Bodytribe Fitness

Movements

alway being updated!!

Instead of body parts we delineate exercises by movement groups, since these are all quite athletic and utilize too many chains of movement to insult them by categorizing them through isolated sections of the body. Our 6 movement groups are:

HIPS
SPINE
OVERHEAD
PUSH
PULL
SPICE

The following movements also have their appropriate category listed with them.

Each movement has a description, whether listed or linked to an article about it, a short clip of the movement, and a list of links to videos that we’ve made of our workouts, which includes the movement (the time of it’s coveted appearance in the video is noted in parenthesis).

Of course this is an incomplete list, and new movements will be added in the future.

_________________________________________________

DEADLIFTS (hips):

Description of deadlifts: The Deadlift

Video clip of deadlift:

Workouts featuring deadlifts:

(00:10)

(00:15)

___________________________________________________

SQUATS (hips)

Description of Squats: Here’s an article by a friend of mine on mastering basic squat technique. Krista’s Squat Article.

Video clip of Squats (back):

Video clip of Squats (front):

Video clip of Squats (overhead):

Video clip of Squats (zercher):

Workouts featuring squats (many varieties)

(00:10) overhead squats with chains

(00:07) front squats

(00:08) box squats with bands

__________________________________________________

DB SWING (hips):

Description of Swings: Meant to be explosive, but not sloppy. Too often folks round their backs at the bottom and end up staring at the ground. Watch the chest and head, they should never drop. Here’s more info: article about swings

Video clip of swings:

Videos featuring swings:

(1:18)

(2:11)

____________________________________________

GOODMORNINGS (hips)

Description of Goodmornings:

A great exercise for developing posterior chain strength, especially them hammies. Like Mohamed F. El-Hewie wrote in his book The Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training, you should be doing goodmornings for as long as you walk on this planet. Start as if squatting, even slightly bending the knees. Then the focus stays on the hips, constantly aiming on pushing the back without bending the knees much more, if at all. Keep a tight arch in the back so that the only pivot for the movement comes from the hips, not the spine or knees. Once hitting parallel (or at least trying to), snap back up with a bit of speed.

Video Clip of Goodmornings:

_______________________________________________________

BENT OVER ROWS (pull)

Description of Bent Over Rows: Make yourself into a table top using the same proud spine principles of a deadlift, just pivoted forward more. Row the dumbbells by pinching your blades back together and pulling your arms into your sides, like the 1-arm version you’ve been doing, but with the extra challenge of keeping your body positioned properly using only yourself as stability as you do both arms together.

Video clip of Bent Over Rows:

Videos featuring Bent Over Rows:

Pull II, featuring an alternating bent row at 1:24

_______________________________________________________

PULL-UPS (pull)

Description of Pull-ups: Hold onto a bar and pull up. Easy enough, right? Let’s get the scapula involved byb trying to lead the motion first with the shoulders depressing, then the elbows pulling themselves into your back pockets. Pulling with the hands will get your tired, but pulling with the elbows might make a better mental cue.

Video clip of pull-ups:

Video featuring pull-ups (and variations):

PULL AND PLAY 2 (00:10)

BODYTRIBE WORKOUT, PULL II (00:54)

___________________________________________________

SQUAT ROW (pull)

Description of Squat Rows: From a low cable pulley, chose whatever handle you want, start in a squat/deadlift position (good arch, bent knees, chest high) then pinch the shoulder blades back and then row (pull the bar into the body) as you stand, actually leading the movement with the shoulder blades. Return slowly to the squat, only releasing the shoulder blades at the end (after the arms have fully lengthened), and then repeat.

Video clip of Squat Row:

_________________________________________________

PUSHUPS (push)

Description of Pushups: Things to consider: keep the belly tight. If you’ve got a skate ramp in your back, then your drooping. Act like someone is kicking you in the stomach. See what you can do in the world of FULL pushups, even if they’re small to begin with. Knee pushups are only a last resort.

Video clip of pushups: coming soon

Videos with Pushup variations:

________________________________________________

BAR THRUST (Push)

Description of Bar Thrusts:

• Grab a barbell and put the end of it against a wall.
• Using a modified Bueler technique (you can bend the arms now) get the weighted end of the bar up so you’re facing the bar, which is on end, with your arms locked in front of you straight out.
• Now brace your body (you know the drill, tush tight, belly tight, stay proud) and lower that the bar with one hand towards the shoulder.
• Then press it away from you.
• If it’s light, make it heavier. If it’s heavy (now here’s the good part), use your body to help move the weight. That’s right, when keeping the belly tight, the hips and legs can play an essential role in this exercise.

Video clip of Bar Thrusts: coming soon

Videos featuring Bar Thrusts:

BODYTRIBE WORKOUT; PUSH 2 (1:01)

________________________________________________________

PUSHUP ROW (push/pull):

Description of Pushup Rows: It’s a pushup with a row. Put the feet sort of wide to avoid hip twisting during the row. Feel free to use the speed from the pushup tp lead into the row.

Video clip of Pushup Row:

Videos featuring Pushup Rows: oh, soon enough

________________________________________________________

STANDING OVERHEAD PRESS (overhead)

(forever known as simply an overhead press, since you’ll never do one seated again)

Description of Overhead Press:

Dumbbell or barbell version, the concept is the same:

1) Squeeze the ground with the feet

2) keep the tush tight like you’re holding a quarter between those cheeks.

3) bear down on the belly like someone is going to punch you in the stomach, locking the ribs and the hips together (don’t ’suck in’).

Then, when everything from the chest down is solid and stabilized, press. If the body is secure, there will be no arching or swaying of the back. The arms should be able to go directly over the ears at the top, not in front of the head. If there is tension or tightness in the shoulders, then the arms will have a tough time straightening out, or the body will compensate by leaning back into an precarious arch.

Video clip of Overhead Press:

Videos featuring Overhead Press:

PLAY DAY WITH SANDBAGS AND BARBELLS (00:10)

________________________________________________________

JERK (overhead)

Description of the Jerk:

Heard of the Clean and Jerk? It’s an Olympic lift that is actually two parts, using the most effective techniques to move as much weight as possible from the ground to overhead. This lift isn’t simply a freak show competition lift; it was originally discovered, through vast trial and error (and still being perfected all the time) as the best way to complete the task of getting weight overhead, the original ‘functional’ lift. Here’s the second half of it, the Jerk, or Jerk Press:

• From the racked position, there will be a slight dip, followed by an explosive jump. The dip is not a tush tuck, rather a partial front squat done very quickly.
• Here’s where the move differs from a push press. As the weight explodes up, the body drops into a lunge, a ’split’ or ‘scissor,’ position to push itself under the bar. The bar won’t travel up very far, ince you’re actually trying to get under it. You’ll drop into a full lockout of the arms.
• Then the front foot steps back followed by the back foot, and you’re standing again.
• If this is a single rep max lift, you’d better have bumper plates on that bar, since you will now drop it. Otherwise, let’s cut and paste from above again: When lowering the weight, absorb it in the legs a little by squatting a bit as the bar comes into the shoulder rack.

Video clip of Jerk:

Videos featuring Jerk:

Building the Olympic Lifts, Part 1 (00:10)

Jerk Workout (00:11)

________________________________________________________

SQUAT PRESS (hips/overhead):

Description of Squat Press: Often referred to as Thursters (which makes it sound a little too porn-starish), the description is simple. Squat, then press, using the momentum of the squat to help drive the bar over your head. Lower the weight right into a squat and repeat.

Video clip of Squat Press:

Video features Squat Press:

BODYTRIBE WORKOUT: SQUATS, KBS AND STUFF. Squat presses with kettlebells at about 1:05.

_______________________________________________________

WINDMILLS (spine)

Description of Windmills:

• With feet comfortably wide and turned away from the weight at about 45 degrees, the weight, be it a dumbbell, kettlebell, leverage club, Hobbit or sea creature, is held in one hand straight up from the shoulder.
• Time for the model tilt, which is jutting the hip out and back slightly under the weight, like a runway model shifting her weight and posing.
• Now the free arm crawls down the other leg.
• The body has to corkscrew under the weight a little as it bends, so the arm will rotate a bit.
• Keep looking at the weight throughout the lift (although the real reason for this is due to the control the body has when seeing the object it is carrying, I like to tell clients it is so they can watch the weight as it falls on their face).
• Crawl the hand down the leg as far as comfortable. Keep pushing the hips back and out so the hips don’t start moving forward over the front leg.
• A little bend in the front leg is fine, as long as the hips keep pushing back and out (this can’t be emphasized enough, otherwise the spine rounds, but with the hips back, the spine actually is using the erectors and hamstrings to keep it stabilized).
• Then shoot back up. Loads o’ fun. Do it again.

Video clip of Windmills:

Videos featuring Windmills:

PUSH 4: JERK PRESS AND MORE (2:19)

________________________________________________________

BUELER (spine)

Description of Buelers: The bueler is a twisting movement holding one end of a barbell with the other end wedged into a corner. Besides the traditional bueler, we also have driving and lunging varieties, all of which are very athletic and have great crossover potential to so many other athletic movements. These are generally done with a lighter load and the reps have an element of speed to them.

Video clips of Buelers (buelers and driving buelers):

Video Clip of Lunge Buelers:

Videos featuring Buelers:

Bodytribe Combo from DVD (00:13)

FUNKY SQUAT DAY (2:00) lunge buelers

______________________________________________________

TURKISH GET UPS (spine)

Description of Turkish Get Ups: Turkish Get Up:

• Any tool will do (we’ve used everything from buckets of rocks to small children, and I’m not kidding)
• Start from the ground with the weight straight out in front of you. Keep looking up at the weight throughout the exercise.
• With the leg on the same side as the weight, drive up onto the opposite hip (yep, you can use your free arm to help out)
• Tuck the opposite foot under the hips (notice the twist of the trunk, not unlike a windmill. This is important, or the weight will fall forward)
• Come up onto the knee
• Stand up
• Reverse on the way down, still looking up at the weight (you know where the ground is, you don’t have to look at it).

the Squat version:
(easier for certain body types, generally those who can naturally deep squat)

• Starts the same
• Drive straight up onto both feet
• Stand
• Reverse

If the weight plummets forward, this version isn’t for you.

Video clip of Turkish Get Ups:

Videos featuring Turkish Gets Ups:

See a heavy sandbag TGU at :47 and a barbell TGU at 1:23

PLANK (spine):

Plank description: Teaching the spine to NOT droop while gravity pulls on it, the plank is a great lesson in stability and posture.

Plank video clip (with variations):

________________________________________

BURPEE(spice):

Burpee description:

• Squat down and get the hands to the ground.
• Once the hands hit the ground, the feet kick back quickly;
• Then drop into a pushup before yanking the feet back under you.
• From that position, jump as high as possible before landing right into the next one.
• There are no pauses from motion to motion, especially the jump. Too often the body wants to stand before jumping and then land in a standing position before moving into the next Burpee. To conquer this, as soon as the feet hit the ground from bringing them back from the kicked-out position, jump up.
• Then as soon as they hit the ground again, absorb the landing right into the next Burpee.

Video clip of Burpees: