I love push-ups. All kinds. Most of clients can attest to the fact that I come up with some of the craziest (and difficult!) variations of push-ups that they’ve ever seen. But every once in a while, I like to take the simple, basic push-up and, without changing the form at all, make it one of the hardest push-ups ever. How do I do it? Glad you asked! Continue reading
Today we are going to look at a workout for the fitness novices out there. If you are older, maybe a little out of shape, recovering from an injury, just getting started with your fitness program or simply looking for sustainable progress in your workouts, this post is for you. Continue reading
Yesterday I decided to do something a little bit different in my workout. As an experiment, I wanted to look at the effect lactic acid build up in the muscles had on my ability to throw rubber shuriken (ninja stars) and hit a target. The theory being that as fatigue in the muscles increased, throwing accuracy would decrease. Seems like a solid hypothosis, right? Well, here’s what happened…
Recently the nice folks over at Karate Depot sent me a Door Gym to review. The cool thing about the Door Gym is that it is designed to be used with a multitude of different exercises, not just pull-ups. This is the perfect piece of equipment if you are into minimalist training and need one tool for multiple tasks!
Door Gym is very easy to install. It requires no fasteners, no nails, no screws, and can be installed in the door frame and removed in about one second. Yeah, it’s that easy! My wife also loves the fact that it wedges in and will not mark or damage the door frame. Plus, it took me all of 5 minutes to put it together right out of the package. Which, if you know anything about my assembly skills, is saying a lot!
A great idea for those short on time is the grease the groove method. Simply install the Door Gym in a door frame that you pass frequently during the day. Each time you pass it, bang out a quick set of pull-ups or chin-ups (or whatever exercise you choose). Over the course of a day you will incorporate a ton of volume without burning out. Try it! You can be creative, have fun, and get a great workout at the same time with this piece of equipment.
At $49.95, the Door Gym is a great investment in your health and fitness. Highly recommended by Warrior Fitness!
In our last article on breathing exercises, here, we introduced the concept of using the basic push-up form as a vehicle for training the breath. Today we will continue with the push-up as the outward expression, but take a look at different types of breathing patterns to increase the depth and complexity of the the exercise.
The breath cycle can be broken down into 4 distinct phases of breathing:
Each of these phases can be manipulated within the framework of our exercise to create variation and change the focus of the exercise. Previously we had discussed how to use the inhale and exhale phases of breathing to increase capacity by fitting more movement into each breath. Today we will focus on the other 2 phases, pause after inhale and pause after exhale. These breath holds will allow us to teach the body how to utilize the oxygen it already has more effciently by working longer in a state of oxygen deprivation.
As a side note, please be aware of your body’s physiological response to breathing exercises. In general, inhalation causes a slight increase in tension and blood pressure, while exhalation causes a relaxation response and an accompanying lowering of blood pressure. These effects can be magnified by holding the breath after inhalation and holding the breath after exhalation. Therefore, please proceed with caution.
In this exercise we will be working with the pause after inhalation. Assume the push-up position. Inhale deeply by expanding the belly. Don’t force it. Just inhale as much as comfortable for you. Pause. Do not exhale.
Perform 1 push-up.
Exhale at the top and inhale again. Perform 2 push-ups on the full hold. Exhale at the top portion and then inhale and hold. Perform 3 push-ups on the full hold.
How does it feel?
Can you do 4? 5?
Make sure you are not trying to move faster just because you’re holding the breath.
Perform the push-ups smoothly and in a relaxed manner. A side benefit of this type of work is that it helps you to work under stress. When you can’t breathe, the body begins to panic. Even though your mind knows it’s just an exercise and you can breathe at any time, your body is responding to the lack of air and begins to sound the alarm. Understand this and work with it to teach yourself to remain calm in difficult situations.
Now let’s look at the pause after exhale, or empty hold. You know the drill by now – assume the position!
Inhale and exhale in the top portion of the push-up. Hold on the exhale and do 1 push-up. Inhale and exhale. Do 2 push-ups. Inhale at the top, exhale. Do 3 push-ups.
What do you notice about holding on the exhale versus holding on the inhale?
Much more difficult, right?
Again, note the reaction your body is having to the exercise. Are you speeding up to get through it? Are you using more muscle tension than necessary? How does the increased muscle tension affect your body’s oxygen usage? Relax and slow down. You’ll be able to handle more.
Okay. Time to put it all together. Square breathing means that each of the 4 segments or phases of the breath cycle will be of equal length. For example, inhale to a count of 5, hold on the inhale for a count of 5, exhale for a count of 5, then hold on exhale for a count of 5. The count itself doesn’t matter as long as each part is equal. Obvioudly, the difficultly level can be increased with a higher count and decreased with a lower count. For our purposes, let’s stick with the 5 count for one push-up. Begin in the up portion of the push-up. Don’t move yet, but inhale for a count of 5. Now hold the breath and slowly lower down to a count of 5. At the bottom portion of the push-up, exhale in position for a count of 5. Hold on the exhale and raise yourself back up slowly to a count of 5. Make sense?
Let me know how you make out with the above exercises and if there are any questions you have.
Today we are going to talk about push-ups. I can hear the groans already.
But these aren’t the dull, boring, uninspired push-ups you had to do in grade school gym class for some lame physical fitness challenge. Nor are these the repetitious calisthenics you had to do by the hundreds in Army Boot Camp.
Today, we are using the basic push-up as a tool, a vehicle to study and work our breath. The push-up is simply the form our breathing exercise will take, nothing more.
Sound a little more interesting now?
Let’s explore a little more…
Usually, breathing exercises are done in a very relaxed, non-stressful manner in a seated, or even lying down position.
Not today.
Breathing push-ups will help us explore our breath while moving and while under load.
Why is this important, you ask?
Consider that it’s pretty easy to control your breath while comfortably seated on the mat, and easy to relax while lying down. But how much carryover do those types of breathing exercises have to helping you withstand pressures in real life or stress in fighting? Some, certainly, but their emphasis is different. Please don’t misunderstand here though. We need a myriad of exercises to be able to influence and control physiological processes. The stationary relaxed breathing exercises absolutely do have a place in your tool kit and are important for health, stress relief, and relaxation, but are just not the focus of our discussion today.
Let’s begin in the up portion of the push-up position. Hands should be about shoulder-width apart, elbow pits facing forward. Back is straight, aligned from crown to coccyx. Very important with all the exercises here, do not use any more muscle tension than absolutely necessary to accomplish the exercise. As you progress, you’ll find less and less muscle power is needed for the same result. We’re working toward efficiency here. So, relax as much as possible and remember that the push-up is just the form, the real goal is the breath work.
Begin to inhale slightly before starting the push-up this way your breath leads the way. As you lower down, continue to inhale by expanding your belly.
No chest breathers here!
Pause at the bottom portion, then begin to exhale again slightly before initiating the upward push. The breath should guide the movement.
Play with this for several repetitions trying to really get the feel of the breath leading and supporting the movement.
Now reverse the breathing pattern. Exhale on the way down and inhale on the way up. Same rules apply.
If you feel excessive muscle tension being used, stop. Stand up and lean against a wall or a staircase in the push-up position. This will greatly reduce the demand of the exercise allowing you to concentrate on the breathing aspect while still performing the movement of a push-up. When you feel comfortable with the movement, drop back down to the floor and try again. Keep the same light feeling you had while doing the push-ups against the wall or stairs.
Once you get the hang of the breath leading the movement of the push-up, we will begin to work on expanding your breathing capacity. Here we will stretch out the inhale and exhale to fit more movements into each breath cycle.
For example, begin again in the upward portion of the push-up position. Exhale completely without moving. Begin the inhale slightly before the lowering movement and continue to inhale all the way down and all the way back up. Exhale. Now try to do 2 push-ups on one inhale. If you can do 2, try 3. See how many movements you can fit into one inhale, it’s not easy! Make sure you don’t rush that will only add tension and gas you out even quicker. Maintain relaxation and an even pace throughout.
Once you’ve done a few reps by expanding your inhale, try to do the same thing on an exhale. Start in the top portion of the push-up, inhale completely without moving. Begin your exhale slightly before the downward movement and continue through the whole push-up. Try 2, 3, 4, see how many reps you can do on one exhale.
One way to do this in a set is to do a breathing ladder. Do one push-up on one inhale. Exhale at the top. Then do 2 push-ups on one inhale. Exhale at the top. Then do 3 push-ups on one inhale. Exhale at the top. Try to do 4 on one inhale. Now, reverse it, inhale at the top and do 4 push-ups on one exhale. Then 3 on one exhale. Then 2. Then one push-up on one exhale. Get the idea?
Hopefully this is a fun and productive exercise for you. Let me know how it works and if you have any questions!
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this article where we’ll discuss breath holding.
