I’m a fan of Olympic style lifts. I love how technical they are and the challenge of learning them. The payoff is an awesome workout, a lot of core strength and increased coordination and overall power. One of the easiest to learn that will give you those big benefits is The Push Press.

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The push press is the explosive cousin to a standing shoulder press or Military Press. At first glance you may think that someone is just using too much weight but this exercise is quite technical and needs to be done safely and correctly to avoid injury. This exercise is an integral part of some of the grueling Crossfit workouts and once you learn them, I think you’ll love them as much as I do.

How to do a Push Press

You start in a standing position with the bar at collar bone height supported in your hands (some will have the bar cradled on the front of their shoulders).  You do a 1/4 squat that dips fast and then explodes to full hip extension (almost a jump), as you begin to finish the leg drive you are focusing on pressing the bar up (like a shoulder press).

Once the bar gets past your forehead you bring your chin slightly forward so your body is completely underneath the bar and lock the bar out completly overhead. Notice that all joints from the floor to the wrists are completely in line, with the weight locked out overhead.

The biggest mistake you can make at this point is to look up, or keep your head back. This happens if you are used to doing a barbell shoulder press or  military press.

Benefits of the Push Press

This exercise would be considered a full body exercise. You’ll burn a ton of calories. Once you’ve done them a few times, you’ll understand what I mean. Your legs are essential in getting the bar up overhead. Its not a strict upper body press, its an explosive leg drive with your upper body continuing the momentum up to a locked overhead position. You’ll find your legs get a great workout, your upper body too, but more importantly your core gets an awesome workout as  you need your core to be strong to hold the bar overhead.

Start light on these. Practice your form first. Be sure you are dipping, reversing and exploding with your legs. Not slowly either. Check your form in the mirror or have someone watch you  from the side to make sure you are locking out fully and everything is in line.

To take your workout to the next level, use the Push Press. It’s a challenge to learn but once you get good at it, you’ll burn calories, have a stronger core and build some explosive full body power…all while having fun in the gym! Who could ask for much more?

Kettlebells have made their way into mainstream fitness in a big way lately. Gyms are starting to have classes, they are popping up in local parks at “boot camps” and now its time to bring this ugly little weight into your workouts too! The fundamental exercise of the kettlebell is the swing. I want to show you how to do kettlebell swings and then explain some details on the form and also why you would use them in your workout.

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The basic form for Kettlebell Swings:

So in the video above you’ll notice that this is an explosive exercise. Kettlebell swings are explosive…but safe. You are using your glutes and hamstrings or more simply your “hips”  do most of the work. You swing the kettlebell between your legs with a nice tight lower back and bend at the hips with some bend at the knees.

Note: I was bending a bit low, more into a squat.  I’m by no means perfect in my form, but feel my form is tight even though I go a bit lower. Just a preference of mine, I allow the kettlebell to swing a little lower and further between my legs. True kettlebell purists will swing it very high up between the legs almost to the point where the weight hits their behinds.  As the weight gets heavier, it is more necessary to do this.

The focus should be on pushing the hips or butt back on the swing back and then standing up tall, squeezing the glutes and driving the hips forward to swing the kettlebell up. You should feel a slight stretch or “loading” of the hamstrings. This ensures that the work is being done by your hamstrings and glutes and not a jumping quad exercise. Keep your eyes forward and don’t look down, this will keep your chest more upright and your back from rounding.

The arms are relaxed and letting it swing naturally. Grip is strong. Keep in mind, this is not a squat and lift but more of a hip drive and allow the kettlebell to swing its natural course. You want to keep the movement fluid and in time with gravity. Don’t force the kettlebell up or slow it down too much.

Side note: There are some variations of the swing, like anything. Crossfit tends to swing the kettlebell all the way up overhead. Thats their modification. Some discussion back and forth between kettlebell purists and Crossfitters as led to some interesting debates. I say use the exercise as you see fit for your particular goal. If you are being safe and keeping the basics of the form correct, modify away.

Why use a kettlebell swing in your workout?

Ok, I’ll hit the hot button for you ladies..and some guys. You’ll have “buns of steel!”

All cheesiness aside, this is a great exercise for working your glutes and hamstrings, conditioning your low back and core.  This exercise is a great overall endurance and fat burning exercise too. Since you are constantly moving and your whole body is involved its a great calorie burner, perfect for interval training and used A LOT in Crossfit type training.

Some ideas to incorporate the kettlebell swing into your workout:

• Do kettlebell swings for time. (20,30,60 seconds)
• Do high reps. (20-50+) They go fast so you’ll be surprised how many you can do with good form
• Add them in to keep your heart rate up. Great for interval training!
• Use them as a warmup. Since they are using your whole body and get the heart rate up, lighter swings make a great general warmup and also a more specific warmup for deadlifts, squats etc.

So thats the basics of a kettlebell swing with some variations and ideas of how other people are using kettlebells in their workouts to mix things up and take things to a new level. Add these into your workout for a great conditioning exercise and a fun way to break out of the box and take your workout to the next level!

I recommend Ader Kettlebells

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What is Core Strength?

Your “core” is your body’s center. To put it simple it is the stabilizing muscles that make up your midsection. Its made up of inner and outer abdominal stabilizing muscles as well as some supporting torso muscles as well. For simplicity: Abs and low back to put it in a nutshell.

Why do we need it?

Any and all movements you may do in life rely on your core in one way or another. Everything from throwing a baseball to getting out of bed has your core involved. Without a stabilized and strong core you would basically be a walking (or lying down) noodle. So its very important to keep your core strong and stable to not only perform better in life but to avoid injury as well.

How do we train our core?

There are two basic things we need to think of when we train the core. Stabilizing and movement. Stabilizing is the body’s ability to hold the spine in a certain position, movement is the body’s ability to twist, flex or extend the spine. Both are very important as we use both stabilizing and movement daily. We need to be able to stabilize your spine to pick up that box from the floor or to stand for extended periods of time.  We need to twist, flex or extend the spine to move about in a 3 dimenensional world. We don’t walk around like robots…so we need our torso’s to rotate.

So with that said, we need to focus on exercises that challenge the core in both stability and movement.

Enter The Plank: Your Core Stabilizing Dynamo!

The Plank is basically an exercise where you stabilize your spine in a four point position on the floor. You want to focus on keeping a nice neutral spine, meaning no excessive rounding or arching of the back. You also need to focus on keeping your abs contracted (but still able to breathe) and drawn in (visualize pulling your naval towards your spine).

Work on doing The Plank for time as you want to build muscle control and endurance. Stabilizers need stamina.

In the video above you’ll see Nine variations of The Plank taking you from a very basic beginner plank to some very advanced versions that will really force you to control your core and keep it stable.

Here are the Nine Variations of the Plank:

1. Basic 4 point Plank on the floor (elbows and toes)
2. Basic Plank with 1 leg up (alternate legs)
3. Basic Plank with 1 leg up/1 arm up (use opposite arm and leg)
4. Unstable Plank with elbows on the ball
5. Unstable Plank Elbows on the Ball with 1 leg  up
6. Unstable Plank Hands on the Ball
7. Unstable Plank Hands on the Ball with 1 leg up
8. Pushup Position Plank with 2 Feet on the ball
9. Pushup Position Plank with 1 foot on the ball

Moving from more stable to less stable forces you to really control your core and keep your abdominals and low back under control. You want to get good at one exercise and move up to the next progression only when you feel you have the more basic ones mastered. Do these movements for time, start out at 20 seconds working up to 60 seconds. These can make good warmups or cool down exercises.

Getting good at the Plank is building a great basic functional foundation for strong abs and a strong core. Have fun with these, come up with other variations, add in light weights even! The sky is the limit!

Remember: keep those abs tight and drawn in!

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From out of Kettlebells…

I was first introduced to this upper body exercise via the kettlebell community. I was watching a video of a small, fit young woman demonstrating the row. She was using 5lb kettlebells, so of course my ego started doing the math. How much could I do? At first glance, I thought it was kindof easy after all the weights looked so light and I knew I could row alot more than 5 lbs. I didn’t realize it was an entire upper body workout as well as a core/abdominal beast!

My first attempts with this were dismal. Or so I thought. I was sweating bullets with 10lb dumbells! I could barely get to 10 reps! I was losing all core stability, my hips were dropping and my arms were ready to give out. That’ll teach me to neglect my core.  I was mortified, humbled and excited all at the same time.  I like a good challenge. I hope you do too!

So I introduce to you…The Renegade Row!

Basically you are in a pushup position, feet fairly wide, hands on either dumbbells or kettlebells. The goal is to keep the body as level and stable as possible while rowing up one dumbbell, bringing it back down and then rowing with the other hand.

All the same rules apply as any other rowing motion you would do. You are pulling from the back, trying to squeeze the shoulder blade back behind you. If you don’t feel like you are doing this, reduce the weight until you have it under control. This isn’t an ego exercise, its a core exercise. If your core is weak, you’ll know because your body will twist as soon as you pick up the weight.

The benefits of this upper body giant:

• Increased shoulder stability to help bulletproof your rotator cuffs
• Abdominal and low back strength and endurance
• Directly can help you with stamina to hold a pushup position, no more sagging hips

If you are having trouble with using weight and keeping your body stable, start small. just practice holding a pushup position and doing a rowing motion. You’ll  be ready to start working with light weights in no time.

Let me know what you think!

Ready to take your pushups to the next level?

Pushups are the classic upper body test of strength. They have been around for what seems like forever. The Armed Forces all use them as a means of testing your conditioning and upper body strength. But to be honest, sometimes pushups are boring.

Here are three ways to take this classic exercise and make it fun again, challenging to your coordination and also build up your core!

Variation #1: Medicine Ball Pushup

A pushup with one hand on a medicine ball: by placing one hand on the ball, you give your core a workout by being assymetrical. Both hands have equal pressure on them.

Variation #2: Alternating Medicine Ball Pushup

Now we are moving the ball back and forth from hand to hand. You not only get assymetrical core work but also transitional. What this means is your core is challenged by uneven weight but also by moving. One other thing that this helps is shoulder/rotator cuff stability. Build up on these and you will have some strong shoulders, endurance in your core and some extra strength to boot.

Variation #3: Plyometric Medicine Ball Pushup

The ball now stays stationary and you explosively push and switch hands over the medicine ball. These require some concentration so you don’t miss the ball, so be careful at first.

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Have fun with these. Work up your skill and by the time you get to the plyometric pushups, you’ll be surprised how the rest of your workout has improved.

Let me know what you think of these. Too easy? Let me know…I’ll give you something much worse better.

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Rep Counters! Cover your ears!

So if I were to ask 10 people who exercise, how they know they are making progress, the majority of them would say “more weight or more reps.” While this is commonly true, I want to introduce a new technique you can add in that is bound to up my “hate mail.” I say this with all seriousness…are you ready for the secret?

Timed Reps!

Thats right these are, to put it lightly, very hard! I’d say I have a love hate relationship with them but they are effective. The principle is simple. You do an exercise…for time. Sounds simple right?

A typical set “for reps” takes under 30 seconds for many its around 20 sec. Imagine that you now  have to lift for 60 seconds straight! Its not for the faint of heart. Its 2-3 times longer than what you are used to. There is no rushing to finish…its all timed. Now we’re talking intensity!

So here is how you do timed reps:

1. Take a exercise/weight that is moderate, something you know you can control.
2. Begin the exercise, start the clock (60 sec is good to start with).
3. Keep the reps under control, don’t rush! (the clock doesn’t move any faster if you do)
4. Try to keep moving as much as you can, if you need to rest, only rest as long as it takes to do a couple more.
5. Try to keep going until the time is up.

If you get through it on the first set without much struggle, up the weight just a little, the next sets will catch up with you pretty quickly.

Some benefits of this type of training:

• You increase your work capacity tremendously, by building endurance strength.
• It will force you to “dig deep” and keep going which is essential for breaking plateaus.
• These are great for interval type training.

Some great exercises to try this with: bench press, squats, shoulder presses, seated cable rows,  abdominal work. Basically any exercise that is a compound (not so much isolation) exercise.

This should give you something to love/hate for a while. You can be sure you’ll find them tough, but you’ll make more progress in the gym and feel like you’ve had a great workout in the process.

Give them a try and let me know what you think!

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The Gym Hero: Bicep Curl Man

We’ve all seen it. The guy using way too much weight in the gym. He’s the one using his low back to throw the weight up, doing quarter curls with a metric ton of weight on the bar and usually making a bunch of noise (look at me!) The number on the bar might be  impressive..but his definitely form isn’t.

Yep….we all have that guy at our gym.

Did you know he is actually WEAKER by training with his ego than by training smart?

Yep.

The whole point of training is just that…its training. Sounds redundant, but training is something you do over and over to get better at something. In the case of an athlete, its for a specific event or performance. The horrible form guy at the gym is treating each of his workouts like its his last. Bad move.

Use full Range of Motion!

If you train in a shortened range of motion, you will develop strength or proficiency in that short range of motion. Guess what, outside of that you have “holes” or gaps in strength. If you watch the video above, you’ll see the “cheater” bicep curl where Tia is doing just the top portion of the curl. If she were to train this way over weeks, months or YEARS…she will get stronger….only in that range.I’ve seen this with curls, squats, bench press, practically any exercise.

Sad but true.

If you are one of these people, take a few steps back and get back to “training” and rebuild your foundation of strength and you’ll make better overall gains, perform better and avoid injury.Remember: you are working out for the long haul, treat your body with that in mind and it will continue to perform for you.

Lift Strong, Lift Safe, Lift for a Lifetime!