Want to hear some Bro Blasphemy? For most people, The Pushup Should be The FOUNDATION of Most Upper Body Pressing. Yes, the bench press can probably be loaded to a greater degree. Yes, the overhead press requires more "total body stability" But, from my perspective, the pushup is the foundational upper body pressing movement. Virtues of the Pushup: Trains the whole body. A well done pushup is just a "moving plank". Trains the rotator cuff: Rotator cuffs respond to compression and distraction. Pushups are compression. Closed Chain (unless they're suspended) so probably a bit safer/ easier on the shoulder. Pushups allow the scapula to move "freely" … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Single Arm Dumbbell Bench
June 21, 2018 by
No, I don't change the dumbbell magically half way through the movement. Just took pictures of the bell in different hands. Time for a Story Kids: Long Ago in the Way Way Back Time Lil Roy went to his (probably 2nd) Strength and Conditioning seminar evvveeeerrrr. It was the 1st Annual Mid Atlantic Sports Symposium, or at least I THINK that's what the name was. Any who, it at George Mason a year after they made the Final Four and it was Hosted by Todd Hamer. *I've been to LOTS of these things through the years and could totally be wrong about the following facts, it coulda been a different seminar, but the essence of the story is the same. This isn't a … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Stability Ball Dumbbell Bench Press
February 26, 2018 by
Yeah, I know I rag on wobble stuff all the time. I even did Masters Work on unstable surfaces. So I can say with a fairly high degree of certainty: If you're trying to get really strong, This Exercise Should Probably NOT be One of Your Primary Strength Exercises. But for accessory stuff, it ain't all that bad. Here's The Deal: We'll start with the bad <---ALWAYS start with the bad. Get up and "eat the frog" Using an unstable surface instantly makes you weaker. "It has been established that there is a significantly lower peak isometric force and rate of force development during resistance exercises under unstable as compared to stable conditions. In … [Read more...]
You Should Do This: Floor Press
June 15, 2017 by
The Floor Press: It's nothing more than a bench press without the bench. <---like you couldn't figure that one out. Why It's Awesome: Limits the range of motion at the shoulder joint. It's pretty hard to "dump" (approximation the Humerus) the shoulder forward with these. MUCH easier on the lower back than the bench press cause the legs are out of the equation. The floor provides MUCH better feedback than the bench for maintaining shoulder tightness (packing) and driving the shoulders down into the ground to press the weight. Full Pause or Touch and Go? Either.... Full Pause Floor presses are GREAT for building speed, starting strength and … [Read more...]
