Candice and I are traveling to Brevard, North Carolina this weekend to attend a wedding. I’m looking forward to it not only because the wedding should be fun, but we will also be surrounded by Pisgah National Forest. I hear it has some spectacular scenery, so my goal is to get some hiking in while we’re there.
Before we left, I wanted to write a quick post on an upper body combination exercise I’ve been using lately. I’ve written in the past why combination exercises are so effective.
The short version is combination exercises join two movements into one. They involve multiple joints and work multiple muscle groups at the same time. By doing this, you are able to burn tons of calories in a very short time, making them an effective solution for time-pressed workouts.
The exercise is called a Push Up to Renegade Row. The only piece of equipment you’ll need is a pair of dumbbells.
The set up is easy:
- Grab the dumbbells and begin in a push up position. Set the feet wider than shoulder width apart and the hands right underneath the shoulders . Your body should be in a straight line from head to toe.
- Squeeze your glutes and brace your abs so that your hips naturally roll under your body. (Note: One cue I’ve found that works well to visualize this is to think about turning your zipper up to your chin.)
- From here, lower your body down to floor then push away hard.
- Next, pull one dumbbell directly to your chest and lower it back down to the floor.
- Pull the second dumbbell to the chest, then lower it back down.
- Repeat
Why is this exercise so effective?
Besides the fact that it works the chest and upper back simultaneously, it’s also trains the core in a more “functional” manner. By functional, I mean, it forces your abdominals to work as they were designed to: stabilizing the body.
For the average gym goer, core training consists of sit ups, crunches, Russian twists, and the like. These exercises allow the spine to bend or rotate under load, placing a lot of stress on your disks.
Proper abdominal training centers on creating a stiff or rigid trunk so that we can move safely and efficiently. Traditional ab exercises don’t do this.
One of the main goals with any core exercise is to teach the body how to resist movement. In the case of the push up to renegade row, we are training to resist lumbar (low back) extension and rotation. This goes a long way toward maintaining spinal health.
There are several mistakes to be aware of when performing this exercise.
1. Allowing the body to rotate as you perform the renegade row. This places stress on the spine and other joints as they have to work harder to hold you up.
2. Allowing the hips to sag. This creates a lot of pressure on the low back, as it’s forced to create stability instead of letting your core to do the work.
3. Allowing the head to sink down. This places unwanted stress at the neck.
Each of these can be easily remedied by setting up properly as I described above. Be sure to go through each step so that you can perform it correctly.
As far as sets and reps go, anywhere from 2-3 sets for 4-8 reps per side is a great place to start. Also, be sure to use lighter dumbbells than you think you can do. This exercise is more challenging than it looks 😉 Always lock down great form before increasing the weight.
Overall, this is a fantastic exercise that has a lot of bang for your buck. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!
