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Bodyweight Naked Warrior Companion Thread Volume 1: Useful Add Ons

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Hello everyone. This series of threads is meant to give a little bit more clarity on making the NW work.

I don't mean for these posts to be too long. My intention is to compile resources in one place for anyone who might be searching the forum for advice on the NW.

Hopefully these posts will give you some decent options on keeping your practice interesting and fruitful.

Big thanks to @pet', @Harry Westgate, @Kozushi, @305pelusa, @offwidth, and @Pavel Macek for supplying much of the information I've compiled. Many of these ideas are not my own, I'm just trying to compile the most useful info for easy viewing.

Lesson 1: The Dumbbell Snatch

The dumbbell snatch is a unique lift as it offers many of the same benefits as barbell snatching without the difficult learning curve.

Here is a video by Pavel Macek demonstrating correct technique for the dumbbell snatch. Notice how he starts the lift off of the ground and then lowers it to his shoulder.



Naked Warriors would do well to add 2 sessions of dumbbell snatching per week to their normal GTG regiment. Don’t do any other big pulls. You can do this either with heavy weight and low reps or moderate weight and high reps. That being said, you may find that heavy dumbbell snatching is more useful on the NW program than snatching done with a relatively light weight.


Pros: dumbbells are cheap, they don’t take up much space, and it is easier to learn most single hand lifts with them (compared to a barbell)

Lesson 2: Hanging Knee Raises for Better Pistols


3-5 sets of 5-10 reps. 2-3 times a week. (Al Kavadlo)

This exercise will develop your grip, hip flexors, and abs. A hanging knee raise is a lot like an unloaded squat.

Rather than do only low rep straight leg raises, try the hanging knee raise and gain some more volume.

(proper progressions and form)


Lesson 3: Hindu Pushup Finisher

Try this out after you are done with your GTG work for the day.


20 Hindu Pushups

15 Hindu Pushups

10 Hindu Pushups

5 Hindu Pushups

This is from Aleks Salkin. The goal here is to gain some volume and conditioning on a pushing exercise that also stretches you out and makes you sweat/pant. The OAPU does not lend itself to much volume.

I wouldn’t do this more than 2-3 times per week.


Lesson 4: The Jump Rope

This is a very valuable tool for building up your heart and lungs while GTG training.

3 sessions of 45 minutes per week is a good workout. You can drop down to 25 minutes and build up from there if you have trouble with jumping for 45 minutes.

The jump rope is a winner because you can take it just about anywhere, it improves athleticism in its most basic form, it’s cheap and it’s FUN.

Conditioning for Naked Warrior

Lesson 5: Towel Rows.

These can be done as creatively as you’d like. You definitely don’t need a towel, though I like towels and Gi’s because they tax your grip.

Sometimes I will do my rows under a table. Sometimes I do them with my green resistance band from Rogue Fitness. I will use a bar for aussie pull ups if I have one handy, but I usually don’t.

The variations keep rows fun and non-taxing.

Why rows over pull ups?

  1. Volume. You can usually achieve more reps, more muscle, and more conditioning for the tendons through sets of 5-10 reps instead of sets of 1-5 reps.

  2. They “mirror” the OAPU a little better than the pull up does.

  3. They are not as taxing as the pull up. Once again, you can build up more volume, putting a little bit (read: a lot!) of muscle on your back.

I have personally had the best experience with 3-5 sets of 5-10 reps.

Some of my favorite NW threads from the forum.


The beauty of box pistols

Minimum effective reps/sets for GTG/NW?

Personal challenge: 100 one-arm pushups (per arm) in one day.

Naked Warrior Tips/Comments

Keeping Tension out of the Face and Neck when practicing High Tension Techniques

Getting the Most Out of The Naked Warrior

Who is currently doing Naked Warrior and what do you think?

Hopefully this helps someone out there!
 
@Jak Nieuwenhuis good info I’ve just resently started gtg naked warrior style while camping. How many days do you do rows? Is it simulare to the snatches? Tanks for this(y)

thank you.

"The sets and reps are up to you, as you would expect, I would limit the reps to 5 and do more sets."

"To keep it simple, do your other strength exercises, with body weight or with iron, 2-3 times a week for 5x5"

Pavel

I like going just a little higher with the rep range, but that is purely personal preference.

If rows are easy for you, and you want to stick to sets of 5, try adding pauses, slowing the negative, etc.
 
May I add the following:

This is a KB complex that one might consider adding to their OAPU and Pistols.
It should take care of all your conditioning and pulling issues without interfering with anything or adding additional stress to the shoulder.
Choose a medium weight (~snatch size or one size heavier).
Do single bell or double (I prefere single for this one)

Explosive Pull Complex

1a. High Pull (active): 5-10
1b. Clean: 5-10
1c. Swing: 5-10

Do 3-5 sets, resting 60-120 sec btw sets; 1-3x/week
 
Great post, thanks a lot. I recently registered for the upcomig SFB in NYC with Karen Smith. I’m looking for a program on here to help me prep but so far have only pieced together OAOL PU and pistol programs. Would NW get me ready for SFB?

Also, how much prep time do you think I would need to perform well during the cert? I’m 40yrs old. I have decent conditioning, years of training experience, do Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai 5-6 days of the week in addition to lifting. Currently on a barbell program. Also I’ve done SFG 1. Thanks!
 
Great post, thanks a lot. I recently registered for the upcomig SFB in NYC with Karen Smith. I’m looking for a program on here to help me prep but so far have only pieced together OAOL PU and pistol programs. Would NW get me ready for SFB?

Also, how much prep time do you think I would need to perform well during the cert? I’m 40yrs old. I have decent conditioning, years of training experience, do Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai 5-6 days of the week in addition to lifting. Currently on a barbell program. Also I’ve done SFG 1. Thanks!
I would think that NW would be the right prep, but why not just reach out to Karen and ask her?
 
Great post, thanks a lot. I recently registered for the upcomig SFB in NYC with Karen Smith. I’m looking for a program on here to help me prep but so far have only pieced together OAOL PU and pistol programs. Would NW get me ready for SFB?

Also, how much prep time do you think I would need to perform well during the cert? I’m 40yrs old. I have decent conditioning, years of training experience, do Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai 5-6 days of the week in addition to lifting. Currently on a barbell program. Also I’ve done SFG 1. Thanks!

- NW, or
- one-day Bodyweight course, or
- lessons from an SFB Instructor.
 
I would also like to know, if practicing Naked Warrior for push-ups and squat guns could impact my body, that I could feel more athletic, stronger, slimmer? And where do I start if I can't do both movements? And how to train gtg and how many times per week? I have Pavel's book, but I didn't quite understand it. And thank you for the complements, it's very good. Can I still do a few pull-ups and some towel work ? Luigib.
 
Hello everyone. This series of threads is meant to give a little bit more clarity on making the NW work.

I don't mean for these posts to be too long. My intention is to compile resources in one place for anyone who might be searching the forum for advice on the NW.

Hopefully these posts will give you some decent options on keeping your practice interesting and fruitful.

Big thanks to @pet', @Harry Westgate, @Kozushi, @305pelusa, @offwidth, and @Pavel Macek for supplying much of the information I've compiled. Many of these ideas are not my own, I'm just trying to compile the most useful info for easy viewing.

Lesson 1: The Dumbbell Snatch

The dumbbell snatch is a unique lift as it offers many of the same benefits as barbell snatching without the difficult learning curve.

Here is a video by Pavel Macek demonstrating correct technique for the dumbbell snatch. Notice how he starts the lift off of the ground and then lowers it to his shoulder.



Naked Warriors would do well to add 2 sessions of dumbbell snatching per week to their normal GTG regiment. Don’t do any other big pulls. You can do this either with heavy weight and low reps or moderate weight and high reps. That being said, you may find that heavy dumbbell snatching is more useful on the NW program than snatching done with a relatively light weight.


Pros: dumbbells are cheap, they don’t take up much space, and it is easier to learn most single hand lifts with them (compared to a barbell)

Lesson 2: Hanging Knee Raises for Better Pistols

3-5 sets of 5-10 reps. 2-3 times a week. (Al Kavadlo)

This exercise will develop your grip, hip flexors, and abs. A hanging knee raise is a lot like an unloaded squat.

Rather than do only low rep straight leg raises, try the hanging knee raise and gain some more volume.

(proper progressions and form)


Lesson 3: Hindu Pushup Finisher

Try this out after you are done with your GTG work for the day.


20 Hindu Pushups

15 Hindu Pushups

10 Hindu Pushups

5 Hindu Pushups

This is from Aleks Salkin. The goal here is to gain some volume and conditioning on a pushing exercise that also stretches you out and makes you sweat/pant. The OAPU does not lend itself to much volume.

I wouldn’t do this more than 2-3 times per week.


Lesson 4: The Jump Rope

This is a very valuable tool for building up your heart and lungs while GTG training.

3 sessions of 45 minutes per week is a good workout. You can drop down to 25 minutes and build up from there if you have trouble with jumping for 45 minutes.

The jump rope is a winner because you can take it just about anywhere, it improves athleticism in its most basic form, it’s cheap and it’s FUN.

Conditioning for Naked Warrior

Lesson 5: Towel Rows.

These can be done as creatively as you’d like. You definitely don’t need a towel, though I like towels and Gi’s because they tax your grip.

Sometimes I will do my rows under a table. Sometimes I do them with my green resistance band from Rogue Fitness. I will use a bar for aussie pull ups if I have one handy, but I usually don’t.

The variations keep rows fun and non-taxing.

Why rows over pull ups?

  1. Volume. You can usually achieve more reps, more muscle, and more conditioning for the tendons through sets of 5-10 reps instead of sets of 1-5 reps.

  2. They “mirror” the OAPU a little better than the pull up does.

  3. They are not as taxing as the pull up. Once again, you can build up more volume, putting a little bit (read: a lot!) of muscle on your back.

I have personally had the best experience with 3-5 sets of 5-10 reps.

Some of my favorite NW threads from the forum.


The beauty of box pistols

Minimum effective reps/sets for GTG/NW?

Personal challenge: 100 one-arm pushups (per arm) in one day.

Naked Warrior Tips/Comments

Keeping Tension out of the Face and Neck when practicing High Tension Techniques

Getting the Most Out of The Naked Warrior

Who is currently doing Naked Warrior and what do you think?

Hopefully this helps someone out there!

I saw a great post on minimum effective dose of reps and sets for gtg. I feel compelled to share an interesting thought on that. Coming from a guy who can do 30 strict pull ups and 30 feet together One arm push ups non stop at 105kilo bodyweight, I have great arm and pec development, I am big basically.....



The idea with GTG is to stay fresh. Making sure that your performance improves or maintains itself but never goes down. Having said that, you shouldn't necessarily force adaptation by keep doing a certain number of sets and reps.... Rather do this instead.



Lets say you can do 5 pull ups strict. You do sets of 3 reps and no More. At least 15 minutes between those sets. Start doing 2-3 sets of them. Daily.


The idea is that doing 3 strict pull ups is still difficult, but you have to make doing 3 pull ups VERY EASY.


If on the subsequent days you feel like doing 3 reps is getting harder, you do one set of 3 reps. However do at least One set per Day. Up to 3 sets. With 60-70 percent of your max reps.


Eventually, doing 3 reps will start feeling easier and easier and easier. When you feel like you are exploding off of the bar on all three reps without any exertion...... Retest your max, it will have gone up. Obviously. Because doing 3 pull ups got easier.



When that happens restart the cycle with 60-70 percent of your new max reps per set, again 1-3 sets per day.


The key with GTG is the frequency, you have to do it everyday. Send a very particular signal to your body. This is the task, and this is what the body needs to adapt to..... That's it. When doing 70 percent of your PR feels easy, make it feel easier and easier.


The strange thing is that by the time I could do 16 pull ups strict non stop (took me 4 months starting from 3 max pull ups) I had a HUGE back at 90 kilo bodyweight. Because the quality of my reps were TOP NOTCH.



The idea with GTG is to continuously increase your daily recoverable volume through sheer frequency.


In 7 months I got to 30 strict pull ups without ever training to failure. Got 17.9inch arms flexed without pump.


You have to be patient with this approach. You have to train everyday. Without fail. Unless you got really weak, in which case take 2 days off and come right back at it.


Another thing is don't forget to eat in surplus. Pull ups don't go up without eating in surplus because you need More muscle to do More pull ups. That's a huge trick too.


So do 1-3 sets of 70 percent of your max reps per set per day. It will get easier. Then very much easier. Thats when you go for a PR.


However the fact is during this process your are growing muscles as fast as you can..... Trust me. So keep on with it.
 
@Mayukh Sen, welcome to the StrongFirst forum.

It's not clear to me if what you've written in the long post above is from you or if you pasted in something from another article or web site. Please clarify and thank you.

-S-
 
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