Sandbag Lift, Squat and Press Combo

I have no video of this yet - but it's an easy movement. You pick up a sandbag from the floor, then press it above your head. Then bring it back down to your chest and hold it there, resting it on your pecks. Do a squat. Then put the sandbag back down. That is one rep. ... Read more

Handstand Push Ups

Against the Wall

Raise-Assisted

The video shows me using barbell plates to create a defined point I can lower my head to. This makes it easier to gauge progress. You can use anything you like - you may prefer to find something softer if you are not confident about lowering yourself slowly!

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Push Ups (Press Ups)

Push ups and their many variations are a great addition to a flexible training program. I've never been in a hotel room where you couldn't find room to do this exercise. There are many variations, which can be as easy or as hard as you want. Some of these are shown by these videos and links - I will post a wider variety in due course.

Basic Push Up

I have removed the basic push up video because it now includes an annoying commercial at the start. Instead, take a look at the weighted push up video in the next section. This shows how a correct push up inludes a full extension at the top - something people rarely do, but which really adds to the value of the exercise. This last bit of extension is sometimes done in isolation, and called a 'scapula push up.'

Weighted Push Ups

Close-Grip Push Ups

These emphasise your triceps. Also known as the 'triangle push up', apparently.

Inverted (Decline) Push Ups

You can do these by elevating your feet. There are two variations I have used.

Inverted 'Pike' Push Ups - where you flex at the hips to place more emphasis on the shoulders. With this approach it is actually possible to use a flat wall, maintaining your feet in place by pushing backwards with your hands.



Normal Inverted Press Ups - where you maintain the rigid body position as with a regular press up. This isn't the best form I have ever seen, but I like the fact he's doing it outside rather than in a gym.

Plyometric (Explosive) Push Ups, with a Clap

This guy has good form, I reckon. I have seen videos of people doing 2 and 3 claps, or even claps behind the back - but in most cases they appear to flex at the hips to obtain the height (and therefore time) necessary to do this. I am not sure what the point is - I would rather do fewer claps and leave the hips out of it.

Jack La Lanne Push Ups

These also give your abs some work to do!

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Muscle Ups

I think this exercise, strictly speaking, should be done using gymnastic rings. I will find a video of this being done, but for now am focusing on the version that uses a bar, since that is what I do.

Using a Bar

This is the basic form using a bar - he does swing a little bit, but not enough to classify this as a 'kipping' muscle up (see lower down.)

Jump-Assisted Using a Bar

I don't have a video of this, but essentially this involves standing on a box under a bar and jumping into the movement so I can provide additional momentum to allow me to perform the muscle up. By reducing the size of the box, then the extent to which I rely on a jump, I hope to progress towards the unassisted version.

Swing-Assisted, Uneven Muscle Ups Using a Bar

This was how I achieved my first muscle up - by swinging and then doing an uneven muscle up so that my strongest arm took priority. In other words, I just did my damnedest to get up there. Now I can work backwards from here and try to tighten up the form.

Partial

These are a lot like dips - you start in the normal end position - arms straight. Find a wall or other platform and then get yourself into the position as if you had just done a successful muscle up on it. Then lower yourself as far down as you can go whilst still comfortably then pushing back to the straight-armed position. To progress, increase the depth to which you go before pushing up. ... Read more

Sandbag Clean and Throw

Use the technique shown here to clean the sandbag, then throw it into the air as high as you can, slightly forwards, so that it doesn't come back and hit you. This adds a plyometric (explosive) element to the movement you cannot get with a dumbbell or barbell because of the damage you would cause if you released them!

Clearly you need a sandbag that's not so heavy that it cannot be thrown - the one being used in the clean and jerk video is perhaps a little heavy... ... Read more

Bench Press

Barbell Bench Press

I don't the barbell anymore because I found it aggravated my shoulder over a period of time. I was told that there were better grips I could use, but I opted instead to go for dumbbell bench press, so never got a chance to see if that would work.

Dumbbell Bench Press

I have been doing this in preference to barbell press for a while now. I find that allowing my wrists and arms to find their own preferred planes of motion has eliminated various overuse injuries I used to get with barbell work.

I just had to use this video of Ronnie Coleman to illustrate this exercise. Needless to say I usually use a little less weight!

One-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press

I use this when I have no one to pass me the dumbbell and I want to use a weight which is too heavy for me to get into position on my own - I just use both hands to get the weight up, then switch to one hand for the reps.

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Headstand

The headstand is a basic gymnastic move. There are different variations - I have seen a number of videos showing a yoga version where you rest on your elbows. For now I am posting this single video of the basic headstand because it most closely approximates my approach and I have not yet attempted any other types.

Basic Headstand

This can be done with a wall for support or at least to catch you if you over-balance. You can also move into a and out of the headstand much more slowly - after a few consecutive slow headstands you can certainly feel it on your lower back and shoulders from the effort of stabilising.


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Shoulder Press

This can be done with dumbbells or a barbell, either seated or standing up. With a barbell, there is the question of whether to bring the bar to the front or the back of the neck. My experience has been that the behind-the-neck variation is awkward and can lead to injury especially if the bar brought all the way down to the traps.

The videos show a couple of the combinations.

When I was doing this exercise with heavy dumbbells, I found that if I allowed my upper arms to go below the horizontal position I developed injuries over time. People would tell me that I needed to get the full range of movement, but I am not convinced this is necessary.

These days I only do shoulder press with light weights as part of a circuit, usually standing up.

Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Seated Front Barbell Shoulder Press

Even though it has a bit of a muscle-head emphasis, I picked this video because it shows the arms going no lower than the horizontal, which as I mention above, I think reduces the likelihood of injury.

With Sandbag

As seen in the first few seconds of this video. If you are just using the sandbag to press and not for the other exercises they go on to do, then a heavier bag would be needed. Mine is 28kg and I can manage no more than 15 good reps from fresh.


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Burpees

This first video, of the basic burpee, shows how I tend to do these. Some people seem to think that a proper burpee includes a press-up - and I will post a video of this and other tequniques in due course.

Basic Burpee

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Floor Wipers

These give you an isometric chest and tricep workout (where the muscle is under tension but remains static) as well as an ab workout. The video shows this being done on the floor, but I often just do it on the weights bench because otherwise if my chest is already tired I can't get the barbell up (you need a certain amount of weight on there to provide the necessary counter-balance.) It can be a challenge to balance your body on the weight bench, but this forces you to make the movement controlled, which is no bad thing.


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Crutch Balancing

As you can see, this is somewhat experimental, and really just something to pass the time at train stations and bus stops; but it is a demanding activity and would certainly build some strength in the upper body. I imagine a gymnast would be able to execture this with great skill.
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