Bodyweight Exercises You’d Be Crazy To Ignore!
So I woke up this morning and stumbled into the kitchen to flip the switch on the coffee maker only to realize that I was stumbling simply because I was very sore. I mean I was more sore than usual. I’ve made it a point to include more rotational movement into my personal strength training program as of late, plus it didn’t hurt that I went through a pretty gruesome Muay Thai training session last night which was headed up by my good friend Jeff Perry who is a retired #6 world ranked Thai boxing champion.
Yep, that might have had something to do with it as well. I know what you are thinking. You must think I have the mindset of Gary Busey to do something like that; right? Well, not quite.
Bodyweight Exercises For Rotational Movement…
So I mentioned that I’ve been making a point to include more rotational movement into my own personal training program as of late. Now it’s not as if I never include rotational movement into my training because I always do, but recently I’ve made it a point to get a double dose of some twisting related drills into the ole strength training formula.
I’ve also changed gears a bit to include more of this twisting motion by getting the most out of some bodyweight exercises. Yes, I just decided to make a direct one on one challenge to gravity by not including any additional external load and trust me it is still ultra challenging!
For starters, Gary Busey would’ve never gotten beat up on that lawn by Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon if he’d had a little better rotational movement in his fighting game. I mean what better time is some serious thoracic rotation a much needed function than in a street fight, right?
Now you see what I’m getting at? Ok, I know maybe there is an actual script that these guys had to follow, but you still get my point! Being able to move well in any form of athletic demand means you’ve got to be able to twist.
Twisting (or rotational movement) is one of the primary movements of the human body. If you don’t practice this movement (as well as other primary moves) your athletic performance will diminish, much like the sanity (still in question) of Gary Busey.
Now looking at some rotational skills I’m a big believer that you’ve got to be able to rotate at both the upper and lower portion of the body. Check out these rotational push up variations that I’m demonstrating here emphasizing more thoracic (upper body) rotation.
I promise you that you won’t be hurting from any lack of exertion from giving these bad boys a try. The key is to make sure that you are getting a full rotation and that you work to make a perfect “T” as you stabilize on each arm. This drill is more about control and efficiency rather than being a rush to finish!
In addition to this I also released another killer addition to my arsenal of bodyweight exercises in a video for you to try out this week. The difference with this one is that it involves more emphasis on twisting with the lumbar portion of the body (at the hips) rather than the previous drill which focuses more on the upper part of the torso for rotation. My MMA fighters just love these. I call them oblique twists, but other people like to use other names. Study this one carefully.
Could you see what was involved? These can be a bit tricky at first, but they are really not that bad. Notice that I start with one leg bent and one leg extended. I’m pushing off of the grounded hand and grounded foot at the start. As I’m doing this I’m sliding my extended leg underneath my body to briefly ground the foot of that leg.
From here all I’m doing is using the initial grounded foot as a pivot to then lift and extend that leg to the opposite side while finishing with it extended. It’s a left to right move, not a flipping from front to back move if that makes any sense? Study it carefully, start slow, and gradually speed up the process when starting out. You’ll find these a challenge once you get moving!
You see it’s not always about how much weight you can lift, but rather about how well you can control your body. If you can get a handle on your inner Gary Busey to give these a try then you’ll be well on your way to controlling your body. Ok, inner Gary Busey? That didn’t make any sense. The point is to just start slow and speed up as you progress and it will all come together more seamlessly!
If you need some additional help with growing your arsenal of bodyweight and other unconventional exercises and giving your training a serious kickstart then make sure to get your copy of my Brandon Richey’s Unconventional Conventional Method Of Strength ebook right here.
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