Workout of the Week - The Push-Pull Workout

Monster workout today!

This one is NOT easy!

I call this my ‘push-pull’ workout. The idea is to do to 2 exercise that use different muscles, or direct the force in opposite directions (such as pushing, versus pulling…squatting versus jumping, etc.)for alternating sets, with no rest in between, until completely fatigued.

The picture shows the exercises I did today, but you can mix up any pairs you like. I did 3 groups, as follows:

1st Group:
Chins versus dips

2nd Group:
Diamond push-ups versus curls

3rd Group:
Regular push-ups versus sit-ups

The secret to making this workout intense, is to go to FAILURE on every single set. Failure means the point at which you cannot complete the next repetition - your muscles, literally, fail you. At the point of failure, you move directly and immediately to the opposing movement.

Now, there are a whopping 60 sets in this workout, so going to muscular failure on 60 sets in one workout will give your body a real hammering. Beginners take note! If you are a beginner, or not used to pushing your muscles to failure, then please do not attempt to do this workout to full failure on 60 sets - it will leave you trashed for a week!

There are ENDLESS ways to adapt this workout to YOUR level of ability.

- I have 3 groups, you could start with just 1 (I used to do just push-ups versus sit-ups, flipping back and forth from one to the other until I reached a point where I could only do 1 rep of each)

- Advanced trainers you might do 4 groups…good luck to you! Post on here if you do! I’d love to hear from you!

- I have 10 sets in each group. You could build up, start with just 4 or 5 or 6 and build up from there until you are strong enough to do 10 sets of each movement

- These exercises mostly use your own bodyweight. Beginners can put your knees down to assist push-ups

- Advanced trainers can add a weight vest or weighted rucksack to increase intensity

Because the movements are mostly bodyweight movements, and because every set goes NOT to a specified number of reps, but to failure, this workout can push every person to their own limit. One person may be bashing out 15, 20, 25 reps set after set…while another person may be doing 2’s and 3’s - it all depends on your strength and experience and fitness. I can tell you, on this exact workout today - I started off with those big numbers (20’s and 25’s), but very definitely ended on those small numbers (2’s and 3’s!) It was hard!!!

So beginners can try this out - perhaps do squats versus tuck jumps, then push-ups versus crunches, and just do 6 to 8 sets of each. You should get through the whole thing in half an hour and have a real good sweat on. More advanced trainers…try this, or your own combinations, and see how you do. And folks - I love to hear from you, so let me know if you try this!!

Stay healthy, stay happy! MotherNaturesDiet.com