How to Potentially ‘Unlock’ Hidden Upper Body Strength in Just 5 Minutes
Years ago, I was talking with my friend Bill in Australia on Skype (maybe it was through email — I’m actually not sure). He and I were trading secrets about some of our favorite techniques for using Original Strength to unlock more power in both the upper and lower body when he made a suggestion I had never considered before:
“Do super slow commando rocks for 5 minutes before your next military pressing session”
From the outset I thought it made sense, but wasn’t really sure what to expect. So I gave it a shot.
Let me assure you: I was practically bored to tears.
5 minutes of slow rocking is about as exciting as reading the phone book….in Spanish…when you don’t even speak Spanish.
However, when it came time to put some weight over my head, I kid you not: the kettlebells flew skyward! They felt like toys in my hands.
Well, suddenly I wasn’t so bored doing it anymore; I was instantly convinced, and in addition to including it in my own training, I started putting it into the training of my students with similar effect.
Later I found that combining that, backward crawling, and upright gait pattern work (such as marching and loaded carries) unlocks even greater levels of strength, and to top it all off it can keep your shoulders happier since you’re able to gain more strength by
- leaning more on natural movements of the body and not JUST lifting weights alone
- Recruiting more muscle
- Making the work you DO do more effective and impactful, potentially allowing you to build more strength without relying on crazy high volume (which is a common approach to building the military press)
Plus, you may also find that you feel better, finish your workouts feeling less fatigued, and still have enough energy left over after your hoist sessions for the stuff that really matter — like your work, extracurricular activities you find enjoyable, or simply being able to play with your kids or grandkids all the live-long day without crapping out.
So why does this seem to work so well?
Ultimately, I’ve found that unlocking the strength you’ve already got comes down to 3 things:
#1: Reflexive stability
Reflexive stability is your body’s ability to anticipate and react to movement as it’s happening and even before it happens. Movements like rolling, rocking, crawling, marching, etc. help to build it.
#2: Mobility
Mobility can be built through traditional moves, but keep this in mind: ultimately “mobility” is the ability to move a joint through it’s full range of motion using STRENGTH. So what better way to improve your mobility than by reconnecting with your body’s natural movement patterns which not only build the strength your body is designed to have from the get go, but do so through a full range of motion, improving mobility?
#3: Connecting your body from head to toe
Usually we think of strengthening the back, the legs, the core, the chest, etc. but movements that teach your body to use all of these parts in unison are the ones that tend to have the biggest payoff for building brute strength and freakish conditioning.
Even just short, several-week-long programs focusing on these things can have a big impact on jump-starting your stalled strength by first unlocking what you’ve already got and then paving a path to new levels of strength.
So to recap:
If you want to improve your favorite kettlebell and bodyweight exercises (or heck, dumbbell and barbell exercises, too) get reacquainted with some of your body’s most natural and most primitive movement patterns, such as those we do naturally and subconsciously as babies to begin our journey to becoming a full fledged, walking, talking, athletic adult.
On that note, if you like training that:
- Gives you more strength than it takes from you
- Improves your stamina and resilience simultaneously
- Powers-up every nook, cranny, crevice, and corner of your Soft Machine
Then you just might like my 9-Minute Kettlebell and Bodyweight Challenge.
It’s a challenge designed to be done alongside your regular workouts (NOT instead of them) that uses super simple, full-body movements that can be learned in mere minutes — moves like crawling, kettlebell carries, and more — and is designed to help tap into some of your body’s little known reflexes and inner storehouses of power, so you can expand your brute strength, build cyborg stamina, and forge unbreakable physical and mental resilience.
Even cooler:
Each session will leave you feeling like you’ve made gains — NOT like you’ve been drained.
Plus, the workouts are built to be done daily without sucking up tons of time or energy, so you can take on the rest of each day with a new surge of power and confidence.
Many people find that these moves help amplify their strength in their favorite kettlebell and bodyweight moves while also crafting a lean, hard, and functional physique.
Example:
· Lewis from Singapore nailed his first 1-arm pushup after doing a bodyweight drill called ‘Dead Bugs’ (which is also covered in the 9 Minute Challenge)
· Busy mom Lina from Sweden used crawling to not only improve her full-body strength and resilience , but also shredded so much body flab that she could see her abs for the first time in ages
· Barak from Israel saw his pullups go from 6 reps to 8 reps just by doing daily kettlebell carries
And best of all, it’s free.
How free?
I’m talkin’ freer than the 4th of July, my friend.
Get thee thine own copy here => http://www.9MinuteChallenge.com
Have fun and happy training!
Aleks Salkin
