Today I have a great workout for you.
This uses a highly under utilized technique called negatives. Negative reps are slow reps - primarily done on the eccentric phase of the exercise.
Eccentric almost always will make on the "down" phase of the rep.
Negatives are ideal for:
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Increasing strength
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Cause more tissue damage for faster strength gains
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Even better brain to muscle communication
This Fit Finisher is called How Slow Can You Go?
And it's a finisher workout you should repeat often to increase your pushup and squat strength.
Let's break it down.
How Slow Can You Go Workout Breakdown
There are two mini-sections to this workout. An upper body focus and a lower body.
Here's the circuit as a whole:
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1 negative pushup (8 seconds)
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20 shoulder taps
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3 pushups
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1 negative squat (8 seconds)
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20 bear squats
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3 goblet squats
Finish with one as slow as you can go negative pushup and squat.
You'll do each exercise straight through and try to get as many rounds as you can.
While this workout is an AMRAP (as many arounds as possible)... that's not the primary focus.
Your Primary Workout Goal
At the end of the 5 minutes... you'll do one more negative pushup and negative squat.
Your focus should be to make these as slow as you possibly can.
Let's break these exercises down.
How Slow Can You Go Exercise Breakdown
Negative Pushup
Step 1
Start like you would any good pushup. Your shoulders are slightly past your hands.
Your hands are shoulder width apart and your core is pulled in so your back is flat.
Don't lean back into your toes... stay over your hands.
Step 2
For a good count of 8 seconds... workout with me and I'll count for you!
...you'll lower down to the bottom of your pushup.
Focus on keeping your elbows going back, just like normal good pushup form .
The key will be to NOT let's your hips sag as you get lower. Keep your butt high and in fact you'll hear Dan yell at me too if you workout with me.
You do not have to push back up so focus on great form going down.
If you want a step by step path to mastering your pushups, read my pushup progression post .
Other pushup posts that will help you are:
Negative Squats
Step 1
Start in a good standing position with your feet about shoulder width apart.
You can go wider or narrower if you know your ideal squat stance width.
Make sure you twist your feet into the ground to activate your leg muscles and help naturally push your knees out.
Having your leg muscles turned on before you go down is crucial with negative squats.
Step 2
Start to slowly go down with a key focus on:
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Keeping your weight over your entire foot
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Keeping your torso tall and not leaning forward
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Keeping your hips moving down... not back
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Keep your feet twisting in the ground for a strong base
When you get to the bottom... I like to have a box or small table to put my weight down without dropping it or hurting myself.
Even though can do negative squats using only your bodyweight... I suggest you use a weight even if it's light.
The weight will help you keep your torso tall for better overall squat balance.
Read my post about mastering the goblet squat . This will help a lot.
Shoulder Taps
The goal with this exercise is to go really fast. It should be tough because your arms just when slow... but that's the point.
Do your very best to transfer into the shoulder taps without letting your knees hit. You'll get bonus points.
Step 1
Get into... or in this case a great top of pushup position like you did with the pushups.
Do not let your feet get apart... keep them squeezed together. This will test your balance just a little more.
Step 2
Take one of your hands and move it up to touch your opposite shoulder.
Then you'll keep going back and fourth from one shoulder to the next. The idea is to go fast... you'll feel your shoulders start to burn.
Your focus... besides speed... is to keep your hips from swaying back and forth. It's impossible... but that is your goal.
Bear Squats
Step 1
Get on your hands and knees.
Knees directly under your hips and your hands right under your shoulders.
Dig into your toes and lift your knees off the floor about 2 inches.
You are now in bear position.
Step 2
Keep your core engaged and focus on keep your shoulders over your hands.
Your feet will stay in place as you straighten your legs. Your butt will naturally move higher in the air.
At the top... give your legs a little squeeze before you come back to bear position. Repeat this at a good pace... ensuring your get that squeeze at the top.
Normal Pushups And Squats
The last two exercises are normal pushups and squats.
I won't do a full breakdown because we pretty did above...
I will highlight the transition from the bottom to the top.
The transition is the critical spot... the end range of motion ... this is where you build strength.
For the pushup... to make it easier coming up squeeze the ground between your hands together.
This will really engage your arms and chest for a powerful push.
For the squats... pull your core in and twist your feet into the ground and pretend you're pushing the ground away from you.
For some reason when you focus on pushing the ground away from you... you're form tends to improve a lot.
How Can You Workout With A Trainer?
I have a growing library of strength programs for all fitness levels.
Go to my strength programs page and learn more about each. I recommend you get started with Ignite 30 .
If you want to have fun with more Fit Finisher workouts... checkout my Fit Finisher filter or head over to my videos page .
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