MoreThanLifting Podcast Episode 11: A Deep Dive Into Programming, The 100 Push Up Challenge Explained & What Is It With This Curry Analogy!?

In the MoreThanLifting Podcast Episode 11, Chris has abandoned Rhys and left him alone to host the Podcast solo. We talk about the 100 Push Up Challenge, a challenge Rhys is running all through 2017. We also discuss programming your training with Rhys’ on the spot curry analogy.

Yo yo yo

Today It’s Just Rhys – The Solo Show! (We Still Love You Chris)

• Chris is over the drink in New York partying with his missus and i’m stuck here by myself
• Apologies if there are problem with audio – I’m not in my regular Podcasting Space
• Let’s get straight into it
• We have covered quite a lot since starting the podcast I can’t believe we managed to get 10 Episode out by the end of 2016!
• In this episode we are going to gel everything we have covered
• And i am going to help you take what we have spoken about and transfer into real life!
• First though

The 100 Push Up Challenge

• Every week I am going to put out a new challenge 100 push ups
• The framework is 5 set x 20 reps = 100 reps
• Every week we are going to get progressively harder
• Wierd ones, crazy ones and more
• But this month January, we are going to start basic
• Week one is just 5 sets of regular old push ups
• Next week we are going to bring in a few more
• By the end of January we are going to get super crazy
• 5 sets each a different variation
• It is going to get pretty out of control – I am going to be putting myself to the test on this one
• This isn’t about 100 reps in 1 set, if you can do that awesome
• It’s just a simple challenge to explore push up variations
• It is made to help you guys progress and to help you understand how this ‘progressive’ nature of calisthenics works – because it isn’t exactly like weight training
• 52 Different challenges to get involved with this year.
• https://morethanlifting.com/100challenge/
• Each challenge will have its own article with a full breakdown of each challenge
• But like the /podcast page, this one is going to be the Hub for the 100 push up challenge
• If you go to that page, you can sign up and I will send you the challenge every week
• If you want to get involved, post your challenge in Insta and tag me @morethanlifting #100pushupchallenge
• There will be a video explainer and walkthrough for each challenge, i won’t leave you hanging

Programming Basics

• Like I said we have covered loads of stuff already, but because of mine a Chris’ personalities, we tend to ramble on about random stuff for as much as we talk about training
• If you have any feedback – email me, leave a review
• Honest 5 star reviews 😉
• Email to rhysmorgan@morethanlifting.com
• I don’t think the Welsh have infiltrated America yet
• But i understand that we may have missed or brushed over something and not broken it down quite fully, so I am gonna glue all the bits together Today
• Not everyone NEEDs / wants coaching (but if you do email me haha)
• As you know Chris and I are big fans of cyclical training,
• So we have covered that already, we have already done mobility a it and we have given you a basic structure for a workout

The 1 Workout Framework (We Have Already Covered)

• Warm Up – Skills – Strength – Finishers – Cool Down
• So the basic framework for a total workout session is sorted.
• But you don’t always have that time available, I certainly dont
• So I understand you probably don’t either – not every session
• So where does that leave you?
• When you are thinking about programming, you need to know what you want to achieve
• If you want to hit a powermove great!

The Problem With Just Hitting Progressions – Covering Every Base

• Basic progression exercises can be found on the site – or anywhere else to be honest
• But it isn’t the full picture
• If you only train those Front lever progressions, you leave a lot on the table
• So from basic progression flows, you don’t have every base covered.
• Plus you may not have the stability and endurance to do a full progression workout
• It doesn’t account for cardio, strength or other movements it is basically just isometrics
• This is only a third of your training
• So you already know that that is insufficient
• You can use the one workout framework and apply it to every session
• But that’s a bit mundane, it’s a bit boring.
• And the whole point of this calisthenics thing (apart from the others) is to have fun with these crazy skills
• If you don’t cover all bases, you will have to do some form of regressive work later down the line.

What Do You Need In Your Program?

• So when it comes to programming what do you need?
• You need to make sure you cover all the bases
• Push Pull Isometrics
• Dont neglect your legs
• My legs are naturally quite slim, although they are powerful
• You need to do core, stability
• And Skills!
• I definitely encourage skills because . . .

• When you have a skill you achieve, you want to do it
• Given the opportunity in real life – outside the gym – you will throw it down
• It encourages you to do more training which is obviously good times!

The Curry Analogy – How To Create Your Own Program

• So I came up with an interesting analogy (whilst recording)
• Note: I did not think this through before recording it all just came out on the fly
• So you need to mix all the elements into a tasty training curry
• So with a curry what do you have?

The Curry Analogy – The Rice

• You have Rice!
• Rice is the boring stuff – the necessities
• Pulls and Pushes of some kind – if you are at a point where you can do muscle ups for reps that great you cover both bases
• But you also want to mix variations in too – to make that rice a bit more interesting and fragrant
• This make a nice pilau rice instead of that boring plain old basmati stuff
• If you are doing swingy kip Muscle ups, you may have to rethink your strategy
• So thats your Rice – all the basics, legs core push and pull
• The Reps and Sets
• A lot of people who do calisthenics still do weighted leg exercises and that’s cool
• But you could do pistols or shrimps or jump squats

Plyometrics Tangent

• Plyometrics are good because they increase the rep even more
• When you are doing jump squats instead of squats you are exerting more force than regulars
• If you do a regular push up, you only go as far as your arms reach
• But clap push ups require you to push further and with more power
• So that’s the rice – plyometric tangent le Fin

The Meaty Chunks – The Curry Analogy Continued

• So next are you Meaty Chunks – or vegetable chunks for me 😉
• These are your dedicated progressions
• We will use the Front lever because it is accessible enough to understand but difficult enough to know you need to put some fucking work in!
• So ideally you are going to find different ways of changing the dynamic of your progressions by turning them into reps of some kind
• If you are doing tuck lever pulls, although they are great, they won’t necessarily help with the full lever
• What might help more is to do a tuck lever to single leg, switch legs and return
• An easy rep exercise you can try that will have huge benefits for you front lever mastery
• You can’t always simple follow the progression exercises
• A lot of people end up stuck with basic progression work because it does not account for all of the accessory strength and stability work you will need to do to bridge the gap between progressions.
• It isn’t always that simple
• Meaty chunks, veggie chunks – targeted progression development
• So we have the rice – the foundational work – reps and sets
• Then you have your meaty chunks – your progressions and skill development
• Next is the sauce

The Curry Analogy – The Curry Sauce

• The sauce is the rest of it – the fun stuff – the spice of life
• If you can just let go of the framework you can have a load of fun
• So not Foundational work
• Not specific Progressions
• It’s the play, the fun element
• I’ll tell you what I like to do shall i?
• Normally I will do a Triset of Pulls Dips and Leg raises
• Mix the legs in then . . . whats next?
• Well, if you train down the gym, sods law is someone will be using the shit you want to use
• So having the curry sauce to fill in the gaps allows you to keep training and not standing around doing fuck all
• Whenever i go into a commercial gym, there is always a 40/60 divide of people who are working / people who are standing around taking selfies and messaging each other
• So if someone is using your shit, grab something else and try anything
• People are too caught up on being seen doing something stupid at the gym
• With calisthenics, it’s already pretty crazy anyway, so just go mental do whatever
• Do some handstands, crow stands, hollow body work anything just do whatever you fancy
• Just try different holds and try and move about in those positions, crow – one leg – handstand for example
• The curry sauce fills all the gaps
• You could even do finishers or something – although I would recommend doing them at the end of the session

A Real Life Example – The Curry Analogy In Action ( How The Sauce Fits In)

• So last week, I decided to do German Volume Training
• German volume Training is 10 sets of 10 reps, and I was doing it with muscle ups
• Now I know 10 x 10 of the same exercise is super boring
• OK im going on about the 100 push up challenge but that is slightly different to just doing the same reps every time – monotonous and not particularly motivating
• You don’t want to go down the gym and just do 10 sets of 10 it’s rubbish
• So i superset it with different accessory work
• The first 5 i mixed with legs work
• Then I switched the legs out for Dragon Flags, then finishing up with flutter kicks for the last rep – only about 5 seconds though!
• So the the last 3 sets i was just doing handstand skills
• Because arms and shoulders are so fatigued from 10 sets of muscle ups, it made the handstand skill much more challenging
• So I was doing 90 degree handstands, handstand presses, straddle work etc.
• It helps split the training up
• It stops me talking myself out of the last set or two and keeps me engaged
• And it has the added benefit of superconditioning whilst you are fatigued
• It makes your muscles and nervous system work a lot harder

The Curry Analogy – The Finishing Piece (The Garnish)

• Then finally you have your Garnish
• Pilau rice – foundational variations
• Meaty (Veggie) Chunk – dedicated Skill Work
• Curry Sauce – The filler fun stuff
• The The Garnish – this is your mobility flexibility work
• I know I haven’t spoken about cardio

Where Does Cardio Fit In?

• You know me by now guys, i just stick to dedicated HIIT training
• The good thing about HIIT training is you are challenging yourself
• You watch the clock and you’re counting down each increment 10 seconds left 5 seconds…
• So you end up really pushing hard for those last few reps
• I just stick to the row machine for this because it is super effective
• The row machine is a great reason to keep your gym membership – other than the sauna and steam of course
• I guess the sauna and steam is kinda the garnish too!
• So that is about it, keep your HIIT separate so you can give it 100%
• That’s it!
• That is your calisthenics curry
• Have fun with it, try it out, change the recipe if you have to, it isn’t set in stone
• But try it out and with the curry sauce, really push yourself to try something crazy and new – don’t expect yourself to be awesome at it though, you’ve only just tried it!
• So next tings is home training

Training At Home & Fitting Your Training Around Your Life (Not The Other Way Around)

• A lot of people don’t want to go to the gym, or cant
• The only calisthenics that you can’t really do at home is dips pulls and leg raises
• But you can with just a tiny bit of equipment
• So if you did want to do pulls at home, you can get your door pull up frame
• Don’t look at what the suggest on the box – they are full of shit
• Pull up bar £15 on Amazon
• Dipping bars? £30 ish
• It isn’t much of an investment and they aren’t big fuck off frames like you see down the gym
• But you don’t always have time
• In my program I have MVP workouts
• Minimum Viable (P) workouts
• I do handstands galore at home, not dedicated time, just whenever i go to the loo or the kitchen w/e i’ll do a handstand
• If you don’t have space just do them outside, find a bit of grass
• Don’t worry about a bit of mud on your hands
• I used to play rugby when I was young, and when the weather was shit, the coaches made us rub our hands in it, then we didn’t mind so much
• If you are going skinny dipping, you just run in and get under straight away
• If you just tiptoed in you would get cold and talk yourself out of it
• Same with training outdoors
• If you don’t have a patch of grass to use, just do it on the curb
• Training on concrete will make you really good at handstands because you won’t want to fall over haha!
• So really it is a good incentive
• There are loads of ways to train, i don’t want to keep saying it i just want you to go training
• You don’t need me repeating myself, use your brain, you’re a smart dude!
• Try the park – but not if there are loads of kids about – don’t get yourself in trouble either
• Finds somewhere get out get it done have fun

Don’t Rely On The Gym – But You Can Do Weights Too If You Fancy

• You have your curry, your framework for programming – i might not stick with it haha
• You don’t need a gym, you don’t, you don’t need a barbell
• All you need is your body
• The Barbell is a conduit – you aren’t training your barbell are you? No, you’re training your body
• But if you do bodyweight training, that doesn’t mean you can’t EVER do weights either
• Chris does weights, i do sometimes
• No drama
• If you just want to mess about with weights one day then cool do it!
• The other day i was doing some hammer curls with a shoulder press with dumbbells just for a change
• I’m not a witch, it’s just for a bit of fun!
• It doesn’t matter what weight you are using, no one gives a shit what weight you’re lifting
• Anyway, with bodyweight training a lot of the accessory weight stuff will need lower weights anyway
• When training the planche i was doing straight arm raises with palms up – i only used 4 or 5 kg
• It forces you arms lock, it simulates the correct press motion for the planche
• And it keeps me in balance
• Right that is that i think – let’s go onto the next bit

I Will Answer Your Questions

• If you have any questions: Instagram, Facebook, Email, Quora
• I answer questions on Quora so don’t be afraid to shout at me!

The 28 Day Calisthenics Transformation Program

• I know we have spoken about the Calisthenics Transformation Course but I am going to go through it again in a bit more detail
• If my curry analogy has not been sufficient or you are unsure where to start check it out
• Its £30 that’s $1 a day – because it’s actually 30 days 😉
• There are 2 other tiers,
• Group coaching
• 1-on-1 coaching with personal coaching time with me and bespoke program adjustments
• If you aren’t super dedicated but you have a bit of money, DON’T GET IT
• There are limited spaces and i only want people who are dedicated to getting serious results
• If you are serious and you want a personalised program, that is the package to get
• The Transformations program is a beginners program, and i cover everything for you so there is no stone left unturned
• The idea is to get you in great shape and build the pre requisite strength to start tackling these power moves
• Guys I want to get you in great shape
• Then I want you getting so confident that you can start to have fun with it
• There is no point in waiting to get started
• In 6 months you will just be wishing that you started 6 months ago.
• And I want to be the guys who is helping you get there
• I want to be the guy say ‘Fucking hell Dave look at you!!’

The Future – Live Video Q&A’s (Like MoreThanLifting On Facebook!)

• So before I go
• I’m going to start these live videos on FB – I was going to do Insta but i’m not sure if I will
• Purely because Insta can’t save live videos
• So if you aren’t already a fan of the FB page then get on there now search More Than Lifting in Facebook
• Find me, like the page and start getting involved with the live videos
• Coaching Q&As and training tips to help you guys out
• The best way for you to get an answer to a question is just to bloody ask!

Wrapping It Up

• Right I won Rock Paper Scissors so I get to do the outro
• Chris I need you – he will be back next week
• I’d love to hear from you guys
• Leave us an unbiased 5 star rating in iTunes 😉
• We want your feedback, we want your questions, problems, struggles
• Sadly I don’t have any random sexy or outrageous stories for you because i have had a quiet family christmas – not out raving in the end
• Check the site
• Follow us on Social Media
• Check out the 28 Day Calisthenics Transformation Program
• Get on to the 100 Push Up Challenge
• I am working on me, I want to help you work on you
• Don’t let summer come round with you still standing there wishing you started
• I’m just gonna press stop on the recording now because I just keep going without stopping
• And I will catch up with all of you next week!
• Keep in touch with yourselves, love, love, love