Progress always moves forward.

So in the theme of the last few weeks of talking about progress, we need to review some very crucial yet overlooked underlying Truths.

Progress moves forward. It builds upon an already existing and well-bolstered foundation. Think about erecting a tall building. You cannot add upper levels until there is enough foundational structure below. The upper levels will not be held up and will crumble to less-than before they were added.

Translation: If you do not have your foundational movements dialed in and sturdy, you are behind the curve and need to take responsibility for remediation. We cannot turn back and start retraining the basics in the ongoing. That was what the on ramp was for. At this point, if you cannot do a squat or a lunge or a push up or keep your legs straight during flutter-kicks. If you're still peeling allllll the way up in a push up without engaging any mid line. If your still falling into your knee on a lunge. If your squat looks like anything but a squat.. etc then learning more advanced skills is not going to help you. In fact, you're only going to hurt yourself just like an unstabilized building will fall in on itself.

BHIP has always been centered around developing skills for the purpose of strengthening them and progressing with them. NOT complacently stagnating on calisthenics and mediocrity. We want people to quantitatively and QUALITATIVELY improve at the skill we develop. So doing more. Lifting more. Running faster. Jumping higher. Being smoother. Standing taller. Breathing better. Basically making the hard look easy.

This may sound harsh to some of you, but it's just the nature of progression. We have no choice but to move forward and as coaches we cannot spend time and workouts reteaching the fundamentals every class. Think about any other coach. Did John Wooden have to teach the kids how to play basketball before every game? Does an air traffic controller teach a pilot how to land a jumbo jet on every flight? Does a SEAL team leader have to teach his snipers how to shoot before every insertion into hot spots? It's funny to even consider.. Imagine John Wooden teaching the champion Bruins the basics of basketball before every game and then following them around on the court and whispering little reminders about how to dribble.

Coaching implies the assumption that the people you're working with are fundamentally and foundationally equipped to perform the specific tasks of "the job". Everything else build upon that foundation. A 3-point jump shot requires the athlete to be the best jumper and dribbler and runner and skillful athlete. The 3 points are just an expression of the harmony of all of those skills working together.

I hope you're getting the picture that I'm painting here. Develop your foundations and keep them strong and always try to make progress. You can do 30 push ups? Why not 31? You can't do a single push up? Why not? You can do 30 burpees in 2 minutes? Why not in 90 seconds? You can't do burpees? You better have a damn good reason..

So here's my advice:
If you struggle with a skill, develop it this week and forever. Stop doing all the supplementary workouts that beat you up, you're just spinning your wheels anyway. You have more to gain by doing the things better rather than just plowing through a million sloppy "whatevers".

Push ups:
HOLLOW ROCKS. Do thousands of them. Do them until you can fall asleep in a hollow rock position. Aka "banana"..

Watch these vidoes: http://gymnasticswod.com/content/hollow-rock   http://gymnasticswod.com/content/hollow-body-progression-pt2

The push up relies on a hollow position of the body. So you have to get your knees and hips and belly button off the ground first. It's like a Roman Arch. The strength comes from holding the arch. If you can do that, then the arms are just anchors expressing the movement by extending at the elbows.. they don't do much else.

If you can do a push ups or two WELL, then you can do a perfect, picture-worthy push up every 2 or 3 hours until you can do 2 or 3 every 3 hours.

If you can do a bunch of push ups then do 60% of your max every few hours for a few weeks and then and a push up or two so that becomes your new 60%. Thus your 100% advances.

These have to be Well-executed push ups.

Fingers out. Elbows in. Shoulders back. Body hollow. Push the ground as far away from the front of your shoulder as you can..

Give yourself a daily/weekly goal and get them done.



Squat:
I'm not even going to address that. I've talked to those who need talking to so much that it's painful. If you still have trouble squatting, then you're A. at risk for all sorts of injuries from poor execution of advanced movements. and B. Should probably take some measures in addressing it instead of doing 4-5 workouts a week and hoping for the best. Hopes and dreams don't develop movements.. Mobility work does. Mobility! Mobilizing! Mobile! = having the capacity to MOVE! If you are IMMOBILE, you should work on MOBILITY! NOT getting huffy and puffy because that seems like the cool thing to do. [Smashing head on keyboard]


Flutter-kicks:

Please learn to do these and not look like you're in misery. These should be a joke. Compared to lunges and push ups, flutter-kicks should remind you of prancing through flowery fields. Unfortunately I still see many people flailing around pedaling with floppy knees and their heads resting on the ground. FIX IT!


Lunges:

All toes point forward. Hips are square in line with the shoulders and chest and pointed straight ahead. The torso remains upright and neutral and the arms are out of the way.

Enough with the ab mats. I see people doing sit ups as if they're vitamins. It's ridiculous. Sit ups don't get rid of belly fat! What is still unclear about that? Sit ups are a mobility tool to help develop upright torsos in the squat. THAT'S IT! But the way I see them done, I might change the name to fetal-position-ups. You want to develop a bullet-proof midsection? Squats and push ups are your keys. NOT HIP FLEXION!

Anyway..

Do some push ups and flutter kicks. If you feel you did enough. Do some more. Do some hollow rocks and maybe figure out your squat..
The train is steaming ahead, keep up.

I'm OUT!