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Bodyweight Naked Warrior Tips/Comments

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Hello,

Waving volume and intensity can be a pretty good approach:
- some days with regular push ups but a lot of repetitions
- some days with tough variations but with far less répétitions

That way it is possible to reap the benefits of both worlds (endurance and strength endurance Vs max strength). Plus it brings variety so it avoids boredom and enhance recovery.

kind regards,

Pet'
I thought about that approach the other day actually. Doing regular push ups for high reps, say 5x20, perhaps with some body weight squats in between, instead of Tactical Pull Ups and Pistol Squats on my days off from the OAOLPU program. Might try it, thanks for the tip.
 
Hello,

@somanaut
You are welcome.

I recently tried an effective strategy - at least for my body. I did controled negatives.

For instance, instead of 300 push ups a day @1111, I did 150 @5111. Total TUT is the same, but there are less sets so it is more easily doable in a schedule. It also transfers very well to harder variations, and build good strength and endurance. To a certain extent it can be a good "compromise".

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Yes, the "bad part" about NW is that the moves are terribly hard, even after practicing them for some time.

Hitting the deck for a OAPU (or 2-3) can be quite taxing neurologically, meaning that you can only GTG with them pretty sparingly.

My view on the process is that if I can get even 2 OAPU per arm per day then I will get about 24 OAPU in total per week, minimum..

An answer to the low volume would be "how many OAPU did you do last week"? .. Makes one think about how this very difficult exercise can rack up decent numbers when done GTG style.

What I think is quite neat about the NW is that it doesn't follow Pavel's classic " 1 Big pull + 1 big (usually overhead) push" forumla

instead the program is a big squat + a big (horizontal) push

Of course it is kind of easy to add a big pull to the program, making it quite a complete "powerlifting style" line up

I would like a book by Pavel that is more broad, on "bodyweight" strength building rather than "no equipment at all" strength building. I have questions like, "does a chinup count as a big pull exercise?", "does doing high reps of regular pushups do good things for my cardio and some aspects of my strength?" Things like these.

We might not find access to weights, but it's easy to bring a chinup bar along, and easy to find a stool to raise your legs for elevated pushups and such.

Of course, Al Kavadlo has excellent books on these kinds of things, and I bought all of them, but I'd really like to see a Strong First book on them.

My take on no-weights exercising has been high reps of regular pushups followed by low reps of one arm pushups, as many chinups as possible in sets of small reps with rests. I never really mastered the one leg squat, but did sets of half pistols, which were good.
 
Hello,

@Kozushi
Now, when I am away from home, I tend to have rubber bands. They are light, does not take space (for intance, you can put them in a back pack or a suitcase) and you can get a pretty hard resistance. Long story short, they are very convenient.

Then, it is possible to do deadlift with them. If you have a stick, a "standard deadlift", but if you don't, you perfectly mimic a trap bar deadlift. It is even possible to do single leg deadlift. I admit this is not a true "bodyweight" training because it requires a piece of equipment... However, that way, you can get leg / core strength more or less the same way than with the swings. From there, plenty of protocols: EMOM, singles, etc... Swings / DL transfer well to pistol training - at least for me. There is almost some kind of mutual carryover.

I would not consider the pull up as a "big pull" though. Indeed, Pavel talks about DL or even swings/snatches as big pulls in the NW FAQ. Plus, a pull up does not train the leg. But I admit there is also a lat and core engagement in this move. Nonetheless, I consider the pull as a staple of my training !

Regarding the high training and the cardio - so regardless the power and strength - I can get pretty close to the swings if I use a circuit or EMOM protocol. For instance, 10 squats / 10 push ups, rest 10s, then repeat. EMOM can also be considered with these two moves. Then, when away from weight, I guess it can be some kind of compromise to do something like one day of low rep high resistance (pistol / OAOL PU) and one day of high rep low resistance (standard squat / push up).

Some hybrid conditioning (as I know you are also interested in through judo and GPP) can be doable: Strength Aerobics: A Powerful Alternative to HIIT | StrongFirst guess if one adds some DL (even by using bands), it is possible to get an acceptable training. It would be "complete" with some additional pull up

I also found an interesting add-on to NW doing stretching (trifecta, deep squat, splits (frontal and side) and some crawling / animal walks)

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
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i had done the naked warrior in the past. can do 15 pistol and soil one arm push up ( i don't test it), but still not owning oaol push up.
My advice is focus on adding tension skill- i think the goal of both exercises is teching people building tension from yourself only. if i do it in the future, i will follow the program until i can jump into oaol pushup/ pistol with full tension techniques any time any where.
i had tight hip flexor and butt when i was following them. i think few swing/ snatch will fix that easilly.
love the feeling pressing the earth down. awesome
 
I would like a book by Pavel that is more broad, on "bodyweight" strength building rather than "no equipment at all" strength building. I have questions like, "does a chinup count as a big pull exercise?", "does doing high reps of regular pushups do good things for my cardio and some aspects of my strength?" Things like these.

We might not find access to weights, but it's easy to bring a chinup bar along, and easy to find a stool to raise your legs for elevated pushups and such.

Of course, Al Kavadlo has excellent books on these kinds of things, and I bought all of them, but I'd really like to see a Strong First book on them.

My take on no-weights exercising has been high reps of regular pushups followed by low reps of one arm pushups, as many chinups as possible in sets of small reps with rests. I never really mastered the one leg squat, but did sets of half pistols, which were good.

I think one must go to the SFB courses to get the "bodyweight book".

That being said, hopefully there are some people at SF who are going to be putting out written work on bodyweight. lots of great articles for now, and Karen Smith's refine was quite good

Hello,

Waving volume and intensity can be a pretty good approach:
- some days with regular push ups but a lot of repetitions
- some days with tough variations but with far less répétitions

That way it is possible to reap the benefits of both worlds (endurance and strength endurance Vs max strength). Plus it brings variety so it avoids boredom and enhance recovery.

kind regards,

Pet'

I will try days of regular high rep pushups as a variant,

also I've found 5-10 minutes of accumulated leopard crawling work to be a good variant if I don't feel like hitting the deck for OAPU that day
 
@pet' that's a good idea. I travel a lot, I'd like to put it to practice. Can you recommend a good set of rubber bands? And of what resistance?

one more question: have you tried them to make push ups more difficult? How does it work?
 
@pet' that's a good idea. I travel a lot...

On that note, I've never been TDY (stateside) where I fail to find a doorway pullup bar at Goodwill for $5-$10. I just re-donate them when I'm done instead of making room in my luggage. Just another thought for travelers.
 
Hello,

@Oscar
one more question: have you tried them to make push ups more difficult? How does it work?
Yes I tried, but I do not find this very "convenient". You can do something like that:

I prefer targetting either a slow negative or an harder variation (OA or OAOL).

Can you recommend a good set of rubber bands? And of what resistance?
I use a brand which is in France and does not sell abroad. However, I know some people who use this ones with good results:
Rogue Monster Bands

Regarding the "pack", it may depends on what you want to do with them: strength / power training, stretching. I use them for strength and power, so I use "high" resistance bands. I use two of 44kg and 1 of 74kg. Depending on the stretching length, resistance varies of course.

Plus, if you can fix it beween a door and a door frame, then you knee in front of the door, you can perfectly mimic pull ups. For instance, if I do it with the 74kg band, I will be "lifted" because I am lighter than that.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
i had done the naked warrior in the past. can do 15 pistol and soil one arm push up ( i don't test it), but still not owning oaol push up.
My advice is focus on adding tension skill- i think the goal of both exercises is teching people building tension from yourself only. if i do it in the future, i will follow the program until i can jump into oaol pushup/ pistol with full tension techniques any time any where.
i had tight hip flexor and butt when i was following them. i think few swing/ snatch will fix that easilly.
love the feeling pressing the earth down. awesome
Good point, it's the tension generated from the two NW moves that is really what is making us stronger, less so than the range of movement. I got a lot out of holding the one arm pushup in various positions isometrically. In fact, I think of this as one of the "best exercises" - it has obvious benefits for judoka like me or for other wrestlers. The isometric pushup is indeed in the NW book. The linked strength from this move is something I don't think is replicated with weights, although the TGU comes close and is a better overall exercise because it's multi-directional.
 
I got a lot out of holding the one arm pushup in various positions isometrically.l.

Trying to hang out in the bottom of the OAPU or right near the midrange is brutal!

i try to do this variation once a week. oddly this day (isometrics) makes me the most sore
 
Hello,

Slow negative with pause can be very interesting to master a move as well. I extensively used this approach to get the OAC for instance. But I agree with @Jak Nieuwenhuis : isometrics are brutal ! Even "quasi isometrics" like the "2 minutes 1 repetition" principle from S. Maxwell - which is excellent by the way" is incredibly tough. By the way, I remember he advocates not using it more than 1 or 2 a week !

@Kozushi underlines something very interesting: "multi-directional". I noticed that varying the angles of the push ups (feet + hands on the floor ; feet elevated + hands on the floor ; feet on the floor + hands on a push up bar, etc...) create a well rounded muscle structure. In fine, this transfer pretty well to real life strength. Indeed, in a fight (or whatever activity), we vary the angle a lot.

Regarding the core training we get from the OAOL PU, we can apply the same logic as well: plank (both front and side), plank with elevated feet, etc... I admit the GU gives all this in only one exercise, but if we "deconstruct" it, we can find some bodyweight patterns.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hello,

Slow negative with pause can be very interesting to master a move as well. I extensively used this approach to get the OAC for instance. But I agree with @Jak Nieuwenhuis : isometrics are brutal ! Even "quasi isometrics" like the "2 minutes 1 repetition" principle from S. Maxwell - which is excellent by the way" is incredibly tough. By the way, I remember he advocates not using it more than 1 or 2 a week !

@Kozushi underlines something very interesting: "multi-directional". I noticed that varying the angles of the push ups (feet + hands on the floor ; feet elevated + hands on the floor ; feet on the floor + hands on a push up bar, etc...) create a well rounded muscle structure. In fine, this transfer pretty well to real life strength. Indeed, in a fight (or whatever activity), we vary the angle a lot.

Regarding the core training we get from the OAOL PU, we can apply the same logic as well: plank (both front and side), plank with elevated feet, etc... I admit the GU gives all this in only one exercise, but if we "deconstruct" it, we can find some bodyweight patterns.

Kind regards,

Pet'

What's worse is pausing at the mid range of a OAPU and then moving your body from side to side, away from the working arm and back towards it while staying in the mid range. brutal!

While I do think that the TGU is a more "complete" movement than the OAPU, I think the benefits of the OAPU lie in it's first-gear nature that the TGU doesn't touch on AS MUCH

a TGU is kind of an interplay between tension and relaxation, in order to actually achieve getting up off the ground, where as the OAPU is a full out tension extravaganza
 
Concerning banded pushups: personally I like them a lot because they make the concentric part a lot harder while not easing the eccentric part.

Concerning OAPU:
Dead Stop OAPU are also a great variation and really teach you to generate tension.
 
Concerning banded pushups: personally I like them a lot because they make the concentric part a lot harder while not easing the eccentric part.

Concerning OAPU:
Dead Stop OAPU are also a great variation and really teach you to generate tension.

I agree. Dead stop singles (with a controlled negative) have really tightened up my form on regular OAPUs. You are forced to turn your body into a barbell just to get off the deck.
 
Hello,

Slow negative with pause can be very interesting to master a move as well. I extensively used this approach to get the OAC for instance. But I agree with @Jak Nieuwenhuis : isometrics are brutal ! Even "quasi isometrics" like the "2 minutes 1 repetition" principle from S. Maxwell - which is excellent by the way" is incredibly tough. By the way, I remember he advocates not using it more than 1 or 2 a week !

@Kozushi underlines something very interesting: "multi-directional". I noticed that varying the angles of the push ups (feet + hands on the floor ; feet elevated + hands on the floor ; feet on the floor + hands on a push up bar, etc...) create a well rounded muscle structure. In fine, this transfer pretty well to real life strength. Indeed, in a fight (or whatever activity), we vary the angle a lot.

Regarding the core training we get from the OAOL PU, we can apply the same logic as well: plank (both front and side), plank with elevated feet, etc... I admit the GU gives all this in only one exercise, but if we "deconstruct" it, we can find some bodyweight patterns.

Kind regards,

Pet'
Yes, comparing the TGU with the OAPU, the OAPU is a "stronger move" but it's mono-directional whereas the TGU is multi-directional and not too far behind the OAPU in some positions in the movement. It is possible to vary the angles for pushups but there is frankly a lot more happening in the TGU, which is what makes the TGU for me the obvious choice between the two.
 
Trying to hang out in the bottom of the OAPU or right near the midrange is brutal!

i try to do this variation once a week. oddly this day (isometrics) makes me the most sore
Even holding it at the top of the OAPU or half way down is good. Alternately, going down just half way for reps is alright. Basically it's a wonderful isometric position to train in.
 
Here is another weird OAPU hack i figured out while playing the other day..

While standing, clean a KB ( i use 16kg) and hold the kettlebell "bottoms up" while zipping your body up as best you can

Just keep holding the KB bottoms up while tightening your body for a minute or 2. It is perfectly acceptable to switch hands to integrate the whole body

after just a few minutes of doing this (simply holding the KB bottoms up) try a OAPU.

I think you will be quite surprised at the new-found ease!

My OAPU is pretty solid by now, but I tried this trick and things got alot easier, very weird feeling, excellent tip. I also experimented with cleaning the KB and just having it rest in the rack position while tightening it up, got exactly the same effect. Basically a 15-20 second phase of tightening up were sufficient for the same result.
 
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