Search results for pushups

Question: Jay, I’m doing one of your programs and I wanted to ask about replacing some of the exercises. I don’t have rings or a Jungle Gym XT so I was thinking about replacing the ring flyes with cable flyes, the ring dips with bench dips, the inverted face pull with a cable face pull, the ring pushups with flat dumbbell presses and I will do all of the chin up and pull up variations as well as front lever holds on a straight bar. Is this okay? Answer: As I have repeatedly said since 1996,… continue reading.

Guest Post by Renegade Inner Circle Member, Mark Lockwood I was stuck.  I mean really stuck. One day’s gains were next week’s losses and, by the end of the year, I was usually right back where I started. Six years of hard training had given me good relative strength in the big lifts, but very little had changed in recent years. I was starting to wonder if at age 39 it was even possible for me to make substantial gains. Then I stumbled onto Jay’s website and I was hooked.  The guy had some different thoughts on training and tons… continue reading.

The straight bar chin up with your palms facing you places too much stress on the wrists, elbows and shoulders and should be eliminated from your program. Even if you haven’t experienced it yet chances are good that a steady diet of supinated (palms facing you) straight bar chin ups may come back to bite you in the ass… or elbow, eventually. Pull ups (palms facing away from you) on a straight bar are a bit safer but could also be eliminated if you want to be ultra conservative or you have any shoulder problems. The simple solution is to… continue reading.

How long should your workout last if you want to build muscle and gain strength at the fastest rate possible? When it comes to workout duration less is more. To increase muscle hypertrophy and get stronger you want to get to the gym, hit it hard, stimulate size and strength gains, then get out. That means no more than sixty minutes total, including warm up time. When you start training your body will naturally boost testosterone levels significantly higher than normal. This increased output peaks somewhere around a half hour into your workout. By taking blood… continue reading.

Bodyweight exercises need to be part of your program if you want to get build muscle, burn fat and improve your overall athleticism. Not everyone needs to or should lift a barbell, but bodyweight exercises are essential. I’ve used them to rapidly transform the bodies of professional athletes, models and entertainers. One of the many things I love about them is they can be done anywhere at any time. But I’m not just talking basic pushups, sit ups, air squats and high rep calisthenics. That’s beginner stuff that won’t really build muscle beyond your first few months of training. We’re… continue reading.

Have questions about how to build muscle and gain weight? Then I’ve got answers… Question: Someone walks into your gym with a fairly modest lifting past (a recreational lifter or a little above) and says “I want to start getting bigger, what are three things I should know or do?” You say… To build muscle and gain weight you have to use big, compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, military presses, dips, chin ups, pushups and rows. You have to train with adequate resistance, meaning 6-10 reps on average and you need to strive to get stronger… continue reading.

You want the simple answer? No. Even though you hear a ton of people saying it the fact of the matter is you don’t have to and, in fact, shouldn’t always use a full range of motion on every exercise you do. People who recommend this are well intentioned. I’ve recommended it myself and still do to beginners. In a general sense it’s very good advice. But when we get more advanced and examine things more closely we get a different story. Sometimes a full range of motion can be dangerous. Other times it can simply be less productive for… continue reading.

Bodyweight training is incredibly effective for building muscle. Some would even argue that it’s better than free weights. Bodyweight exercises don’t beat up your joints as much as traditional weight training exercises do. They allow for a more natural range of motion and improve your overall athleticism quite effectively. Advanced bodyweight exercises require unmatched levels of full body tension. This is what leads to incredible strength gains. However, there are still those who  argue that bodyweight training isn’t as effective as weight lifting when it comes to building muscle. That’s because it’s often associated with high reps, endurance and the… continue reading.

Bodyweight Training Tips From Sin City Normally when you’re in Vegas with Jay Z pumping through the speakers and a big ass shakin right next to you at the pool you’d be thinking to yourself, “Maaaannn, look at those glutes, I’d love to see what that girl could do… In the gym…” Or maybe that’s just me. Or the over 35 year old version of me. Truth be told, I’m obsessed with strength and bodyweight training and am always thinking about it in some way or another. Even when there’s a bunch of tanned, thonged,… continue reading.

“There aint no cure for the summertime blues.” That’s what Eddie Cochran told us in 1958. And a lot of people know all too well about that particular subject. I’m talking about less than two months from today when June 21st rolls around and it’s officially time to start shedding layers for all to see. Those who aren’t prepared will inevitably be stricken with a fierce case of the summertime blues. That’s because they will be forced to keep their shirts on or live in embarrassment over the next few months, regretting that they didn’t lean down like they wanted… continue reading.

I hope you guys enjoyed the first installment of this article. Today I’m serving up Part 2… 11) Do More Pushups- Pushups are still one of my top ten favorite exercises and always will be. They are also significantly better for your shoulders than any other form of horizontal pressing with a bar or dumbbells. Pushups are highly underrated because people don’t know how to load them properly or do advanced variations. For loading you can get a weighted vest, chains, a Power Pushup (which is awesome) or even have a partner hold weight… continue reading.

Choose Your Goals and Train Accordingly I like kettlebell snatches. Only I don’t do too many of them because my workouts already include a lot of overhead work in the form of handstands, presses, barbell snatches, carries, chins, etc. When I throw in too many kettlebell snatches on top of all that my injured, surgically repaired shoulder gets a little flared up. So I’d rather jump rope, push the prowler or run hills like I have since ’84 when Walter Payton inspired me to start doing so. That’s not to say that I won’t do a… continue reading.

Well, it’s that time of year again;  time for my annual Holiday Fitness Gift List. “Aaaaah… Hey! If any of you are looking for any last minute gift ideas for me, I have one…” Actually I have 13. This year I picked out 13 killer gifts that any fitness enthusiast or member of the Renegade Nation would be thrilled to receive. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Climbing Rope– If you want to train Renegade Style you have to have a climbing rope. I honestly can’t think of too many more effective exercises than rope climbing. Your grip/forearms, lats and abs will… continue reading.

1) Always Start Too Easy Whenever you have a new client always start them out with easy exercises and light weights. If you do group training have them do the easiest progression of whatever the rest of the more advanced members of the group are doing. Any nitwit can create a hard workout. That doesn’t make it effective, though. You don’t want them struggling or getting down on themselves or thinking that your training is too hard. Nor do you want them throwing up during their first session or getting too sore from it. 2) Don’t Introduce Too Many Complicated… continue reading.

Being selective—doing less—is the path of the productive. Focus on the important few and ignore the rest. –Timothy Ferriss, author of The Four Hour Workweek Email, voice mail, text messages, Facebook messages, Twitter messages, paper work, bills to pay, food to buy, kids to raise, responsibilities to fill, commitments to uphold… It can all get a little overwhelming at times and we need to take steps to minimize the clutter and distraction in our lives. It’s one of the reasons my voice mail is perpetually full. I refuse to empty it. I don’t even know what’s on… continue reading.