Pushing and Pulling Your Way to Greater Fitness
Finding fitness in fundamental movement patterns
We discuss functional movement extensively in this newsletter because it is the common denominator for achieving your best athletic performances and for vitality and longevity.
In past weeks, we spent time training the 10 General Physical Skills. In addition to these skills, there are movement patterns fundamental to improving performance and setting you up for a long life of independence and vitality.
Today, we will focus on two fundamental movement patterns, pushing and pulling. Pairing these movements together in a single workout allows us to train complementary muscular complexes. For example, a barbell row is a “pulling” movement that involves the biceps (front side of the upper arm) and upper back (among other muscles), and the push-up is a “pushing” movement that involves the pectoralis muscles of the chest and the triceps (backside of the upper arm), among other muscle groups.
Training these complementary muscle complexes provides a full-body fitness experience and creates balance among these muscular complexes, which can help you move more efficiently and avoid injury, whether it be in sport or everyday living.
Activation and coordination of the muscle groups involved in these movements require nervous system coordination that promotes neuroendocrine adaptation - a key element that can help break through training plateaus.
This week’s workout focuses on the push-up as our “pushing” movement and the Sumo deadlift high-pull (SDLHP) as the “pulling” movement. I love the SDLHP because it is a full-body pulling movement where the benefits are appreciated even if you do it with just a PVC pipe or light kettlebell. It is also a great substitute for rowing. This movement can be done with a barbell, kettlebell, or PVC pipe/broomstick.
This workout is taken from the CrossFit archives: workout 240106 and there are modifications included for every fitness level. Enjoy!
Warm Up
AMRAP 7 (As many rounds as possible in 7 minutes)
7 up-downs
7 easy push-ups option
After the 7 minutes, perform 10 weighted good mornings. You can either use a barbell/PVC pipe or hold a light dumbbell or plate to your chest.
Movement Practice
If you are performing this movement for the first time, it is highly recommended to perform the mechanics of this movement without any weight (just your two hands or a PVC pipe, broomstick, or similar object). When you feel confident in the movement, add a light kettlebell (5-15 lbs) or empty barbell. As you continue feeling proficient, slowly increase the load.
Review the video links that follow before trying the SDLHP:
The first part of this movement is a deadlift. It is very important to get this part of the movement right to keep your lower back protected. Be sure to keep your back straight- your legs, glutes, and hamstrings are doing the lifting, NOT the muscles of the lower back.
Next, review the sumo deadlift high pull progression video paying close attention to the mechanics tips in the text.
Practice! At first, you may want to do a deadlift, pause, then the high pull. This is ok! As you practice and become more familiar with the movement, the two parts of the lift will flow together. Don’t pull too soon! Be sure you are fully extended at the hips (standing up straight) before pulling the bar up.
The “shrug” then the “pull” happens the second the hips fully extend. When the hips are extended with some speed or “pop” this begins to move the bar upward which signals the start of the pull. The upper extremties simply guide the bar upward.
TIP! When setting up for the SDLHP, set your eye gaze to a point on the ground 10 ft in front of you. You do not want to be looking straight ahead as this will hyper-extend the neck. Keep the neck neutral by setting your gaze as above.
For the push-ups, the workout calls for the hand-release push-up, however a standard push-up with or without elevation can be substituted. The hand-release version has the added benefit of building strength at the lowest point of the movement (chest touching the floor), which is often a “weak spot” of upper body strength.
Below is a list of movement options. Take 5-10 minutes to find the option that is right for you. If you want to “Geek-out” on a deep dive into push-up variations and mechanics, check out this awesome article: A Fresh Take on the Lowly Push-Up from the CrossFit library.
Elevated push-up - The elevation can be slight with a couple of plates on the ground, it could be a flat bench, or a STABLE chair or table as in the video. If shoulder pain or mobility is an issue, performing push-ups against a wall is also an option.
TIP! If possible, avoid doing the push-ups with the knees on the floor. This disengages some of the core activation, which is a target of both the SDLHP and the push-up.
Workout
We have 3 levels of this workout today! Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced
Beginner
5 rounds for time
8 SDLHP - Two hands only/PVC pipe/broomstick
8 elevated push-ups
Intermediate
8 rounds for time
10 SDLHP (10-35 lb kettlebell, 25-55 lb weighted barbell)
12 hand-release/elevated/strict push-ups
Advanced
8 rounds for time
10 SDLHP (65# barbell)
12 hand-release push-ups
Cool-Down
Let’s show our back, hips and hamstrings some love with this 7-minute follow-along stretch segment from Train FTW.
For your yoga fix, try this 15-minute yoga flow class from Five Parks Yoga
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Hi Alice.. thank you for reading and for your comment. This is a very safe movement when done correctly with appropriate weight or no weight at all, which is an option (PVC or broomstick) that I highlight in the post. When people blow out knees or shoulders during weightlifting, it is often because they added too much weight before mastering the mechanics. This is why I took great care to include a video with a progression to highlight and break down the SDLHP movement into its components using a PVC pipe. Also, I have always encouraged in my newsletters to seek out a pain-free range of motion and to stay true to that. Lastly, when this movement is done correctly, the shoulders are really secondary. The power from this movement comes from the hamstrings and hip extension, which floats the bar upward with the shoulders assisting the rise of the bar. So if one is experiencing shoulder impingement or pain, it may be due to a flaw in the mechanics or the selected weight is too heavy. But if a movement is just not comfortable for you, by all means, take a pass. Not every movement is for everyone. Thanks again for your comment. :)
Love the info, but I’m really surprised you’re recommending SDLHP. I have seen MANY people saying this specific movement blew out their shoulder / caused a bad impingement. Having already had shoulder issues, I’m quite certain this exercise is a “no” for me. Considering your “older athlete” audience, perhaps you could recommend a pulling exercise that doesn’t put the shoulders in such a risky position.