This workout is to be performed super slow, as slow as possible with the heaviest weight possible, all while maintaining good form & technique during the full range of motion.
This is
The Man of Steel Workout
The workout is as follows:
Combo 1
- Dead swing clean
- Squat
- Press
Combo to be performed on the left and right side.
Combo 2
- Chin-up
- Pull-up
- 2 x chest push-up
All with bodyweight.
Combo 3
- 2 x tricep push-up
- 2 x bent-over dead row (left/right)
Plenty of rest between combos and even exercises if needed. You can download the full workout details as a PDF to your computer, save it, print it, and take it with you to the gym. The PDF includes a link to the Caveman Stretching Routine, or you can unlock the video below.
Pick the right weight so that you can perform the full range of the exercise as slow as possible, think slow-motion. If you have to perform the exercise fast, then you picked the wrong weight. You’ll fatigue as you go through the rounds, reduce weight or rest more.
Five rounds took me about 30 to 40 minutes. I used a 32kg /70.5lbs kettlebell, but you need to use whatever works for you, whether that is 8kg or 40kg, choose wisely for results. Ditch the ego lifting.
Finisher
After the main workout I used a little finisher for the delts, I completed 2 rounds of 10 seesaw presses, and 8 side presses with two kettlebells. The side press was great to work the side delts, and the seesaw was great to give the delts that extra pump but also start thinking about the thoracic area.
With the seesaw press one kettlebell comes down while the other comes up. Some people confuse an alternating press with the seesaw press. Both bells need to move at the same time in the opposite direction.
Combos
Let’s dig into the specifics of the exercise combos. With the first combo you’ll be needing a good rack for the squat, you’ll be taxing the core during the slow squat as well as the legs. Your feet will need to be wider for the deep slow squat. Once you come out of the squat adjust your feet for the press, pause, this is not a push press. Tighten/tense everything and start your slow press, full overhead lockout in perfect alignment, push your head and chest through so that you get a nice straight joint line-up side-on: ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbow, and wrist. On the way down there is no dropping, control the bell from overhead back into the rack. If you can’t maintain a position where the shoulders stay high and the hips go low then you need to work on your squat technique and ROM first before adding weight and going slow.
You perform the combo on the left and right.
The second combo is a chin-up, pull-up, and chest push-up. With the chin-up you want to start hanging with the head through, not back. Start pulling and end with the chin as high as possible up above the bar. Keep the rest of the body as still and controlled as possible. Slowly lower back down, don’t release till you’re back in the full hang with the head through. This all requires good shoulder and thoracic mobility, so if you do not have this yet, or do not have the strength yet, work on that first. You can do a negative chin-up, jumping up and releasing slowly, or use a resistance band with the movement. The chin-up prime movers are the elbow flexors, biceps, brachialis, and brachioradialis, plus the rear delts.
With the pull-up we’ll be focussing on the lats only, make them the prime mover! Think about pulling your elbows into your hips, think about pulling the bar towards your chest. Focus on the forearms doing nothing but holding on to the bar, refrain from elbow flexion as much as possible. Again, you can do the same as for the chin-up, use negative or resistance bands to progress with this exercise.
With the chest push-up we’ll be focusing on the chest, the pectoral muscles for the prime mover. Think about pulling the elbows in, rather than pushing away, as soon as you start pushing away you’ll be engaging more delts. Try and isolate your muscles, Mind-muscle-connection (MMC). Everything needs to be tight, packed chest and shoulders during the movement, hips and knees locked. Kiss the floor and come back up.
Take a little rest to give the core a break.
Next is the last combo which consists of the triceps push up and bent-over dead rows. With the triceps push-up, again, you want to isolate and think about the triceps, so forget pushing, think pulling, in particular elbow extension through pulling of the triceps and anconeus. Keep the elbows tucked. If you’re having trouble, do negative tricep push-ups and just focus on the lowering phase as good as possible. Do 4 reps instead of two.
The last exercise is the bent-over dead row, one of my favorites to work on those nice round delts, i.e. nice and full from the front, side, and back. The great thing is, this is also a core exercise and works the glutes and hammies isometrically, otherwise your pelvis would fall forward! So, take the load of the lower back, squeeze those buttocks as tight as you can and hold, brace the core to create a nice firm and rigid structure to start rowing from. Nothing but your arm should move during the row. Row back and into the hips, don’t turn this into a bicep curl by pulling towards the shoulders. Go down in weight if you find you’re needing to move other body parts or you start to perform elbow flexion rather than shoulder extension. Shave those ribs on the way up and down.
The whole routine should take you about 30 to 40 minutes, not including the finisher. If you did it faster, work slower, go heavier! Muscles_under_tension.
I finished this workout with a couple of sets of seesaw presses and side presses. Then last but not least, I did some mobility work with lightweight, double kettlebell alternating Sots press. There is so much happening in this exercise, it’s an incredible exercise, you should search our website for more info on it and include it in your regular training. Start with a light dumbbell, then 8kg, and work your way up slowly. Don’t force this. You’ll be surprised how difficult this is, but you’ll love the benefits it will provide you with. Injury-proof yourself!. On that note, check out the Thorax Workout here, or check the 40+ kettlebell workout book which includes the full Thorax Workout. If you got an Android, download our app on Google play.
Caveman Stretching Routine
This is the stretching routine that I regularly follow after my workouts, unlock the 7-minute video below with the cost of a share or like.
Completed the workout? Or got questions? Post here or below.
- Having trouble activating your lats?
- 100+ kettlebell press variation in one book
- How to row correctly? And what is incorrect?
A few little tips to get better at squatting:
- Shoulders high and hips low
- Push your hips towards the ground
- Use the reverse wall assisted squat
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