Fast and Furious Fitness

All,

Pushups are an excellent, but oft-forgotten exercise that can be used to get in great shape, and fast. I’ve written many times about this fantastic exercise, but it’s never enough, and today, I’ll cover the benefits of doing pushups, as well as include a small tip on how to do ‘em better.

There is a reason why the pushup is a staple in the workouts of most professional atheletes, the military, and martial artists. Take a look at boxers and wrestlers - they do hundreds of pushups (and squats) daily. The same goes for the military (drop and give me 20!) - as well as martial artists. There should be no further reason as to why YOU should include them into your workout as well, but for some reason, pushups have slipped out of favor with the “gym crowd”, who instead focus on the bench press, dumbell or barbell curls, while ignoring the old favorite.

Now I’m not saying those exercises are bad per se (though bench pressing is known to have caused injuries for many) - but what I’m saying is that the pushup is a FAR better choice than MOST of the chest building exercises out there. Pushups done correctly work the entire body as a single unit - and if you do different types of pushups as I adovcate, your working the back, chest, arms, hips, legs - and even your toes.

Let’s see - the regular pushups work the legs, chest, back, shoulders, and triceps. The tablemakers and reverse pushups work the back and legs a lot more - while the extended arm pushup is primarily shoulders, lower back, and core. So as you can see, there isn’t a muscle that isn’t worked. And if your worried about the biceps and fingers, fingertip pushups take care of that minor detail as well.

In addition, high-rep pushup workouts build amazing lung power and endurance - try it, and see!

And perhaps best of all - pushups require no equipment, and a minimal time investment (I take about 8 minutes or so to bang out 100 assorted pushups). Can’t ask for more (or less) - can you??

Now, on to the tip - to make your form even better while performing this excellent exercise, focus on your thighs during the movement. Yes, that’s right - the thighs! Make sure your form is perfect - and then really “dig” your toes into the ground, while flexing the thighs hard. This little detail will make your pushups that much better, improve form - and give your core one hell of a workout (flexing the thighs in that position automatically taxes the core muscles).

So without further ado - get on those pushups! You’ll be glad you did once you see the changes for the better in your body.

All for now.

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul

Dear Reader,

Yes, I know it’s been quite a while since the last update, and I apologize. Been extremely busy with a lot of things, dealing with an annoying Internet connection (HA!) and similar stuff. I’ve been hitting my workouts hard as usual, but just haven’t been able to post as much as I’d like to have. . .

Anyway, it’s time to pick up where we left off - and, today, I’m going to cove how a simple change in one of my favorite exercises the “extended arm pushup” makes all the difference as to how the exercise hits your body.

Loyal readers of this blog have noticed that I’m a strong advocate of a) making changes to your exercise routine every now and then and b) “revisiting” an exercise i.e. to perfect execution, form, speed, all of which control how the exercise impacts your body.

And b) brings us to today’s tip: - Instead of looking ahead as I mention on the information page, look towards the floor while performing this pushup. This might sound strange, as I’ve stressed the importance of looking ahead and keeping the neck straight while doing pushups - but remember, we’re taxing the body differently here. The regular pushup, while working the whole body as a whole, taxes the arms, chest and upper/mid back far more than the lower back, which simply servers as a “stabilizing” agent during the process. However, the extended arm pushup is specifically aimed at the lower back, and thus one should think of the arms and shoulders as stabilizing agents, while most of the “lifting” work should be done by the lower back.

You’ll notice that you’ll tend to use the upper back a lot more when looking ahead - and that you bring the lower back into play when your looking “down” while executing this particular pushup. Given that the part of your body that goes “up” during this pushups is the hips and lower back (as compared to the chest and upper back during the regular pushup), it only makes sense to concentrate on those muscles more during this movement.

You’ll see that performing the exercise this way REALLY brings out the muscles in the lower back, and mid-lower back to a degree. Try it and see - it’ll work your back in an entirely different manner than if you look ahead while doing it!

You’ll also find that your “digging in” harder with your toes to maintain your balance - this is because your lower back will be doing most of the “lifting”, and will naturally demand some assistance from the hip/thigh muscles as well to maintain the correct position. Net result - a super overall body workout!

And of course, it goes without saying that this is a GREAT exercise - provided it’s done in good form, which goes without saying for any exercise, really.

That’s it for now - and it’s definitely the end of the “hiatus” as far as posting is concerned. Do write in with your comments, and let me know how your training has been going - and as always - get fit - FAST!

All for now,

Rahul

All,

Let’s face it, your workout is something you need to enjoy. I mean if its something you should be doing daily, and have to do daily, then it’s going to get real hard to keep up (no matter how disciplined you are), if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing to an extent.

Of course, thats not to say that the workout should be a lark, and “easy”, or any of those things. Your workout SHOULD be tough (and that should be something you enjoy), rigourous - all that. But, sometimes, you just need to “relax” into the workout, and enjoy what your doing, without worrying too much about sets, reps, benefits, etc etc.

This is what I did today. I was feeling like doing something different, so I started my routine - and kept going - but, I did so slowly. I concentrated on perfecting EACH rep, and enjoying the work the muscle was getting (yes, I know this sounds cryptic but those of you that have been training a while will get it), instead of focusing too much on time, and other factors. Added in some more exercises, did some more reps on some of the usual ones. And I ended up completing my workout in about an hour instead of the usual 40-45 minute blast. Fair enough - I enjoyed every minute!!

I don’t advocate doing this daily, obviously - your workout should generally be short and sweet. Fast and furious, short and sweet, whatever tickles your fancy. . .But, remember it’s not always about setting personal records, or beating the clock. Sometimes, just sometimes, you need to relax into the workout, and just enjoy how things are going.

And you may find that despite not trying to, you’ll hit personal bests (or close to it) on many exercises. I know I did so on extended arm pushups today!

And bottom line is, if you’ve been training a while, then this type of routine will actually help you “recover” both mentally, and physcially - and give you a great workout while doing so.

Try it - and let me know how it goes!

Enjoy,

Rahul

All,

Today, I’m going to write about one of the secrets to improving in all your exercises. Actually, it shouldn’t even be called a secret the way I look at it - it’s basically the “mind-muscle” link. And, I’m going to explain how I implement it into my exercises, and how it’s helped me - and can help YOU improve in your exercises.

This link is actually one of the most important keys to progress in any exercise, but especially a tough exercise. I find it most useful while doing pull ups and extended arm pushups, and I’ll cover how I implement this principle into those exercises.

First, it’s important to know that each exercise (at least, the ones I recommended) uses the entire body as a whole, but also has a “primary” group of muscles being worked. Usually that primary group of muscles being worked is the “largest” muscle group in that part of the body, and it consequently follows that these are going to contribute the most to improvement in that exercise.

With that in mind, it becomes VERY important to “focus” on the primary muscle being worked. Heck, I should say “focus into”, or “go deep into” the muscle being worked, even if you can’t see it being worked. This will automatically force your body to a) use that muscle all the more actively, and b) focus on form as well, and both of these will result in overall improvement.

Pull ups are an exercise which demand a lot of focus for many people, including me (yes, even me, even after all the training I do). Same goes for extended arm pushups. To get the most out of the pull ups, I focus intensely on the muscles underneath my arms (the lats) and focus on “pulling up” with THOSE muscles, rather than the arms as many people are prone to do. I focus on the back, and really “squeeze” the muscles being worked while performing my pull ups, rather than my arms. And this has lent itself to manifold improvement for me when doing my pull ups.

The same goes for doing my extended arm pushups. The primary muscle groups being worked here are the lower back and the lats, therefore, I focus on keeping a) my lower back straight and tight, b)pushing up with the lower body instead of the chest, and c) really engaging the lats much the same way as I do with the pull ups. And this may sound strange, considering we’re talking about pushups - but for those of you who’ve actually done this exercise in the right way - you’ll know what I’m talking about!!

So - focus on the muscle being worked, and really “get into” it. This one tip will prove to be invaluable when it comes to improving in the tougher exercises. Actually, all exercises.

All for today. Get fit - FAST!

Rahul

Dear Reader,

After the squat, and it’s variations, the next exercise that should be in everyone’s routine is the pushup. This one exercise alone will strengthen your entire body from head to toe, and is well worth the time and effort invested in performing the exercise - which, if done correctly, is not a lot of time at all. I get a 100 odd pushups in about 10 minutes or so, and that ain’t a long time to train.

1. Pushups train the ENTIRE body - when done in all it’s variations, pushups train the forearms, fingers, arms, wrists, shoulders, traps, entire back and - gasp - even your legs (thighs, hips, buttocks, and calves). Your feet get work as well, so this is literally an “entire body” exercise.

2. The “pushing” movement involved while doing pushups builds strength throughout the ENTIRE body. Pushups, when done correctly give you a solid cardiovascular workout as well. Try doing a 100 pushups (or, however many sets it takes you to get there) in GOOD form in 10 minutes or less. It ain’t easy. And the deep breathing involved while doing pushups makes you get stronger throughout your entire body.

3. Pushups can be done by virtually anyone, and require NO equipment except your body. And due to the fact that your entire body participates in this exercise, it is often easier to do for trainees that are just starting out, or trainees that are slightly overweight.

You may not be able to do too many pullups - but, the pushups is something just about anyone can work up to.

And NO, pushups are not the “easy” exercise they are made out to be. They DO have major strength benefits. You’d think this would be obvious; the Marines do a huge number of these on a regular basis, and last time I checked, a Marine was pretty damn strong. Likewise for boxers and wrestlers - pushups done in high repititions along with squats and bridging form the basis of their workouts as well.

Pushups give you REAL, FUNCTIONAL strength that just cannot be gotten from other pushing exercises involving weights. And that’s something you can’t beat.

Here is a 10-12 minute workout that’s guaranteed to get the lungs pumping, and the entire body working as a whole: -

- 25 regular pushups
- 20 tablemaker pushups
- 5-10 Reverse pushups
- 10 Arms extended pushups
- 15 regular pushups
- 10-15 tablemaker pushups
- 5-10 reverse pushups
- 10 arms extended pushups
- 10 fingertip pushups

(Information on how to do the exercises can be found on the site - see “information section” for same)

So, about 110 - 130 odd pushups, in about 12 minutes or so. I cannot also emphasize enough the importance of FORM and BREATHING; do either of these incorrectly, and you might as well not do the routine.

And for those of you that are wondering - yes, I’ve used this routine. Used it in today’s workout, as a matter of fact. . .

And if you can do that without breaking too much of a sweat (though I’ll be honest - I don’t know too many people that can), then no problem. Let me know, and I’ll put together a routine for you that’ll have you puffing in on time - and, it will involve nothing other than pushups.

Bottom line - train your pushups hard, and without fail! The rewards you reap in terms of physical strength, conditioning and fitness will be well worth it.

Rahul