Push-Up Progressions

I've used this method with numerous clients, people that have been trying to do good push-ups but just can't seem to make that breakthrough. One of the most important things that is necessary to do is to stop doing push-ups from the knees! Doing them from the knees doesn't help develop the core strength and necessary tension in the lower body to translate to real push-ups, which are done with a neutral spine, tight glutes and quads, and elbows tucked to the side at a roughly 45 degree angle to the torso. Hands should be spread with fingers actively pushing as well.

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Thought of the Day

New eBook now available for sale

Building a Resilient Body

A complete workout program for beginners and intermediates, as well as info that will be useful to advanced athletes.

-Movement Assessments and Mobility Warm-Ups
-Beginner and Intermediate Strength Programs with in-depth exercise descriptions
-Smart Power and Conditioning Exercises, with some Sport Specific program design for athletes
-Programming Overview(How to fit it all together)
-Recovery and Stretching
-A brief but important section on Steady State Cardio
-Extras: Kettlebell and Dumbbell Complexes, Bodyweight training suggestions for traveling or if you have limited equipment, a 1 Kettlebell total body workout, a Nutriton Cheat Sheet that gets a thumbs up from Alan Aragon himself(google him if you don't know who he is) a Recommended Equipment list with links of places to purchase(none of which I have any affiliation whatsoever)  and most importantly a workout log to make it easy to follow your program and remember your options.

Official Front and Back Covers for Building a Resilient Body

Book is Almost Finished

Should be ready for sale by Monday, perhaps even by the weekend. Pretty excited as to how well it turned out. I'm probably a total moron, but setting up a Shopify site is way harder than it should be, incredible customer service though.

Movement Assessment Template

In "Building a Resilient Body" I provide instructions on six movement and range of motion assessments. If you try an assessment and pass, that's great, you have a baseline standard of movement(for that area of the body) that is sufficient for the strength, power, and conditioning
work outlined in the book.

If you fail, the news isn't so good, but it's not the end of the world. If there isn't an acute injury(torn muscle, tendon, ligament, broken bone, etc) there is a specific process to restore proper function of that particular movement system. This involves doing SMR(foam rolling, using a LAX ball, or other implement) then stretching the muscles you just finished rolling, and finally activating some corresponding muscles that are likely weak due to being in a constantly over stretched position. At the end of this rolling, stretching, and activating process, then you re-test the same assessment and note 

whether your progress now qualifies you as passing. If it doesn't, there are exercises that may be contraindicated until you can pass the assessment. Often it only takes a few sessions to restore your movement! 

This methodology is relatively new, but has been proven effective by some of the best athletic trainers in sports, and I've seen firsthand how powerful it can be.