At 20/21 years old I went from about 235lbs to around 200lbs, in probably four months of a six month lease.
Mostly I did pushups.
I did some deep knee bends, some deadlift and one arm row simulating isometrics, some wrestler’s bridging with a 20lb kettlebell as added resistance, did a little bit of kettlebell swings with the same, usually doing the 20:10 protocols of extended tabata, some manual resistance wrist levering, holding side kicks as a flex/isometric, and…
A good deal of jump rope with some of the pushups in a mental/nuts superset of 10×100 each.
Now those pushups were exceedingly short range of motion.
I have a big chest.
I doubt more than a handful are doing hundreds and hundreds of pushups on a daily basis and actually using full range.
Dude, you’re not in the military – no one cares. You’re free to use the worst form you wish.
I got real fit with that superset.
Got me to where I played an hour or more of full court pickup basketball, generally the first or so up and down the court – another guy commenting that “you’re only okay skill wise, though you caught us all by shooting 3s – I don’t get it, you’re the heaviest here, probably the fastest here, and definitely have the best cardio – how is this how you play pickup basketball – do you never play, but if so how do you have the cardio”…
It was a funny moment ; “dude I just went six months away from the gym, but did a lot of pushups and jump rope supersets at my apartments pool”.
Basketball courts attached to a gym are always cool – nothing like being tired from the weights and playing some pickup anyway, making you dig deep.
…..
Lately I’ve been increasing my reps per set in the nightly pushups.
2×50 a normal night, but every few nights making one of those sets 100.
Minutes ago it was 200+ in a set, probably ¼ rom, though I varied it throughout the set – an INSANE rep count for a little shy of a minute.
Calling All Form Police!
Calling All Form Police!
My range of motion is very little.
It’s okay. It works.
At any time I can have my buddy stand on my upper back and I’ll get some full range weighted pushups.
Weighted pushups are more fun than unweighted to actually do the full range.
I do the vanilla reps, turned them into “woody woodpeckers” as my old lifting partner nicknamed them, and made it into an anaerobic feat with the serious chest development of high volume pumps on a regular basis year upon year upon year.
…..
Did you know typing as your phone is plugged into the wall is a way to be productive as your phone charges?
I tend to charge my phone during a decent amount of my video editing and typing.
67% and increasing.
…..
I get crazy pumps out of pushing the pace on one arm swings with the light 16kg bell.
I’d get conditioning from that mixed with the pushups, reps high and aiming higher, superset as described above with the pushups and jump rope of yesteryear.
…..
I say it time and again – good pumps for me = increasing max strength.
The kettlebell is a great thing.
Glorious glute pumps from swinging the light bell, then diesel entire body, heavily muscled, bodybuilding but with other than competitive bodybuilding proportion, development…from all the kettlebell press variety, volume, and frequency.
Girevoy may tend to develop, long and lean, lanky, wiry strength.
I’m getting pretty stocky from my waying my way along (like sinatra) with a more hardstyle, essentially randomized, high frequency method.
…..
And doing way more short range of motion pushups each day.
Cause if I’m not running, everything that hits “conditioning” is base building for that ≤6:00 mile I keep talking about hitting while yet to even jog a step.
Be strong.
Be fit.
Eat well.
Upload videos daily.
-J
Persistence & Tenacity