The Perfect Workout Part III now you can stand…

Now I know it seems like a skipped a few steps but I have reason for this. Yet before we go on I want to make sure you understand the importance of spending time on the first two parts of the workout. Furthermore I want you to understand that if it takes you a whole year to master the rolls keep working on them, because unless you can roll over, perform a cobra, sit up, and kneel, you’re not going to be able to walk properly, and anything like Running, skipping, squatting, doing pushups, etc… are going to end up being more risky, because the foundation for all movement is laying face up (supine), turning over to face down (prone), and everything in between.

Now I also want you to understand… YOU WILL NEVER BE PERFECT at rolling just proficient!! Furthermore just because you still haven’t mastered the rolling, cobras, and crawls doesn’t mean that you can’t try something more challenging like sitting up, kneeling, and standing. It merely means you should spend more time on the ground than on your feet! There is something called the 80/20 rule when it comes to good eating habits, and I think you should also apply it to your workout. 80% of your reps should be spent on all those primary movement skills you aren’t good at, and 20% of your reps for the day should be on trying something challenging.

So for example my workout on Friday is a dynamic Turkish Get Up (TGU) Day. Now I can do a TGU with the beast (a 107lbs kettlebell), but I am far from graceful, in fact I am quite ugly at it. Yet even better the reason I am not graceful at the TGU with the beast isn’t because I am not strong enough- almost all failure of lifts have nothing to do with the weight, but with the technique. In other words I have to spend at least 80% of my time working my form. It looks something like this: 3 sets of 3-5 reps of each transition in the Get Up- (there are 7-8 transitions)- and then I do 3 sets of 5 presses on each stationary position of the Get up. And Then I get a heavier bell (Not a maximum weight) and try 5 sets of 1 rep on the get up in a smooth graceful way.

Now on Mon I have a heavy TGU day where I try to do a TGU with a much weight as I can handle. And I do that 5 times.That’s 215 reps spent on working the form and 5 reps trying to bust out some real get ups. 215 reps where I think and analyze each position and try to find a strong position with good posture, and 5 reps of TGU with a weight that I can just barely get through the Turkish Get Up with. Now I know that’s not 80/20, it’s more like 97.5/2.5, but you get the picture. If you’re not exactly a good roller, but you can squat well and you plan on doing a total of 200 reps for the week (this is a total of every exercise you do), then 160 reps should be devoted to working your rolling, and only 40 should be devoted to all the other exercises. Therefore modify the workout accordingly.

Ok, now before you go and try something you’re not ready for, here are some other guidelines before you should move on:

1. If there is pain STOP!!!! You shouldn’t have pain during any of this workout. You may continue working on what’s not painful, but if there is pain you need to GET HELP, YOU CAN CALL ME BY CLICKING ON THE “CALL ME” LINK BELOW, AND I WILL HELP YOU MASTER SAFETY!
2. If you are Shaky, or instable, spend only about 1min a workout session doing that difficulty level. SPEND MOST OF YOUR TIME MASTERING THE POSITION IN A STABLE WAY- I give you options that enable you support during the workout so USE THEM, and every now and then try without the stability- provided you can maintain good posture.
3. You cannot move on if you have bad posture during your movement in part 1 and 2. In essence if you can’t maintain a neutral spine while you are in the top of a pushup, (from part 2), you’re not merely at risk for falling when you stand (in part 3) but you have fallen. Every joint is affected by gravity, just like you are, yet no one except us professionals think about that. In other words if a joint is not supported by your body’s movement systems that joint is either defying the law of gravity (by floating- WHICH IT CAN’T DO!) or it has fallen out of position- meaning that you can have a joint that’s fallen even though you are still standing. You know this if you can’t hold every joint in it’s neutral posture, through it’s entire range of motion. Yes this sometimes means you need another pair of eyes to tell you something is buckling or looks out of grace- (remember good movement is pretty movement)! ONCE AGAIN IF YOU NEED HELP CALL ME!
4. Once liability and bad posture are removed while supine, prone, and rolling- then you need to be able to move in those positions with a sort of grace before moving on. Now this doesn’t mean you have to be as graceful as a dancer, but each exercise from part 1 and part 2 performed alone should not cause you to get out of breathe. In fact let’s even go further- you should be able to flow 3 times through without altering your breathing patterns. If you can’t flow through without maintaining composure than these are still hard for you, and you need to stick to part 1 and 2 until control of your breathing gets better. Once again I call it composure for a reason- hyperventilation (or heavy breathing) is a response to stress, and if you are an adequate mover than doing a couple of movements you can do well shouldn’t cause you stress unless you’re doing them a whole bunch of times!

Moving right along, let’s assume you’re ready for part 3 of this workout plan. Part 3 is about sitting, and getting to a kneeling position, and then pulling yourself to a standing position. It will be helpful if you start practicing your fitness and movement skills next to a fixed pole that you can reach to pull yourself from a kneeling position to a standing position. Furthermore, this is where things start to get real position specific, because you’re just focusing on balance and increasing depth of your range of motions for the squat. In essence there’s a lot of positions mentioned below, and it seems real complex, but in reality every one are just forms of squats.

Now this is just a note to you:

I want to mention that children normally stand long before they can perform a good squat or frog. This step is akin to a pull up. In essence they pull them selves up from a single or double knee position, and then they attempt to balance themselves. However all kneeling positions build squat specific strength, and because most of you can squat you will- at the end of a workout- be using a squat to test yourself.

Again, you can already stand, and you can already walk, and most of you can squat- at least a little bit- so using the squat as a test is kind of a telling movement; so after each workout you should be better at a squat than when you started. How do you know?

So you’ll start and finish each workout with 3 squats- instead of merely starting off laying on you’re back- and the squats at the end of the workout should feel deeper, better, (maybe) quicker, (maybe) more stable, and more graceful.

Ok with that said this is the workout:

1. Squat 3 times to test.
2. do the flow from workout 1 and 2 for 5 minutes as a warm up.
3. Then begin part 3:
1. lay supine and roll up to a sitting position on the left side keeping both legs in contact with the ground. (straight or bent legs do not matter). Use your hand on the same side you rolling on, to help push you to a sit. Refer to any video of a Turkish Get Up on youtube.com to help you understand what using your hand means.
2. Master your posture!!! You shouldn’t be sitting in bad posture. If you must support your self with your hands on the ground and practice good posture with support, and then remove your hands and try to keep the posture. If you can’t… KEEP TRYING!. As you sit wiggle at the hips, pull and pry your spine up toward the ceiling, think long spine!!!
3. Do step 1 and 2 for 3 sets of 5 reps on each side.
4. Once you master posture, and the roll up begin moving your arms and legs to challenge your posture. Try arm circles from a seated position while keeping your spine long. Also try bring one foot to your groin with your leg strength (no hands) and try to open up the hip and lay your knee on the ground (imagine sitting cross legged with one leg and the other one straight out). Once one leg is mastered do it with two at the same time so that you end up in a budda stretch with perfect posture.
5. Once you master this, and can do it with both legs at the same time… then you can move on to steps 6 and 7
6. lay down
7. roll to prone and flow with part 2 workout till you’re on hands and knees (quadraped).
8. Once there pull one foot forward and put it next to the corresponding hand- BOTH LEGS SHOULD BE EXTERNALLY ROTATED!!! In essence this position is not like kneeling in a lunge; it should resemble a squat or a frog except only 1 foot is flat on the ground. Do 3 sets of 5 reps on each side trying to increase the grace with which you do this maneuver. Once you can transition from quadraped to a 1/2 frog without dragging your foot or without instability move on to step 9.
9. NOW IT’S TIME FOR THE HARD PART!!! lift your hands, and Sit on the kneeling leg while maintaining balance. GO SLOW DON’T CAUSE YOURSELF A KNEE INJURY FROM RUSHING, AND PUSHING PAST YOUR MOBILITY… YOU HAVE NOT DONE THIS POSITION FOR YEARS!!!!
10. Once you have balance and the range of motion to sit on your kneeling heal begin to reach toward the fixed pole in front of you, and pull yourself to a standing position. Then lower yourself back down to 1/2 frog and flow back to quadraped. Do this for 3 sets of 5 reps. Once this is easy and graceful move on to step 11.
11. Once standing in a supported fashion lift 1 foot so that you’re in a single leg stance, and try not to fall over!!!!
12. Do this whole routine on both sides for 20 minutes. REMEMBER TALL OR LONG POSTURE, AND CONTROLED BREATHING!!! Once you can flow from steps 1 through 11 with grace and ease, then don’t do sets of each posture, try to wrap sets around the entire flow. In other words do 5 reps of one posture, and then transition into the next gracefully for 5 reps there, and then go to the next, and the next until you have done 5 reps everywhere. Then rest, and repeat 5 reps everywhere 3 times. Once you can do this without much trouble (it should be hard, but not overwhelming), then move on.
13. return to the ground:
1. Once standing lower yourself through an unsupported 2 legged squat. You should bottom out at the depth you can achieve in the 1/2 frog. In essence if you get in a 1/2 frog and look at your front leg, and the back of your thigh is touching your calf, then when you squat that’s as low as you should go. If it’s more then don’t do it!!!! Your squat and 1/2 frog should be the same depth! Keep working you’ll get it.
2. put both hands between your knees (or feet)- KEEP YOUR HEALS ON THE GROUND 3-5 TIMES. (Hey look your squatting, and you’re probably deeper and better than in the beginning).
3. slide one leg back to 1/2 frog.
4. Bring it back to the squat position 3-5 times for 3 sets.
5. pull yourself back to standing , and lower yourself in an unsupported squat.
6. put your hands to the ground and your slide other leg back to 1/2 frog.
7. Then slide the front leg back and you should be on hands and knees again (quadraped).
8. Continue flow from quadraped from part 1 and 2 till workout time runs out.
14. Test squat again and visualize yourself while you where in that single knee stance. You should be better at it than in the beginning.

Now I know this looks complicated, but in fact it’s very easy, and if you’re really trying to have good posture and reach full range of motion through your knees, hips and spine then you will be a better mover because of it. And remember part 1 and part 2 of this workout is much more of a strength and muscle builder style workout, and you’re going to be continuing to do those workouts while trying the new positions and flows in part 3. In essence it’s plenty challenging, and certainly going to build muscle for you in addition to adding to your conditioning level- which will do all those wonderful things you want, like help you lose weight and rev your metabolism. (REMEMBER IF ALL YOUR MUSCLES AREN’T DOING EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO BE DOING, YOU AREN’T GOING TO BE BURNING CALORIES LIKE YOU WOULD IF THEY WERE DOING WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO BE DOING!)

Get to know your ranges of motion at the knee and hip. If you can’t kneel and sit on your foot, then how do you expect to be able to achieve a full squat? If you can’t support yourself in a single knee stance how can you expect to stand on 1 foot? WORK THE POSITIONS AND THE RANGE OF MOTION!!!

And let’s be honest, this workout is more risky then the previous, and it might be time to seek professional help. If your help tells you kneeling is bad for you knee… it might, and PROBABLY IS THE CASE THAT HE/SHE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT HE/SHE IS TALKING ABOUT!!!! Get someone to help you that believes movement can be accomplished, and that limiting movement is not good for you!!! Remember a pile of organized bones does NOTHING! A blob of muscles attached to those bones is mere DEAD WEIGHT!!! Put all those things together in a network with a learning computer system with an energy source that’s connected, and NOW YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT CAN DO WORK!!!! Muscles move joints, but the Central Nervous System controls it all.

Remember that a dead man’s knee joint that was piled full of arthritis can be moved through a full range of motion with the right applied torque from an outside source. And that in a live person that source is the CNS!!! In other words a joint is not bad until the CNS stops wanting to move it, and most of the time you can re-teach the CNS to establish motion in any joint without pain. However the way you teach the CNS to establish motion in a compromised joint needs to be something which doesn’t compromise other joints, or lead to poor compensation. In essence GET HELP IF YOU NEED IT!!! CALL ME!