Use the Force

Considering how fitness has evolved during the last 30-plus years you might think muscle development can only be achieved with a gym membership. The truth is that calisthenics which can be performed anywhere provide a great workout without any weight machines. In other words you can create all the resistance you need with your own body mass and gravity. For example many classic exercises that people relied on before all the fancy weight equipment hit the scene like push-ups and pull-ups are just as effective as using machines.

Considering how fitness has evolved during the last 30-plus years, you might think muscle development can only be achieved with a gym membership. The truth is that calisthenics, which can be performed anywhere, provide a great workout without any weight machines. In other words, you can create all the resistance you need with your own body mass and gravity. For example, many classic exercises that people relied on before all the fancy weight equipment hit the scene, like push-ups and pull-ups, are just as effective as using machines. With a little creativity, you can perform calisthenics at the local playground.

In this article, we’ll discuss three upper-body exercises: push-ups, dips and pull-ups. It may seem a bit remedial to talk about such basic exercises, but this is where functional training begins, especially considering that learning how to move, balance and control your own body weight can be a challenge. With minimal adjustment, these exercises can be as complex and difficult or as simple and easy as you choose. Slight alterations in the distribution of body weight not only work different muscle groups, but also change the degree of difficulty. Further, developing movement patterns in a progressive fashion enhances strengthening and minimizes the chance of injury.

 

Calisthenics Basics

Calisthenics can help to develop muscle strength and increase muscular endurance. The number of repetitions, in combination with the load, will determine your results. An exercise will increase muscle strength if the resistance load is sufficiently heavy, such that you can complete no more than 10 repetitions. Varying the load is as simple as adjusting your body position, getting assistance from a partner or just adding some external physical weight to your body. Doing more than 10 reps will change the focus of the exercise from strength to muscular endurance.

Calisthenics also fit nicely into a functional training program that focuses on total body strength and muscle function integration. What does that mean exactly? It means you’re using exercises that include balance and/or stabilization to develop and strengthen muscles using realistic movement patterns. The benefits of such exercises run deeper than those from isolated, targeted muscle group activity. Using this exercise strategy, you will not only gain general strength, but you will also train your muscles to work as a team, thus improving functional strength.

Although calisthenics focus on primary muscle groups, it is difficult not to use accessory muscles when performing push-ups, dips and pull-ups. Due to the inherent instability of calisthenics, ancillary muscles are drawn into the effort, thereby broadening the benefit of each exercise without extending the workout time.

When considering the three exercises addressed in this article, you may question their ability to help a group as diverse as the fire service. But that’s the beauty of calisthenics: They can be tailored for anyone. For less fit individuals, the training set should initially encompass less difficult exercises that involve only a portion of full body weight. Using the same logic, more fit individuals should perform more difficult exercises that use their full body weight (or even added weight) as resistance.

So, where is the best place to start, and how do you get the biggest bang for your buck? Answer the question, “What do I need to improve?” and you’ll have a good idea. Generally, strength is the fitness component in highest demand on the fireground. As mentioned earlier, in order to develop muscular strength, you should use enough resistance so you can perform up to 10 reps, but no more. However, incorporating a combination of strength and endurance exercises into your routine may be your best option to accommodate the variety of demands on the fireground. Let’s look at a few of these exercises and determine how to vary the resistance to meet your needs.

 

Push-ups

In order to perform a push-up properly, the abdominal, lumbar (low back), butt, leg, neck, arm and shoulder muscles must all work together. In the starting position that most of us are familiar with, your body weight is supported on your toes and hands, with your hands positioned about shoulder width apart, your back straight and your head in line with your spine. From there, the possibilities are endless, as you can vary the starting position in many ways.

If you find little to no challenge doing standard push-ups, try one or several of these variations: Adjust the span of your hands; support your upper body on your finger tips; put your feet on a graduated platform; or have someone apply pressure to your upper back as you do the exercise. Lifting one hand or one foot or adding a more dynamic component, such as pushing up and clapping, will also dramatically increase resistance.

But what if you’re not able to perform even one push-up while maintaining proper form? This means you should start with less resistance. The easiest ways to accomplish this: Either change the fulcrum point from your feet to your knees or place your hands on an elevated platform. Keep in mind that although we’re talking about different methods and strategies for the push-up, these concepts can be applied to any exercise. For example, dips are another great exercise you can do anywhere.

 

Dips

If you can find a chair, you can perform dips. Let’s focus on tricep dips. First, place your hands on the edge of a chair or bench with your butt off the edge. Your feet can be on the ground or supported on another object. As you lower your body down, your elbows should bend back, and your torso should remain erect. Go down as far as is comfortable for you, and then push back up to the start position.

Varying the height of your legs relative to your upper body or laying additional weight in your lap will change the resistance. Also, supporting your legs with your heels, instead of your mid-calf muscles or knees, will also increase resistance.

When performing dips, you may not be as compelled to flex your abs and lumbar muscles as you would be with push-ups, so you must make a conscious effort to do this. Additionally, flexing the lower pelvis muscles (i.e., Kegels–yes, men can do these, too) is also a great way to lend stability your body’s core. Developing a habit of tightening these muscles prior to moving will train your body to do so through your daily activities, which will promote better core stabilization and hopefully prevent injury.

 

Pull-ups

Finally, we reach the dreaded pull-up. If you haven’t done a pull-up lately, give it a try. You may have the following two thoughts during your first attempt: “Wow, I can’t believe how few of these I can do,” and “I never realized how many muscles, other than in my lats and arms, I flex while doing a pull-up.” If you struggle with pull-ups, there are two ways to get better at them: lose weight and/or get stronger.

Having someone spot you is a good way to execute reps without having to fully support your own weight. Simply bend your knees and put your feet into your spotter’s hands. As you pull up, it’s easy to gauge how much you rely on the spotter–you either push down hard into their hands or you don’t.

If finding someone to help is a problem, there are two great ways to improve your pull-up strength on your own: 1) Mimic the effects of having a partner by placing some stationary object, such as a chair, under the bar. You can off-weight enough to get the reps you want and still get a productive workout; and 2) Apply the principle of eccentric muscle training, or negatives, to the movement pattern.

When doing pull-ups, you gain strength during both the upward pull (concentric phase) of the exercise and the lowering (eccentric phase). Contrary to what most people believe, the best strength gains are made during the lowering part of the exercise. With that in mind, we recommend you stand on a chair, grab the bar and do a slight jump to get into what would normally be considered the “up” position of a pull-up. Once you’re in that position, hold your chin over the bar for as long as physically possible. Once you begin to experience muscle failure, do not just drop down off the bar. Instead, lower yourself as slowly as you can, bending your knees to avoid hitting the chair. Only put your feet down when your arms are almost fully extended. Give yourself a second or two to recover and then hop up for another one.

If you’re good at pull-ups and can easily do more than 10 reps, try adding some weight (e.g., ankle weights) to your body when you do them. This will add resistance and subsequently increase strength rather than muscle endurance.

 

Endless Possibilities

Thinking outside the box and finding new ways to strength train–even when state-of-the-art equipment isn’t available–is not difficult. The more you think about it, the more you’ll realize that the possibilities of using gravity to create resistance are endless. Virtually every muscle group you have can be strengthened with little to no expense. Just get started and the ideas will snowball.

Note: Please consult your physician before beginning any new fitness regime.

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