Happy Thursday to you,
I hope you had a great Easter despite the current circumstances.
Lucy and I spent Easter working in the garden and planting out our vegetables.
I also read Arnold Schwarzenegger’s autobiography “Total recall”.
If you feel you need a sizeable kick up the butt and want some motivation then Arnold’s book is a great read.
One thing that shines through is how each year Arnold sets himself a clear goal, visualises achieving that goal and then sets to work.
One way he achieves his goal is by using a technique from his bodybuilding days called “reps, reps, reps”.
Whether it’s learning lines for a speech, improving his body or developing a new skill for a movie.
It’s all “reps, reps, reps”.
I like that analogy.
Want to get great at anything in life then you need to practice. And practice a lot.
What do you want to achieve this year?
How many “reps” have you performed so far to get you there?
Logical movement progressions
This year I’ve been sharing exactly how to train your entire body in the least amount of time but also in a balanced way to avoid injury.
If you recall, you achieve this by using the 5 essential movement patterns. Not by wasting valuable time singling out muscles like your biceps or triceps.
Not unless you want to be like Arnold that is but he trained 5 hours per day!
So you have the 5 movement patterns but how to you know which exercises to choose?
You choose based on logical progressions:
- Hip Hinge = a) Single arm deadlift, b) Swing, c) Snatch
- Knee Bend = a) Squat, b) Lunge, c) Pistol squat
- Push = a) Shoulder taps, b) Push up, c) Overhead press
- Pull = a) Row, b) Inverted row, c) Pull ups
- Core = a) Half get ups, b) Full get ups, c) Renegade row
Everyone should start with exercise a) and master it before moving on to exercise b) and then finally c).
If you are already using exercises from b) and find that your strength or technique is not progressing or you keep getting injured then you should revert back to a).
There is of course 100’s of exercises that you can include within each category but in essence this is all you really need.
The experts among you will notice crossovers between the exercises:
- Shoulder taps improve shoulder stability ready for overhead pressing but they also heavily condition the core muscles.
- Renegade rows are a strong pulling exercise and excellent for the back but they also demand extreme core stability to resist rotation.
- Kettlebell swings although focusing in on hinging at the hips also require a pulling movement to prevent the kettlebell from escaping forwards as well as core strength to stop you from overextending at the lower back.
Take a look at the list above and see where you currently stand with these exercises.
Should you really be using the overhead press when you can’t perform shoulder taps correctly? Maybe that’s why your shoulders keep getting injured.
Is the reason your knees hurt when you lunge because you’re just not strong enough at the squat?
All exercises can be progressed and regressed, you just need to know where you fit in.
The easiest way to find out is to start at a) and take it from there.
Here’s a workout from week 1 of my new Bodyweight Program, just in case you haven’t got a kettlebell at the moment.
- Bridge – 30 seconds
- Shoulder Taps – 30 seconds
- Y-Squats – 60 seconds
- Cossacks – 60 seconds
- Side Shuffles – 60 seconds
This 4 minute workout will address almost all the muscles in your body.
Your goal is to complete 3 circuits taking as little rest as possible in between exercises and circuits.
If you are more of an experienced lifter then why not try this workout as a warm up before your next kettlebell session. I think you will like it.
Click to download this workout
Many people struggle with the kettlebell clean and find themselves banging their wrists with the kettlebell.
Wrist banging and bruised forearms is caused by 2 things:
- Poor technique (sort out your clean here)
- Poor kettlebell design (choose the correct kettlebells)
Eventually the banging and bruising will stop but as Arnold said above is all “reps, reps, reps” but while you are learning you can purchase a long wrist band (like tennis players wear) to protect your wrists. Also good for learning the snatch too.
That’s all for today my friend,
Take care of yourself and each other,
Greg
P.S. Need a helping hand during these challenging times? Use discount code: ATHOME
[I’ve included some links above that are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, I will earn a commission. This commission will not affect the original price or the price you pay.]