Stability WOD: Part 4 of 7 the Push Up
Many of the attendees who have taken our @certifiedfsc course have told me that something clicks for them when we explain the thought process behind a leg lower being a single leg deadlift on your back OR how a lying hip flexion drill turns into a sled march. People begin to see the “why” and the “how” come together.
I’ve dubbed this series the “Stability WOD” because I think there are a lot of people on the mobility train that are uncertain of what to do next. How do I integrate the new ranges of motion I’ve gained from X mobility drill into my training so that the brain locks it in and keeps it? If you don’t use it, you lose it.
I don’t believe it’s as easy as stretching & rolling your hip, then squatting or deadlifting 4 wheels. I love those exercises, but I like them to be progressed in a manner that motor learning can occur.
What is a “stability” drill? Motor learning? Patterning? Movement? Corrective? Lifting weights with good form? Yes. Yes. and Yes.
As you can see below there is a logical progression going from the ground to standing to locomotion. For simplicity’s sake I picked 5 to show you…
Push Up Plank Hold – Not sexy but vital. Can’t hold a solid push up position at the top or bottom? You’re probably not going to be able to maintain that position when moving.
Hands Elevated Push Up – I use the barbell in a rack more than a bench or a box as it allows for better alignment of the wrist & shoulders and you can adjust the pegs down to progress the exercise.
Bottoms Ups – I have clients do 1 or 2 perfect reps between every exercise to accumulate as many perfect push ups as possible during a workout as opposed to doing 3 X 10 shitty grind it out reps. I also program chin ups this way for beginners.
Horizontal Pressing w/external load – our standard is 3 sets of 10 perfect push-ups then you get to move on to heavy horizontal pressing progressions.
Medball chest pass – We go tall kneeling, to standing, to stepping. A chest pass is a dynamic push-up. Medball throwing in jumping for your arms.
