Atlas Pushups

[diamond]

Posting this because this exercise has really helped me get in position on 7" bars DO. Not pretending to be an expert...just saying this worked for me. So if you're tight through the chest and shoulders, give this a shot for a week or two and see what happens--in my book, it's a keeper:

All this is is pushups with your hands on two chairs/stools. You can elevate your feet on a chair too. I put the chairs just a hair wider than my shoulders.

1. lower down as far as you can and pause

2. exhale all your air and continue to hold the bottom position for 5-10 seconds. When i exhale, I go 3-4 inches lower.

3. press back up, repeat

4. sometimes I use push-up handles on the seats of the chairs with my palms facing my ribs

I do just 3-5 reps of that everyday and now I have no problems getting into position on 7" bars. Don't be deceived...they can make you really sore

Before adding this exercise to my "daily 5", I could NOT get a straight 7" bar higher than the middle of my sternum, in fact I couldn't get a 6" bar much higher than that either. Now I can get them under my chin almost touching my neck with no trouble (inspite of the fact that I have short arms according to Clay Edgin's article ). I tried other stuff for flexibility, but this was the only thing that worked for me.

Just offering this to someone else that's tight through the chest and shoulders with mini-me arms like me

--Mac

[vikingsrule92]

Thanks Aaron, I think i'll have my dad try that out.

[Brad Manion]

Aaron,

That's a very interesting idea. I'll try that out after my upper body workouts, 2X/week. My arms aren't short, in an absolute sense, but they are relatively short. I have the hardest damn time pulling the bars up high to bend DO as well. My question is this: assuming this pushup variant does improve my flexibility, does it improve one's ability to push inward on the steel? I find that even if I can lift the steel really high, all my exertion is [completely] is wasted/deflected on the hard pieces (1/4" square or Grade 8 bolts), unless I push in just right. Perhaps my issue is just one of wrist strength? I have finished off 1/4" x 5" Grade 8 bolts before, but they took 5-10 minutes each, and they were done some months ago.

Brad

[diamond]

Brad,

I do the pushups for flexibility and either use isometrics with bars that I can't move (1/2 crs X 7" ain't going anywhere by me) or I try to use progressively harder bars. The kink for me is where I'm weakest at this point, so I give extra attention to that--I do a few sets of isos at the end of my workout for it. I like to train the same length, so once I hit my goal bar, I focus on isos and start taping 1/8 crs to my new max. It amazes me how much harder adding a little 1/8 piece can make a bar--I honestly thought it was a joke when I heard about other guys doing that...until I tried it and almost passed out . The DO bending motion is pretty specific to that movement...I haven't found much carry over from other things, so I try to mimic that motion as much as possible. That's just what I do, maybe others can comment on other things that have worked for them.

Good luck with your goals, Mac

My question is this: assuming this pushup variant does improve my flexibility, does it improve one's ability to push inward on the steel?

Brad

[timiacobucci]

Also for anyone who has access to rings or wants to get some, muscle ups I think will do the trick. That middle transition from the top of the pullup to the bottom of the dip. If you do it slow and controlled instead of blasting through with the momentum from the pullup. It really stretches and stresses allot of muscles and tendons in a very similar way to DO bending for me at least. You can definitely feel that tendonitis inducing lower elbow strain.

And specifically for stretching the shoulders just holding in the bottom position of a ring dip will do this better than anything else I can think of.

I am pretty confidant that anyone who can do heavy wieghted muscle ups will climb the bending ladder very quickly once they get the technique down.

I know allot of guys on here know allot but incase anyone doesn't know what a muscle up is here is a video of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o65VzdSBogA

And that guy is retarded. $66 on ebay, I made mine from bent 1/2" steel wrapped in griptape with rope tied to a tree branch. It can be as simple and cheap as you want. And his minimum requirments for a muscle up are crap too. 20 pullups and 40 dips. I'm not sure if he meant regular or on the rings but I can only do 10 ring pullups and like 5 dips on the rings and I can do muscle ups now.

Edited August 28, 2007 by timiacobucci