If you’re serious about living the Testosterone lifestyle, then you know you’re going to have to train for the rest of your life. But if you’re going to be working out your whole life, then you’re going to have to try some new stuff occasionally. Most of us are willing to try just about any new weight training program that comes down the pipe.
When I look back at how fast my body changed from weight training and what it’s done to improve my health, energy, confidence, and overall outlook on life, it just blows my mind. Ever since I was 18 and became serious about lifting weights, I’ve been constantly looking for ways to make my body more efficient. I saw the value in bodyweight exercises such as dips and chin-ups and also incorporated power cleans and deadlifts into my routine.
However, I never would’ve guessed that a routine that consisted exclusively of bodyweight-only exercises would be of any value to me. Bodyweight squats? When Matt released his book on bodyweight conditioning exercises entitled Combat Conditioning: Functional Exercises for Fitness & Combat Sports, I immediately ordered a copy.
I was amazed that one of the world’s toughest men used mostly bodyweight exercises! I got the book and started on the exercises immediately. I started doing what Matt refers to as the "Royal Court," which consists of three exercises: Hindu pushups, Hindu squats, and the king of all exercises, the back bridge. In the beginning, I just incorporated the exercises into my weight training routine. However, as I progressed in the Royal Court I decided to give the weights a break for a while and start doing bodyweight exercises exclusively. In the beginning, doing 25 Hindu pushups was a real struggle. After I did 800 Hindu pushups and 1100 Hindu squats in one workout (no, that’s not a misprint), I decided to start working on some of the other exercises in the book such as reverse pushups, wall walking, fingertip pushups, and jumper squats.
All the exercises offered new challenges and once again my muscular endurance and confidence went through the roof. (I was on a fat loss diet as well during this time.) I started working with a heavy bag again and was amazed at how much easier it was to keep going without getting fatigued. So, what the hell are these exercises and how do you do them? Well, let’s stop messing around and jump right into the Royal Court and a couple of my other favorite exercises guaranteed to kick your ass! The Back Bridge Tired of that nagging back pain and that stiff, weak neck? Well, this is not only the best exercise for your neck, it’ll also help keep your back pain-free. Lie on your back and put your hands beside your head. Push up off your feet and push your chest back at the same time. Now rock back and forth, decreasing the distance between your legs and head.
Keep your body really tight and flex every muscle from your chest, neck, back, all the way to your legs and feet. Try not to relax any part of your body while bridging and really focus on keeping your body tight. Several T-Mag forum members have started doing this exercise and are raving about how their neck and back pains have vanished. The Hindu Squat I know, I know, most of you out there squat with hundreds of pounds so this exercise needs no explanation, right? Wrong, this exercise is much different. As you’re squatting down, raise your heels off the ground and go down until your ass touches your calves. Once there, pull your arms back into your sides as if you were rowing a boat. That’s not the way you’d normally breathe doing squats, but believe it or not, it seems to work great for bodyweight squats. You’ll find this helps you keep your balance, stay tight, and gets your upper body involved in the workout. Really focus on breathing deeply and you’ll be surprised when your chest gets pumped up after a hard set. Have a short term goal of doing 100 straight reps and a long term goal of doing 500 in one set. However, in the beginning, just focus on form and getting used to the breathing.
Shoot for 25 straight squats with perfect form and breathing and then build it up to 100. Instead, work on doing these as fast as possible without compromising form. When you can do 500 squats in sixteen minutes, you’ll be in awesome shape and ready for combat. The Hindu Push-up This is a kickass exercise and one of my favorites. In addition to being a great upper body exercise, it’s great for increasing flexibility in the spine and is a fantastic pick-me-up whenever you feel lethargic. (Insert your own sex joke here.) Bend your back as if you were trying to make a triangle. Your head should be aligned with your back facing towards your feet.
Take a deep breath and then sweep down in a circular arc motion and bend back looking up at the ceiling and breathing out. From there, push back toward your heels and start over. Don’t worry about your form too much as that will improve as you make progress and get more comfortable with the exercise. Shoot for a goal of doing 100 continuous reps. Be sure that you make deep breathing a part of this exercise to reap the full benefits. This is by far my favorite upper body exercise. Imagine doing a standing shoulder press with your own bodyweight and you’ll get an idea of how hard this exercise is. Take a deep breath and kick up with the other leg until it touches the wall. Adjust your position until you feel comfortable and then take in a deep breath.
Touch your nose gently against the ground and push back up as hard as you can. Just don’t attempt to increase the range of motion until you’re confidant doing handstand pushups off the floor. I used these bodyweight exercises and a few others for about five months. The first two months of my experiment I did Hindu pushups, Hindu squats, and bridging everyday, but I never trained to failure. Instead I just worked on doing more reps each week.
The last three months I still did the squats and bridging every day, but I performed the Hindu push-ups and a few other push-up variations I learned from Matt every other day. Some days I’d go for a personal best, others I’d just do a minimum of 250 Hindu pushups and 500 squats. I’ve since added weight training back into my routine, but I only focus on functional strength exercises like power cleans and deadlifts. Keep an open mind and try adding a few of these exercises into your weight training program. Who knows, maybe you’ll get hooked like I did and try doing them exclusively for a while. Either way, I’m sure that you’ll benefit tremendously from these exercises.
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