TABLE OF CONTENTS. Introduction.2. Quick Note About Being GYMLESS..3. Format and Progression...6. List of Pushup Progressions..8

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2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction.2 Quick Note About Being GYMLESS..3 Format and Progression...6 List of Pushup Progressions..8 Beginner Pushup Series...9 Intermediate Pushup Series..17 Advanced Pushup Series...24 About the Author..32 1

3 Introduction I ll cut straight to the good stuff. My name s Andy, and I m just a regular guy. I like to think I ve got a few good ideas floating around in my head. It only seems right to dedicate them to paper. I tell you this because I ll never claim to be a badass in the field, a guy that people must listen to. I don t really believe in that. We ve all got our strengths and weaknesses, and we ve all got ideas that work better for some than others. I m not introducing anything revolutionary. I m well aware of the hundreds of books and articles dedicated to pushups. I simply hope to present a new way of looking at a few old ideas. I ve seen the content I m about to share with you benefit myself, my clients, and even my friends and family. I figure if just one or two people take something good away from this, it was worth the effort. 2

4 Quick Note About Being GYMLESS Being gymless isn t a loss of Manhood (or Womanhood). The suffix implies that you re missing something potentially beneficial, that being -less is to your detriment. In truth, you re never actually gymless. You ll come to find that your body and your environment combine to create the best gym ever. The foundation of today s fitness training methods revolves around the use of a facility we all know and love - the gym. Contained inside this palace of sweat and tears are barbells and squat racks, cardio machines with the ability to track heart rate and calories burned, exercise mats and stability balls, and a few pieces of equipment that might make you scratch your head. It s not that the gym won t feed you results. The gym can help you accomplish - in some way - any and all fitness goals. I d simply like to point out that it s not a necessity. It s not the beall end-all of training, as many would have you believe. The earliest methods of strengthening the body utilized one primary tool: the body. Shocker? I hope not. 3

5 Regardless of what machine or implement you use, the body is the tool that allows motion. Everything else is just a component in the toolbox. Each has a use, but not all must be used. In that sense, it may seem as if avoiding the gym would put you at a disadvantage. For some, this is true. I promise I m not trying to discredit the gym and the equipment contained within. However, for many, it s just another method. Gymless, despite the name, ensures that you re never without a means of exercise. It also serves to broaden your perception of the variety of methods that can be used to help you reach your goals. In this text, I m going to focus on one exercise that I m sure you re all familiar with: the pushup. Why only pushups? Well, I ll be honest - I really like them. And unfortunately, they re often passed by in favor of the egostroking bench press. I know there s already a ton of information available about pushups, but I don t always like what I see. Plus, I haven t seen any great online guides to pushup progressions and outside the box variations. I don t claim to represent all of the many pushup variations out there. I ve decided to feature my favorite variations, along with those that I use most often with my clients. I m sure I left out a few good ones - sorry about that. It happens. 4

6 Format and Progression Each exercise is classified as: Beginner Intermediate Advanced A clear progression is available to help you move from one exercise to the next, but there s plenty of wiggle room. Criteria for moving to the next progression: 10 reps of each exercise in the current progression. If you stall on a particular exercise and just can t seem to hit 10 repetitions, go ahead and move on to the next progression. If you pay close attention to the difficulty rating of each exercise, you ll notice that some at the beginning of the next progression are actually rated easier than those at the end of the previous progression. 5

7 Important Note: It s not entirely necessary to progress through each progression in the order listed. For example, in the basic progression, wide grip pushups are listed before diamond pushups. I chose this ordering because most people I interact with find diamond pushups to be more difficult than wide grip pushups. Obviously, there are exceptions. If you think a particular exercise in the progression you re working through will be easier, skip straight to it. It s your call. 6

8 List of Pushup Progressions Beginner Standing Incline Pushup Pushup on Knees Standard Pushup Wide Grip Pushup Diamond Pushup Pause Pushup Intermediate Staggered Grip Pushup Side to Side Pushup Unstable Pushup Spider Pushup Feet Elevated Pushup Advanced Plyo Pushup Close to Wide Pushup Plank to Pushup T- Pushup Slider Pushup Clap Pushup 7

9 BEGINNER PUSHUP SERIES 8

10 Standing Incline Pushup From standing position, lean forward onto a stable surface (desk, bench). Keeping body in a tight plank and elbows in, descend towards bar. Press up. Use: Great beginner variation that allows for constant progression by lowering the height of the hands. 9

11 Pushup On Knees Hands and knees contact the ground. Holding a straight line from hips to shoulders, bend elbows and allow body to descend to ground with elbows tight. Press up. Increase difficulty by increasing the distance between hands and knees. Use: An alternative to the standing incline pushup 10

12 Standard Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight. Press up. Use: The bread and butter movement that you know and love; Master this before moving on to more difficult variations 11

13 Wide Grip Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands wider than shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight. Press up. Use: Basic variation of the pushup; Adds variety 12

14 Diamond Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands narrower than shoulder-width - form a diamond or triangle. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight. Press up. Use: Basic variation of the pushup; Adds variety; Great for triceps strength 13

Pause Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line.

15 Pause Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight. Hold bottom position for a 1 to 5 seconds, then press up. Use: Pause at bottom increases core stability challenge; Good for increasing strength off the floor 14

16 Ideas for Variations Once you re comfortable with most or all of the exercises in the Beginner Series, you can begin creating variations. It might seem like you only have a few options, but that s not the case. Think outside the box. I bet you ll be surprised with what you can come up with. To get you started... Wide Grip Pause Pushup Diamond Pushup on Knees 1.5 Rep Standing Incline Pushup 15

17 INTERMEDIATE PUSHUP SERIES 16

Staggered Grip Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width, but offset. The fingers of one hand meet the bottom of the palm of the other hand.

18 Staggered Grip Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width, but offset. The fingers of one hand meet the bottom of the palm of the other hand. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight to body. Press up. Switch hands. Use: Emphasis on single-arm strength; Offset creates antirotational challenge for the hips 17

Side to Side Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Shift hips and shoulders to the left.

19 Side to Side Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Shift hips and shoulders to the left. Descend to ground over left hand, elbows tight. Press up. Shift hips and shoulders to the right, then repeat. Use: Emphasis on single-arm strength makes it a great lead-in to the one arm pushup 18

20 Unstable Pushup Hands and the toes of one foot contact the ground. The other foot is raised up and away from the body. Keeping the raised leg in place, descend to ground with elbows tight. Press up. Be careful not to let your hip rotate. Use: Good way to introduce an additional stability component without drastically increasing the difficulty 19

Spider Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line.

21 Spider Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. As you descend to the ground, pull your left knee towards your body until it contacts your left elbow. Return leg to original position as you press up. Repeat with right side. Use: Great way to integrate upper and lower body movement; Creates an anti-rotational challenge for the hips 20

Feet Elevated Pushup Hands in contact with ground. Hands shoulder-width. Feet together and raised a minimum of six inches, resting on a stable surface.

22 Feet Elevated Pushup Hands in contact with ground. Hands shoulder-width. Feet together and raised a minimum of six inches, resting on a stable surface. Head to feet shoulder form an angled upward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight. Press up. Use: Increases the difficulty of the standard pushup; Easy to add to most variations 21

23 Ideas for Variations As with the Beginner Series, get comfortable with the Intermediate Series movements before progressing. When the challenge starts to drop, start playing around with variations. It should be much easier to come up with combinations this time since you have both the Beginner and Intermediate movements at your disposal. To get you started... Side to Side Spider Pushup Staggered Grip Unstable Pushup Feet Elevated Pause Pushup 22

24 ADVANCED PUSHUP SERIES 23

25 Plyo Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight. Explode up, allowing your hands to leave the ground. Land softly. Use: Beginner upper body plyometric movement; First progression along the road to the Clap Pushup 24

Close to Wide Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight.

26 Close to Wide Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight. Explode up, allowing your hands to leave the ground. Quickly spread them apart and land softly with a wide grip. Repeat, this time shifting back to close grip. Use: Basic Plyo Pushup variation; Good for building power and coordination 25

Plank to Pushup Forearms and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Forearms shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line.

27 Plank to Pushup Forearms and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Forearms shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Straighten one arm at a time to transition to the pushup position - minimize hip movement. Descend to ground with elbows tight, then press up. Return to plank position, one arm at a time. Use: Good for building anti-extension and anti-rotational strength simultaneously 26

T-Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight.

28 T-Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight. As you press up, pull your left hand off the ground. Rotate your body until your left hand is pointing towards the sky, elbow locked. Return to original position and repeat with right side. Use: Builds good hip control (anti-rotation, anti-lateral flexion); Additional coordination and balance components 27

Slider Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground on top of sliders. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line.

29 Slider Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground on top of sliders. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight. As you descend, slide right arm out, perpendicular to your body. Press up and try to make your left arm take the majority of the load. Repeat on the left side. Use: Emphasis on single-arm strength; Anti-rotational hip stability component; Builds good shoulder control 28

Clap Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight.

30 Clap Pushup Hands and toes contact the ground. Feet together. Hands shoulder-width. Head to feet should form an angled downward but straight line. Descend to ground with elbows tight. Explode up, allowing your hands to leave the ground.quickly bring your hands together for a clap and return to shoulder-width position. Land softly. Use: Difficult plyometric variation; Requires a good combination of power and coordination 29

31 Ideas for Variations With the completion of the Advanced Series, you re ready to create variations with elements from all three progressions. The door of possibilities is now wide open. There are an almost endless amount of possibilities for varying the pushup. Create your own variations by (1) raising a leg up and/or out; (2) adding a pause; (3) adding a clap; (4) elevating the feet; (5) mixing and matching. Most of these changes can be applied to most pushup variations. To get you started... Diamond Unstable Pushup Close Staggered Grip Pushup Feet Elevated Pushup with Clap Side to Side T-Pushup Wide Leg Side to Side Pushup with Alternating Leg Up 30

He holds a Master s degree in Kinesiology, along with multiple certifications

32 About the Author Andy Chassé is a fitness professional and writer who has been working in the field since He holds a Master s degree in Kinesiology, along with multiple certifications from NASM and ACSM. Despite his history in powerlifting, Andy is a big believer in fitness that takes place outside of the gym. 31

AT2 Conditioning Exercise Descriptions

AT2 Conditioning Exercise Descriptions Copyright 2013 FatBurningNation.com DISCLAIMER: The information provided in this guide is for educational purposes only. I am not a doctor and this is not meant to be taken as medical advice. The information