Restore: The Bodyweight Strength Program

What are the movements we will focus on?

There are SIX movements that will form the bulk of our training.

If you’re wondering where these movements came from and why I included them, know that all these movements involve the most important patterns – pulling, pushing, squatting, and hip hinging – for human beings to develop better strength and improve movement quality.

The movements are:

• the Basic Push-Up,
• the Basic Chin-Up,
• the Table Bridge,
• the Pike Push-Up,
• the Basic Bodyweight Squat, 
• the Calf Raise.

Trust me, all these movements give you the most direct and simple way to begin to efficiently and effectively develop and progress bodyweight strength.

They ALSO do a great job of “setting the table” for MORE challenging exercises, variations, and progressions in the future. For example, the chin-up is an easier exercise to perform than the pull-up, which makes the chin-up a great exercise to start with, to move toward working on and eventually mastering the pull-up.

Commit to Learning! 

Simply put, if you take the time to study and learn about the fundamental concepts presented here, and then practice the skills you will learn in this course, you’ll move forward with a fantastic understanding of what it takes to improve both movement quality and overall strength. And you’ll feel the results deep inside and out.

Smart well-designed bodyweight-oriented training has many advantages over more common gym training with machines or weights…

• The risk of injury is extremely low: the way WE are going to do this, with VERY SLOW repetition speed as one primary principle of training, the risk of injury is VERY LOW – in fact it couldn’t be any lower. Why? Injury usually happens when we flail and move out of control in an attempt to do something “powerfully.” This program and the way we’ll approach it is the exact opposite. You will maximize every moment with full-on contraction and tension, but at a SLOW repetition speed.
• It’s convenient: this program can be done anywhere, and anytime.
• You don’t need much equipment: Other than a bar to pull up on and a mini-elastic band, all you need to get started is your own body! And a commitment to work hard of course.
• It’s time-efficient: You’ll get awesome results with only 10-15 minutes worth of hard work.
• You’ll get a fantastic confidence boost: trust me, when you know you can perform bodyweight exercises well and are moving toward more advanced progressions, you not only KNOW you’re getting strong, you’ll feel it, and you’ll love it. Everyday activities will feel easier. Everything will be easier.

Now in all honesty, despite how well it can work, it doesn’t come without one primary disadvantage.

I’ve done my best with the instructional videos to show you how to minimize this AND give you every tool to overcome it.  What is it?

SCALING and PROGRESSION: when training with weights or on machines, progression and scaling are easier. Just put another plate on the bar and you “know” you’re stronger, right?

My point right now is this: I’ve put some tools together for you which you will read about soon in the Training Principles portion of the course which will help you move up or down (scaling the movements) depending upon your comfort level and familiarity with the movements, as well as your individual strength level.

With a mindful approach, you WILL BE ABLE to scale this program to suit your own strength level at the start of the program. And set up the ideal opportunity for success!

Okay, now that we’ve discussed a few of the benefits and looked at one particular challenge, before getting into the nitty-gritty specifics, I want to put this right-out front for you to chew on a little bit and consider:

This is A VERY CHALLENGING, extremely HARD and very INTENSE program IF DONE the way I am going to show you and tell you.

It is not going to be easy, my friend. Heck, if you’re anything like me… it’s going to be very humbling.

Bodyweight training requires balance, control and integration.

You can’t fake it nearly as much as you can when working with a machine or a dumbbell. There is no easy way to master these skills and get stronger. At some point, it comes down to patience, persistence, effort, and commitment. Desire.

Ask yourself – do you really want to move better and get stronger? (I’ll wait) 

Ok, GREAT!!!!! I knew you did…

So, when the time comes to do the work, come back to this question and then go DO IT.

Before leaving this topic for now, remember you will be able to scale up or down depending upon your level. But the fact remains that every repetition and every movement WILL challenge your ability to focus. And deal head-on with some serious discomfort.

That’s the only way you get better – and stronger. You must train smart, sure. But you must also train very hard when the time comes.

And the fact is, bodyweight exercises ARE hard to do well.