Athlete In The City » bodyweight

one-arm one-leg pushups

admin — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:00:50 +0000

The first time I saw pavel the ketel bell russian dude perform these one-arm one-leg pushups I was very impressed. It’s taken a while but I’ve managed to get them.

The progression? Start with one arm pushups on incline, as high as you need to do them right. Over many months reduce the incline. When you can do about 15 on a flat surface, you’re probably ready to try the one-arm one-leg version. Without the second leg to stabilize, your body compensates with core strength and stabilizer muscles (intercostals etc).

elbow step-up pushups

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:00:02 +0000

I got the idea for these pushups from various places, but the extreme version from a recently posted video of 18 extreme exercises. You’ll get more from the video than my explaining them, but they work the triceps a lot, also the deltoids, abdominal, and stabilizer muscles. Very good alternative to the standard simpler pushups that most people do.

eighteen extreme exercises

admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:52 +0000

Just found this video on youtube and was pretty impressed. Although I’ve never had much luck with the human flag, I don’t work on it much either. The straddle planche pushups though, I work at everyday. Closer but still not there. All the others I’ve got pretty well. So I guess I’m getting somewhere!

standing ab wheel rollout
back lever
hannibal pullups
korean dips
one-arm one-leg pushups
leg lifts
straddle planche pushups
L-sit walk
human flag
superman pushup
dragon flag
side-to-sides
handstand pushup to nose
elbow step pushups – together
muscle-up with false grip
stall bar hold
deep handstand pushups
bicycle pullups

new handstand pushups – on medicine ball

admin — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:00:57 +0000

A new twist on handstand pushups. If handstand pushups get too easy, try deep press hanstand pushups (on parallettes) where your chest comes down to hand level. If those get to easy, destabilize one or both of your hands with a medicine ball. And a caveat aka warning, please don’t try this if you struggle with basic handstand pushups. You’ll fall splat on your face!!

Jack Lalanne – Fully Extended One-Arm Pushup

admin — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:00:58 +0000

This video is pretty awesome. Jack Lalanne is an old school strong man and fitness enthusiast. He makes all these hard-core training exercises look easy. A great role model, even with the funny commentary!

xvest demo – 110% bodyweight clapping pushups

admin — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:00:59 +0000

I finally bought a weight vest. If you’re serious about bodyweight training, it’s only a matter of time. Here I demo the xvest. I’m really happy with it. It’s super adjustable, in one pound increments from zero to 40 pounds, and fits really snug with velcro elastic straps around the core. Good stuff!!

Introducing The Wall Walk

admin — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:00:26 +0000

This is an exercise I learned from my gymnastics teacher. If you can do a wall walk to start, try getting into the basic backbend or wheel as they call it in yoga. From there lift one hand for five seconds, put it back. Lift the other hand for five seconds, put it back. Then lift a leg, then the other leg. Try to remain fully inflated, and stretch through your upper back as much as possible. You want the pressure on your arms and shoulders, not your lower back. Good luck!

five minutes of intensity

admin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:00:53 +0000

As I’m always trying to think of new ways to mix up the workout, I recently added a little twist to my sets and reps. The idea is simple. Set your stopwatch to countdown from 5 minutes. Then do as many as you possibly can in that five minute period. Short reps, long reps, rest as long as you like. But the total count is what you’re interested in. Keep track. Over time you’ll surely improve your five minute max!!

pullups – 45
planche pushups – 80
floor walk – 140
handstand shoulder shrug – 80

Those were my numbers. Oh, one other little itty bitty detail. I did these with a my new xvest weight vest loaded with 20 pounds. Now I weigh 145 so that’s about 15% of my body weight. Will have more on the new weight vest next week, so stay tuned.

Put a good size break between your five minute sets or you’ll have nothing left at the end! Good luck!!

Planche Fly on Blocks – fully extended

admin — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:00:02 +0000

Refer to the previous week’s video on what I call the planche fly. This week I do the same but on blocks, so balance is more crucial, and you’ll find you can probably do fewer of these than those planche flys.

Planche Fly – fully extended

admin — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 13:00:48 +0000

My planche training is coming along, albeit slowly. Keep in mind here that although I’m extended , I’m also using a bit of a kick to get the upward momentum. As you train this over time, you can kick less, and control the downward phase, slowing it down. These are like negatives, slowly down the release of a contracted muscle, if you’re not strong enough to do the exercise from the start.

One Arm Pullup with Pinchgrip Assist

admin — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 13:00:04 +0000

Continuing where we left off last week with one-arm pullups, we’ll use a pinch grip assist this time, instead of a theraband.

One Arm Pullups with Theraband

admin — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:00:12 +0000

To train for the one-arm pullup you want to over many months of training, reduce the weight on the assisting arm, and increase the weight on the primary arm. Here’s one way to do that. Use a theraband on the secondary arm.

bodyrocks – core strength for everyone

admin — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 13:00:39 +0000

We can all use more core strength. It reduces back strain and stress, contributes to over all functional strength, and is good for every fitness enthusiast from runners to gymnasts, martial arts practitioners to yoga fans alike.

If any of these combinations are too difficult with both legs extended, try it with on leg bent, and one leg extended. Good luck!

straddle planche hold

admin — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:00:44 +0000

After many years of building basic strength, I’m finally starting to get somewhere with this planche training. Take a look at my first straddle planche holds…

V-sit on the parallettes

admin — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:13:41 +0000

The V-sit is the next step towards working the manna skill in gymnastics. It requires a LOT of triceps, hip flexors, and abdominals. You can also work this on the floor if you want to.