all posts post new thread

Bodyweight One arm pushup programme

Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)

Ricky01

Level 6 Valued Member
Hey guys

I saw the one arm one leg pushup programme on the blog. I am currently working towards a standard one arm pushup. I am currently using a glider on my free hand so that when I decend with my pressing hand the other hand is on a glider and sliding out in front of me.

How would you recommend plugging that into the programme on the blog which asks for different elevations to be used?

Thanks

Richard
 
On Monday, assist yourself with your hand a moderate amount. A good rule of thumb is to assist just enough so that you feel the weight on the working hand, and your speed slows down slightly. Not a grind, but feels heavy.

For Wednesday, assist yourself a bit more. It shouldn't feel too difficult. Maybe the last rep slows down slightly, but not overly so.

Friday, you'll want to assist yourself the absolute bare minimum to get the rep on each side. At every moment on the rep, put as much weight on the working arm. It'll feel like a grind. If the rep takes about 5 seconds on the way up, that's about right.

For weeks 3 and 5, increase the sets instead of the reps. Notice that as weeks go by, you'll need to assist yourself less and less.

A more straightforward way might be to simply do these 2-4 times a week, for 3-5 sets of 1-5 reps. That's how I got my OAPU anyways. A program with Light/Heavy/Medium days works well, but it can also be more complex.

I'm of the thought that as long as you can get your results,better to use the least complex way possible. However, if you do want to follow Karen's program, I would advise those guidelines above.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck and hopefully other people chime in :)
 
Not really adding anything that interesting, but just wanted to chime in to say that I also started this program (as written). I'm doing Mon/Wed/Fri as Medium/Light/Heavy.

Medium elevation is a box approximately 1 foot high, Light is a chair (not sure exactly how high; may measure at some point), and Heavy is a standard OAOLPU on the floor. I'm doing OAOLPUs with my starting max single being a OAOLPU with my foot elevated a few inches off the floor.

No other pressing (including TGUs), and so I'm doing S&S swings on the other four days of the week, and also doing an easy 2-2.5 mile run three days per week after my OAOLPUs ('conditioning' is very important to me, but wanted to leave the swings and OAOLPUs for separate days to as not to risk either interfering with the other). Today was my first Medium day.

I'm not going to keep a training log on the Forum, though I am keeping track on my phone so I will copy and paste the journey once the 6 weeks are up.
 
I got the the one arm pushup through holding one arm planks as long as possible, and then gradually starting to bend my arm slightly and then straighten it again, eventually getting all the way down. I think it's more about the rest of the body having to strengthen up than it's about the arm at first.

I can do plenty of one arm pushups now, and I'm pursuing multiple reps of one arm one leg pushups too. I'd still say the one arm pushups are my staple as I'm not quite there for high reps with the one arm one leg pushups yet.
 
I got the the one arm pushup through holding one arm planks as long as possible, and then gradually starting to bend my arm slightly and then straighten it again, eventually getting all the way down. I think it's more about the rest of the body having to strengthen up than it's about the arm at first.
An interesting idea and an interesting take on the whole thing, @Kozushi.

@Ricky01, everyone's different - for me, none of the assisted versions of a 1APU were difficult, but any unassisted 1APU, even from a pretty high elevation, was. So I focused my attention on getting a 1APU at high elevations, even going to far as to practice the movement standing up, facing a wall, just to find the groove. So far, it's been a good approach for me. I'm doing what I think are pretty decent 1-arm, 2-leg pushups on a 10" box for doubles and triples, and after I get my current pushup down to the ground, I'll start working on the 1-legged version.

This is what I like about @Kozushi's approach - you get the feeling of supporting yourself in the position you'll need, and as I said above, that feeling, at least IMHO, is quite different than anything where you are allowed to use your other hand.

JMO, and I'm sure plenty of folks will find the assisted versions work fine for them.

-S-
 
Speaking as a judo coach, I could feel how important is the element of balance and of tensing up the right muscles in just the right ways, for the one arm pushup to work. I'm noticing this same conundrum while working towards the one arm one leg pushup - it's a different kind of balance and a different tensing in different parts of the body from the two legged version, so it's more about me "feeling out" where to place the tension in my own body and where to balance along the way than it really is about just getting strong enough to do it. Of course, once I can do it, the repetitions of it will develop my strength much further, but initially being able to do the movement is more about balance and correct tensing, at least in my case.

Again, speaking as a judo coach, this move is priceless for judo and I suppose anything similar. It has strength, tensing and balance lessons in it, and it's free and can be done anywhere. It truly is a "secret" warrior exercise. The late great Western Judo (etc) scholar of Eastern Martial arts Donn Draeger mentions the one arm pushup as an elite martial arts training move (along with the pistol).

Precious stuff, this Naked Warrior programme! It is exactly what it says it is!
 
I taught the one arm pushup move to a guy at kendo who was easy for me to beat, VERY easy for me to beat, and now, after him doing one arm pushups for a month, he's just as dangerous as I am at kendo and I'm having a heck of a time fighting him! This is good of course, and he is also very happy about getting his newfound strength.
 
Kozushi....I tried holding straight arm planks with one hand this morning (at the top of the pushup), for duration. It was definitely tough going and something I will continue to do to allow my body to feel comfortable in that top position.

Richard
 
Hey guys

I saw the one arm one leg pushup programme on the blog. I am currently working towards a standard one arm pushup. I am currently using a glider on my free hand so that when I decend with my pressing hand the other hand is on a glider and sliding out in front of me.

How would you recommend plugging that into the programme on the blog which asks for different elevations to be used?

Thanks

Richard
Hello Ricky, what exactly do you mean by a glider? I'm assuming it's some device you rest your unloaded hand on that has either wheels or slides along a smooth floor? Something you made?

I know Convict Conditioning used a basketball at some point under the unloaded (or less loaded) hand, but that seemed awkward from looking at the pictures. Thanks!
 
Kozushi....I tried holding straight arm planks with one hand this morning (at the top of the pushup), for duration. It was definitely tough going and something I will continue to do to allow my body to feel comfortable in that top position.

Richard
I was in that condition not long ago. Now I'm doing one arm one leg pushups at will. I got there with holding the top (plank) position for both moves and then over time gradually bending my arm more and more and adjusting the rest of my body as needed be.

The reason I chose to progress to these skills through planks first is because it's supposed to be literally no equipment at all. I wanted to get it done with no equipment therefore. A bench is equipment, in which case I may as well be using bars and stuff like that too - not the point of the moves in my way of thinking. It's supposed to be just me and the ground.
 
I was in that condition not long ago. Now I'm doing one arm one leg pushups at will. I got there with holding the top (plank) position for both moves and then over time gradually bending my arm more and more and adjusting the rest of my body as needed be.

The reason I chose to progress to these skills through planks first is because it's supposed to be literally no equipment at all. I wanted to get it done with no equipment therefore. A bench is equipment, in which case I may as well be using bars and stuff like that too - not the point of the moves in my way of thinking. It's supposed to be just me and the ground.
Kozushi, in Naked Warrior Pavel talks about the Isometric One-Arm Pushup which is basically your plank starting position but laying flat on the floor. Page 140 in my copy. It's designed, apparently, to teach you how to maximally tense your whole body. It says to "breathe shallow, stay tight and work on your mind-to-muscle connection." Your system would seem to teach the same things, and then some. By holding yourself up in a one-arm plank you are also training yourself to deal with the anti-rotation measures needed that you wouldn't encounter by laying flat on the floor as the book suggests. In addition, you seem to be better preparing your working arm for the task at hand by actually subjecting it to your full (70%) pushup bodyweight.

Is there any reason not to learn OAPU's this way?
 
for me, none of the assisted versions of a 1APU were difficult, but any unassisted 1APU, even from a pretty high elevation, was.
You were assisting yourself too much. You have to make an effort to place little weight on the helping arm.

Is there any reason not to learn OAPU's this way?
A few. Training the top of the OAPU and increasing ROM over time builds strength mostly at the top. You'll get there eventually, but it's not as fast as building strength throughout the entire ROM with an easier exercise since day 1.

Another benefit is injury prevention. If an exercise is too hard for you to control for the entire ROM, it might be too much to be doing at all. Similar to how people wreck their knees with quarter squats. Using full ROM keeps your ego in check and forces you to select easier variations. It can be a good safety mechanism for some people's elbows.

It's all about perception of course. For me, the anti-rotational component of the OAPU was never an issue. If you can hold a one-arm plank (and frankly, most of us can, even with very little training), you have a strong enough core for the OAPU because that's where there's most anti-rotation. For me, the problem was building up the shoulder, pec and triceps strength for the OAPU. So my time was better spent with full ROM, assisted work instead of training the top lock-out position.

Just my 2 cents.
 
You were assisting yourself too much. You have to make an effort to place little weight on the helping arm.


A few. Training the top of the OAPU and increasing ROM over time builds strength mostly at the top. You'll get there eventually, but it's not as fast as building strength throughout the entire ROM with an easier exercise since day 1.

Another benefit is injury prevention. If an exercise is too hard for you to control for the entire ROM, it might be too much to be doing at all. Similar to how people wreck their knees with quarter squats. Using full ROM keeps your ego in check and forces you to select easier variations. It can be a good safety mechanism for some people's elbows.

It's all about perception of course. For me, the anti-rotational component of the OAPU was never an issue. If you can hold a one-arm plank (and frankly, most of us can, even with very little training), you have a strong enough core for the OAPU because that's where there's most anti-rotation. For me, the problem was building up the shoulder, pec and triceps strength for the OAPU. So my time was better spent with full ROM, assisted work instead of training the top lock-out position.

Just my 2 cents.
Thanks, that's why I come to this board. Those all sound like valid points. I was trying some of the planks today and noticed my one knee (opposite of the loaded arm) was taking on some stresses it wasn't real pleased with. I could hold the plank about 20-30 seconds with either arm, but my opposite knees weren't happy. So I think I'm going to stick with the full ROM. Might be looking for an injury if I keep up what I was doing. It's not just the arm strength that's taxing. You feel it in your legs (knees in my case) too.
 
You were assisting yourself too much. You have to make an effort to place little weight on the helping arm.
Like I said, the strategy works better for some than others. The assisting hand or finger provide both some strength in pushing up but also stability. Some people are best off addressing the stability issue by working the one-armed pushup without any assistance but at an elevation.

-S-
 
Thanks, that's why I come to this board. Those all sound like valid points. I was trying some of the planks today and noticed my one knee (opposite of the loaded arm) was taking on some stresses it wasn't real pleased with. I could hold the plank about 20-30 seconds with either arm, but my opposite knees weren't happy. So I think I'm going to stick with the full ROM. Might be looking for an injury if I keep up what I was doing. It's not just the arm strength that's taxing. You feel it in your legs (knees in my case) too.
You have to keep in mind that I was already very strong from S&S before I ever started going for the OAPU. I could "cheat" therefore. You're right, the opposite side leg is very uncomfortable until you train it to handle the stress, but also you learn to tense your body in ways that relieve the stress on just that one part. You'll figure it out.

Now, if only I could find a way to "cheat" in order to do all the S&S swings single handed with the 40 instead of the 32, in under 15 minutes!
 
Karen Smith's programme looks extremeley well thought through. I would recommend following it to a t.
Also I would recommend using differenz elevations instead of a glider. With a glider you cannot really measure how much you assist yourself. With elevations you have a measurable element and can use different hights for different difficulties. Also doing OAPU on the elevations teaches you the right groove one thing that may fall short with gliders
 
I guess the other choice is to get to Simple in S&S and then just simply go for the full one arm pushup, hahaha!

I still find the pistols elusive, but I suppose I'm hardly putting enough effort into them - I'm just not motivated to given the amount of leg work involved in swings, goblet squats, the TGU, even the martial arts I do.
 
I decided to try Karen´s program out, starting this week. However I decided to do my own twist of it and added pistols and pull ups to the mix to create more of a full body workout. Using exactly the same formula for the pistols and pull ups as for the one arm push up. Any thoughts on this way of doing it? Just one week into it I feel like maybe I would like to mix something more into it, like deadlifts or some loaded carry, as it didn´t feel like that much work. On the other hand it might be a better idea to implement the GTG- days instead and just focus on the 3 body weight lifts?

I could do a full one arm push up at the beginning of the programme, but I am not 100% satisfied with how my body feels while doing it as I feel like I am loosing some tightness while at the very bottom of the lift, so I decided to start off at more conservative elevations were I can maintain absolute tighness all the way. Pistol is about 15-20cm away from full ROM on each side and my neck to bar maximum for the pull up is 28kg + my bodyweight of 78kg (in case anyone against all expectations were interested in that info...)

cheers
Marty
 
Status
Closed Thread. (Continue Discussion of This Topic by Starting a New Thread.)
Back
Top Bottom