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Bodyweight OAOLPU progression method?

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@somanaut You are welcome to do that but know that I am not on here as often as I will be checking my email but either is fine.
 
Great discussion as always at SF but just wondering why a progression something along the lines of one found in Convict Conditioning isn't mentioned here. For example push-ups to close hand push-up to uneven push-ups and then to OAPU? I have had to temporarily (I hope) my pursuit of the Simple goal (S&S) and have been exploring bodyweight training. I find it fascinating.
 
I don't remember much about CC but I did read it when it first came out. Lots of working up to relatively high reps on one variation before moving on to a harder one, if memory serves.

I can't speak in generalities here, only from my perspective. I started working on my 1A1LPU a few months ago, and I started doing just that, but at an elevation for my hand. I began with a 10" box on a bench, a few singles per session. I've worked up to doing a few triples per session on a 4" box on a bench before a recent 1-week layoff, and expect to be doing them on the bench without a box soon. For me, doing 10 or more regular pushups, or close-grip pushups, or even assisted 1-arm pushups doesn't address the need for maximum tension and hollow position because none of those movements require it in the same way as the goal movement.

JMO and YMMV.

-S-
 
Hello,

The OAOL PU from CC is very difficult to reach (but very interesting). Indeed, feet are very close to each other. Your triceps is supposed to be close to your ribs. Then, your balance is only maintain by a strong core activation.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
@somanaut

IMO, elevated OAOLPU is usually not as productive as it might be because most of the people don't set it up right. Bear with me here for a second: when you do a normal PU on the edge of a bench, for example, your body moves in a vertical plane perpendicular to the edge of the bench. If then, you take off one hand and the opposite foot, your "line of support" (from the hand on the bench to the foot on the ground) is diagonal to the edge. Now, if you still try to move vertically as in normal PU, it will mess up your weight distribution. Nothing serious, you'll easily adapt, but it will carry you away from the Floor OAOLPU (unless the elevation is real low). To correct this problem, make sure the straight line connecting your supporting hand and foot is perpendicular to the edge of the bench. It feels a little awkward at the beginning but the carryover is tenfold.

Otherwise, for an alternative strategy, you could check this article of mine: One-arm one-leg push-up | RedStar KettleBell

Alexey
 
Hello,

One of the most difficult thing about OAOL PU is not to bend the lumbar. This requires both glutes / hamstring and core work

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hello,

Below, a "fun" example of strength transfer.

Yesterday evening, I was GTGing OAOL PU. Then, my girlfriend saw me doing a rep. So she told "pretty sure you can't do it with myself sat on your shoulder blade using a standard push up move, assuming I weigh 50 kg". I answer "I bet I do it, and several times".

Then I got into position, and she sat on my shoulder blade...I got 5 reps, without bending lumbar, full ROM, with locked arm in top position and pecs to the ground at the bottom position.

So...how to having fun and demonstrate how well StrongFirst strategy works !

Then, thank you SF to made us live a very funny moment while training ;)

On a more serious side, I was very positively surprise of the lumbar hold and the number of reps. I am sure I would have been able to do more but she wanted me to stop to be sure I do not hurt my back.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
I have had a beta group working the OA and OAOL pushups using elevation 3 x week with different rep/set schemes for the past 6 weeks and I am super excited at how quickly they are making progress. Several started at the WALL and not 6 weeks later they are about 10-15 inches from achieving their pushup on the ground.

Due to these great strength gains, I am working on an article that will include a program. Stay tune, I should be done in the next few days and off to the SF editor.
 
Hello,

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that certain moves progress better using a 3X a week frame. I think cals are more taxing for the CNS than it seems so maybe that is why we need "lots of" rest between session. However, once you get the move, GTG fits well for maintenance.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
I have had a beta group working the OA and OAOL pushups using elevation 3 x week with different rep/set schemes for the past 6 weeks and I am super excited at how quickly they are making progress. Several started at the WALL and not 6 weeks later they are about 10-15 inches from achieving their pushup on the ground.

Due to these great strength gains, I am working on an article that will include a program. Stay tune, I should be done in the next few days and off to the SF editor.
@Karen Smith WOW! I would love to volunteer for one of your beta groups! I started on the wall a couple of months ago and am at about 24" for a 1RM. I'm using a more "Easy Strength" type of training format.

I'll be seeing you in about 6 wks in Seattle for the SFB- can't wait!

Kristen
 
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@Karen Smith WOW! I would love to volunteer for one of your beta groups! I started on the wall a couple of months ago and am at about 24" for a 1RM. I'm using a more "Easy Strength" type of training format.

I'll be seeing you in about 6 wks in Seattle for the SFB- can't wait!

Kristen
Look forward to seeing you in Seattle. That is great progress, the cert tips might just be the final missing link for you. As for my Beta groups, keep an eye out on my FB as that is where I post when they become available.
 
While I don't doubt that the best way to go about it is to start with elevation and decrease it gradually, because I don't have anything good to use for elevation, I started with holding the top position of the one armed pushup as a plank, which was hell enough to tolerate for a few seconds at first. Once I was able to hold it for a while, after a few days, I was able to lower myself a bit and after a few more days I could go all the way down and back up.

The one arm pushup let alone the one arm one leg pushup (which I call the "warrior pushup" for short) is such a hard movement that to my knowledge no culture in the world that I am aware of did it as an exercise until fairly recently. If you look at all the old exercises like those of China, Persia and so forth, it's all 2 handed pushups. The one arm pushup is no joke at all.

To keep myself in shape last summer when I was away from home for a few months, I did 10X10 regular pushups full movement with tension, and then 10 one armed pushups in small sets of course with rests, and one warrior pushup, then 3/4 pistols usually 3X5 per side. Regular pushups are still great for conditioning, but they aren't going to generate anything like the strength and anti-twist power that the one armed pushups generate.

Pistols are amazing - I really noticed their help when I went on hikes.

Coincidentally I started back into the Naked Warrior exercises a few days ago with the goal of doing a few reps a day. I was astonished that I couldn't do either one anymore. :(
 
Hello,

OAOL PU is a great exercise to improve body consciousness (putting tension everywhere at the same time, really feel each body muscle), and also space management (how to deal with balance and space). A very good variation is to go for 1 or 2 reps with closed eyes.

Doing a OAOL PU in slow motion (10s down, 2s bottom hold, 10s up, 2s top hold) is a very good exercise too.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
The one armed pushup activates a LOT of the muscles in the body. Its drawback is that you have to develop the weird little conecting muscle between the thigh and hip before you can do it, so it's a frustration until you can. However, there are certainly benefits to the one armed pushup that you can't get with any other exercise. Anyhow, it's heavy lifting but free and can be done anywhere.

The pistol is also amazing.

They don't have to be done all the way down especially not for a while. Doing shallow pistols, like 1/4 pistols is fine if that's all you can do - you're still getting stronger. Even holding the one armed pushup position like a plank is a good exercise.
 
If you look at all the old exercises like those of China, Persia and so forth, it's all 2 handed pushups.
Really? I was under the impression the One arm Pushup was as old as calisthenics is. I've seen it in the context of Tai Chi and Shaolin Iron Body Gong practices. Also in the context of Japanese martial arts from this SF article:
Strength Lessons from Martial Arts Master Donn F. Draeger

I wouldn't say it's such a hard movement that older cultures didn't use it. Frankly, I'd think the opposite. It's a tried and true method of building respectable strength for hundreds of years. I wasn't there to see it, but it seems like a very logical step in intensity. Ditto for the Pistol.


Its drawback is that you have to develop the weird little conecting muscle between the thigh and hip before you can do it, so it's a frustration until you can.

Are you talking about the psoas? The OAPU stress on the Psoas is the same as in a two arm, one leg pushup.

It's become commonplace to jump from regular two arm pushups to elevated one-arm push-ups. But the old tradition of building extra strength through close-grip PUs, divebombers, and one-legged ones still works! I remember a decade ago, the progression to the OAPU was about getting as strong with two-arm variations as possible, before beginning one-arm work. This is a drastic difference to nowadays where we basically see people move onto the One-arm elevated work as soon as they can. Many ways to skin a cat!
 
Really? I was under the impression the One arm Pushup was as old as calisthenics is. I've seen it in the context of Tai Chi and Shaolin Iron Body Gong practices. Also in the context of Japanese martial arts from this SF article:
Strength Lessons from Martial Arts Master Donn F. Draeger

I wouldn't say it's such a hard movement that older cultures didn't use it. Frankly, I'd think the opposite. It's a tried and true method of building respectable strength for hundreds of years. I wasn't there to see it, but it seems like a very logical step in intensity. Ditto for the Pistol.




Are you talking about the psoas? The OAPU stress on the Psoas is the same as in a two arm, one leg pushup.

It's become commonplace to jump from regular two arm pushups to elevated one-arm push-ups. But the old tradition of building extra strength through close-grip PUs, divebombers, and one-legged ones still works! I remember a decade ago, the progression to the OAPU was about getting as strong with two-arm variations as possible, before beginning one-arm work. This is a drastic difference to nowadays where we basically see people move onto the One-arm elevated work as soon as they can. Many ways to skin a cat!

I am going to take your advice and focus first on two armed pushups as you listed. It worked last time. Of course it's still a jump from two to one hand, but less of a jump if you're strong at two handed first.

It is always amazing to learn things about history that seem ahead of their time like finding pistols and one armed pushups in Draeger's work. I think the key here is that they were considered "severe" exercises and therefore not at all normal. They were known though, which I didn't doubt. Actually, my dad told me lots of people used to do pistols way back when - it was a way to show off how strong you were. Another move in his younger days was the "flag" where you grab a flag pole and extend your body straight out so you resemble a flag. I doubt I could do that! He could though!

I watched on Youtube an interesting full workout in a traditional Iranian martial arts school. They have really interesting things that kind of resemble a shield, a bow, and clubs. The club exercises are well known internationally but the weird shield and bow stuff, not so much. I don't think they had any one arm or one legged bodyweight presses.

But of course what am I talking about, since the Slavs have been doing pistol squats forever as part of dancing.
 
I am going to take your advice and focus first on two armed pushups as you listed. It worked last time. Of course it's still a jump from two to one hand, but less of a jump if you're strong at two handed first.

I mean, you should do whatever you think works best for you. Don't take it as advice necessarily... I'm not saying one is better. I'm just saying that it used to be that people really squeeze all strength gains from bilateral pushups before starting unilateral. It wasn't uncommon for people to build up to 20+ slow close-grip push-ups, dozens of divebombers, even some archer push-ups.

Nowadays, those variations almost seem exotic and somewhat uncommon! A shift in philosophy overall.
 
I mean, you should do whatever you think works best for you. Don't take it as advice necessarily... I'm not saying one is better. I'm just saying that it used to be that people really squeeze all strength gains from bilateral pushups before starting unilateral. It wasn't uncommon for people to build up to 20+ slow close-grip push-ups, dozens of divebombers, even some archer push-ups.

Nowadays, those variations almost seem exotic and somewhat uncommon! A shift in philosophy overall.
And at the end of the day the regular pushup is still a fantasic exercise, particularly for people who are heavy in bodyweight. I weigh 100kg, so my pushups place 70kg on my arms (70% of your bodyweight in a pushup). I guess we could say that is 35kg per arm. Pressing 35kg per arm 10 or more times in a row full extension is not a bad thing to do.
 
Hello,

Here is a video from Barstarzz about a strategy (among others of course) to reach OA push ups


Kind regards,

Pet'
 
My method was to do half pushups but 1 handed, keeping my body square like in the NW book. I didn't have something solid to use as an elevation where I was living then.
 
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