Displaying items by tag: strength and conditioning

These are an advanced strength movement, and most people will fall flat trying to do 'em - even well conditioned athletes that have not done them before. 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again pushups are not the big dog of fitness because Rahul mookerjee said so, and a whole host of other illuminaries have proven it, though that reason wouldn't be wrong either. 

Its that because with one simple movement and no equipment other than a wall or floor which you have even in isolation in a prison ward, hehe - not that you gotta be in jail to do pushups! - you can literally work the entire body from the inside out. 

Including, as I state in Pushup Central - the legs and cardio system like never before, and while Hindu pushups do a great job of that, there are others - so advanced I dont even mention them in the book that do an excellent job too. 

Plyometric pushups. 

Clapping pushups (from various positions, angles and such). 

These will all be detailed in the upcoming book on plyometrics, but ONE style of pushup I've always stressed you should get damn good at  - the extended arm pushup, or the floor humpers, or Jack La Lanne pushup. 

IF ALL you did was this one exercise for high reps, medium and low throughout your entire pushup workout, you'd build shoulders, lats and a core of steel and you'd be incredibly LEAN too all throughout your body, especially the core. 

As you perfect this movement though, and this will take a lot of time - remember this one truism - strengthening your body from all different angles and positions. 

Enter the archer pushup. 

If your hands are straight out in front of you almost touching the floor in the pushup mentioned above, then the archer pushup makes it even tougher by literally putting your arms at a 90 degree angle, forearm facing the floor, arm splayed out - as you do this pushup. 

The side to side motion mimics an "archer" shooting a bow and arrow, and this pushup heavily works the core, lats, thighs (yes), glutes (yes again, if you know how to) - the entire cardio system - and most of all, the upper chest and traps at a deep level. 

Bicep and foream work too, which you wouldn't think you got from pushups eh? 

But you do, my friend - big time! 

Thing about working the chest, most people focus on the "mid" to lower chest, which is fine, but it's the upper chest, and working the chest fibers from the inside out via deep breathing and exercise that really give you that broad shouldered, barrel chested look. 

And thats why I emphasize deep breathing with every workout my friend. 

I have to hear you breathing - at least from a few paces away - deep inhales, deep exhales, focus on form, omit all three, you might as well not be working out. I'd rather you NOT work out than do something with sloppy reps. 

My youtube channel has plenty on how to do these, including 50 rep workouts with these, and the other toughie - extended arm pushups. 

And believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg. 

I could think of 51 more pushups I could put in book number two, and will down the line as well ... 

For now though, I'm out. Thats an advanced style of pushup to workup to. And never forget the basics my friend -work pushups daily, no exceptions, zero excuses - literally. 

And as David Quiros rightly reviewed "learn how to do pushups Creatively and RIGHT" - emphasis on RIGHT - by the "by far the best book on pushups out there, nothing even comes close to coming close" - Pushup Central. 

That is that then, my friend. 

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

The jury seems to be out on this - including my own. 

I wrote about the one arm pull-up this morning here, and as promised, now, my thoughts on the one arm PUSHUP.

Last year I was rapping with an old customer, perhaps the right guy to talk to about pushups - former martial artist and a lot more - and before proceeding, here is the review he left for Pushup Central - 

The Bodyweight Guru has done it again, 55 ways to bring on the pain, a magnum opus on how to really use what is possibly the world's oldest and "most diverse" exercise.

If you're like me, you live for that pain, the feeling of your muscles as they stretch and contract and how your body screams at you to stop but your mind will not allow you to quit, you have that target in your mind and you cannot stop until you hit that target, yes my friends this is training "brutally effective" training.

Buy this book and take up the challenge of Push Up Central.

The Bodyweight Guru is waiting for you, let him show you how with this (innocently sounding) book you can become more than you could ever have imagined, this is hard training at it's absolute best.

Now a word about the previous review, Glyn Scofield is a total moron and his reviews suck almost as much as he does, Glyn, if by chance you ever read this, do yourself a favour and just stop, nobody cares what you think.

Amen! 

Now, I won't get into the review here again, I've done that enough times already (and lets not EVEN get into the Bozo - ugh, I said that wrong didnt I?) ... 

I was talking to him about doing high rep pushups, how pushups do help your pull-up prowress - or help you get better at pull-ups provided you address the "fat around the midsection" issue (which pushups do a damn good job of addressing if you do 'em right and regularly, not just "sometimes") ...and a lot more. 

And I remember him saying that he felt one arm pushups were more a "show" movement, for real workouts, they weren't really that useful. 

Now, he's right on one - very main thing. 

As with one arm pull-ups, the vast majority of people would do just fine without doing a single one arm pushup in their lives. 

If you focus on and do pushups the way I teach you in Pushup Central with "both limbs" (though you'll see me take some away occasionally, hehe) - then my friend you will do just fine and need nothing else from that perspective. 

Most of the people we know that really did pushups at a high level, high repes, Iron Mike Tyson, Herschel Walker, the list goes on and on - while I've no doubt they did a lot of one arm pushups in their training, the VAST BULK (no pun!) of their training most likely was done with two limbs. 

So it should be as well. 

The main thing though for me, which seperates one arm pushups from the same category in pull-ups - it is far harder to mantain proper form when doing one arm pushups. 

You'll see folks doing 'em with legs spread, back bent and so forth, such is the nature of the movement. 

Getting reps in with proper form can be done ... but maintaining that form over a long workout is neither practical nor really doable - nor is entirely functional. 

Thats one main reason I rate it as "part show" - but not fully. 

Doing a one arm pushup still takes some incredible strength and conditioning my friend - especially if you do them slow in sets of 10 - on your fingertips, and so forth. 

But would I recommend one arm pushups in workouts - the question goes? 

Yes, but perhaps AFTER your regular pushup workouts. 

For instance, 25 regulars, maybe 5 one arms, then 40 regular's, maybe 5 more one arms ... 

They make for a great sizzler and finisher, not entirely the case with one arm pull-ups which you'll see you can work far more into your workouts than one arm pushups (though again, most people would do just fine doing pull-ups properly with both limbs) ... 

There's plenty of other movements we could talk about here which lots of people say fall into the showboating movement -my book Advanced Plyometrics has one of them "the clapping pushup". 

I'll be talking about that later, so stay tuned. 

For now, remember Pushup Central is all you need in terms of pushups - ever. 

If you so choose, you can go even more advanced,  but these exercises in this here book are enough to keep you busy and very productive indeed your entire life. 

The greats did 'em, if it was good enough for 'em, it was for you, no excuses. 

Chop chop, as she said. Hehe. (if you ain't got to it already, you should have, do it NOW). 

And thats that. 

Best, 

Rahul Mookerjee

Whoever said boxing was a “barbaric” sport and not cerebral is an idiot.

Bar none.

And my own family has plenty of them, unfortunately.

Boxing is probably one of THE MOST cerebral sports my friend, and even if you don’t know the B of boxing, you gotta be dumb if you think comments like the above (made by Muhammad Ali no less) don’t show a SUPER BRAIN behind said comment.

Or, a comment like Mike Tyson’s “you can have all the plans in the world, but they ain’t gonna help in the ring when you get punched in the MOUTH!”

Or, sheer BRUTALITY combined with intellect.

“ I want to punch his nose through his brain (or something like that!) “ (Tyson)

And back to floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee, the best of both worlds is exactly what that is, and is precisely what you need to be a champion boxer.

As I wrote in the last email, brute strength is great, but you gotta match that up with THINKING.

If you give me two massive guys, one dumb and one smart, the dumber one being bigger, all other things being equal I’ll take the smart guy.

Take a look at Marc, for instance.

Champ boxer.

And when I sparred with him, he put his defense down, and invited me to “hit” him (touch him while sparring obviously).

And I tried my ass off.

You’d think it was easy with the guy’s hands down, but dude’s a big guy, but has lightning fast footwork.

THAT is what you call black mamba in the ring!

As he once told me.

Snake’s tongue, Rahul. Snake’s Tongue (when I was jabbing).

I think I could barely keep my jab up during round #3 of sparring.

And I got him - - sum total of ONE time, and that too when he probably let his guard down a bit (and it was never fully  up!).

Or, when he once showed me a bare knuckle punch.

POW!

IT came out of nowehere, and hit me on the shoulders.

I FELT it. Believe me. It didn’t “hurt” me, but I’ve been hit far worse, and he didn’t do it to hurt me obviously.

But point is, it came out of nowhere, and though I was expecting it – POW!

He later told me that was 70% of his regular striking ability. Man, I can just imagine what he’s like at 100%, hehe.

And this sort of thing is precisely why I advocate bodyweight training, jumping ropes, squats etc as opposed to the mess at the gym.

These things keep you lean, mean, moving QUICK like a jungle cat. Or a fighting machine!

And they build your strength up to the point you can float like a butterfly all day, but when It comes time to strike?

POW!

Black mamba, or perhaps a BEE.

And that, my friend is the message I want to give you in this one. Take it or leave it - - up to YOU!

Best,

Rahul Mookerjee

PS – THESE movements mentioned here will give you the best workouts you’ve ever had, not to mention get you in the best damned shape of your life QUICK - - The 0 Excuses Fitness System.