Weekly Workout #4: Speed & Power - Full Body Emphasis

Speed & Power Workout

- Full Body Emphasis -

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WORKOUT SUMMARY (+ CLICK TO ENLARGE)
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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Single Leg Ledge Stand With Knee Drive	#1,#2,#3	3	20-30 seconds per leg	30"	5-7	N/A

Option #1

Option #2

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OPTION #1

This next exercise is a Single Leg Ledge Stand with Knee Drive. This is one of the most effective foot & ankle exercises you can perform.

Foot, ankle, & toe training is one of the most neglected components of fitness & performance (read more in my book THE ULTIMATE FOOT & ANKLE MANUAL). I’ve said it dozens of times but its worth repeating. If your feet & ankles aren’t firing properly it will literally be impossible to perform any exercise correctly including squats, hinges, lunges, jumps & more.

Additionally, foot & ankle mechanics have a massive impact on daily function such as walking, standing, & overall gait mechanics, as well as athletic performance such as sprinting, cutting & jumping. Simply, when you improve foot & ankle function you’ll end up improving function from head to toe since activation in the lower extremities starts with the feet and ankles. Furthermore this impacts the entire kinetic chain including the knees, hips, core, spine, shoulders, & neck.

With this in mind, this single leg ledge stand is a deceptively challenging drill but incredibly effective for teaching proper foot & ankle mechanics. Simply stand on a ledge or aerobics step box with a portion of your medial foot (at least the big toe or more) hanging off the ledge while maintaining balance. You’ll literally feel your whole foot squeezing & gripping to keep your body from falling off the edge. Furthermore if you have flat feet, fallen arches, poor big toe activation, or valgus ankle & knee collapse this drill will both immediately expose & address these issues as it’s impossible to maintain balance unless you correct or activation patterns.

If you pronate or have flat feet you’ll want the inside medial portion of your foot hanging off the edge as shown in the vid. In contrast if you over supinate or have high arches you’ll want the lateral portion of your foot hanging of the ledge.

OPTION #2

Standing Band Hip Abduction: Works hip abductors of elevated leg through natural ROM while isometrically targeting hip adductors of opposite leg as well as foot & ankle complex.

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Landmine Goblet Jump Squat	#1,#2,#3	3	4	60"	6	4"

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The landmine goblet squat jump is one of the most effective exercises for improving vertical jump height. Here's why it's so effective. Read more at my full length article at https://www.advancedhumanperformance.com/blog/make-the-landmine-squat-better

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Steer The Wheel Landmine Ab Rollouts	#1,#2,#3	3	5 per side	45-60"	7-8	N/A

Option #1

Option #2

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OPTION #1

Rotational ab rollouts can also be performed holding on to the plate, as shown here. I refer to these as steer the wheel landmine rollouts. Although they do involve a similar activation pattern as the rotational ab rollouts shown above with Taylor (holding onto the collar of the barbell), holding the plate slightly alters the recruitment pattern not only of the core but also of the upper body. In fact these torch the chest, shoulders, and arms as much as the core.

With this variation the shoulders and arms will actually shift and move through a significant range of motion rather than holding an isometric contraction. As the arms shift not only will the lifter be required to stabilize the shoulders, but they’ll also be forced to resist hip rotation and spinal shifting as the upper body movement will essentially want to cause the core, spine, and hips to destabilize. It’s up to the lifter to keep the lower spine and core locked into a neutral position even though the upper torso will be moving throughout the exercise.

OPTION #2

Side Windmill Plank with Abduction with NFL Kicker Younghoe Koo: Hits hip abductors & obliques isometrically. Focus on closing off top foot by not letting it rotate out.

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Single Arm Dumbbell Row (Tabletop Protocol Optional)	#4 & #5	3	5 per side	45-60"	5-6	2"

Option #1

Option #2

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The single arm dumbbell row has been a staple of many fitness and bodybuilding programs for decades. Unfortunately most individuals butcher this movement by using excessive rotation (lawn mover style), over-rowing by allowing the arm to drift too high past the torso, or their backs round due to lack of proper spinal mechanics and postural positioning. By applying one of my favorite tricks, the tabletop technique (simply place a plate on the back), you've essentially eliminated all of those issues as the lifter is forced to perform the row with nothing short of textbook mechanics. Any twisting, over-rowing, cheating, use of momentum, or excessive top rock will result in the weight falling off the back. Here's one of my awesome female figure clients Erin English show how it's done as we crush her upper back and lats while simultaneously reinforcing proper horizontal pulling mechanics into her CNS.

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Landmine Single Arm Floor Press	#4 & #5	3	4-6 per side	45-75"	5-6	3"

Option #1

Option #2 (Barbell or Dumbbells)

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OPTION #1

The landmine chest press is one of the most underrated horizontal pressing movements. Not only does the use of the fat grip/barbell sleeve produce a greater level of shoulder packing and joint centration (due to increased irradiation) but the rotational instability of the landmine forces the lifter to stabilize their glenohumeral joint even further. Here I have NFL defensive end Jarius Wynn performing the single arm floor press variation.

The single arm floor press in conjunction with the landmine produces significant rotational forces that the lifter must resist. As a result this not only crushes the chest, shoulders, and triceps, but it also highly taxes the core and spinal stabilizers.

Although you can face away from the landmine anchor I find that facing towards it as shown in this video maximize the shoulder packing effect as the angle of push is up and slightly forward. This further helps depress the scapula and eliminates excessive shoulder elevation that commonly occurs during chest presses.

In addition, the angle of press involves a very slight decline resulting in greater stimulation of the middle and lower pectoral fibers while minimizing the emphasis on the shoulders.

OPTION #2

One of the most common problems on chest presses and bench press variations is excessive lumbar extension & low back arch. Yes a slight or natural amount of arch is acceptable particularly when driving with the hips and legs however most individuals including elite lifters tend to over-arch as a means of compensating.

Besides using exercises such as deadbug chest pressing variations which help minimize lumbar extension by reinforcing a tight core & neutral spine, perhaps the single most important cue when it comes to avoiding over-arching is making sure you don’t go past 90 deg on bench press. Yes that’s right!!! STOP TOUCHING YOUR CHEST on Bench Press.

When you go past 90 one of the most common compensations is increased lumbar extension since you’ve gone past the optimal range of motion for the body. And if your lumbar region doesn’t over arch you’ll be forced to compensate at the shoulder joint or somewhere else. In other words something has to give when you go past 90.

When training to 90 the body will have no need to gravitate towards these common compensations. Use 90 deg eccentric isometrics and not only will your body mechanics & joints thank you but you’ll inevitably gain more functional muscle mass & strength. Read more in my book MOVEMENT REDEFINED at link in bio.

Read more about minimizing excessive Low Back Arch on Bench Press + 12 variations to fix this issue in Full article at https://www.advancedhumanperformance.com/blog/bench-press-low-back-arch

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Plyometric Pullups with Flip and Switch Grip	#6 & #7	3	3-4	60-75"	6-7	1-2"

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Plyometric pull-ups are a great way to increased upper back strength and size. if you don’t have access to a pullup set-up with different height bars you can simply use the same bar and flip your grip in mid air to produce a similar effect as shown by one of my awesome clients Young Han. Read more about plyometric pull-ups https://www.advancedhumanperformance.com/blog/depth-drop-plyometric-pullups-for-strength-size-and-performance

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
L-Sit Z Press Single Arm Dumbbell Overhead Box Press	#6 & #7	3	4-5 per side	60"	5-6	3"

Option #1

Option #2

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The overhead press is one of the most effective upper body exercises not only for building functional mass and strength but also for improving upper body mechanics. However this is contingent on the individual being able to perform the movement properly. Unfortunately, many athletes struggle to master the overhead press as it can be more technically, neuromuscularly, and biomechanically complex than many upper body exercises.

With that said, one variation I’ve found particularly useful not only for teaching proper overhead pressing mechanics but also for providing a variation that nearly all athletes can perform in a pain-free manner is the overhead box press. Think of this is a movement that’s similar to the floor press used by powerlifters to master their bench press or even the box squat to master the squat, only it’s applied to the overhead press. In fact I would go as far as saying that it may be one of the safest overhead pressing variations there is.

The overhead box press provides 11 unique benefits. Read more in my full length article https://www.advancedhumanperformance.com/blog/overhead-box-press

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Kickstand Hang Cleans with RDL's	#8,#9,#10	3	2 per side	60"	6-7	3"

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Here's one of my NFL athletes DJ Tialavea demonstrating the kickstand hang clean. For many individuals the single leg cleans and snatches are quite difficult to master. Performing them from a kickstand position using an eccentric isometric RDL provides many of the same benefits of single leg cleans and snatches discussed in my article, however the slightly more stable base allows them to more comfortably explode with their hips and overload the movement. Read more about this movement and other single leg Olympic lifting exercises at https://www.advancedhumanperformance.com/blog/single-leg-olympic-lifts-for-athletic-performance

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Eccentric Isometric Lunge Jumps	#8,#9,#10	3	3 per side	60-75"	6-7	3-4"

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If you’re looking for a movement protocol that simultaneously enhances jumping performance, running mechanics, mobility, stability, symmetry, balance, motor control, speed and power, and more then you’ll want to incorporate eccentric isometric lunge jumps as shown here by Detroit Tigers pro baseball player Parker Meadows.

Notice how he maintains a forward lean and hip hinge on the lunge phase which represents ideal lunging mechanics for any lunge variation. Once he locks the eccentric isometric into position and feels for the most stable and strongest mechanics (a critical element of eccentric isometric training) he then explodes out of the lunge. In addition notice how Parker focuses on landing mechanics by sticking the landing with high levels of force absorption - a critical aspect of speed, power, and performance.

If I just had to choose one method to master jumping mechanics it would be eccentric isometric jump variations. That’s because the eccentric isometric protocol helps maximize proprioception and sensory feedback by activating muscle spindles. As a result this helps the athlete dial in their lower body mechanics as they can more easily tune into their “sense of feel” and fine-tune their body positioning. Ironically, once the athlete cleans up their mechanics they often find they can actually jump higher on eccentric isometric weighted jumps, compared to standard weighted jumps, due to the enhanced sensory feedback, improved body mechanics, and increased motor unit recruitment associated with eccentric isometric protocols. These are also amazing for producing post activation potentiation and can easily be paired with other explosive movements for an acute spike in power output.

Lastly, notice the various 90 degree joint angles (approximately) which is another critical element not just of lunges or jumps but most foundational movements – a topic I’ll be diving into with great detail in my book, Movement Redefined. Learn more at https://www.advancedhumanperformance.com/blog/jumping-landing-eccentric-isometrics

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EXERCISE	SUPERSET	SETS	REPS	REST	RPE	EI
Rotational Medicine Ball Slams	#8,#9,#10	3	3 per side	75-90"	8-9	N/A

Read About Exercise

The medicine ball rotational slam is one of the most simple yet effective full body power exercises as it focuses on using rotational coiling to produce high levels of explosive power and torque. Focus on rotating from low to high while reaching as tall as possible and holding just briefly at the top before unloading into the floor.

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EXERCISE	DURATION	# OF DRILLS	REST BETWEEN DRILLS	RPE
High Intensity Interval Cardio (HIT)	30 minutes	7	10-30 seconds	7-9

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High Intensity Interval Cardio (HIT)
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