Learn to Train & Succeed with Bodyweight Training

20 08 2012

Pistol Squat

Bodyweight Training workshop
8/9/12 – Tramore Kettlebell Fitness

Due to popular demand I’ll be running a Bodyweight Training workshop.
This will be held at my friend Gan Power’s gym, Tramore Kettlebell Fitness.

You may have noticed over the last while I’ve been training almost exclusively with bodyweight exercises (read my training log here). Now while there’s been a massive emphasis on high rep squats, but there’s a lot of other exercises and drills I’ve been using that you may not have heard of.
It is also worth noting that most of my guys, even my strongest BJJ lads, are often humbled by some of the bodyweight drills I give them. In my opinion the use of bodyweight exercise is more useful to an athlete as they need to control their body moving through space. Sitting still and lifting an external weight may offer greater load, but it offers less proprioceptive feedback and requires much less intramuscular coordination.
Big words I know, but come along on the day and all will be explained.

Book your place today click here

Martial Arts inspired training methods for building genuine strength & power, not just “gym strength”

Over the course of the day I will share over 20 years of training experience from my roots in traditional martial arts, the physical training methods found in Karate, Aikido, Goshin Jitsu (Ju-Jitsu). The training I learned from the strength & conditioning coach at my school who looked after a top 15 schoolboy rowing team.
We’ll look at bodyweight training methods from Chinese martial arts, some of which were taught to me by top coach Steve Cotter.
We’ll show how to work the entire body in a balanced fashion with zero equipment. We’ll look at the best exercises for building strength, endurance, work capacity.
We’ll look at various methods for programming the exercises to suit various wants and needs. Are you a fighter? A fitness enthusiast? Do you need power or endurance? Are you looking for metabolic conditioning?

All avenues will be discussed. Including, and probably most importantly, how I integrate bodyweight training into a multi modality training program. How I combine external loading and bodyweight loading to create incredible results for my athletes.
an considering my athletes are nearly all involved in contact sports, be it martial arts or team sports, they can’t afford to have second rate fitness levels.

The workshop will cover (but not limited to):

Real explosive power

-Push Up variations to work every aspect of the body
-Squat variations
-Unilateral training
-Martial Arts strength training secrets
-Integrated core training
-Total body conditioners
-Agility
-Bodyweight for explosive power
-Mobility
-Much, much moreDate: Sept 8th,
Times: 1000 – 1600
Location: Tramore Kettlebell Fitness,
unit1,1 riverstown, business pk
Tramore, Ireland

Cost: €50

For booking:
email info@wildgeesema.com with Bodyweight Workshop in the subject line


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Bank Holiday Weekend

3 08 2012

This weekend is a bank holiday, so many of you are expecting an easy time of things.

Well….

Saturday – Kettlebell class followed by Conditioning as normal

Monday – Bootcamp as normal but the rest of the day is yours, I’ll be spending it with my family. So no Lunch or 1 on 1 sessions.
If your wondering what to do with yourself on a long weekend checkout my recent training logs and try some of those workouts as I’ve been focusing on Bodyweight only training, otherwise try:

Have a great weekend.

 

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

 


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One Arm Push Up – Pressing Perfection

27 02 2012

One Arm Push Up for athletic pressing powerWe all remember the Rocky training montages, the inspiring music, Rocky pushing himself while Mickey or Apollo stand over him shouting and encouraging. By the end of the clip Rocky is the Man, we the viewers are pumped and itching for the finale where he will undoubtedly become victorious.

One of the most iconic moment is the one arm push up sequence.
Put your hands up if you didn’t try to do a one arm push up immediately after watching it. I know I did.

It’s an exercise I didn’t really pursue until many years later when due to injury I was  unable to perform any weight training. I had two consecutive back injuries and was pretty much sidelined, my entire training program consisted of the One Arm Push Up, Pull Ups and a shed load of rehab.
Fast forward to now and it has become a regular feature of not just my own training but many of my martial artists.

Why?

The reasons for the one arm push up are as follows:

  1. It’s cool. No really, it is.
  2. It requires a strong core
  3. It promotes a stable shoulder
  4. It requires concentration
  5. It doesn’t require any kit

It really is functional.

Hang on, did i just say that? I hate the term Functional when it comes to training. But lets just hold on a moment and look at why I feel this drill deserves the title.
The above list is already fairly conclusive, all the points listed are valid. But one thing extra should be said, the one arm push up utilises a force vector that closely matches that of a punch/throw/palm off in sports & martial arts. The force travels from the loaded arm, through the core to the opposite hip and leg, just it does in most sporting actions.

Yes, the iron heads in the audience will talk about load and how maximum strength is better developed with a barbell. But I feel the carry over to your sport is greater with a one arm push up. How often do you really exhibit maximum strength when throwing a punch?
Never, unless your punch is actually a push! And even then, if you’re on your feet you’re limited by the angle of the body and contact with the ground, you’re never anchored into a bench. (don’t read that wrong, I still think benching is a valuable exercise in the right circumstances)

A good one arm push up requires you to eliminate the weaknesses through the torso. If you don’t you’ll end up either face-planting or totally twisted. Your hips and shoulders should stay as close to parallel to the floor as possible, this is only possible if the musculature around your torso is firing properly, including the rotator cuffs and Lats (shoulder stability).

To begin we go though progressions:

  1. Kneeling – both knees on the floor
  2. Half kneeling – take the opposite leg out to the side, as you gain strength move it further and further behind.
  3. Negative only – Lower under control as slowly as possible, have the spare hand ready to catch you and help you back up.
  4. The One Arm Push Up
  5. Feet elevated One Arm Push Up
  6. Alternating hands, changing at the top
  7. Alternating hands, changing at the bottom
  8. Plyo, changing hands in while airborne (jumping)

Here’s a video showing the basic progressions:

Take as long as needed at each stage, perform multiple sets with low reps. Only once technique is mastered should you move to the next stage or increase the reps.
A simple program to use is the Ladder Protocol. This is exactly the way I increased the volume.

Perform 1 rep each arm, then two, then three and so on until you can no longer complete a rep perfectly. At this point return to a single rep.
Start with three rounds up to three reps (1,2,3)(1,2,3)(1,2,3)
Add a round each week until you can complete 5 rounds.
Then start adding reps (1,2,3,4) (1,2,3,4)…….
Eventually you will hit 5 rounds each going up to 5 reps, this is now a good time to increase the difficulty.

If athletic efficiency is your training focus, if you covet the ability to put your entire bodyweight through your arm into your opponent, I highly recommend this drill.

Regards

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


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Put a Sting in your tail with a strong, flexible waist

26 07 2011

After the last two weekend’s of kettlebell madness, I’m taking time away from them and instead plan on spending some time on bodyweight training.

I’ve posted a series of bodyweight drills over the last few weeks, all of which should be included into your own training arsenal. After all, if you can’t move your own body with control, you have no right in touching a weight.

Today’s bodyweight drill is an advanced press up variation that will significantly challenge the core. We call this the Scorpion Push Up, as it resembles the stinging tail of a scorpion.

It involves lifting a leg up and over towards the opposite elbow, this shifts much of your weight onto one arm helping develop that one arm push up you’ve always wanted (video on that coming soon), stretching the hip flexors and challenging the core.
Many would look at this and argue that the lumbar is being rotated and that this lift is harmful, well the fighters here at Wild Geese often find themselves in twisted positions, so in my mind it makes sense to strengthen these compromised positions. This is one drill that can help, just ensure you work at a moderate pace and do not force yourself into extreme ranges of motion.

The reward? A strong, flexible torso.

Here’s the video:

As always, use common sense and approach new exercises and drills with caution.
For more on bodyweight training, check out No Equipment no Excuses

Regards

Dave Hedges

http://www.wg-fit.com


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Push Up Variations for Spinal Mobility

7 07 2011

So the push up is just a chest exercise?
Not a hope. If you watched the videos in this post, you’ll have learned how the push up requires strength and stability through the entire torso to perform correctly.
But with a few variations we can actually mobilise the spine, particularly the Thoracic spine or upper back, where most of our rotational movements are supposed to happen.

There are two styles of Push Up that really tick the boxes for thoracic mobility, the Hindu Push Up (Dand) and the T-Push Up.
Both help open the rib cage but in different ways. Either way, your still developing strength and getting all the benefit of a regular push up.

Take a look at these two videos, listen to the commentary, then try them out. Take you time, build into them slowly, even if you’re strong. Many of the guys that come to Wild Geese to train are already strong and active, but also bound up and tight. These variations on the humble push up have humbled many a meat head as they realise just how restricted their standard gym training has left them.

Here’s the Hindu Push Up which is a great shoulder strength drill which incorporates flexion and extension of the thoracic:

And this is the T-Push Up which is like a standard push up but incorporates rotation through the thoracic:

Both of these, and all the bodyweight drills I’ve been showing are detailed in No Equipment, No Excuses, my reference manual for all things bodyweight, check that out here:

I’ll be back on Monday with more from the world of bodyweight training, but in the meantime, use the info you already have and get down the beach or in the park and train!

Regards

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


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An Essential Movement

6 07 2011

Bodyweight training for the lower body is often ignored due to the low load placed on the body, but that isn’t to say we shouldn’t do it. Especially if we find ourselves in a situation where we don’t have access to weight training equipment.

The squat movement is unfortunately a movement that is being lost, killed off by sedentary lifestyles and machine based strength training. This is a real shame as it is such a primal movement pattern, vital for maintaining health. Strong legs help with the venous blood flow and also in pumping the lymphatic fluid, full range movements help keep the joint (hip and knee) healthy, and good legs look great in shorts!

Here at Wild Geese bodyweight squats are an essential part of our daily routine, it appears in almost every warm up and many workouts that are performed here. In the warm ups we tend to go fairly easy, it’s a time to check how the body is moving and improve the quality of movement, but in the workout we go nuts either with very high reps or by adding a jump.
Being able to perform a full range squat is an indication of good mobility, if you can’t get down then you need to look at the ankles, knees, hips and thoracic spine, one or all of them is preventing you from doing something that is your birthright to do. We’ll look at these points in future videos.

Here a video of the Bodyweight Squat:

And here’s the Wall Squat which is a training drill to assist in opening the thoracic spine and correcting any poor squat technique:

To train your squat, simply do as twice as many of these as you do Push Ups, or go 1:1 with kettlebell swings.

Regards

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


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The World’s Most Underrated Exercise?

4 07 2011

Kicking off a series of posts regarding bodyweight training and No Equipment, No Excuses exercise, we’re taking the obvious starting point. The Push Up.

The push up is as old as the hills, I’m sure that there’s not a person reading this that hasn’t at some point done at least one push up. It is so well known that it is almost ignored, and that is a real shame.

Push Ups are a cornerstone at Wild Geese and should form an essential part of everybody’s training.
Done correctly they are not just a chest exercise for developing the pecs, but also a great drill for building strength and stability in the shoulders and core. In fact most people I’ve come across that struggle with the push up do so as a result of a weak/imbalanced core and poor shoulder integrity. Learning and practising the proper push which is demonstrated below is a self correcting exercise if practised consciously.
And by consciously I mean being aware of the constant stream of information being fed back to you from your body. Information like:

  • My shoulders are shrugging up
  • I’m unable to maintain neutral spine
  • My head is sagging
  • My lumbar is collapsing.

Being aware of these issues allows us to correct them by concentrating on keeping the form good. You must stop as soon as good form can no longer be maintained.

Take your time with the push up, lower under control lift up with vigour but never rush.
Here’s a video demonstration:

If you have the basic push up down, you maybe looking for a greater challenge. This variation is called the Spiderman Push up, the reasoning will become clear as you watch the clip:

Don’t be tempted with all the marketing and gimmickry that late night infomercials try to sell with regards to the simple push up. You have no need for handles, rotating or otherwise. If the wrists get sore, switch to doing them on your fists, if you want more resistance, throw on a backpack.

I’ll be back with more No Equipment training soon, until then have a play with the two variations shown here, and never forget, Quality come before Quantity.

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

PS: Steve Cotter is at Wild Geese teaching his system of Bodyweight Training on Saturday 16th July (€299 for the day). He’ll be showing kettlebell training on the Sunday (€399 for both days).

 


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Building a bodyweight workout

13 01 2011

The other day I wrote about how running, while great exercise, is not optimal for fat loss.
I went on to say how strength training was better and gave you a bodyweight workout to experiment with.

Today I want to continue on the theme. Only this time I’m not going to give you a workout, I’m going to tell you how to create your own.

First, why bodyweight?

Simple, the people I see pounding the pavements are most likely the type who wouldn’t bother with a gym. The people who come to me for coaching most often tell me that they are looking to give up their gym memberships and train at home instead, or join the training at Wild Geese. So I’m guessing the people regularly reading this blog aren’t the typical gym bunny types either.
Therefore bodyweight training is the way to go, no gym membership needed.
If you wish to set up a gym at home, you won’t go wrong with investing in a pull up station and maybe a kettlebell or two, possibly build yourself a sandbag. Nothing else is needed.

The next thing you’ll notice is that when you are able to create bodyweight only workouts, you are never left without a gym, the whole world becomes your gym. You’ll spot places to train anywhere and soon will become proficient at improvising any kit you need, which isn’t much.

Then there’s the simple fact that every bodyweight drill is a core training drill and is also a functional training drill.

So lets look then at how to build a workout.

Step 1 – Get a timer.
I’ve had a series of Nokia phones, all of which have a countdown timer function. More and more of you have one of those smart phone doohickies so you can download timer apps. Or get a Gymboss or a simple egg timer.

Step 2 – Designate a workout time.
In other words, make an appointment with yourself, maybe even invite a friend. Don’t skip this appointment.

Step 3 – Choose your workout goal.
For many, we’re still working off the mince pies, others are looking for strength, some conditioning. Pick your goal for this particular workout, or series of workouts.

Step 4 – Choose your exercises.
Keep it balanced. Take 2-5 leg exercises, 2-5 Upper body push and 2-5 upper body pull.
Pick drills that are appropriate to your goal, there’s no point doing 100 push ups if you are looking to get strong. Instead work a variation that stops you short, or keep the reps purposefully low but do multiple sets.

Step 5 – Build the workout
Whether you use the alternating set method (often called superset), circuits, “minute drills” or density training, with the right drills and a little intensity you’ll have a great session. Over the next few days I’ll explain each of these methods of building your workout, go back to the last post and you’ll see an example of an alternating set workout.
Regardless of the style of workout try to ensure you work the full body and use good form. For efficiency put non competing exercises together, for example a set of Push ups and a set of squats. This way you can reduce the rest times as your arms are resting while you squat. This will allow for a higher work rate without compromising quality.

Step 6 – Get on with it!
There’s no time like the present, you can get an intense bodyweight session done in under 30 minutes, including a warm up so get on with it.

 Here’s a short bodyweight circuit to get you breathing hard:

5 x Pull Up
10 x Push Up (any variation)
20 x Squat

As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 15 minutes

Don’t forget to warm up first.

Regards

Dave
www.wg-fit.com


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Time to get back to work…

4 01 2011

It’s Tuesday evening and the little man has just gone to bed, time then to remind you all that all Lunchtime and Evening classes start back as of this Thursday (6th jan)

I’ve been away for around two weeks and that long enough for any of you to be sat around being lazy. By the time Thurs comes around, most of you will have been back at work for a few days and must be chomping at the bit to get out of the office and take some pent up aggression out on the Kettlebells.
Most of you will have a few spare calories stored in your midsection, plenty of fuel to start the year with some new personal bests.

It’s time now to get back into the swing of things, or for those with New Years resolutions, it’s time to come down and learn to Swing a few things.

Do kettlebells burn fat? On their own, no.
But when combined with a little elbow grease and sweat, yes they are a powerful tool in your arsenal.
When combined with body weight exercises and circuit training, the results become even better.

Depending of course on what you shovel into your cake hole while away from the gym that is….

Morning classes will kick of from the start of Feb, the Boot Camp on Jan 31st and the brand new Kettle AM on Feb 1st.

See you there

Dave
www.wg-fit.com


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Drop and Give Me…..!

6 10 2010

Drop and give me 50!

This was going to be a post about Press Ups, and I’ll get to them, but as the title of this post came to me it triggered an entirely different thought process.

First lets take the press up. It is possibly the quintessential bodyweight exercise, we’ve all done them and some of us continue to do them, fewer do them right.

While there are hundreds of variations on the theme, the simple push up as also one of the best upper body and core strength exercise available, and for beaten up old fighters like myself they’re the closest I get to a bench press without reigniting old shoulder issues.

“But how do we do the push up then, and what’s this other thought you had?”

Ok, I hear you, get to the point.

Point 1 – How to do a push up, well if picture is worth a thousand words, a moving picture is worth many times that. In other words, here’s a video:

Point 2 – Drop and give me….how many?
I’ve seen “MMA coaches” insist that their trainees nock out sets of 50 reps. I’ve seen their students then perform any possible variation on the theme in order to hit this magic number. I’ve also heard many of them complaining of sore shoulders, necks and backs in the changing rooms.

The point I’m meandering towards is simple, focus on quality not quantity.

The students mentioned above, simply weren’t ready for such high reps and as such they let form slip, their shoulders raised and their head dropped, the lower back sagged as the abs gave way, all resulting in poor movement patterns and severly increasing the injury risk.
had they been told to AIM for 50 proper push ups, but to stop as soon as form slipped, i’m 100% positive every one of them would have gotten stronger, faster and been much less sore.

So rather than doing one set of 50 before you’re good and ready, why not break it down. Here’s a density program that I’ve mentioned before and laid out in the eBook, “One exercise fat loss & conditioning“, but tailored down for 50 push ups.

Workout 1: 10 sets of 5 reps = 50
Workout 2: 9 sets of 6 reps = 54
Workout 3: 8 sets of 7 = 56
Workout 4: 5 sets of 10 = 50
Workout 5: 4 sets of 12 = 48
Workout 6: 3 sets of 15 = 45
Workout 7: 3 sets of 17 = 51
Workout 8: 2 x 20, 1x 10 = 60
Workout 9: 2 sets of 25 = 50
Workout 10: 1 set of 50

Of course thats just an example, it may take more or less than 10 workouts, repeat a particular workout as many times as it takes to nail it, add in further steps between 9 and 10 if needed.
But always, always terminate a set the moment form slips. Master the movement and master your own body.

Regards

Dave

www.wg-fit.com

Next Kettlebell Workshop:
17th October – Level 3, Snatch & Jerk

Next Boot Camp commences 11th October

Email for more details (info@wildgeesema.com)


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