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6 Low Impact Exercises | Exercises For Beginners

6 Low Impact Exercises | Exercises For Beginners

by | Nov 21, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Functional Fitness, Push Ups, Suspension Trainer

When you’re first starting out, or even first starting back to training, it can be so easy to jump in and end up doing moves we aren’t yet ready for.

Not only can this make us so sore we struggle to get consistent with our training, but it can also lead to injury while holding us back from achieving results.

As stinky as it is to have to sometimes go back to basics, we need to regress to progress and master those fundamental movement patterns first.

We need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to build our mind-body connection so we aren’t just going through the motions with moves but actually using the correct muscles to power the movements.

This will not only help us rebuild faster, but it can even help us build up stronger.

We have to remember that every movement is earned and built off of these basics.

That’s why I wanted to share 6 fundamental moves I not only return to myself and use as part of my workouts but use with any of my clients rebuilding after time off or just starting back.

These bodyweight moves can help you get in a full-body workout and retrain a variety of movement patterns from pressing to pulling to hip hinging and squatting!

 

6 Moves Beginners Should Master First:

#1: Bulldog Hold

This move looks so simple, but it is more challenging than we give it credit for. It’s a great way to vary our plank work and improve our shoulder, hip and knee stability.

Not only will this move work your arms, shoulders and abs, but you’ll also feel those quads burning.

It’s a great way to strengthen your quads if you can’t perform active knee flexion yet even.

And off of this move, you can build up to fun plank variations as well as crawling movements!

To do the Bulldog Hold, set up on your hands and knees with your hands under your shoulders and knees under your hips.

Think about engaging the side of your back as you extend your toes and lift up onto the balls of your feet and your hands.

You want your knees to be hovering just off the ground, no more than a few inches up. This makes your quads have to work harder.

Hold here, bracing your abs as if being punched in the gut.

As you fatigue, do not let your butt go up in the air.

From here you can start to add in even little movements, like foot lifts or shoulder taps before you start to fully crawl.

If you find this is too much on your shoulders, abs or quads, you can modify the movement, placing your hands up on a bench even to start!

#2: Glute Bridge

The glute bridge is honestly a key move to include no matter your fitness level.

While it may be a main exercise in your workouts starting out, and move to more of your activation series and warm up as you progress, it is a fundamental move we all need to be more intentional with.

It’s also often a move we do incorrectly, allowing our lower backs and hamstrings to compensate and work for our glutes.

But if you want to get the full benefit of this move, you need to make sure your glutes are driving the hip extension and you’re only bridging up as high as you can truly control while using your glutes.

To do the glute bridge, set up on your back with your feet flat on the ground just beyond your finger tips when your hands are down by your sides. You can play around with this positioning based on your mobility, putting them slightly further out.

Then bend your elbows to drive your upper arms down into the ground.

Tilt your pelvis up toward your ribs to perform a posterior pelvic tilt and engage your abs and glute maximus before you even lift up off the ground.

Then engage your glutes to lift up. Think about driving your knees toward your toes as you drive through your upper arms and back.

Do not lose that posterior pelvic tilt and begin to arch as you lift.

Make sure to keep your feet flat on the ground and do not let your heels come up.

Pause and squeeze your glutes as hard as you can, then lower down.

You want to make sure you aren’t arching to get up higher or driving yourself backward.

Feel those glutes and do not let your hamstrings take over.

Lower back down and repeat the move. Focus more on engaging those glutes over lifting higher.

To progress the move you can move to a unilateral bridge when ready or even increase the range of motion by placing your feet up on something.

If you struggle to engage your glutes with this bodyweight variation, you can try a frog bridge. The external rotation of your hips can help you better engage your glutes!

#3: Inverted Row

Learning to properly engage your back as you’re getting back into working out is key.

Too often, we let our biceps do the work, pulling with our arms, or end up with neck or shoulder pain because we don’t have proper scapular control.

The Inverted Row is an amazing bodyweight move to learn how to really engage your back to power the pull while having an amazing core strengthening bonus.

Just make sure as you do this row, and any other rowing movements, that you are focused not only on pulling the weight or handles toward you, but also on moving those shoulder blades toward your spine so your back is truly working!

To do the Inverted Row, you can do this move off a bar or suspension trainer. I love the suspension trainer especially when first starting out because you can use a variety of grips.

Using the suspension trainer, hold a handle in each hand with a neutral grip to start, or your palms facing in.

Walk your feet forward as you lean back. The closer to parallel to the ground you get, the harder the move will be.

Flex your feet, pulling your toes up toward your shins as you squeeze your glutes and brace your abs. You want to think about this as a plank and create tension from your feet up.

With your arms straight, make sure to unshrug your shoulders.

Draw your shoulder blades toward your spine as you pull your chest up toward the handles.

You want that initial movement to come from beginning to move your shoulder blades.

Row your chest up toward the handles but don’t try and pull so far you start to round forward just to increase the range of motion.

Stop when you’ve pulled your shoulder blades as close to your spine as you can.

Pause to feel your back then control the lower back down and full arm extension.

Based on your scapular control you can round out a bit at the bottom and protract those shoulder blades, but if you’re just starting out, you may not want to fully disengage your back.

Make sure not to shrug as you pull!

#4: Split Squat

The squat is a fundamental, knee dominant movement pattern. But is also one we often struggle to control and perform correctly through a full range of motion.

That is why, when first starting back, the split squat is a great unilateral option that will not only strengthen your legs but also help you improve your hip mobility and stability.

It’s a great way to also make sure you’re addressing any imbalances and not letting your stronger side take over and perpetuate any issues or pain.

Based on your mobility, you may choose to do this move from the ground or starting with your knee on a block.

Setting up at the bottom of this move is a great way to use this to stretch your hips while truly learning how to control the movement.

Set up kneeling on the block or ground with your front ankle under your front knee and your back knee about under your hip with toes extended so you’re on the ball of your foot.

Really press the ball of your back foot down into the ground as you squeeze that back glute to extend your hip.

Push through the ball of that back foot and your entire front foot to drive up to standing.

Once standing, slowly lower back down to come to rest on the ground.

Then repeat driving back up.

Focus on your feet and their connection to the ground.

And make sure to engage that back glute.

Working through this full range of motion will help you maintain your mobility while improving your stability!

#5: Push Up

The push ups is basically a moving plank so not only a fabulous core move but also a great exercise to work your chest, shoulders and triceps.

However, the full push up from your toes can easily turn into the worm if we don’t yet have the strength to perform it correctly which can lead to wrist, elbow and shoulder aches and pains.

When building back with the push up, an incline variation works well as even the knee push up can be more advanced than we often give it credit for!

To do the push up off an incline, you can start off a wall and slowly lower the incline you use as you progress.

With your arms out in front of you, place your hands on the wall so your hands are just outside your chest. Walk your feet a couple of feet back from the wall so you’re leaning into your hands on the wall.

Spread your fingers to create tension into your hands and drive your heels toward the ground flexing your quads.

Lower your chest toward the wall, making sure not to shrug. You want your body moving as one unit.

Make sure your elbows don’t flare up by your shoulders and create a T shape with your body. You want your upper arms and body to create an arrow shape.

Once you lower your chest toward the wall, press the wall away to fully extend your arms back out.

As you lower the incline, do not do so if you can’t still perform a full range of motion.

#6: Wall Hinge

The final amazing bodyweight basic I think you need to include as you rebuild is the Wall Hinge.

Too often when we do hip hinging movements like the deadlift, we let our lower backs take over and do all of the work instead of engaging our glutes like we should.

When we’re first rebuilding it’s key we learn to control that proper hip hinge to load our glutes and hamstrings so our lower back doesn’t end up overloaded and injured.

While you may find you quickly progress past this movement and either add loads to the hip hinge or move on to unilateral variations like the single leg deadlift, this is a great place to start to make sure you aren’t simply leaning or rounding over.

To do the Wall Hip Hinge, stand about 6 inches to a foot from the wall with your back to the wall and your feet about hip width apart.

You can cross your hands over your chest as you stand tall.

Focus on your entire foot pushing into the ground as you push your butt back toward the wall behind you.

Do not start this move by bending your knees to squat down. You are moving at the hips and then softening your knees in response to reach back.

Touch your butt to the wall and make sure to keep your back flat. Do not round toward the ground.

Then push the ground away with your feet to drive back up to standing.

Your torso will lean forward to keep you balanced as you sit back. Do not let your weight shift forward!

SUMMARY:

As you rebuild, always continue to assess how you feel with moves. Remember progress is never linear so at points you do want to step back.

We are NEVER above the basics and there is always more we can do to improve even these fundamental moves.

Slow and steady use these moves in your training to regress to progress and earn those harder variations and heavier loads!

Looking for help while rebuilding?

Check out my 3-Part RS Formula!

The Most Overrated Glute Exercise

The Most Overrated Glute Exercise

by | Nov 7, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Butt, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief

The clamshell exercise is a staple of any rehab program that calls for glute activation moves.

But honestly, it’s slightly overrated.

And so often done INCORRECTLY.

We end up rotating to get a bigger range of motion. We engage other muscles to try and rush to progress the move and add a band.

We aren’t intentional with the move while focusing on what we feel working.

But part of that is actually because it is so easy to cheat.

For such a seemingly simple move, it is so easy for us to cheat and compensate and ultimately perpetuate the existing issues by overusing the same muscles we are trying to avoid overusing.

All too often this basic move perpetuates the problem instead of activating the muscles we want it to.

We end up engaging our TFL or overworking our piriformis over actually getting our glute medius to pull it’s weight.

That’s why I wanted to share with you one of my favorite Glute Medius Activation Moves to do instead – The Wall Side Lying Lateral Raise.

But before I go into the glute medius move I prefer to use, I did just want to touch on 3 key cues if you decide to use that oh so basic clam exercise.

#1: Turn your top toe down toward the ground.

This cue can actually be useful in many glute medius moves to help inhibit the TFL if it tends to take over.

The internal tibial rotation, or rotation of your lower leg down toward the ground, can help you prevent the TFL from compensating for your glute medius.

When doing the clam, just turn that top foot toward the ground in front of your bottom foot instead of keeping your feet stacked or letting that top foot open up as you raise your top leg.

#2: Don’t focus on a bigger range of motion.

Yes we always want to strengthen through a full range of motion, but we want to make sure it is actually a range of motion we can control with the muscles we want to target.

Too often we end up rotating our entire body or start to overuse muscles like our piriformis to perform a bigger range of motion.

Instead of focusing on making the move bigger, focus on stopping the movement with the glute medius, really feeling it on the side of your butt.

It can even be helpful to put a wall or pole behind you and think about squeezing your butt slightly forward even as you open.

#3: Change your degree of hip flexion.

Struggling to establish that mind-body connection?

Try changing how much you flex or extend your hips.

While this can not only help us target the anterior or posterior fibers of the glute medius more, and make sure we are able to engage the muscle through a variety of postures, it can also help us find a position where we can most easily establish that mind-body connection, especially if we are struggling.

Once you are able to really feel the muscle working, you can even move to a more or less hip flexed position to use that engagement to help you create the mind-body connection while in a position you may not have felt it before!

But because each of us does have a different build and mind-body connection, whether even due to previous injuries, it can be useful to feel free to adjust our exact degree of hip flexion as we learn to master the move and use the correct muscles.

Now let’s talk about how to do the Wall Side Lying Lateral Raise and why I prefer this move over the basic clam.

The Wall Side Lying Lateral Raise:

If you’re struggle to engage your glute medius, it can be helpful to make sure you’re engaging your glute max as well. That’s why this move with the slight kick back can really help.

And because your TFL is a hip flexor and your piriformis assists with horizontal abduction when your hip is flexed to 90 degrees, it can be key to work on activating your glute medius while your hip is extended.

If you think about the clam, you aren’t kicking back and as easily able to use the glute max to help prevent your TFL from compensating.

You also are in that hip flexed position which lends itself to both your Piriformis and TFL engaging, two muscles that often compensate for our glute medius leading to lower back, hip and even knee aches and pains.

And that’s why this Wall Side Lying Lateral Raise is a great go-to glute medius activation move!

This move works on hip extension to engage your glute max while also working to improve your hips stability and glute medius activation.

To do this move, you may start with bodyweight and progress to a mini band variation with the band around your legs just above your knees.

Set up by bending that bottom leg to help you stabilize and set up lying on your side with your back to the wall. You want to set up a few inches out from the wall so you can kick back slightly into the wall. You can fully lie on your side with your bottom arm straight out on the ground or you can prop yourself up to rest your head in your hand.

Then lift your top leg up a few inches off your bottom leg and make sure you do NOT rotate that toe open. You can even turn that top toe slightly down toward the ground.

After lifting up a few inches, drive your heel back into the wall behind you.

From this position, slide your heel up the wall lifting your leg.

Perform this lateral raise but do not rotate your hip open to raise up higher.

Lift up and then slowly slide the leg down. Do not lower completely down and relax out. If you’re using a band, you want to make sure the band doesn’t pull you back down and that you keep tension on it even at the bottom.

You want your glute working the entire time.

Focus on feeling your glute 90
lifting your leg up, and if you have a band pushing against the band, as you feel your glute max working to drive your heel back into the wall extending your hip.

SUMMARY:

We have to remember that no one move is right for everyone. And even knowing when we DON’T feel a move working the correct muscles can be key so that we can prevent ourselves from perpetuating the problem and even select a move that does better help us establish that mind-body connection.

Use these cues to help yourself make sure you’re adjusting moves to fit your needs and goals and if you’ve been struggling to use the clam, try this lateral raise variation instead!

Working to activate your glutes? Check out my Booty Burner!

–> LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BOOTY BURNER

Leg Lowers – You’re Doing it WRONG (3 tips to help)

Leg Lowers – You’re Doing it WRONG (3 tips to help)

by | May 30, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief

Constantly feel your lower back or hip flexors during ab moves like leg lowers?

Do you just push through figuring your lower back is weak?

STOP!

Not only is this NOT helping you get the desired ab strengthening results you’re trying to work toward but it may also result in lower back and even hip aches and pains.

Here are 3 common mistakes I see people making with leg lower ab exercises and how to avoid them!

Mistake #1: Putting Your Hands Behind Your Lower Back

Stop cheating yourself out of really earning this move.

Putting your hands behind your lower back is a bandaid, a quick fix.

While yes, it can help you avoid lower back pain in the moment, it isn’t teaching you to actually use your abs correctly to protect your back and stabilize.

It allows you to do a move you haven’t truly earned.

Instead you need to regress to progress and modify the exercise to learn how to build up and engage your abs correctly.

Because you aren’t feeling your lower back because it is weak. You’re feeling your lower back because your abs aren’t yet strong enough, or you don’t have the mind-body connection yet, to keep them braced throughout.

Instead of pushing through this variation, if you want to get the full ab strengthening benefits, modify the move doing a single leg lower or even bent knee tuck.

It is always better to modify and get the correct muscles working than to push through a harder variation and compensate.

Modifying doesn’t mean you’re making it easier. It means you’re making it the level you need to work the muscles you want to target best!

You may even find you have to go back to that basic pelvic tilt movement and learn how to engage those abs and glutes correctly to stabilize and brace before adding movement!

Mistake #2: Swinging Your Legs

Leg lowers do work your hip flexors as they are a hip flexion movement.

And your abs are working to stabilize and protect your back.

But if to rush through this movement you start to swing your legs, you’re not going to get any of the benefit this move can have for your abs.

And you’re probably going to start to feel your lower back engaging as your hip flexors fatigue especially.

So stop swinging your legs and rushing through just to get the workout done.

Instead slow down the movement.

Focus on engaging your GLUTES even as you lower your legs a few inches from the ground. And even think about pulling your legs back up using your abs so you get that brace going as you lift.

Slow the movement down and focus on that control and what muscles you actually feel working.

Get more out of every second of work by being intentional!

Mistake #3: Not Focusing On Bracing Your Abs

Too often we just replicate a movement pattern without really being conscious of the muscles we feel working until we are in pain.

We let our lower back take over during this move and just keep pushing through.

We want to get the workout over with or we figure our lower back is weak.

But what we feel working during a move is what is going to “benefit” so to speak from the exercise.

So if you want to work your abs but you only feel your lower back?

Your abs aren’t getting the benefit of this move you’d like.

That’s why it is key you regress to progress and learn how to use that posterior pelvic tilt to your advantage.

While yes our spine has a natural curve, we want to know how to engage our glutes and abs using that posterior pelvic tilt.

Before you even start any level of the leg lowers move, lie on your back on the ground and think about engaging those lower abs to tuck your hips slightly toward your ribs. Even feel your glutes engage with the tuck.

From here you can do a bent knee march, double knee tuck, single leg lift or those killer double leg lowers.

But you should only advance as long as you can keep those abs braced.

If you lose that brace, you need to regress or shorten the interval of work, cutting back on time or reps.

Trying to do more without the correct muscles working is only going to backfire.

SUMMARY:

As much as we all want to do those fun and challenging exercise variations, at times we need to regress to progress and take our ego out of things.

Learn how to engage those abs correctly and build up to earn that harder move so you can get more out of every rep of that amazing leg lower ab exercise!

For an amazing Lower Ab Workout, give this burner a try! It’s a great way to finish off your workouts!

–> Lower Ab Burner

 

the Most Underrated Glute Exercise

the Most Underrated Glute Exercise

by | May 12, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Butt, Core, Exercises, Pain Relief, Warm Up

The stronger your mind-body connection is?

The more you can lift, the faster you can run and the further you can cycle!

Basically the STRONGER YOU ARE!

Strength is not just about brute force but also about neuromuscular efficiency – how quickly can you recruit the CORRECT muscles to perform a movement and produce force.

That’s why it is key we include exercises to really improve that mind-body connection and make sure we are able to engage the correct muscles whenever we need.

Because as much as we focus on form, proper form does NOT always mean you’re engaging the correct muscles.

Actually often the more experienced a lifter you are and the more athletic you are, the more you can mimic a proper looking movement pattern while compensating and recruiting the incorrect muscles to do so.

This can not only result in injury but often holds us back from lifting as much as we truly can.

It prevents us from being as strong as possible because we aren’t using muscles efficiently together. We aren’t making the correct muscles pull their own weight.

That’s why you need to include some isolation moves to activate those underactive muscles and make sure you’re engaging the correct muscles at the proper times.

One muscle that often needs to be the focus of our activation work is our GLUTES.

Our glutes are commonly underactive due to our modern lifestyle.

So focused activation work can help us improve our mind-body connection to better recruit our glutes during compound lifts and when we run or cycle.

One of my favorite moves, and a very basic and often underutilized move, is the Single Leg Bent-Knee Reverse Hyper.

This move is fundamental if you want to improve your hip extension and focus on isolating those glutes.

And it’s a really great way to test if your hamstrings tend to want to take over and compensate for your glutes.

Often our hamstrings can become synergistically dominant for underactive glutes and that can result in hamstrings strains, lower back, hip and knee pain.

So if you tend to feel your hamstrings even during moves like glute bridges? You need to give this reverse hyper variation a try.

To first test your glute activation, lie face down on the ground. You can relax your chin on your hands as you straighten both legs out. Then bend one knee to about 90 degrees. Flex that foot. Do not curl the heel in toward your butt as this will engage your hamstrings.

Then drive your heel toward the ceiling and extend your hip.

What do you feel firing first? Do you feel your hamstring first or your glute?

Do you feel both? Or can you just isolate your glute?

If you can just isolate your glute fabulous! Do 15-20 reps and pause at the top to really establish that mind-body connection and even get a little pump going.

If you can’t feel your glutes, try adjusting how you’re cueing and performing the move.

Here are a few tweaks to try.

#1: Focus on driving your hip down into the ground as you drive the heel back so you don’t rotate open. Think about almost pushing your hip bone down into the ground instead of just lifting up.

#2: Think about STOPPING the lift with your glute over just trying to lift up higher. You want to focus on that glute engagement over the movement itself.

#3: Kick just slightly out as you lift. Remember not to curl your heel in toward your butt. Our hamstrings are worked by that knee flexion so avoiding it can help. However, going too straight with your leg can also make it harder for some to focus on their glutes.

#4: Slightly abduct your knee or move it out to the side before you lift. This can better engage the glute medius to help engage that glute max. Just be careful you don’t rotate your hip open. Just slightly move the knee out to the side.

Try one of these tweaks at a time to see what helps. You may even find you need to combine all the cues to get that glute firing without the hamstring trying to take over.

As silly as it may seem, sometimes just changing how we cue ourselves to perform a movement with a very slight adjustment can really help us better establish that mind-body connection when we’ve struggled in the past.

Just don’t rush through the movement. Pause and assess. Be intentional with the exercise over just trying to get through the reps.

Doing the “right moves” without feeling the correct muscles working won’t get you the results you want.

Focus on activating your glutes.

SUMMARY:

Use this underrated glute isolation move as both an activation exercise but also a test of hamstring compensation. It is a great way to make sure your hamstrings aren’t trying to take over and work when your glutes truly should be.

Be conscious of what you feel working during your workouts and do not simply go through the motions.

The more we can truly create proper recruitment patterns and use the correct muscles efficiently and effectively, the stronger we will be.

Sometimes we need to take things back to basics to get results.

We are never above those simple fundamentals!

Working to improve your glute activation?

Check out my Booty Burner Program!

–> LEARN MORE

Push-Ups For Beginners – 5 Simple Tips To Perfect Your Push Up

Push-Ups For Beginners – 5 Simple Tips To Perfect Your Push Up

by | Apr 22, 2021 | Blog, Bodyweight, Exercises, Push Ups

Push ups not only require a lot of upper body strength but also core strength.

They require you to properly recruit and engage everything from your shoulders to your knees so your body moves as one unit. You need to not only have amazing strength but also proper wrist, shoulder and scapular mobility and stability.

They are a much more complex movement than we often give them credit for.

That’s why I want to share 5 tips to help you not only dial in your push up form, but also strengthen all of the muscles involved in the movement so you can improve your push ups.

But first, I want to explain why it’s key we remember we may need to regress to progress to start.

And one of the best ways to do that is by using an incline over even the knee push up variation!

The knee push up variation is actually more challenging than we often give it credit for. And it doesn’t teach us to engage everything between our shoulders to our feet.

We need to train that full plank position to help us better engage everything as we build up toward that full push up from the ground.

That’s why the incline push up is a great way to modify the push up to start.

You can start off a wall and slowly lower the incline as you’re ready.

And by using an incline, we can even mix up the push up variations we include as we build up.

It can be boring feeling like you aren’t able to try some of those fun push up variations. But using an incline, you don’t have to stick with just the basic push up.

You can include other push up variations that may even be great accessory moves in and of themselves to improve your strength toward that first full push up.

Want to target your triceps more?

Try the close grip push up off an incline.

Or if you want to work on your core strength more as well as your shoulder stability?

Try the shoulder tap push up.

By mixing up your push up variations you can keep you training fun and interesting and even address your weak links to get stronger!

5 Key Tips To Help You Improve Your Push Ups

#1: Drive back through your heels.

Part of getting stronger is also about being more EFFICIENT in your movements. It’s about learning how to engage muscles correctly so it actually requires less effort to do the movement.

And one great way to make sure you have the proper tension during the push up to maintain that nice straight line from your head to your heels, is to cue yourself to drive back through your heels.

This will help you flex your quads for that nice plank position.

Because while this is an upper body move you need to have that proper full body engagement so you aren’t overloading your upper body but also making your lower body assist you in moving efficiently.

When you set up for the push up, push backward off the balls of your feet. Feel the change in how you flex your legs as you do this. Just make sure that as you drive back, you keep your hands outside your chest and don’t let them shift up above your shoulders.

Keep pushing backward off the balls of your feet as you lower down.

Feel those legs stay engaged to help you maintain that plank position!

#2: Push the ground away.

Want to engage your triceps, shoulders and pecs better while helping prevent elbow pain during push ups? Focus on your hands grip on the ground.

That tension we create through our hands down into the ground can really help us better activate the muscles of our upper body.

And it can help us prevent overuse from rocking out on our hands.

As you set up for the push up, spread your fingers with your middle finger pointing straight ahead. Grip the ground or incline with your entire hand, even pressing your thumb down into the ground.

At the top of the push up, think about pushing the ground away just slightly to even better stabilize your shoulders.

And do not lose this tension even as you lower down. Too often we just think about lowering down over maintaining that tension into the ground.

But this tension can also help us in that transition from lowering to pressing back up.

If you’ve ever felt like you struggle at the bottom to change to pushing back up?

This focus on your hands pushing down into the ground can make all of the difference. So even as you lower, push the ground away so that when you move to push back up, you’ve already created that tension.

#3: Feel your back assisting.

While yes, the push up is a move for our chest, shoulders and triceps, we can’t ignore the important role our upper back plays in this movement.

We often think about our scapular movement, or the movement of our shoulder blades, during things like rows.

But that scapular movement is essential to actually create a more powerful press.

Proper scapular movement can mean healthier, happier shoulders, elbows and even wrists. Not to mention you avoiding neck pain from push ups.

So as you perform the push up, think about your back working to support your shoulders.

Make sure that, when you set up, you very slightly pull your shoulder blades down toward your butt as you unshrug your shoulders. Think about feeling the sides of your back slightly engage to support your shoulders.

Then, as you lower down, think about your shoulder blades drawing together toward your spine.

As you press back up, focus on pulling those shoulder blades apart.

Use your back and that proper scapular movement to power your press!

#4: Use push up holds.

Push ups are basically a moving plank so often when we think push ups and improving our core strength, we turn to plank holds.

And those are great.

But you can actually work on that plank position from just about any point in the push up.

By holding even mid-way through the push up or at the bottom, you can really strengthen not only your core but also your upper body.

You can also help yourself overcome any weak points or stick points in the move.

If there is a point you feel you always get stuck at?

Hold there to strengthen everything.

When we hold, we can really focus on what we feel working because we aren’t distracted by trying to actually perform a movement.

We can stay in one position and run through the muscles that should be working to make sure we feel them. We have time to even assess our form and make small tweaks.

That time under tension can help us build strength as we work on that mind-body connection to use muscles efficiently.

So next time you include some accessory core work, try including bottom push up holds or mid push up holds instead of just doing even the high plank position to work your core!

#5: Quality over quantity.

Practice makes better. But only when you’re practicing the proper movement. If we get lazy with our reps and compensate or replicate improper movement patterns?

We are going to ingrain those bad habits through repetition.

So as you build up, make sure to focus on quality over quantity. Make every rep your best rep to really solidify those proper movement patterns.’

And focus on fewer reps of a harder variation to really challenge your body to progress.

Too often when we want to work toward that first full push up, we just make ourselves better at the modified variation by adding more reps.

Instead of doing more reps of a more modified push up, we need to think about doing fewer reps with more sets to keep attempting a more challenging variation.

So if you can do only 1 push up off a lower incline, but 5 off a higher?

It is better to include that 1 rep off the harder variation, simply resting longer between to create the volume over sets.

Because you need to use those harder variations to get better at them!

Summary:

Use the incline push up variation to help you build up toward that first full push up from your toes. You can even start off the wall and lower the incline as you feel ready.

As you build up, use these tips and cues to help you dial in your push up form and use muscles efficiently to perform the movement.

And don’t be afraid to use some fun variations off the incline to help you target those weak links and keep your training fun and interesting!

Can’t Do Pull Ups? Just Do This!

Can’t Do Pull Ups? Just Do This!

by | Jan 28, 2021 | Blog, Pull Ups

The pull up is an amazing, and challenging, bodyweight back exercise.

And too often we simply throw up our hands and say “I can’t do a pull up” then completely avoid the movement.

Or we say we’re too old, too heavy, our arms are too long…pick an excuse….we make it!

But there is an amazing way to modify this move to practice that vertical pull and build up your grip, arm and back strength while working on your scapular mobility.

And NO it’s not the band pull up.

So what variation of the pull up do I love to use and why do I avoid the band pull up if possible?

And what are three key moves to help you build up to that first full one?

Avoiding the Band Pull Up:

So often we turn to bands for assistance. But band assisted pull ups have one major drawback…

They give you assistance in a way that you don’t have to learn that initial scapular movement and engagement of your back.

They put you ABOVE that dead hang so that you don’t learn how to initiate scapular depression to go from that dead hang to engaged.

It can also be hard to really adjust the tension fully to exactly what you need, especially as you fatigue.

That’s why I prefer the Foot Assisted variation.

Why I Love The Foot Assisted Pull Up:

foot-assisted-pull-up

Using just your feet, you can provide only as much assistance as you need to feel your back working. And as you fatigue, you can adjust.

While you don’t want to turn this into a lower body move, using your toes to assist can allow you to reduce the resistance on your upper body to focus on your back pulling.

AND you can work through that full range of motion, applying more or less resistance at stick points in the exercise.

It can also allow you to slow down the tempo or use just the foot assistance on the way up before performing a slow eccentric lower, even without using your feet!

Focusing on the eccentric can allow you to use a more advanced variation to build up than you may be able to control for the full movement because we are generally stronger during the eccentric portion of a lift!

And when you slow down the tempo, you can spend more time under tension to improve your strength and control!

Three Key Accessory Moves:

As you work on your pull ups, these are 3 key accessory moves that can help you target imbalances, improve your scapular control and strengthen your grip and abs! They are perfect moves to include in your circuits or sets after your intial pull up skill work.

1: Mini Pull Ups

hanging scapular retraction

If you’ve ever thought, “If I could just jump over that initial part, I could do one.” You need to include mini pull ups in your routine.

This is the perfect way to learn how to depress your shoulder blades and engage your back so you power the pull with your back.

Do not rush this move and really focus on leading with your chest.

Do not bend your arms to try to make the movement bigger. Often we want to use our biceps to power the pull, but this move helps us avoid doing that.

Focus on engaging your back and drawing your shoulder blades down toward your back pockets. Think about slightly opening your chest up toward the bar as you think about unshrugging your shoulders.

And if you need to modify to control the move, try a foot-assisted variation!

2: Single Arm Lat Pulldown

lat pulldown

Strengthen your back and improve your scapular control with this unilateral move that will also help you correct any imbalances.

Especially if you’ve ever had a shoulder injury, this is a key move to help you avoid injury as you work on your pull ups.

I love using a band for this move as it will apply more resistance where your lats are strongest. It applies more resistance at the end range of motion.

Just make sure you don’t push down on the band as you perform the move and turn this into a tricep exercise. Think about driving your elbows back and toward your hip. Feel your shoulder blade move down as you pull.

Then fully extend out as you reach back overhead to take your shoulder blade through a full range of motion.

You want to make sure too that you’re mimicking a vertical pull. Don’t turn this into a row. Focus on that hinge and thoracic extension so your arm moves in line with your spine.

3: Hanging Abs

hanging-knees-to-elbows

Often we don’t recognize how core intensive the pull up is.

But if we want to improve our pull ups, we need to build up our core strength.

Hanging abs are a great way to do just that. They can improve your grip and core strength at the same time. They even can help you work on that initial back engagement.

Make sure to engage your back as you perform these hanging ab exercises. It will also help you prevent yourself from swinging a ton.

If you need to start by modifying because you can’t control the move, you can do a variation lying on the ground, holding on to a pole behind you. This will allow you to still engage your back and better activate your abs as you raise your legs or tuck your knees in.

Using these three moves, and the foot assisted pull up variation, you can improve your pull ups and start working toward that first full one!

Ready to rock those pull ups? Take my 30-Day Pull Up Challenge!