Welcome to the foundation of a fit body, what I call the Bodyweight 8 exercises. They are the eight bodyweight exercises that you will be using religiously to get into the best shape of your life. Over the course of the following chapters, you will learn everything you’ll ever need to know about these movements, including:
• The benefits of each exercise
• How to master each move with flawless form
• The step-by-step progressions to take you from ground zero to superhero
• The top variations for each exercise
Before we start learning them, it’s important to understand the philosophy behind this selection of movements. And I want to teach you some global concepts that you will use throughout the book. Get ready to become the master of the universe that is your body.
MASTER FEWER MOVES
Next to lack of motivation, the biggest roadblock for most people who start a fitness program is a condition I call “exercise attention deficit disorder,” or “workout ADD.” Most people treat exercises like flavors at their favorite ice-cream shop, endlessly mixing and matching exercises or switching to completely different workouts from week to week or month to month out of boredom or lack of focus. Though this approach may be pleasing to your palate when it comes to ice cream, it will most certainly leave you with a bad taste in your mouth when it comes to exercise.
Consistency is the most important factor for long-term success with a fitness routine. It takes your body and brain a good amount of time to figure out how to most efficiently perform a movement. When you constantly switch things up, you’ll never be able to fully master the various skills associated with perfectly executing an exercise. But what about the idea of constantly challenging muscles with new moves? you may be asking. Isn’t that the way to spur growth? While it’s true that shocking your muscles out of a long routine has benefits to the longtime exerciser, I firmly believe that most people, especially beginners, are better off sticking to fewer exercises and milking every last bit of benefit out of them before moving on to something else. Repetition after repetition always reaps the most rewards.
I was born and raised in Milwaukee, so I’m a big fan of the Green Bay Packers. Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi was well known for developing a play called the power sweep that became a staple of the Packers’ championship-caliber offense in the 1960s. Lombardi’s philosophy was to practice this single play over and over again until it was perfect. He often said that if everyone did his job, the running back should “run to daylight” and score every time. No, the Packers didn’t score on every power sweep, but they got so good at running this one play that opposing defenses couldn’t stop it even though they knew it was coming. The Packers committed to focusing on mastering fewer plays rather than being just okay at running a lot of plays, and this proved to be a winning strategy.
I want you to adopt this same winning strategy when it comes to the fitness program in this book: Focus on mastering fewer moves rather than being just okay at a lot of moves. You’ll end up burning more fat, building more muscle, and maximizing your physical performance at everything you do.
THE FOUR MOVEMENT CATEGORIES
It’s one thing to focus on mastering fewer moves, but it’s another thing to select the right movements to target. Rather than thinking about body parts, I want you to think about primal, natural, and athletic movement patterns that work multiple muscle groups at once. That creates efficiency and functional strength for everyday use. You can basically build a cutting-edge fitness program using only four distinct categories of movement: two for your lower body (hip dominant and knee dominant) and two for your upper body (pulling and pushing). Furthermore, within each movement category, there are two distinct exercises to master and switch between. This is the foundation of the Bodyweight 8 exercise system.
Here are the movement categories and corresponding exercises.
Lower-Body Movement Categories
Hip-Dominant Movements
These hip-centric movements revolve around the action of hinging (or bending) at your hips without moving your lower back and with minimal to no movement at your knees. Technically, these are lower-body pulling movements. They primarily work the muscles on the back side of your lower body (what exercise physiologists call the “posterior chain”), including your glutes, hamstrings, and spinal muscles. These muscles not only are the key to athletic performance but they are the most metabolically active muscles in your body. Translation: They burn the most calories for every rep you do, and building them up to your potential will boost your metabolism so you burn more calories while at rest.
The two movements to master in this category are the Hip Thrust and Hip Hinge.
THE HIP THRUST (also know as Hip Extension or Glute Bridge) is a ground-based exercise popularized by top trainer Bret Contreras (better known as “the Glute Guy”). The action makes your glute muscles work hardest at terminal hip extension like no other exercise, making it arguably the best butt-building exercise on the planet.
THE HIP HINGE (also know as the Romanian Deadlift) is a standing exercise where you bend at your hips with a flat-back position; it will work your hamstrings and spinal muscles more than Hip Thrusts. It’s also a more functional exercise because you’re on your feet. The action requires more stability and flexibility to perform and will instantly make you a better squatter and athlete. You’ll eventually perform this move on one leg at a time and achieve an elite level of balance and body awareness.
Being able to properly hinge at your hips is a prerequisite to properly performing the movements in the knee-dominant category. That’s right: Using your hips more when you squat and lunge will not only make you stronger and more powerful but will also bulletproof your knees. That’s why this movement category is so important, especially for people with a history of knee pain and lower-body injuries. In fact, many fitness experts recommend that most people perform 2 to 3 sets of hip-dominant movements for every set of knee-dominant movements they do. Whether you follow this prescription is up to you, but you at least want to make sure that you do an equal amount of both types of movements for structural balance and injury prevention.
Knee-Dominant Movements
These squat-centric movements revolve around bending at your knees and hips with a relatively upright body position. Technically, these are lower-body pushing movements. They primarily work the muscles on the front side of your lower body (what’s known as the “anterior chain”), including your quads and hip flexors. When you do these movements correctly—that is, by initiating them through your hips instead of your knees—they also work your glutes and hamstrings in a serious way. Plus, when you perform these exercises through a full range of motion, you even work the calf and shin muscles of your lower legs.
The two movements to master in this category are the Deep Squat and Single-Leg Squat.
THE DEEP SQUAT is performed on both legs, and, obviously, Single-Leg Squats are performed on one leg at a time. If you want to be truly fit, you need to be able to do both very well. Deep Squats are tools to enhance your overall mobility and athleticism and will eventually be used to build pure power with explosive squat-jumping variations.
THE SINGLE-LEG SQUAT builds a sick amount of strength and stability. Both moves feed each other, and when combined, they will make you a squatter extraordinaire—and that’s a very good thing. In addition, being able to properly squat sets the tone for how you do just about everything, like standing, walking, running, and even jumping. If you squat poorly (with your toes way out to the sides, your knees moving all over the place, and your back rounded), not only will your performance be piss-poor but you will set yourself up for some serious life-changing injuries.
Upper-Body Movement Categories
Pulling Movements
In these moves, you pull your body toward your hands. They primarily work the muscles on the back side of your upper body (posterior chain), including your lats, traps, rhomboids, and rear shoulders. They also work your biceps, forearms, and gripping muscles.
Many fitness experts recommend that most people would do well by performing 2 to 3 sets of upper-body pulling movements for every set of upper-body pushing movements they do. At the very least, you want to make sure that you do an equal amount of both types of movements for structural balance and injury prevention.
The two movements to master in this category are the Row and the Pullup.
THE ROW is a horizontal pulling pattern that works your upper-back/midback muscles.
THE PULLUP is a vertical pulling pattern that works your lats. Pullups are harder to do because you’re lifting your entire body weight. However, Rows do a better job of working the entire back side of your body because your glutes, hamstrings, and spinal muscles need to engage and support your body throughout the movement.
Pushing Movements
In these moves, you push your body away from your hands. They primarily work the muscles on the front side of your upper body (anterior chain), including your chest and shoulders. They also work the back of your arms, or triceps. In addition, upper-body pushing movements require a lot of core stability and engage your abs from start to finish. Though there’s nothing wrong with some isolated core work, rest assured that you’ll give your abs all the work they need with Pushup variations. It’s basically like holding a Plank position while moving your body up and down.
The two movements to master in this category are the Pushup and the Handstand Pushup.
THE PUSHUP is a horizontal pushing pattern that targets your chest.
THE HANDSTAND PUSHUP is a vertical pushing pattern that targets your shoulders. Handstand Pushups are harder to do because you’re lifting your entire body weight. However, Pushups do a better job of working the entire front side of your body because your core, hip, and thigh muscles need to engage and support your body throughout the movement.
THE ECONOMICS OF EXERCISE
In college, I was a double major in economics and sociology. Pretty strange for a fitness guy, right? Well, I went to Amherst, a liberal arts college, and there were no classes offered for exercise science. So I decided to major in economics since I wanted to get into business and all of my buddies on the football team seemed to think it was a good idea. The sociology major was actually an accident, as I ended up taking just enough sociology classes to earn the major.
No disrespect intended to any economics enthusiasts, but I hated Econ. It just didn’t resonate with me—all this theory with very little real-world application. I remember being so thrilled when I finally made it through microeconomics only to find that macroeconomics wasn’t that much easier. That said, I did learn a valuable lesson that has helped me better formulate my system of exercise progressions.
You see, macroeconomics is the general study of the behavior of the economy as a whole, whereas microeconomics is the specific study of the behaviors of individuals and businesses. If you’re already lost, don’t worry! I’m still wrapping my head around all of that mess. What’s important, however, is how this relates to fitness.
A macroexercise progression is a large vertical progression in which you’re going from one level of difficulty to another. For example, moving from a Staggered Squat to a Lunge is a macroprogression. A microexercise progression is a small horizontal progression in which you’re making a subtle modification to increase the challenge ever so slightly. For example, moving from a Reverse Lunge to a Forward Lunge is a microprogression. The big takeaway here is that macroprogressions involve a bigger jump in difficulty and microprogressions allow more modest jumps in difficulty, kind of like adding 5 pounds to a barbell.
Every exercise in the Bodyweight 8 program will have five distinct levels of difficulty that progressively take you from ground zero to superhero. On the next page are the macroprogressions for the Single-Leg Squat, as an example.
Within each level of difficulty will be three corresponding microregressions to make the move a bit easier and three corresponding microprogressions to make the move a bit harder. The importance of the microprogressions is that they allow you to completely customize your fitness experience. They show an advanced trainee how to make a ground zero exercise more challenging while making the superhero exercise accessible for even the novice trainee.
In addition, just because you progress past a certain level doesn’t suddenly render that exercise useless or obsolete. Easier exercises can continue to be used during warmups or for active recovery between workouts. You can do them for higher reps to build endurance and burn more fat or even perform them explosively to build power and rapidly increase your heart rate.
THE GLOBAL CONCEPTS
Now that I’ve officially mortified and offended my economics professors, let’s discuss some global concepts regarding proper exercise performance.
You’ll see certain themes throughout this book. I call them global concepts. These four distinct concepts are essential for safe and efficient exercise performance and, when internalized, will be the key to longevity in the fitness arena. They will instantly enhance your performance and reduce your risk of injury.
1. Tripod foot position
2. Hollow-body position
3. Diaphragmatic breathing (belly breathing)
4. Stable hip and shoulder position
Tripod Foot Position
You probably never considered this unless you’re a runner, but maintaining a natural arch in your foot is critical to your overall health and performance. Many people struggle to load either point of their forefoot: the knuckle of the big toe (first metatarsal head) or the knuckle of the little toe (fifth metatarsal head). If you put too much weight on the knuckle of your big toe, then your arch will collapse and your foot will roll inward, known as overpronation. If you put too much weight on the knuckle of your little toe, then your foot will roll to the outside, known as oversupination. Both actions result in an unstable foot that will wreak havoc up your kinetic chain. That’s where the tripod foot position comes into play for the purpose of performing the exercises in this book.
In tripod foot position, your weight is evenly distributed on three parts of your foot: the knuckle of your big toe, the knuckle of your little toe, and your heel.
To properly set up in the tripod foot position, first lift your toes off the ground. This will make it easier for you to find the three key points of contact. Then, slowly lower your toes to the ground without losing the ground contact and even weight distribution of the tripod foot. Balance here for a moment, and then progress to balancing on one leg. Your ultimate goal is to be able to hold this single-leg balance position for at least a minute without allowing the other foot to touch the ground. You can make it more challenging by moving your head and looking around, by closing your eyes, or by adding movement of your arms and nonworking leg.
The tripod foot position is the foundation of all standing exercises, particularly those for the lower body. It will make you a great squatter and ultimately a great athlete, and, most important, it will save your knees! Work these single-leg balance drills into your warmups, and take the time to carefully set up your tripod foot position before every work set for best results.
BEST WORKOUT SHOES
Most shoes elevate your heels and compress your toes, which makes it very difficult to execute tripod foot position. That’s why I advocate training barefoot or while wearing a minimalist workout shoe with a wider toe box and minimal heel elevation that keeps your feet closer to the floor. My three favorites are:
XERO SHOES. Like an extreme fitness sandal, these are as close to barefoot as you can get. They provide nice traction for ground contact, which is important for people like me with very sweaty feet. A strap encases the top of the foot and the heel for structure and support. This shoe is best for static and linear movements like walking and running; it is not ideal for explosive, multidirectional movements because of the lack of lateral stability.
NEW BALANCE MINIMUS SERIES. My favorite minimalist cross-training shoe is the Minimus 20v3. It has just enough cushioning to absorb impact on harder surfaces, and the toe box is super wide and comfortable. I even play full-court basketball several times per week in these shoes without worry of turning an ankle because they keep my foot low.
VIBRAM fivefingers. This is what most people consider to be the original barefoot shoe. It is super close to the ground and sports individual “fingers” for each of your five toes. I love using these shoes for my bodyweight workouts, but they don’t have a lot of cushioning for more explosive movements on harder surfaces.
Hollow-Body Position
One of the foundational positions in gymnastics is called the hollow body. It’s one of the first a young gymnast learns because it’s integral to many other movements. The Hollow-Body Hold is an exercise in abdominal bracing and total-body tension that will allow you to properly transfer force from your upper body to your lower body without any energy leaks in the kinetic chain.
The hollow-body position is easiest to learn standing on your feet. Here’s how to do it.
• Establish tripod foot position.
• Place your feet together.
• Squeeze your legs together.
• Tense your thighs.
• Clench your glutes.
• Brace your abs.
• Push your ribs and shoulders down.
Start with your arms at your sides (a) and then increase the challenge by raising your arms overhead without letting your positioning change (b). From, there maintain this position while standing on one leg (c).
From there, progress to a Lying Hollow-Body Hold with your back on the floor. It’s like performing a Plank while lying on your back, and it will improve your performance on Pushups, Pullups, and Single-Leg Squats.
Here’s how to do it.
• Lie on your back and place your feet together and point your toes away from your body.
• Press your tongue into the roof of your mouth to engage your neck stabilizers.
• Squeeze your legs together, and tense your thighs.
• Raise your arms overhead.
• Clench your glutes.
• Brace your abs.
• Push your ribs and shoulders down.
• Now raise your head, arms, shoulders, and legs off the floor and hold for time (a). Next, bring your arms and legs closer together, and hold (b).
LYING HOLLOW-BODY HOLD
The key to doing this exercise correctly is maintaining a posterior pelvic tilt, in which your abs are crunched and braced and your lower back is firmly compressed into the floor. No hyperextension of the lumbar spine is allowed; there should be no space, no “daylight” between your lower back and the floor, period! For this reason, the hollow is unmatched for bulletproofing your back and sculpting your abs. It also sets the tone for what is perfect posture, teaching you an abdominal bracing strategy that can be employed throughout the day, while seated, standing, or lying down.
Master the basic hollow hold, holding for 30 to 60 seconds at a time. This will make your whole body work harder to stay tight and together and prevent unwanted motion at your spine.
Another great variation is the Hollow-Body Bridge Hold. This move works your entire back side and is the perfect companion to the hollow hold. Maintain that posterior pelvic tilt with your abs crunched as if bracing for a punch to your gut. The movement is slight, as you will lift your hips only a couple inches off of the floor while maintaining ground contact with your feet, shoulders, and head (a). Your feet can be spaced wider apart with this variation, if you’d like. You should instantly feel it in your hips and hamstrings. Make it harder by picking up one leg at a time (b) or by extending your arms overhead (c).
One of my favorite 5-minute core workouts is switching between a Lying Hollow-Body Hold and a Lying Hollow-Body Bridge Hold every 30 seconds with no rest in between. Do it for 10 straight minutes if you want your core to feel like Mike Tyson went 15 rounds on your midsection.
You can add these hollow-body moves to your warmup or as a core exercise within a total-body workout. Because they emphasize posture, you can also do them daily without fear of overtraining. The key takeaway here is that you know that whenever I say “assume the hollow-body position,” it means:
• Squeeze your legs together.
• Tense your thighs.
• Clench your glutes.
• Brace your abs.
• Push your ribs and shoulders down.
• Keep your head in a neutral position, with your ears aligned directly over your shoulders, hips, and ankles.
HOLLOW-BODY BRIDGE HOLD
Diaphragmatic Breathing
Too many people breathe from their chests instead of their bellies. Test yourself. Stand and place one hand on your chest and the other on your belly. Breathe normally. Does your rib cage expand and rise? Are your shoulder blades rising toward your ears? That’s chest breathing, and it will put your back and shoulders at risk of injury.
Belly breathing, or diaphragmatic breathing, is when your belly rises before your chest does. Diaphragmatic breathing can improve joint range of motion, boost exercise performance, decrease the risk of injury, and delay fatigue during activities with a high cardio-respiratory demand.
Here’s how to practice.
• Lie on your back and place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest.
• Now do a series of deep inhales and exhales through your belly; 5 to 10 reps are ideal.
• You should feel your belly rise before your chest does.
Once you’ve got the belly breathing down while lying on the floor in a relaxed state, try to employ belly breathing in the hollow-body position. Maintaining total-body tension and a braced core increases the difficulty of breathing through your belly, so it’s a natural progression. Keep in mind that with enough cardiovascular demand and metabolic stress, at some point your body will be forced to revert to some chest breathing. The goal here is simply to breathe through your belly as much as possible and prolong the amount of time you can do so before your other respiratory muscles kick in for assistance.
If you find belly breathing to be a bit confusing or tough to do, especially during exercise, don’t sweat it too much. As long as you can brace your core properly, as seen with the hollow-body position mentioned earlier, your breathing will regulate itself.
Stable Hip and Shoulder Position
“It’s all in the hips, it’s all in the hips, it’s all in the hips.…”
This is one of the more unforgettable lines from the cult classic movie Happy Gilmore where former pro golfer Chubbs Peterson (played by Carl Weathers, the same guy who played Apollo in Rocky) teaches Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler), a former hockey player, how to swing a golf club. Well, I couldn’t agree more. Except, I would update that statement to say:
“It’s all in the hips and shoulders.”
The hips and shoulders are the host sites to the most muscular and metabolically active areas in your body. As a result, they have the biggest impact on your overall exercise performance and metabolic rate. If you’re looking to burn the most fat and calories during and after your workouts, then you need to get both your hips and shoulders on board every time you train.
Second, most lower-body movements are driven through your hips, and most upper-body movements are driven through your shoulders. With all of this driving going on, the hips and shoulders get a lot of miles put on them, so it’s critical that you get these babies in a safe and stable position.
The hips and shoulders are ball-and-socket joints that allow you to get full rotational movement at your legs and arms, respectively. With this movement comes great responsibility, because motion without stability is a recipe for joint demolition. All you need to know is that to make these critical joints stable, you must create external rotation torque to spiral these suckers into their sockets.
These coaching cues create an external rotation force that spirals your hips into their sockets for ultimate stability and strength.
• Maintain the tripod foot position.
• Keep your toes pointing as straight ahead as possible.
• Stomp and screw your feet into the floor.
• Push the floor apart with your feet.
• Push your knees out.
• Keep your shins as vertical as possible.
These coaching cues create an external rotation force that spirals your shoulders into their sockets.
• Push the floor apart with your hands when pushing.
• Pull the bar apart with your hands when pulling.
• Hug your elbows tight to your rib cage.
• Keep your armpits forward when your arms are overhead.
• Keep your elbow pits forward when your arms are in front of your body.
• Keep your forearms as vertical as possible.
If you embrace these performance pointers, you will absolutely dominate the exercises and workouts in this book, and your joints will be supple to boot. Now it’s time to get the exercises!
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