Name: Playbook - TrickStrong RX - Upper Body Strength (Push)
Uploaded: 2024-02-28T17:25:32.141Z
Duration: 60 min
Description: Upper Body Strength (Push)

Slider flys.. i wish it was sliders and fries

Renato

Ange

Nick

Didn't completely understand the superset description until halfway through. Damn challenging workout, thankyou

Douglas

This workout uses contrast training to improve upper body pushing strength and explosiveness. You will need access to some gym equipment, but we’ve included modifications and alternatives for most exercises. 

Wait, what’s contrast training?

Contrast training is an advanced training technique that combines the benefits of strength training and plyometric training in order to recruit more motor units (more muscle fibers) and enhance the effects of both exercise methods. Each superset will consist of a strength movement, immediately followed by a power movement. 

Step one: Strength Movement
Use heavy resistance. Aim for 5-6 reps at 70%-90% of 1 Rep Max 

Step two: Plyometric (Power) movement 
-approx. 5-6 reps of either body weight or low load (less than 50% 1 Rep Max) performed at max speed

Rest 2-3 min between sets to fully recover

This has been investigated in the literature and has been found to be an effective way to improve strength, power and athleticism. 

Let’s get some 💪

The reps are a guideline. The hallmark of a good warmup is that you feel prepared to move!

This is a great drill to include in a warmup, core or mobility circuit. 

This combines the benefits of a downward dog stretch with a dynamic plank. Inch worms are excellent for total body mobility, stability and coordination.

Inch Worms

One of my favorite mobility drills! It is so effective in helping with the common movement restrictions we have in the hips and spine. 

Don't forget to rotate your head with the rest of your torso by looking at the ceiling (rotating towards the front leg).

Aim to get your elbow to the floor on the downward rotation, but not at the expense of form or pain.

Lunge with Thoracic Rotation

Thoracic whips are a great way to quickly improve thoracic and cervical spine mobility along with shoulder mobility. It is definitely a more aggressive technique which is better performed later on in the rehab process, as a movement prep before activity or as part of a mobility session. 

They look violent, but are perfectly safe and effective in improving thoracic spine mobility. This drill is great to address asymmetries from Tricking as we are frequently twisting to one side and not the other. This can also be used as a useful twisting drill to improve initiation and spotting.

It is important that we isolate this motion to the spine, rather than moving excessively through our shoulders.

Thoracic Whips

Downward dog is one of my favorite stretches as it hits so many important areas that tend to be restricted due to frequent sitting and poor posture. The downward dog addresses thoracic, hamstring and calf mobility and gives us some traction, or space to our spine. You can also improve shoulder stability by holding this position. 

Start on all fours, and press up to your feet while keeping your hands in contact with the floor. 

Press your chest towards your legs and let the neck hang loosely to get that spinal traction and thoracic mobility we talked about. Pedalling your feet and walking your feet out are both ways to increase stretch felt at the calf. Walk your hands towards your legs to focus more on hamstring lengthening. 

Perform the contract-relax technique by contracting your back muscles. Think of actively pulling your chest through your arms. Contract and relax at 5 sec intervals.

Explore the movement and spend time with each restriction that you find.

Downward Dog - (5 sec contract/relax)

Warmup

The primers should be done with INTENT as they prepare the body for the demands of this workout 💪

Swimmer pushups are great for shoulder, wrist and hand stability. They challenge you through your full overhead range of motion. 

To do them, you will need a furniture slider or a towel (works best on hard wood floor).

1) Start on your knees. Keep your core tight from the knees up and put your hands on the sliders. 

2) From a kneeling pushup position, bring your arms overhead in a circle. Press back up to pushup position and make a circle in the other direction. That is one rep. 

The more friction there is, the harder this will be. Modify your rep count according to difficulty. We want you to feel the burn at the end of each set, but not completely fatigued.

Primer A: Swimmer Pushups

The primers should be done with INTENT as they prepare the body for the demands of this workout 💪

The bear crawl push press lights up your rotator cuff, arms and core.

To do them, you will need a band or cable column.

1) Start on your knees with the band or cable anchored behind you as shown. Grab the band or cable in one hand until there is tension. 

2) Keep your core tight as you push to a hover (bear crawl position). 

3) From bear crawl position, shift your weight to the free hand.

4) Push press the band or cable overhead. 

Modify your rep count according to difficulty. We want you to feel the burn at the end of each set, but not completely fatigued.

Modifications: Unweighted, small dumbbells (different forces than cable column)

Primer B: Bear Crawl Banded Push Press

Step one: Strength Movement
Use heavy resistance. Aim for 5-6 reps at 70%-90% of 1 Rep Max 

Step two: Plyometric (Power) movement 
-approx. 5-6 reps of either body weight or low load (less than 50% 1 Rep Max) performed at max speed

Rest 2-3 min between sets to fully recover.

Perform this superset for 5 rounds.

Choose your method based on equipment available to you 👍

The Rotational Push Press builds shoulder, hip and core power in an athletic way.  To do this right: 

1) Begin with a KB, DB or landmine in one arm w/ a bent elbow as shown

2) Tension your core with your lower back in neutral alignment.

3) Bend your knees slightly in order to generate a spring-like force

4) Coil this force into your working arm by driving your elbow down slightly. Use this momentum to thrust upwards while punching diagonally in front of your face. 

5) Pivot with the same side leg while keeping your planted leg firmly rooted in the ground. This is important to blocking your momentum and delivering the force into your working arm. 

6) Always use a weight that you can fully control!

Rotational Push Press (Landmine)

Rotational Push Press (Kettlebell)

Rotational Push Press (Dumbbell)

Drop Catch Pushups are a great way to train power and deceleration in the upper body. This is useful for explosiveness in pushing off with our handed skills like TDR and roundoff. 

1) Start on your knees with your core engaged

2) Fall onto your hands and catch the descent (don't face plant!) 

3) Using the recoil, quickly perform a pushup to rise.

4) Return to the starting position.

Drop Catch Pushups

Superset A - Rotational Push Press x5, Drop Catch Pushup x5

Step one: Strength Movement
Use heavy resistance. Aim for 5-6 reps at 70%-90% of 1 Rep Max 

Step two: Plyometric (Power) movement 
-approx. 5-6 reps of either body weight or low load (less than 50% 1 Rep Max) performed at max speed

Rest 2-3 min between sets to fully recover.

Perform this superset for 3 rounds.

Choose your method based on equipment available to you as well as ability. Ring dips are a more advanced skill compared to other methods. 👍

The chair dip builds upper body pushing strength, stability and coordination. You can load as much weight on your legs as is needed to make 5-6 reps difficult. Make sure it is secure and doesn't fall down.  

Your lower body and core also contribute to the dip by keeping the body as stiff as possible. 

You should go as deep as your range allows, provided you aren't breaking form. 

Creating total body tension will help you to perform this safely and with better form. 

You can also do this with just bodyweight if needed.

Dips - Bench

Choose your method based on equipment available and your preference 👍

The ring dip is a very challenging  exercise that builds high levels of upper body pushing strength, stability and coordination. 

Your lower body and core also contribute by keeping the body as stiff as possible. 

You should go as deep as your range allows, provided you aren't breaking form. 

Creating total body tension will help you to perform this safely and with better form. 

You can also set the rings to a height that your feet can touch the floor if you need assistance.

You can add weight by wearing a dip belt. Your goal is to make 5-6 reps difficult, but doable.

Dips - Ring

The incline plyo pushup is an advanced pushup variation that can help us develop massive strength, stability and power in the upper body and core. 

1) Prop your feet on an elevated surface behind you. The higher the surface, the more difficult this exercise becomes. 

2) Use your core to lock in a well-aligned plank position. 

2) Drop into a pushup and catch the descent  

3) Using the recoil, quickly push against the ground as hard as you (safely) can. 

4) You should push off hard enough for your hands to leave the ground. If not, see modifications. 

5) Catch the descent of the previous pushup and keep going until you reach 5 reps. Remember to use your max power in each rep. 

Modification: pushup position, elevate your hands

Incline Plyo Pushup

Superset B - Dip x5, Incline Plyo Pushup x5

Step one: Strength Movement
Use heavy resistance. Aim for 5-6 reps at 70%-90% of 1 Rep Max 

Step two: Plyometric (Power) movements
-approx. 5-6 reps of either body weight or low load (less than 50% 1 Rep Max) performed at max speed

Rest 2-3 min between sets to fully recover.

Perform this superset for 3 rounds.

In this last super set, I combine slider flys (great chest exercise with focus on eccentric control) with med ball tosses to improve strength and explosiveness in the upper body. This translates to more powerful push-off in transitional skills such as TDR and masterscoot while also preventing injury. 

Slider Fly Steps

1) Begin in a strong pushup position with sliders (or towels on hard wood floor) under your hand.

2) Slide outwards until you are at your limit of shoulder stability. Friction will make this exercise much more difficult to perform. 

3) Push your hands back under you while maintaining a straight, but engaged arm

5-10 challenging reps. Modify based on equipment available

Modifications: on knees, bent arms, low friction surface, high friction surface

Slider Fly

The band press is an awesome drill for developing power through the pecs, abdominal muscles, triceps and delts. By doing this from a kneeling position, we challenge our core and arms to work harder. Follow through with your push and always fight the elasticity of the band. This will work with pull up assist band, super bands or a cable column. 

As a drill, this a lower impact way to train upper body pushoff mechanics for handed skills like touchdown raiz and cartwheel.

Band Press OR Med Ball Chest Pass

The chest pass is an awesome drill for developing power through the pecs, abdominal muscles, triceps and delts. By doing this from a kneeling position, we challenge our core and arms to work harder. Follow through with your push and when receiving catch aggressively. 

As a drill, this a lower impact way to train upper body pushoff mechanics for handed skills like touchdown raiz and cartwheel.

The rotational chop is an awesome drill for developing power through the pecs, abdominal muscles, triceps and delts. By doing this from a kneeling position, we challenge our core and arms to work harder. Follow through with your chop and always fight the elasticity of the band. This will work with pull up assist band, super bands or a cable column. 

As a drill, this a lower impact way to train rotational power similar to twisting mechanics. We need to train rotational power not only to improve our twisting, but to reduce injury risk. The stronger we are in the transverse, or rotational plane, the more resilient we will be to unexpected forces.

Rotational Chop OR Rotational Med Toss

The rotational pass is an awesome drill for developing power through the pecs, abdominal muscles, triceps and delts. By doing this from a kneeling position, we challenge our core and arms to work harder. Follow through with your throw and when receiving catch aggressively. 

As a drill, this a lower impact way to train rotational power similar to twisting mechanics. We need to train rotational power not only to improve our twisting, but to reduce injury risk. The stronger we are in the transverse, or rotational plane, the more resilient we will be to unexpected forces.

Superset C - Slider Fly x5, Band Press x5, Band Rotation x5

End of workout is a great time for mobility as our muscles and joints are warm. If you have the time, do these mobility drills to supplement your workout.

Actively pull your chest through your arms with the muscles between your shoulder blades. Roll your palms towards the ceiling to increase lat lengthening.

Active Lat Stretch

Quadruped Thoracic Rotations are great for mobility and stability of the thoracic spine and shoulder girdle and should be a staple in your routine. 

Thoracic mobility is extremely important in not only improving neck, shoulder and postural function, but in giving us the space to perform throwing and rotational movements such as touchdown raiz or eagles without limitation.

Begin in the quadruped position, or all fours. We prefer doing this drill banded because it allows us to gain strength and stability within our range of motion and therefore increases carryover of this new mobility. 

Strength throughout our full range of motion is simply safer as it is injury preventative. 

Make sure you choose a tension that is challenging but does not limit your full range of motion.

Quadruped Thoracic Rotations - Banded

This drill is great for improving our anterior shoulder and thoracic spine mobility. 

While sitting on the floor, prop your arms at a comfortable distance directly behind you. Having your fingers pointing backwards will challenge your wrist range of motion and encourage shoulder/chest opening. 

With your core and arms engaged, scoot your butt forwards to feel a stretch in the front of your shoulders and chest. Try to make your chest "proud" to enhance these benefits.

Seated Shoulder Extension Stretch

Thoracic extension mobility is often restricted due to the forward head, rounded shoulder posture we often assume in the modern day. This can not only make the muscles tight in this region, but the joints of our spine get used to being in a flexed posture as well. 

If this is you, you will feel closed off in the front and tight in the neck and upper back. Tightness in this region can sometimes feel like a stiffness or pinch when we try to extend through the thoracic spine, or upper to mid back. 

The yoga wheel is great for general upper thoracic mobility. Using a weight enhances the mobilization - but don't go too heavy. I'm using a 15 lb KB here. 

I keep my core engaged to focus the movement in my upper back while limiting it in the often-mobile lumbar spine.

Upper Body Strength (Push)

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