Hi everybody,

(Hi, dr. Nick...)

I just found these sites, since I'm pretty new to bodyweight exercices I have no idea if they're BS or not. Can I have your insight?

http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/shenandoah/OBB/OBB.html
--> It shows a lot of exercices on the end of the page.

http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competition/Wittenberg/witt-intro.htm
--> This site looks a lot like some site I've seen from Farmer Burns, which has been discussed on this forum allready.

http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/index.html
--> Just seems like an interesting site to me...

I would have searched those 2 first sites myself here on this forum, but the search function doesn't work somehow. (It did work when I became a member here, I think about a month ago)

Thanks for helping me out, guys. (Thanks for the info here on Matt Furey, luckily I only just downloaded his book illegaly, instead of buying it)
Cheers

They are not BS if done correctly. I'm switching to an almost BW-only routine during weekdays, leaving only front squats, barbell rows, leg curls/extensions, chin ups and lunges on Sats and Sundays. On weekdays/weeknights, my main exercises are burbees and one-hand push ups (or jumping push ups, whichever I feel like doing).

Things like burpees (http://youtube.com/watch?v=c_Dq_NCzj8M) and jumping/clasping push ups when done to failure are murder and make your heart almost jump out of your throat. In fact, jumping push ups (and specially star jumping push ups) hit my chest far better than bench presses without killing my shoulders.

This is one type of push ups I do (without the ball though, http://youtube.com/watch?v=U4YevblOsUU)

For legs, pistols (http://www.powerathletesmag.com/pages/pistols.htm) are a bitch as well.

The key is to be warmed up properly and then push yourself to do the exercises - within reason of course, but the ideal is to do them to failure. I see people doing only 10 clasping push ups, then take 5 minute breaks, do another set of 10 and then move to something else. And then they wonder if BW exercises are BS or not.

The only tricky part is working on your back and biceps. The only way to work them out (bodyweight style) is via chin ups/pull ups. For all other body parts, I seriously believe they can be hit really hard with BW alone. ****, I'm becoming addictive to BW.

They are not BS if done correctly. I'm switching to an almost BW-only routine during weekdays, leaving only front squats, barbell rows, leg curls/extensions, chin ups and lunges on Sats and Sundays. On weekdays/weeknights, my main exercises are burbees and one-hand push ups (or jumping push ups, whichever I feel like doing).

Things like burpees (http://youtube.com/watch?v=c_Dq_NCzj8M) and jumping/clasping push ups when done to failure are murder and make your heart almost jump out of your throat. In fact, jumping push ups (and specially star jumping push ups) hit my chest far better than bench presses without killing my shoulders.

This is one type of push ups I do (without the ball though, http://youtube.com/watch?v=U4YevblOsUU)

For legs, pistols (http://www.powerathletesmag.com/pages/pistols.htm) are a bitch as well.

The key is to be warmed up properly and then push yourself to do the exercises - within reason of course, but the ideal is to do them to failure. I see people doing only 10 clasping push ups, then take 5 minute breaks, do another set of 10 and then move to something else. And then they wonder if BW exercises are BS or not.

The only tricky part is working on your back and biceps. The only way to work them out (bodyweight style) is via chin ups/pull ups. For all other body parts, I seriously believe they can be hit really hard with BW alone. ****, I'm becoming addictive to BW.

Pushing yourself is good, but I don't think training to failure is the ideal, nor even necessary. I'm typing 'from the hip' on this though so my memory may be off. (For that matter, I bet you could find compelling arguments on both sides of the fence.)

Instead, try doing a given number "for time" (as fast as possible with as much rest as needed). For example: Start a stop watch, do 150 burpees (partitioned with as much rest as is needed), stop the stop watch at the end.

Gradually, you should be able to improve both the numbers performed in each 'set' with lest ress and an overall speedier time.

I think this work more efficiently than going to failure -- which, in most of my recent readings -- generally seems to be ill-regarded by professional coaches.

Just my 2 cents.

Maybe some day with body weight exercises you all can have a body like mine =p.

You just have to have a big fat body so you get the most from your bodyweight workouts.

MUAHAHAHAHAHA! So as we lose weight, we decrease the resistance and increase the reps :tongue3:

I'm becoming quite addicted to BW workouts. Just FYI, I bought Rhadi Ferguson workout DVD a few days ago. Quite simple, seemingly unimpressive production. But they way he selected the BW exercises, it really becomes a bitch to do them.

My favorite exercise from that DVD is the explosive star push up - first time I've ever seen it. I'm working out with my g/f tonight, and I'll ask her to film me while I do one set for you guys to see and critique.

daGorilla, I hear ya. For me, I like to do them to failure or near failure as it gives me some sort of mental accomplishment. Another way I do them is by having sets of a fixed number of reps and do many of them.

For example, I usually follow up front squats with push ups. I keep the set of push ups to 40 reps. As soon as I finish a set of squats, I drop and do 40. And immediately I go back to the squat rack.

After a few of those, doing 40 push ups become a set done to failure. By the end, I can only do 25, after which I have to pause for a few secs and push myself until I get 40.

Front squats are perhaps the only non-BW I will never replace. They are too good to abandon.

One other thing to keep in mind about going to failure is that your mind will tell you you're out of gas before you actually are. It takes discipline to go past the point where you think you're at failure, and to actual failure, in my experience.

Personally, I like burpees and jumping push ups. They feel like great conditioning exercises.


This is one type of push ups I do (without the ball though, http://youtube.com/watch?v=U4YevblOsUU)

Is there a benefit to having the push up be so shallow?

Wish I could pull it up somewhere. I think it was a Pride event where it was mentioned that the Carlos Newton's physique was all body weight exercises.

www.bodyweightculture.com

Wish I could pull it up somewhere. I think it was a Pride event where it was mentioned that the Carlos Newton's physique was all body weight exercises.The more and more that I play with BW exercises, the more I believe it's possible. Don't know if it's true, but I'm starting to be a believer. For example, one set of pistols hit the legs like a good set of bench presses.


Personally, I like burpees and jumping push ups. They feel like great conditioning exercises.Those are my favorites. Another one is the reverse duck walk.



This is one type of push ups I do (without the ball though, http://youtube.com/watch?v=U4YevblOsUU)

Is there a benefit to having the push up be so shallow?What do you mean by shallow??? Do you mean in not going deep? If so, that's why I don't like using the ball. It doesn't allow me to go deep in the push up. Also, it's always possible to miss the balance on the ball == major ouch-like **** up (I need to be careful with my girly wrists.)

To add a kick to that exercise, you can do a jumping push up with the hand that's about to go up. In Rhadi's DVD, there is a similar exercise, without the medicine ball of course. As you bring your hand up, say your right hand, you kick your left leg diagonally and do a toe touch with your right hand (and the same is done with the other side of the body.)

What do you mean by shallow??? Do you mean in not going deep? If so, that's why I don't like using the ball. It doesn't allow me to go deep in the push up.

yeah thats what I meant. Looked like the wussiest push up ever. Wondered if there was a particular reason he was shortchanging himself so much.


To add a kick to that exercise, you can do a jumping push up with the hand that's about to go up. In Rhadi's DVD, there is a similar exercise, without the medicine ball of course. As you bring your hand up, say your right hand, you kick your left leg diagonally and do a toe touch with your right hand (and the same is done with the other side of the body.)

sounds interesting, I'll probably try it out. I'm headed to the gym now, actually, gonna be doin a lot of medicine ball and bodyweight **** as I'm still in recovery mode.

yeah thats what I meant. Looked like the wussiest push up ever. Wondered if there was a particular reason he was shortchanging himself so much.



sounds interesting, I'll probably try it out. I'm headed to the gym now, actually, gonna be doin a lot of medicine ball and bodyweight **** as I'm still in recovery mode.I wouldn't call it wussy since alternating hands on top of that ball is not cakewalk. With and without the medicine ball, the main concentration is on the shoulders and on the core. Even with one-hand push ups, I still hit my core and midsection a lot more than my chest.

The medicine ball it's something I find waaaaay too risky without additional benefits. To hit the pecs, I rather use jump push ups, or the regular push ups. Once you use both hands, the pecs are fully engaged.

MUAHAHAHAHAHA! So as we lose weight, we decrease the resistance and increase the reps :tongue3:

I'm becoming quite addicted to BW workouts. Just FYI, I bought Rhadi Ferguson workout DVD a few days ago. Quite simple, seemingly unimpressive production. But they way he selected the BW exercises, it really becomes a bitch to do them.

My favorite exercise from that DVD is the explosive star push up - first time I've ever seen it. I'm working out with my g/f tonight, and I'll ask her to film me while I do one set for you guys to see and critique.

daGorilla, I hear ya. For me, I like to do them to failure or near failure as it gives me some sort of mental accomplishment. Another way I do them is by having sets of a fixed number of reps and do many of them.

For example, I usually follow up front squats with push ups. I keep the set of push ups to 40 reps. As soon as I finish a set of squats, I drop and do 40. And immediately I go back to the squat rack.

After a few of those, doing 40 push ups become a set done to failure. By the end, I can only do 25, after which I have to pause for a few secs and push myself until I get 40.

Front squats are perhaps the only non-BW I will never replace. They are too good to abandon.

I like front squats as well, and back squats and deadlifts. I pretty much gave up all the stupid machines and isolation exercises a long time ago, in favor of BW (dips, pullups, etc.), olympic lifts, and gymnastics-style conditioning (integrated with martial arts training).

For some reason, I'm fairly strong at deadlifting. I only started deadlifting maybe within the last two years, but I've made good strides in it. I think my deadlifting progress outpaced my squat progress significantly, although I do full ass-to-grass squats, so the numbers for those will always lag a bit.

Deadlifting, by the way, is a great all around strength builder without adding weight to your body. I read at least one article where elite runners had deadlifting programs integrated into their regular running routines. The runners all improved their speed. Bottom line was deadlifts made for stronger legs (able to generate more power pushing off the ground) without adding pounds to their frames, and their sprints/run times improved.

I like front squats as well, and back squats and deadlifts. I pretty much gave up all the stupid machines and isolation exercises a long time ago, in favor of BW (dips, pullups, etc.), olympic lifts, and gymnastics-style conditioning (integrated with martial arts training).

For some reason, I'm fairly strong at deadlifting. I only started deadlifting maybe within the last two years, but I've made good strides in it. I think my deadlifting progress outpaced my squat progress significantly, although I do full ass-to-grass squats, so the numbers for those will always lag a bit.

Deadlifting, by the way, is a great all around strength builder without adding weight to your body. I read at least one article where elite runners had deadlifting programs integrated into their regular running routines. The runners all improved their speed. Bottom line was deadlifts made for stronger legs (able to generate more power pushing off the ground) without adding pounds to their frames, and their sprints/run times improved.

Oh man, I totally believe that. Back in school, I saw the members of the track-n-field team doing deadlifts and olympic lifts as their primary exercises outside of the track.

My favorite is front squats, ass-to-grass as well, and regular squats every now and then. I have to be careful, though. This last Sunday, I got one of those "pops" on my hip when going trying (incrementally) to go heavy on a set of squats. I believe I was properly warmed up, had a belt and with proper form, and it wasn't anything really heavy (a set of 275lbs in preparation for 315lbs 6-8 reps).

Anyways, on the way up of the second rep, something popped on my right hip and had to stop. The pain is there, almost gone, nothing debilitating, but annoying (and worrysome). I think I'll stick to front squats and a moderately high rep count (15-20), and whorify bodyweight exercises. I'm not a youngster anymore, and I can't afford stupid lumbar injuries.

Last night I had salmon and crown royal on the rocks with my g/f, and I asked her to film me while doing sampling some of the BW exercises I got from Rhadi's DVD. I'm uploading them on youtube now for you guys to comment/critique ;)

My favorite is front squats, ass-to-grass as well, and regular squats every now and then. I have to be careful, though. This last Sunday, I got one of those "pops" on my hip when going trying (incrementally) to go heavy on a set of squats. I believe I was properly warmed up, had a belt and with proper form, and it wasn't anything really heavy (a set of 275lbs in preparation for 315lbs 6-8 reps).

Booyah! Anything in the neighborhood of a 300LB squat ass to grass is damn strong. My max is around 200, and I seldom get near it unless I'm somewhere I can dish the weight if I get stuck (talk about embarassing...). My best deadlift, by comparison, is about 350, or slightly over 2X my bodyweight.

What kills me are these clowns that slap 300 pounds onto a bar and then "squat" to barely a 45 degree angle and call that a squat. I'm sure they like to brag to all their buddies how they squat 300 pounds, too. :)

I'm at that age where I've learned...mostly... to check my ego at the door or I'll wind up injured. I'm much happier doing shorter, intense, smarter workouts than trying to keep up with my inner twenty-year-old, who spent way too much time at the gym and vastly overtrained.

I've still had more than my share of injuries as of late (shoulders, mainly -- probably from a variety of sources but I'm thinking some Ring dips/Pushups may have contributed) -- but one bad pop, crack, or hint of something getted fucked up, and I pack it in and call it a day (or at least lower the damn weight...).

-daGorilla