Laying Heavy DB Hold in Retraction
Upper Body: Horizontal Push
Corrective
Level: 1
Bench Press with Dumbells in Retraction
Upper Body: Horizontal Push
Challenge
Level: 7
Target Action: Dynamic
Upper Body
Kit: Dumbell
The shoulder is a highly mobile joint and is often the victim of poor posture, low levels of strength and poor transfer of energy through the kinetic chain.
Horizontal Pushing is one of the 4 foundation upper body Exercise Categories and includes classic lifts such as Bench Pressing, Press Ups and Bench Throws.
Of the 4 upper body Categories, we can use the Horizontal Pushing progressions to establish good postural understanding in our athletes before layering in challenges of load, speed and decreasing constraints on high quality coordination. The most fundamental skill developed here is centering the humeral head in the glenoid fossa and all other Scapula Skills (protraction, upward rotation, elevation and depression) in this training system grow out of this primary athletic quality.
The Challenge Theme is where Low Constraints and Exercise Intensity converge to test dynamic postural control under maximal loads. Here we use an array of movement tasks to actually encourage movement skills to crumble and ask athletes to defend optimal coordination using intense load or speed. Excelling in the Challenge Theme demonstrates an extremely trainable athlete across the 14 Exercise Categories. Every % increase in strength with these techniques demonstrates an increase in robustness and readiness to perform high quality movement at ever higher standards of performance.
