An underated bodyweight exercise

I'm not sure this exercise is underated I just think that the majority of people havn't heard of it or dont think to do it. The exercise is the bodyweight tricep extension, I first read about it through Ross Enamait but he does it on a stable surface like a table edge. This holds two problems, firstly the height is not adjustable which means you ae limited with your options, sure you can do it on your knees but then you don't get the core involved. Secondly if the table has sharp edges it really hurts your hands to hold on.

So I like to them on my rings, this is a great exercise it really really hits the triceps and shoulders, along with the core being involved. Also with rings you have to stabalise to stop your arms moving all over the place. It has many benefits it develops srong triceps, in my opinion it is better than the skullcrusher exercises with weights because you can keep your form and it uses more muscle, also your body can move in amore natural patteren as apposed to the movement being dictated by gravity. Also it is going to take a long time for you to stop getting any benefit from it, I have my rings at about chest height and then take a step back and its still killer. imgaine how tough it would be with them about 2 feet off the ground with your body in straight line. Or imagine if you could do a one arm tricep extension, I don't even know if the has been done before.Many people say bodyweight exercises are only good for endurance, a few sets of these and your arms will be burning and your triceps will get stronger and stronger with each workout.

Ok after allot of consideration I have decided that convict conditioning does not fit in with my goals at the moment and that I am goin to hold off on it for a while. I have learnt allot from the book, especially relating to rep speed, it really makes a difference and you can really think about the musclke being workjed when you slow it down. What bought this on was reading a post from http://convictconditioning.tumblr.com/ talking about following the routine. Saying that people should not change the routine because the author has being doing this for decades and knows his shit. And he is right, who am I to criticise and author who has a best selling book which people have made gains on.

However, saying that I do disagree with the guy up to a point, just because it is written in a book doesnt mean that it should be followed to the letter, the great thing about strength training is that you can do as you please, I dont think its right for this guy to attack people for wanting advice on a routine saying he finds it 'tiresome' if he finds it tiresome don't respond and let other people help the guy out instead of trying to bring him down. Bottom line if you want to follow the routine to the letter then great, I'm sure you will achieve your goals, if you want to use aspects from the book then thats fine aswell. Pretty interesting thread about the topic here, http://kbforum.dragondoor.com/kettlebells-strength-conditioning-forum/142852-efficacy-1-2-reps-cc.html

Ok so I've been thinking about my workout frequency and I think its going to be best to do 3 fullbody sessions a week instead of an upper lower split. I will still work through the progressions but I will do it 3 times a week. I have decided to do this because firstly it is what I have always done, and secondly I feel like I can recover quickly enough to do it 3 times a week. So I'm not going to post a leg workout today, I will post a fullbody workout tomorrow.

Speaking of leg workouts, I am going to have to make some changes to my training from convict conditioning. I have had sciatic pain since January, I thought it was better but it just gets aggrivated when I squat. Pretty much the only leg exercise I can do is a split squat with my foot in a strap which hangs from my rings. I can also do supported pistols whilst holding onto my rings. I think its has someting to do with not bending over, which is strange because I can do Kettlebell swings without to much pain. So my long term leg training goal is to do 100 split squats, so I will add reps at each workout.

Overall I am not using any workout template from Convict Conditioning and am not doing any of the leg progressions, perhaps I should reconsider the name of my blog haha.

1st session

Ok so I've just got done with my first upperbody session from Cpnvict Conditioning. I did step 2 of pullups and pushups having completed the progression standard on the day I got the book. My numbers looked like this Incline Pushups:18/15/15/12 Horitonzal Pulls:10/9/8. I rested 2 minutes in between sets. I thnk that my progression standard will be 3 sets of 30 for these 2 exercises.

It felt good, the slow reps make the exercise so much harder, I was really struggling towards the end of the set but I stopped when I wouldnt have been able to do another rep. Another good thing about the slows is that you can really focus your energy into making it count.

It felt hard at the time, but I don't really feel like I've had a tough workout but my upper body does feel worked. So next time I assume I beat the numbers that I did in this workout so I'l keep moving forward.

First Post

I am not strong, and I hate gyms, enter Convict Conditioning the perfect way to get strong for free(minus the cost of the book) This blog is about my passion for fitness and my desire to get bigger and stronger using bodyweight exercises.

Convict Conditioning came through the post the other day and after a couple of days reading through I decided I would blog my progress. I have been working out for about a year(primarily wiht bodyweight but I do have a kettlebell) and have made some gains but have never really stuck with a programme and am nowhere near the size or strength I would like to be, this seems a perfect time to get started.

Firstly a short review of the book, I think the book is really good, one of the best resources of bodyweight strength I have ever seen. Much better than Pavels Naked Warrior (however, I dislike Pavel and his teaching style) I have not reader never Gymless by Ross Enamait but I have heard good things. The progressions are really good, lots of detail and pictures for demonstration. However, I do have an issue with the rep numbers and the workout programmes. Firstly the rep numbers are just to high in my oppinion, 3x50 wall pushups is the first progression standard for moving on, this just seems to much to me and it is so boring looking at a wall for such a long period of time. so I am going to cap my progression reps at around 3x20-30 depending on the exercise. Secondly the frequency of the workouts is to low for me, just twice a week for the first programme with 4 exercises being practiced (2 on each day) I just don't see how you can keep motivated working out this little. So I am going to do a 4 day upper-lower split. Upper Mon and Thurs and lower on Tues and Friday. I think that this is enough time for my body to recover and grow. I will also be doing some kettlebell swings throughout the week to help burn off some fat and stay fit. Anyway I will start recording my progress on Monday so if anyone has any questions or comments please feel free to comment.