Conditioning

Where did the week go?

22 01 2010

Do you ever sit and wonder where the time goes?

Today is Friday, it’s almost the weekend and it feels like the last few days never happened!
However I can look at my training log and see that I have completed my scheduled training sessions on Mon and Wed, I can look at my other log books and see that I’ve had a dozen or more clients in and I can see exactly what they’ve done and on which day they did it.

So while the week feels like a blur, I can actually see the amount of work done in simple black and white.

Such is the benefit of keeping a log.

It means you never have to guess. I know that on Monday I performed a total of 21 reps in  the front squat, the time before that I hit 18. I know that today I have to hit 22+ using the same weight.
I can tell you that last friday I missed a workout, I had pain and stiffness that just would not loosen up so instead of the Deadlifts I had planned I did a mobility session.
This was all noted in my log book.

I’m going to ask you, do you keep a note of your training?

I’m guessing most of you don’t, you try to remember what it is you did on any given day. I have to tell you, if you’re looking to make improvements in performance, you’d better start writing down your results.

How else do you know if what you’re doing is working as well as you think it is?

Anyhow, this weeks saturday session:
It’s going to be a little later as I’ve clients in the morning.
So I’ll be in the Phoenix Park, by the old fort (crossing of the Military Road and Khyber Road) for 14.30.

Last week was fun, I’m already looking forward to getting out this weekend.


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Categories : Personal Training Dublin, Saturday Session, Uncategorized

When You go down to the….

16 01 2010

Bushy Park on a Saturday morning, you’re sure for a big surprise!!

This weeks “Saturday Session” was in Bushy Park, a place where I’ve often been to do my own conditioning work, but never on a Saturday morning. Boy was I missing out!

The park was heaving.

There were:
Joggers
A Running Club
A Bootcamp

A Football Team

and a huge amount of Dog Walkers.

And I have to say, with the exception of the dog walkers, everyone was, well, jogging.

What’s wrong with that?, you may ask…
And my answer would be, nothing at all. Unless, you’re training for fat loss or any sport other than distance running.

I could go into what each group was doing, or should have been doing, but that would be unfair. They were all out getting exercise and fresh air, and fair play to them.
The running group would most likely be the only group to achieve their goals (better running times), the rest, well, keep trying.

I was there for my Saturday Session. This is for me a deload, no pressures of teaching and instructing, no heavy weights to lift, or bags to hit, just me, my body, the fresh air and maybe a bit of your company.
Today I was joined by a long time client of mine, who also helps out with some of the boring paperwork jobs at Wild Geese, Nicola.

So after watching the “Bootcampers” scurry about like a herd of sheep, admired the work ethic of some of the runners and spoke to a few of the Dogs, we got to work.

We started at the bottom of the hill, looking up at the kids playground, a distance of maybe 25-30 meters, of wet grass and mud. Sweeet..

I set my countdown timer for 15 minutes, we then knocked out as many rounds as possible of the following workout:

1. Single Leg Deadlift (or Airborne Lunge) x 5 L/R

2. Sprint to the top of the hill

3. Press up, any variation x 10
(learn more about these exercises by clicking here)
Jog down and repeat until the buzzer goes.

Short, brutal and effective. We both had shaky legs and were gasping for air at the finish.

Too warm down we wandered into the wooded area and practiced a little Chi Gung. Nicola is a keen student of Tai Chi and I believe that Chi gung is one of the fastest ways to recover after a hard session. My legs were feeling fresh again and I felt energised and ready for anything.

If you wish to join the fun next Saturday, make sure to check in on my Twitter and Facebook pages for updates.

Till then, keep working hard

Dave


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Categories : Bodyweight training, home workouts, outdoor training, Saturday Session, Strength and Conditioning

Steve Maxwell in Ireland 2010

25 11 2009

Steve MaxwellIt gives me great pleasure to be able to announce that Mr Steve Maxwell, the “Maxercist” has been in touch.

He is in Europe next year and asked if I’d like to set up a seminar with him.
Of course I agreed, Steve has been a huge influence on my own training ever since I came across his work several years ago.

So, just who is Steve?
He’s a man with around 40 years in the Strength& Conditioning industry
He’s one of the 1st to gain a black belt from the Gracie juJitsu school
He was one of the first Americans to win the Brazilian juJitsu world championships
He was one of the first kettlebell coaches in the US
He’s the Go-To guy for UFC fighter, Diego Sanchez
He’s in his 50′s yet shows no signs of slowing down, he can still out perform most lads less than half his age.

He knowledge of Bodyweight training, Kettlebell Training, Joint Mobility and general fitness is unparalleled.

And he will be at Wild Geese HQ, Pearse St, Dublin for the weekend of July 3rd and 4th 2010.
This is a video teaser from one of his other seminars, but you’ll get the idea:

Here’s another video showing Steve training UFC fighter Diego Sanchez:

Please register your interest by emailing info@wildgeesma.com with Steve Maxwell in the subject line.

Regards

Dave Hedges


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Categories : Bodyweight training, kettlebell, Kettlebell lifting Dublin, martial arts, Personal Training Dublin, Strength and Conditioning

Watch Your Back

1 07 2009

The large majority of gym bunnies have a tendency to ignore their back.
Women tend to jump around in silly aerobics sessions and the Adductor machines, Men spend too much time on pressing movements and “mirror workouts”.

We all spend too much time slumped over a desk/on the sofa/in the car.

The result:
Overly loose back muscles that can no longer hold us up in the upright posture that separates man from beast.
This then can lead to an array of problems, most common is the bad back, rounded shoulders and shoulder pain, neck pain and headaches.

Yet the back is relatively easy to train, even with No Equipment.

There are a variety of drills available that will hit all the various muscles that make up the back. Even some press up variations will hit the back as one of the functions of the upper back is to stabilise the shoulder joint.

I was recently asked by a client who has just torn ligaments in his ankle how he can keep training. I suggested the following:
Press ups (and variations)
Handstands
Towel Rows
Doorway Pullups.

All done with little or no equipment, and allow him to get great upper body work while allowing the ankle to recover.

If he was able to support weight on the foot I’d have also added in supine bridges, and seeing as he’s recently took up Muay Thai, the wrestlers bridge for strengthening the neck. Vital for good clinch work and protecting against knockout.

Here’s a clip of the Towel Row:

Regards
Dave
www.wildgeesema.com / noequipment.blogspot.com
info@wildgeesema.com
+353 087 672 6090
subscribe to our newsletter simply send a blank email to:
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Arhtritis? No Excuse

22 06 2009

One of my female clients, Nicola, just achieved her bodyweight goals, despite a severe case of arthritis in her knees and spondylosis (arthritis in the spine).

A little while ago she told me that she’d like to be able to do a single leg squat, a pull up and a push up. Despite having been a competitive triathlete and having had several coaches in the past who had used Olympic lifting, isometrics, bodybuilding and various other methods she’d never been able to do the simplest lift of all.

Lifting herself.

Bodyweight training gives you mastery of your own body, this in turn will benefit you in every other athletic pursuit, hence the reason even the worlds strongest will often include bodyweight drills into their training protocols.

I gave Nicola a simple 3 day per week program that took 15 minutes to complete (not including warm up and cool down).
Each day was dedicated to one lift, so mondays were squats, wed – pushups and fri – pullups.
The workout was simple, set the countdown timer for 15 minutes and perform as many sets of 3 reps as possible, never hitting failure. Eventually during the time you’d have to drop to 2′s and 1′s, over the weeks you’d gradually finish more sets. At this point you could decrease rest periods. The goal, beat last weeks total.
For the pushup, we used an elevation, around knee height was right in this case.
Pull ups were done as negatives, only the lowering phase was trained with the palms turned in (chin up grip)
Single leg squats were also done from an elevation, attempting to get deeper each week.
After 8 weeks we tested her progress.

The result:
1 full range single leg squat from an elevation on each leg, and it looked easy! We’ll start on the Pistol proper in the next rotation!
1 full chest to the floor pushup. For a triathlete who admits to having little upper body strength, this was a feat!

The pull up wasn’t a total success but with minimal assistance from me she made it to the bar!

All this while refusing to give in to a case of arthritis that would fell a lesser person. Nicola refuses to give into it and continues to train with no excuses.

If she can, can you?


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Bigger arms from bodyweight training

12 06 2009

Can you build arms like a gymnast with a No Equipment, No Excuses style workout?

It just so happens that we can.
Two of the best arm building drills available are mere bodyweight drills. No need for bar and dumbells, benches and all the other paraphernalia the average bodybuilder needs to do an arm workout.

All we need is something to hang from to do pull up and chin up variations and something to dip from.

At home you can grab a couple of chairs and blast you triceps into submission with dips. You can wedge a door open and demolish your biceps with pull ups.

Other variations:
Triceps

  • Push ups, especially one armers
  • Handstands, hold for time, build to handstand pushups
  • Tiger bend push ups, a brutal tricep isolation. Imagine doing a skull crusher with about 70% of your bodyweight!

Biceps

  • Chins
  • Overhand pull ups
  • Rope climbs
  • Towel rows
  • Inverted rows
  • Bicep curls using bodyweight. You’ll need something to hang off.

You’ll notice most of these drills are big compound movements. Not only will you’re arms grow but you’ll also build real strength. Your shoulders and back will fill out, your core strength will increase and all your bodybuilding mates will be sick with envy.

However if getting huge is your main goal, you will have to add external resistance at some point, but don’t change the drills. A weighted vest is ideal, but for the real budget or travel option, simply strap on your backpack and away you go.

Let me know how you get on.

Regards
Dave
www.wildgeesema.com / noequipment.blogspot.com
info@wildgeesema.com
+353 087 672 6090
subscribe to our newsletter simply send a blank email to:
newsletter-subscribe@wildgeesema.com


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