Sunday, March 2nd, 2008

  Pulling for Success(featuring the USA)
Deadlift, glute/ham raise horizontal rows and chin-ups are covered in the Big Nine, but what else out there can do your back some good?

 Superman
This is the beginner, go-to exercise for lower back, posterior chain activation. Lying on your stomach, simply raise your arms and legs off the floor. This can be performed for repetition or with static holds for time.



 Face Pull
Another top pick for posture correction, and an excellent way to target the posterior deltoid (rear shoulder) and upper back. This can be performed by simply tossing a towel over a chin-up bar, leaning back and pulling your hands back towards the face, (hence the name; face pull). The farther you lean back the more resistance you get, though this is an exercise usually performed lightly.



 Back Bridge
Very popular exercise for full body stabilization and flexibility, neck strengthening and protection, the benefits list goes on for back bridge. Be careful with any neck exercise, and use your hands to stabilize your head when starting out. Back bridge is commonly performed in repetition by rolling back and forth between the positions picture, or with static hold, but there are many other variations of this exercise.



 Reverse Hyper Extension
Another excellent addition to your arsenal for lower back. The reverse hyper takes things a bit further than the superman by being a hip extension exercise (along the lines of deadlift). Very easy to perform off of a counter-top, table or bed. Simply hang your lower body over the side and raise your legs up keeping the back straight at all times (no rounding).



 Bridging Pull
Now, here is something a little different. The bridging pull-up could be described as a bodyweight upright row or mixing a back bridge with a face pull. This exercise is performed similar to a horizontal row, only the body is held in a full bridging position. Retaining the bridge position, pull your hands up to your neck. This can also be performed with a towel, but I find a stable bar to be uncomfortable for this motion. It is meant to target the middle deltoids, traps and rear deltoids. Combined with wide-grip horizontal rows, you can get a great workout for the rear delts.



There are many more exercises out there. Research and find what works best for you!




Monday, January 7th, 2008

  My free bodyweight training guide is released!

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 Articles:
 20 Level Challenge Training
 Six Week Warrior
 Big Nine (PDF)
 Get a Chin-up Bar
 Why They are rich... (rant)

 What's on the 'tube
 Free Ab Wheel
 Year old Juggling vid
 Squat Rx (watch them all)


 Sites I like:
 T-Nation
 Bodyweight Culture
 Beast Skills
 Gym Jones
 KYDA.com
 Freedom Footbags



 Learn More:
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