Sid Paulson

To increase the difficulty of my handstand push ups I’m adding a larger forward lean to increase the range of motion. This also prepares me for training the 90-degree push up. It went from 5 reps to a single real fast. Never underestimate the importance of small changes in ROM to manipulate leverages during bodyweight training. This is one of the foundational principles of gymnastics strength training.

How slow is your muscle up? I definitely think I could get this one to at least a minute. But always good to set the bar at a reasonable height 😂

Like @theflexibull said. A simple way to improve flexibility in a squat is to add pauses in the bottom. The Goblet squat with heels elevated is one of my go-tos. Especially with new clients who struggle to hit full range of motion on their squats. The heel elevation + front load is a great combo. You can then also add 1 1/4 reps in the bottom to accumulate more time under tension in the stretch. Once you hit good depth you can progressively reduce the heel elevation to increase the demands. The less your heels are elevated the more you need to pull yourself forward using the lower leg and hips.

I was genuinely surprised with this straddle Planche eccentric Started with Planche specific training like 2 weeks ago, and I can already feel a noticeable difference. My theory is that all of my handstand push up work is why. The heavy loading on the front of the shoulders in HSPU work is a great way to prep for Planche training. It allows you to build up a wide base of general pushing strength you can then direct into specific strength.

First of all, I love bodyweight training. But I used to keep myself stuck by only allowing myself to do bodyweight exercises, as if there was something wrong with lifting weights. In reality there are just movement pattern and muscle groups we can train. If you train with weights or with your own bodyweight is mostly up to your personal preference. Although my personal philosophy is that bodyweight training mixed with weights will be optimal for most people. If you’re unsure about using weights, here’s why I think you should add them to your program: 1. Weights are easier to track progress and make objective progress. This is good both training wise, but also mentality to actually see progress weekly. 2. You can train the same movements patterns but apply progressive overload more easily, this makes it easier to know you are actually doing more work. 3. It’s easier to isolate a muscle group or weak-link in the chain using weights. This serves as a great compliment to the compound bodyweight exercises. 4. Combining weights and bodyweight provides greater variety in your training. Making you proficient with multiple tools, instead of just one. It’s not about choosing the right method, it’s using the best tool for the job. It’s the same philosophy I follow and use with all my clients. Don’t let your ego stand in the way of your progress! Agree or disagree? You do use weights, bodyweight or both?

Most people severely lack hip extension strength. Especially the variations with the legs in a straddle that target the hip abductors as well. These are great variations to build up strength without a reverse hyper machine. You can perform these on a box or pommel horse. The straddle variations are more glute focused and the straight-leg variations hit more lower back.

Moving into a more gymnastics strength based training phase now for a few months. Just going to the gymnastics gym a few times in recent weeks made me kind of inspired tbh. As I have said, environment matters. So here is some stuff from my pushing session. The training split is the same, just switching exercises. Planche isometrics and bent arm presses for more skill-strength. HSPUs freestanding and wall based for more max-strength. And push ups and dips for hypertrophy. This is a fairly simple and standard workout structure: 1. Skill 2. Strength 3. Hypertrophy We use this sequence for a reason. And each exercise is done at a particular time for a particular reason. If you use a high quality structured program 🤘

I learned the “dislocates” many years ago. And it’s a great movement to improve shoulder health and restore some basic range of motion. You can see it used in the warm-up a lot, but to be honest people really butcher this one… Just throwing a stick or a band around. Arms bent, scapula not moving, arching instead of actually rotating the shoulders. If you want to get the most out of your dislocates, try this variation and you’ll notice the difference. This way you will max out the benefits by fully utilising both the scapula and shoulder rotators. Once you have a good understanding of how to actually rotate your shoulders you can start using the stick. The progression usually goes like this: Band -> Stick -> Loaded I’d do 2 sets of 10-15 reps in the warm up. With the band focus on movement quality. With the stick or loaded you can progressively move the hands closer together to get more a flexibility stimulus. Let me know what you think!

Been doing these as part of my Planche training in my recent training phase. It’s heavier since you start with the concentric so you need to produce a lot of force from the bottom. For any skill you want to develop I recommend practicing drills that are isometric (holds), eccentrics and concentrics. For Planche that could be: - Band assisted Planche hold 3x10s for isometrics. - Eccentric lowering to Planche 3x5s for eccentrics. - Planche press variation 4x6 for concentric focus. What are your go-to Planche exercises?

How to train your core in 2026 👇 This is what you shouldn’t do: - Only long duration static holds - Only high rep bodyweight variations - Only bird dogs and deadbugs This is what you should do: - Train “CORE” by working on all movements of the spine. Flexion, Extension, Rotation, Lateral Flexion, Anti-Rotation, Bracing and so on. - Use exercises that allow for progressive overload. Adding weight, pauses, slower tempo or using a harder progression. - Combine bodyweight and weighted exercises to get the best of both worlds. Don’t put yourself In a box. The abs should be trained like any other muscle. It needs to be trained in different positions, at different lengths with different rep and loading schemes. Comment “CORE” if I should post a full session!

New PR on freestanding handstand push ups. 5 reps in a row. The goal is to hit 10 clean reps. Do you think I’ll get it?

Here are some options for getting unstuck at the bottom of your chin ups. These work well if you either can’t do a single rep due to a lack of strength in the bottom. Or if your sticking point tends to be below 90-degrees. All of these emphasis training relevant muscle groups in positions that directly addresses the bottom range. 1. Scapular pull ups = Scapular depression strength 2. Active Hang = Scapular retraction strength 3. 1 1/4 Chin Ups = Bottom range concentric strength 4. Bottom Chin-Up Eccentric = Bottom range eccentric strength 5. 1 1/4 Scott Curls = Lengthened biceps emphasis What’s your sticking point in the chin up?