Above, Dennis Tinnerino.... old school bodybuilding, olympic lifting and bodyweight workouts. Put em' all together and you've got yourself a BEAST
Well, I think that Hurricane Irene has passed through Manasquan, NJ now.
Yesterday I cranked a bodyweight workout IN my garage and it was awesome. I use simple equipment in my garage: Barbell, Squat Rack, Wooden Rings, Climbing Rope and some Kettlebells (I have them at The Underground Strength Gym AND my garage at home) and that's ALL I needed for this workout, I LOVED it!
After lifting heavy for well over 20 years I have built a foundation of strength and muscle, one that simply doesn't leave me. Why? Because I never stop training. Whether it's heavy lifting or odd objects and calisthenics, I keep attacking my training.
Nowadays, I am using bodyweight training with a new system I am applying and it is NOT causing me to lose strength or muscle as many would assume bodyweight workouts would do.
Instead, it's IMPROVING my strength, conditioning, power and MOST of all, GREATLY reducing pains and aches that I was battling with.
I now have bodyweight workouts which have focused days of strength, bodybuilding / hypertrophy, conditioning and hybrid days where they ALL get mixed together.
This was influenced by the conjugate method that Louie Simmons speaks about, except I wanted to apply the conjugate method to a bodyweight only training protocol.
These bodyweight workouts are based off of how Louie Simmons has Max Effort and Dynamic Effort Workouts. Each workout has a focus and then always followed by repetition work for adding muscle, developing joint integrity and more.
Now.... See the Video below to open up your mind.....
If these world class Olympic lifters are using bodyweight workouts as a supplement to their training, can WE use these movements as workouts since 99.9999% of us are NOT world class Olympic lifters?
YES! Watch AND Learn!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqxlGJKfCTo
Now that you've seen world class Olympic weightlifters using bodyweight training, Check out this home gym bodyweight workout I cranked yesterday during Hurricane Irene....
Warmed up with a quick ladder, inspired by Pavel who is a BIG proponent of using ladder reps for the development of strength and muscle building without burning yourself out.
Warm Up:
1A) Ring Dips x 2, 4, 6 reps
1B) Ring Pull Ups x 2, 4, 6 reps
Now, ready to GO....
1) Ring Dips Ladder (One Set): 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 reps (30 seconds rest between sets)
2) Ring Rows x 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 reps
I've been reading LOTS about bodyweight training and training in general, I NEVER stop learning, experimenting and testing. My methods are evolving as always, but for myself, they are evolving now more than ever.
I'm experiencing a HUGE reduction in aches, pains and mental fatigue / stress that comes from heavy lifting.
As a husband, father and a man who runs multiples businesses, my health is # 1.
It's rare to touch a free weight for the past 2 or 3 months now, and, learning BIG time that the workouts that used to crush me, although I LOVE that feeling, are doing little to NO good for my progress and success as a family man and a business man.
Food for thought....
QOD (Question of the Day): Drop a comment below and let me know how you do by trying the bodyweight workout above...and, let me ask you, how have YOU been evolving in your training?
I am psyched to see what's new with you and how you did with the workout!
Peace!
--Z--
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12 Responses
Zach,
I dig it, man!
My training as evolved. Now that I am working at a steel mill, I am constantly lifting “deadlifting, curling, overhead pressing, carrying and dragging various forms of weighted steel objects” to the excess of 150,000 to 500,000 lbs of total tonages throughout the work day…nearly everyday”, I had adjust my current training. All that heavy lifting at my job leaves me feeling beated up at times. Which means, lately I been including a lot of bodyweight training to to get in that beast shape (agile n mobile) and without having to continue lifting more n more weights. Sometimes it feels just perfect doing the bodyweight training.
Lately, I would pick two exercises and go all out. For example, yesterday I did 10 sets of singles: fat bar power clean and presses supersetted with high-rep bodyweight squats.
Sometimes I would shoulder my 55 gallon drum or shoulder n squat my keg for 10 singles/doubles and then finish out my training with mixed pull-ups. For me, It is easy to get thatttt much stronger using singles or doubles coupled with bodyweight training. I continue adding more weight after I completed 10 singles of any given exercise. Then of course, I got to go to work bust my ass off. Lately, I find this was ideal method of becoming super—–strong.
At work—a shitload of volume work.
In my garage—singles and bodyweight training.
Results—beastly.
Of course, one should realize it is very important to eat a TON of protein when doing this type of shit. Well, there is your peek in the average blue-collar dude’s world.
Keep rocking those bodyweight workouts, man!
Hey Zack
I am a big proponent of bodyweight exercises (actually I love them). I usually use a pullup bar and to be honest never thought about using rings. The rings actually look like they would be very effective. I can see that the dips would be quite tough and you would sure need to work on your stabilizing muscles or you would just drop. I appreciate your workout above and when I do get rings, I will sure give it a try.
Thanks
Maaan. I train with bodyweight, Convict Condition style. But unlike you I don’t have a solid strength fundation. So my bread and butter is lifting as heavy as possible and keep on adding weight to the bar.
Zach, Glad y’all weather Irene without incident. You’re seriously rock’n it out. Thanks for sharing so freely with the community and dropping so much knowledge.
Thanks for being a leader, teacher, and all around awesome guy.
I’ve evolved in my training as my lifestyle has gotten more and more hectic.
Nowadays, I don’t have time or the means to go to a gym, as I’m deployed beyond my country’s waters. So to still get my training in, I’ve started training throughout the day instead of hour-long sessions.
My training now consists of 10 pull-ups and 3 one-armed push-ups every 2 hours. The first set is done within 2 hours of my waking up and the last is done an hour before bed. I also run intervals totaling 3 miles twice per week at an intense speed. I also do some pistol squat progressions 5 times per day. This helps me practice the movements and hone my skills at the tougher bodyweight movements!
As for the heavy squats and deadlifts with the bar,, I do them once per week, on weekends, when I return to my home.
I use a lot of body weight conditioning within my regular workouts. Ex hammer Strengh bench press of 6-8 reps with heavy wt followed by a 30 sec break then 20 push ups as fast as possible. I do this with every lift as much as possible for each body area and just vary the exercises day today or wk to wk. I mix in complexes the closer I get to a grappling tourament and less isolation movements. Ive had a hard time putting on size over the years, but do continue to get stronger. Any suggestions on changing my workout to add more size. I wt 190 but look like 170
thanks,
brian
Zach,
Looks good bro! I think a lot of people get scared when you get away from the free weights and the heavy squats/bench/deadlift scheme. I understand where you are coming from, I have 4 little ones of my own that I have to be around for.
I do a ton of bodyweight stuff with my Blast Straps as well as the basic free weight movements. My kids all use the Blast Straps as well. My current goal is hand stand push ups with them!
Keep at it, and keep posting up what you are doing. I read every day.
-Rick
I love bodyweight training! it is awesome… I now do way less barbell/kettlebell and much more gymnastics and look and feel great and am in the best shape of my life (although I am young!)
I really think that until you can do every bodyweight feat you dont really need anything else… I mean for my legs I still need heavy squats and deads because pistols are easy for me but it is all about progression… if you can’t move well and efficiently the weight you push doesn’t really matter. I have noticed that bodyweight training has made my heavy lifts go up as well though!
Great Stuff!
As usual…no fluff, no bull sh**, just hard ass training utilizing the body and free weights
I’m going to give your program a try, I am always looking for new ways to train at home. I am just about to order a set of gymnastic rings of ebay and bang them into the roof of my garage. Body weight training is massively under rated. I travel a lot and perform this routine as a way to keep fit and keep my strength up while on the road. I normally find a park with kids playground equipment to do the chin-ups and dips:
Dynamic Stretching to warm-up
– 50 x Push-ups
– 5 Min run at 80%
– 50 x Dips
– 5 min run at 80%
– 50 x Chin-ups
– 5 min run at 80%
Static Stretching to cool down.
Usually takes me about 30mins and I am flogged.
Well all I use lately are rings and 1 light kettlebell, so yeah I do a whooole bunch of bodyweight…Pike push ups, push ups on rings, pull ups, 1 arm reverse rows, triple lunge, walking lunges with 20kg in the backpack, split jumps, box jumps…I was actually thinking jumping inside a monkey cage at a zoo and spending some time with those guys cos they got it right haha 🙂 I use the EDT and the time/volume methods + some burnout sets with 15 seconds rest at the end. I really like it, oh and those freakin plyometrics rule man. I’m like 1.80cm and jumping to the rim standing right underneath it hah! 🙂 F*ck yeah!
Hey Zach! Great stuff… I’m with you here! Got Convict Conditioning and am using that with added Deadlift progressions. From years of weights I’m feeling a little banged up myself, with a messed up shoulder.
Starting over from scratch and working to heal up and am using bodyweight progressions to do so. Convict Conditioning kicks ass and is an awesome book. Also second you on the rings…. I made a pair using electrical conduit (like PVC pipe but moldable when heated) and some tow straps. Love them!
Here’s what I’m working up to now with some modifications, although currently starting at basic progressions to heal up and as therapy for shoulder as Paul Wade recommends:
Monday
1. Deadlift
2. Inverted Rows
3. Handstand Push-ups
Wednesday
1. Bridges
2. Leg Raise
3. Anti-rotation
Friday
1. Squat
2. Pull-ups
3. Push-ups
As I progress and heal up I plan to incorporate some martial arts training and tumbling as well as some trail running, hill sprints, etc.
Hoping I get similar results with the fading aches and pains.
Keep up the great work brutha!