Pushing for a Better Pull?

Early on in my education with kettlebells, I would hear occasional stories about people who followed a pressing-intensive program (Rite of Passage or Return of the Kettlebell, for example) and when these people returned to pull-ups, they either matched a previous personal record or improved on that PR. Given that these people had dialed their pull-up work way down in favor of pressing, these stories made me curious.

Then there would be an occasional story about the exact opposite—someone doing a pull-dominant program whose pressing numbers either stayed the same or improved. Again, these made me curious.

Pushing for a Better Pull?

With what I had learned about training and how the body adapted to stress, I was very curious about this. As I got deeper into my education with the kettlebell, I found out these were not random instances, and actually were frequent enough occurrences that they were categorized as the WTH (What the Hell) Effect—“happens all the time, but we aren’t sure exactly why.”

Like many times in life, that explanation was not enough for me.

The 7 Fundamental Movement Patterns

Waaaay back in the early 2000s, I read a book about training and one part of the book described the 7 Fundamental Movement Patterns that make up everything training related:

  1. Push
  2. Pull
  3. Hinge
  4. Squat
  5. Lunge
  6. Twist (Rotation)
  7. Gait

My mind was blown.

As I read more and listened to more experienced trainers, I came to find out this was pretty common information. I ran across these seven patterns in several different resources; some described it exactly the same, but some described it slightly differently.

I started looking at things done in training through this new lens: the goblet squat is a squat; the deadlift is a hinge; the press is a push; the pull-up is a pull; the swing is a hinge; the get-up is an anomaly; the clean is a hinge and a pull; the snatch is a hinge, a pull, and a press all while controlling rotation.

My head started to hurt. And it didn’t stop there. Where do carries fall? Where does an Olympic-style snatch fall? What about a sled push or sprinting while wearing a weight?

Like many times in life, this explanation was not enough for me.

Pushing for a Better Pull?

Patterns, Fractals, and Strategies

In 2009, right after my son was born, I began Movement Restoration. My purpose was to reduce both rehab and training back to the simplest and most basic components possible—and have a solid explanation for it.

One of the earliest pieces of information that struck a blow to everything I believed came from the book The Brain That Changes Itself. What stuck with me was how the cortex of the brain (where movement resides) only recognizes patterns. Immediately, my mind flashed to the 7 Fundamental Movement Patterns I had been exposed to earlier.

Boom! Training was explained.

But then I kept reading and learned that what the central nervous system (CNS) sees as a “pattern” and what we call “patterns” are different. (And this is where the air goes out of the balloon.)

What we called “patterns” are actually several smaller patterns put together to complete a task—a squat pattern is a series of smaller patterns. How can a pattern be made up of patterns?

Then, I came across what nature calls fractals—a series of repeating patterns. Typically, these repeating patterns add strength to what they make up. Seashells, trees, leaves, stalactites/stalagmites, and snowflakes are all fractals. Each is both very delicate, but quite strong given what it is comprised of.

If nature uses fractals to add strength to delicate structures, and movement is an expression of nature, then is movement a fractal? Patterns that make up patterns?

So then, I changed my verbiage—I tossed out the “squat pattern” for the words “squat strategy.” A squat is a squat. The ankles, knees, and hips flex with a vertical(ish) trunk. But putting a bar across the back changes things compared to holding a kettlebell in the front rack. It’s the same, but different. The same in that the ankles, hips, knees, and trunk are doing the same thing, but the context of the implement makes things different. The strategy to squat requires the same movement components, but will vary in the context of the situation.

This allowed me to clear things up regarding the semantics, but now the 7 Fundamental Movement Patterns came back into question. If the fundamental patterns are actually strategies and are made up of smaller patterns, then are they really the fundamental patterns of movement?

Pushing for a Better Pull?

Conclusion

I wrote an article in 2016 that explained the neurodevelopmental sequence (NDS) slightly differently than how people had been looking at it. I did this based on what I’d learned, experienced, and clinically seen.

Movement is an expression of nature, and movement strategies are made up of smaller patterns, but these smaller patterns are not what we typically see. Watch a baby develop and he or she will show you these patterns, but hidden within other things—babies are like mini-magicians. These foundational patterns are: breathing, head movement, pushing down, weight shifting, perturbations, and dissociation.

Here is a brief description of what each of these foundational patterns actually is:

  • Breathing: The mechanics of breathing and ventilation utilizing the diaphragm for both the inhale and the exhale.
  • Head movement: Controlling the head in response to the surrounding environment and visual input in any posture.
  • Pushing down: Taking advantage of the ground reactions forces from any posture by pushing down into the ground/implement. No movement takes place (think isometrics).
  • Weight shifting: Shifting weight between varying points of contact with the supporting structures in all planes (anterior/posterior; medial lateral, combined/coordinated).
  • Perturbations: Using the extremities independently or in combination to make a weight shift larger or more extreme; moving the hand/foot away from the body/midline (think “open chain” movements).
  • Dissociation: When the shoulders are disconnected from the hips, or when the shoulders and the hips are not stacked on top of each other and working as one unit in one plane.

Mix all these foundational patterns together within the differing postures of the NDS and you have the movement strategies (whatever you want them to be).

What does this have to do with the title of this article?

Pushing and pulling are mirrors of each other. The military press and the pull-up are the same movement strategy, but they differ in context (the bar being fixed versus mobile). If we look at what is occurring at the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and spine, it is the same. If we go back to how the CNS recognizes/stores movement, we recall that the brain sees these movements as the same strategy. If we look at what foundational patterns comprise pushing and pulling, we get perturbations (moving of the limbs in space, on a fixed platform, etc.).

Think about the instructions given for a properly executed kettlebell press regarding the active negative—“Pull the bell down.”

Every great coach has always said the same thing regarding any loaded press—kettlebell press, barbell military press, bench press, behind-the-neck press—pull the bar/bell down on the eccentric.

In both the press and the pull-up (or row variations), we are applying a movement strategy within the context of what the task is. This strategy is made up of the smaller foundational patterns of movement. In the case of the press/pull, the perturbation is the keystone. When we press, we are supporting the neurologic strategy of the pull within the CNS; when we pull, we are supporting the neurologic strategy of the push within the CNS.

It is the explanation of the statement “same but different,” as well as many of the WTH effects we see.

Pushing for a Better Pull?

Training Application

When we start viewing the press and the pull as more similar than different, this opens the door from a programming standpoint. It is quite common when people are training for the SFG Level I Certification to develop tender shoulders or elbows because of the perceived need to press more. To press more you need to press more, right? While this is true, training with pain rarely has big payoffs. And many people who have pain with pressing are able to pull pain-free.

DISCLAIMER: Pain is not a fitness problem, it is a health problem and deserves being treated as such. If you are in pain, find a licensed individual to address it—but remember to research who this person is so you find a licensed healthcare provider you are comfortable with.

A healthy balance of pushing and pulling can minimize stress on the sensitive structures of the shoulder (biceps tendon, joint surfaces, AC joint, bursa, etc) that typically don’t respond well to a lot of compression. But also keep in mind that if you push one day and pull the next, you are still stressing those structures. Keep recovery in mind when programming so that you get adequate rest/recovery time to these areas.

Typically when I’m in “get it done mode” and not specifically training for anything, I will press once a week and pull (pull-ups or rows) twice a week, and then the following week, I will reverse that. On any given day, I can grab the 48kg and press it—not a “Mike Sousa SFG Team Leader double-beast with a smile on my face for reps” press, but a “press it overhead without needing six weeks to train for it” press.

Brandon Hetzler
Brandon Hetzler is a Certified Athletic Trainer who serves as the Manager for Mercy Sports Medicine in Springfield, Missouri, where he oversees the Sports Medicine program as well as the Sports Performance program. He helped to develop the curriculum for and teaches in the Masters of Athletic Training degree at Missouri State University. He is a former StrongFirst Certified Senior Instructor and holds several additional credentials in multiple training disciplines.

Brandon is the co-creator of Movement Restoration, LLC and the Athletic Development Institute, LLC. He has written a book titled Movement Restoration, which proves anyone with enough free time and persistence can write a book. He teaches several workshops every year and when he is not traveling to teach, he spends his time trying to keep his wife, son, and dog in line and going strong.
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13 thoughts on “Pushing for a Better Pull?

  • Exactly what I needed to read both back in the dark ages of my football playing 70s & 80s and the rodeo years subsequently. Sadly yet appreciative in my mid fifties these basic fundamentals,principles and concepts will be more than sufficient to both attenuate my dysfunctions and anyone else hopefully finding the aforementioned at a much earlier epoch.

  • Great article! I pressed solidly for about two years before I even touched a pull up bar. I had learnt to pull the bell down every time and then when I attempted my first chin up, knew to pull the bar down. I got a chin up without training for it, only training kettlebell presses.

  • Great article Brandon. I’ve been following your work with the Movement Restoration project for years and it’s great to see how it’s progressed.

    • Jordan-
      I began this article right after the workshop in MN that Jeff and I did. Then it sat on my laptop for quite a while. There are several more to come from this line of thought, as long as there is the interest.

  • If you press the 48 you know how to apply your science to your body. You know what you’re talking about.
    I’d love it if you could break down the Turkish Getup and explain what is going on with it. I think of it as the real heart of my S&S training.
    Pressing with my right arm means the left side of my body is pulling down in order to balance things out. Therefore, pressing requires strong pulling muscles on the opposite side of the body.
    I noticed also with swings that when I do one handed swings (with the 40) my pectorals get bigger. This is something associated most with bench press or similar movements but I see it with the one hand swing.

    • Kozushi-

      Here is an older article I did on the TGU.
      http://www.strongfirst.com/the-forgotten-benefits-of-the-turkish-get-up/

      I have a more recent one that follows the exact same line of thought as this article, but who wants Another TGU article?

      Muscle is dumb – activate it with enough volume (like your 1 handed swings) and it will respond. Obviously, there are certain lifts that work better for certain body parts/regions but adaptation will occur.

      • Being a judo (etc) guy since a child I respect the benefit of training in balance and all direction strength including from awkward positions lying or crouching on the ground. The TGU is maybe the most “intelligent” move with a weight. It breeds kinetic intelligence. The weight teaches you and your whole body learns.

  • Like your article. As with many things, it’s good to hear it different ways. At the end you mentioned not training 6 weeks to perform a lift, doing things you talked about well keep from having to take 6 weeks to recover from said lift.

  • Love this article. I started looking at movement differently thanks to my mentor and more recently taking the BirthFit coaches course and working with autistic children.

  • Your article grabbed my attention because I make my living working with the 7 foundational movement patterns of financial markets as described by the Elliott Wave Principle – impulsive, leading diagonal, ending diagonal, zigzag, flat, triangle, and combinations. Markets are fractal; the same patterns develop at different degrees of trend.

    My first thought when you came up with a list of foundational movement patterns that were very different from the classic, fundamental movement patterns was to think you were trying too hard to be different and not appreciating the nature of fractals. My bad. I too was very excited when I first learned about the fundamental movement patterns, but I think your thoughts on foundational movements are clearer and more precise, although most of us probably will not begin to plan training sessions that balance weight shifting, perturbations, and dissociation. But maybe I am wrong and you will show us how this may help in the coming years. Bottom line, thank you for your contribution to our understanding of strength!

    • Tom –

      Thanks for not writing me off too soon. There is nothing new, only new ways to look at old things. Most people already do plan their workouts around weight shifting, perturbations, and dissociation – they just don’t know it. I don’t think we have a movement problem anymore – I think we have a language problem. I say “deadlift” and everyone that is reading this will think of what they know as the deadlift exercise . That is backwards, but that is what we have been taught. Why is our movement language based off of exercise; what if our exercise language was based off of movement instead?

      I’ve got a lot more written, if people are interested in reading it I will keep submitting it. I’ve got a nice article that ties together every lift StrongFirst teaches in all of its courses (SFG I, SFG II, SFL, and SBL). Hopefully soon I will finish it.

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