ADVERTISEMENT

​The pushup hack that Special Forces soldiers use to build true strength

There’s no simpler, more functional and effective upper-body movement.

stop cheating at pushups

It’s possible that I’ve done more pushups than any man alive.

I’d fire them off throughout my days in high school and college, when I was a high-level wrestler. I did them non-stop while preparing for physical tests and staying in shape as a police officer on the gang squad in Toronto. I cranked them out to prepare for big fights when I was in the UFC.

Now, even though I work in a gym that has all kinds of weights, I do them every single day. There’s no simpler, more functional and effective upper-body movement.

ADVERTISEMENT

The problem: Many guys don’t do them correctly. Improper pushups - where you don’t lower your chest all the way to the ground - don’t give you as much of a strength or muscle-building stimulus.

I work with a lot of tactical athletes. Many arrive at the gym having recently failed a Special Forces or SWAT team selection course.

When we analyze what went wrong, a common issue is bad pushups. They’d been doing incorrect pushups. Then come selection day, they were required to do proper pushups, which they didn’t have the strength to crank out.

I teach these guys my method to fix bad pushups (shown in the video above) and take them through my three- or six-month fitness program.

They usually pass their next selection course. You can find those fitness programs in my new Men’s Health book Maximus Body - they work for regular guys, too.

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.com.gh

ADVERTISEMENT