BODYWEIGHT BASICS - Bodyweight Training - Functional Fitness Without Weights

As I have mentioned previously, I have really been having some great results with adding rope jumping into my workouts. Here's a look at what I did for yesterdays workout:

I like to train over by the basketball arena here in town. You can see for a couple miles in each direction - makes you feel like King of The World.

So anyhow, yesterday I strapped on a heart rate monitor, grabbed my Jump rope, and headed on over.

As a side note, I recommend having a good heart rate monitor, it's nice to know how hard you are actually working. You can get a pretty basic model relatively inexpensively.

I also recommend having a digital watch with a timer function.

The order of the day was pretty simple:

In the workout I mentioning a few days ago I suggested rope jumping sprints - 30 seconds on/30 seconds off for 10 minutes as a good one to try.

I figured that might be fine for normal people but I like to push the limit so I went for that schedule for 20 minutes straight.

I averaged somewhere between 108 and 87 jumps per 30 second 'round.'

Let me tell you, this really gets the blood pumping. I also like the fact that the wrist rotation helps increase recovery and cut down on forearm soreness from tough grip workouts.

When the 20 minutes were up, I did four additional rounds - two rounds of vacuums and two rounds of the Farmer Burns Stomach flattener.

The interesting thing is that my heart rate kept the same pattern for the breathing exercise stuff and didn't drop until I was all through. Seems like the motor was still running, even when it was still in park, so to speak.

It was a great workout, a relatively simple one, but also as challenging
as you want to make it.

Give it a shot sometime and let us know how it goes.

Train hard,
John Wood

Labels: Cardio, Jumping Rope, Training Ideas

About three months ago I happened to catch a few minutes of one of those old boxing shows on cable. Something they showed was a few minutes of one of the all time greats - Sugar Ray Robinson - jumping rope.

The man looked like a machine -- it was an amazing sight.

This triggered something from way back and I thought it might be a nifty idea to add jump roping to my training. I made a mental note to get one but it got I filed back in my mind somewhere and I forgot about it shortly thereafter.

It so happens that less than a week later, a friend gave me a brand new jump rope, the very same kind that I planned to get.

Hows that for some crazy, mystical, cosmic thing?

And so, on my conditioning days, I added rope jumping to the mix.

The first time out let me tell you, 120 seconds doesn't sound like a long time but trying to keep jumping all out for that long seemed like an eternity,especially since I hadn't jumped rope since grade school.

But, like most things, the more I did it, the better I got.

The thing about jumping rope is that you know when you slow down, -- you can feel it, and you also know you can go just a little bit faster than you are at any given time.

Most times I will combine rope jumping with other kinds of conditioning work. Something I had a lot of success with was sprinting a 400 followed by a minute of rope jumping. I did this six times and it's a killer.

I have also used jump roping as its own workout. 30 seconds on/30 seconds
off' for 10 minutes will let you know if you are in shape or not.

Those are just a few ideas.

The truth is, I have enjoyed this kind of training (about as much as I could, given the circumstances.) and thats why I keep doing it.

Something to think about if you are lacking in the cardio department.

Train hard,
John Wood

P.S. Want to get started today? - Heres the jump rope I use:
Lifeline Power Jumprope

Labels: Cardio, Jumping Rope, Training Ideas

We have been getting some very good questions sent in and our buddy Denny from Australia recently sent in a great one. The topic of this one is focused on bodyweight training but the answer can be applied to any kind of training so I going to send it out to everyone.

Youll see what I mean, take a look:

Hi John,

I have been hard at weight training for a couple of years now, started with Dinosaur training then recently moved onto the HIT program, which makes good sense.

I have been interested in the bodyweight training for a while but there seems to be a few programs through which to begin any serious endeavors.

There is Matt Furey's, Brad Johnson's and the esteemed Brooks Kubik's new program.

Where to start???

Thanks man.

Denny

Denny, great question, one that is relevant in many situations. It usedto be that training information was often tough to come by as there were only a few sources. These days, there is so much information and so many options
that it is easy to become confused.

Fortunately, there is a very simple solution to this but before I tell you, I want
you to read something:

"Most basketball players appropriate fragments of other players styles and thus develop their own. This is what [Bill] Bradley has done but one of the things that set him apart from nearly everyone else is that the process has been conscious rather than osmotic.

His Jump shot, for example, has had two principles influences. One is Jerry West, who has one of the best jumpers in basketball. [The other was Terry Dischinger of the Detroit Pistons who always slams his foot to the floor on the last step before a jump shot because this stops his momentum and prevents drift.]

Bradley's graceful hook shot is a masterpiece of eclecticism. It consists of the high-lifted knee of the Los Angeles Lakers Darral Imhoff, the arms of Bill Russell, of the Boston Celtics, who extends his idle hand far under his shooting arm and thus agically stabilizes the shot, and the general corporeal of Kentucky's Cotton Nash.

His set shot is borrowed from Ed Macauley who was a St. Louis University All- American in the late forties and was later a star member of the Boston Celtics and the St. Louis Hawks."

The previous excerpt is from 'A Sense of Where you Are' by John McPhee, a fantastic biography of the great basketball player Bill Bradley. If you get a chance to read it, I would very highly recommend checking it out even if you aren't a basketball fan

Anyhow, the reason I bring this up is to point out how a very important principle of success is to learn as much as you possibly can then take bits and pieces of what is relevant and apply them to your own individual situation. Then discard what is not necessary

Keep in mind this technique can and should be done for every kind of training.

Let me give you a few good examples of the 'pieces' I have assembled from various points in my training:

Full body training techniques from Arthur Jones
Thick bar training from George Jowett
Log Bar training from Dr. Ken Leistner
Bodyweight movements from Combat Conditioning by Matt Furey
Breathing exercises from Thomas Inch
Power rack work from Brooks Kubik
Lower body training from Super Squats
Phonebook tearing techniques from Dennis Rogers
Attitude from Kim Wood

These are just a few off the top of my head and I could easily name many more. They key here with all the different training courses, is again, to take what you need from each of them and apply them as needed to give your training your own unique sense of style.

All a training course -- any training course -- can do is make you think: 'That looks interesting, but how can I apply this to my own workout?"

This is a question, of course, that you will have to figure out on your own, but it can be done, and be done very effectively, at least for those who decide to put it into action.

All things CAN yield knowledge as TS says.

Train hard,
John Wood

If you would like some extremely creative ideas on bodyweight training, here is
a tremendous resource that you would be well advised to check out:
Bodyweight Exercises for Extraordinary Strength by Brad Johnson

Labels: Basketball, Bodyweight Training, Training Thought

Lots of questions. How do you train? What do you do on which day? How to do incorporate bodyweight training and weight training? Where does the grip training come in and how long does that take?

My workout will vary from time to time but for the last eight weeks or so, it has looked like this:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Upper Body
Lower Body
Abs
Neck
Grip
Breathing Exercises
Muscle Control
Bridging
Pushups

Takes roughly 45 minutes and unlike most people, I usually lift late at night before I go to bed.

Tuesday/Thursday

Stadium steps (if the stadium isn’t locked up)

Or

Track + Jump Rope
Pushups

I run in the early evenings, 6:pm or so. These workouts usually take 20-30 minutes depending on venue and goal for the day.

With the weather getting warmer and all, I am considering adding an extra day or two of conditioning work.

My equipment selection varies. Depending on my overall goals for the particular workout and whatever I feel like using, my workout will include some combination of an Olympic set, kettlebells, sandbags, thick bars, Log Bar, short ropes, hand grippers, Hammer Gripper, Ivanko Super Gripper or sledge hammers. Bodyweight movements are performed barefoot on a section of wrestling mat.

Yes, that’s it but the real "secret" to why this works so well isn’t found in the exercises themselves. Keep looking at what I wrote – maybe you’ll find it.

Train hard.
John Wood

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Labels: Grip Training, Training Ideas

One of the reasons I created my new bodyweight training site was because there are so many different and interesting ways to apply bodyweight training into a workout program.

I think that everyone will benefit in knowing about them and then applying any techniques which many prove valuable.

The style that most people are familiar with is bodyweight calisthenics which include various kinds of pushups, pull-ups, situps squats and more.

Bodyweight calisthenics can supplement a workout or, if you do them right, can be a workout all by themselves. I personally like to combine bodyweight calisthenics with weight training as I find that the two compliment each other very well.

And yes, in case you're wondering, most of the same workout 'rules' as far as how to get stronger apply to bodyweight training which should ideally eliminate a lot of confusion.

Now, beyond the calisthenics, 'bodyweight training' can also refer to:

1. Flexibility work
2. Breathing Exercises
3. Yoga
4. Muscle Control
5. Tai Chi
6. Metabolic conditioning workouts
7. Isometrics
8. dynamic self resistance
9. Partner Workouts
10. Gymnastics
11. 'Internal' power (Chi) development
12. Wrestling
13. Ribcage expansion and chest development
14. Military Training
15. Balance and Footwork

And that's off the top of my head. Im sure we will think of many more as time goes on and each one of them will be covered in detail.

Now, one thing that I think also should be cleared up is that you can get a tremendous workout with nothing more than your own bodyweight by there can be certain bodyweight oriented apparati that will enable certain advantages that cant be had any other way.

Im talking about things like climbing ropes, climbing ladders, pullup and/or
dip bars, pushup handles, parallettes, jump ropes, the peg board and more. You can certainly be able to train without any of this, but these pieces of equipment can not only keep your workouts fresh but provide an incredible personal challenge to see just how far you can take it. We have more on the way yet so keep an eye out for those.

In addition to the exercises and training methods we are also going to be looking at some of the ways that these ideas were actually implemented.

For example, did you know that many of the medical practitioners of Ancient Greece wrote extensively of the benefits of wrestling and rope climbing?

Or that the Roman emperor Constantine the Great is thought to have 'invented' pushups as a means for his legionaires to build strength for battle?

Then of course there is the long and facinating history of Indian Physical culture which we have not even scratched the surface of.

All of these topics and more will be covered and it is going to be an exciting ride for anyone with an interest in physical training.

Train hard,
John Wood

P.S. The biggest surprise of the new website has been the incredible interest in
Brad Johnsons outstanding new training book. See it for yourself right here.

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Labels: Bodyweight Training, Pegboard, Training History, Training Ideas