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Welcome to Day 10 of the BWF Primer Build-up!
Today’s Learning: How to do Deadbugs
Here we are. The very first core exercise of the program! Deadbugs.
I cannot overstate just how important these are. They’re essentially the holy grail of core exercises, because on top of being a really killer core workout once you get good at them, they also teach you proper breathing mechanics as well as how to properly brace (which is super important for both weightlifting and bwf, and life really.).
That’s something you won’t get from pretty much any other core exercise. That’s why, in spite of their complexity, I’ve added them into the BWF Primer, which is a program meant to focus on simplicity, but these are a little too important in my opinion to let slide (Especially as the sooner you learn them, the more you’ll practice them, and the sooner you’ll get good at them, and the sooner you will reap the benefits).
Deadbug Guide
P.S More-so than any other exercise guide so far, please don’t get overwhelmed and think you have to understand it all and do the exercise perfectly on the first go. Do your best, but recognise it may take a while to really ‘get’ this exercise. Generally speaking, if it feels super easy, you’re almost certainly not yet doing it right. Just keep trying!P.P.S Due to the complexity of this guide, there will be no reading tomorrow, so you will be encouraged to simply come back to this guide and re-read it, to make sure you can really take your time to absorb the info and get a hold of the key concepts.
Workout #10:
| Exercise | Sets/Reps | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Static Deadbug Hold | 3x10s | 60s |
| Squats | 2×7 | 60s |
| Glute Bridges | 2×9 | 60s |
| Rows (Or Reverse Push-ups) | 2×11 | 60s |
| Push-ups | 2×12 | 60s |
(Note, 3x10s does not mean 3 sets of 10 reps. It means 3 sets of 10 seconds, as denoted by the ‘s’. This means you will do 3 sets of static deabug holds, holding each set for 10s.)
You’ll notice that Push-ups have not increased from last time. Normally once you reach the top range of rep-range for an exercise, you would move on to the next progression (in this case, a lower inclination of push-ups). But as the 2 week build-up is more about learning than pushing yourself, you will be capping all your exercises at 12 reps until the 2 weeks is over. Once you move on to the full workout 3x per week, you will be free to progress as initially intended.
(REMINDER: IF YOU ARE FAILING ANY OF YOUR SETS, OR EVEN PUSHING CLOSE TO FAILURE, YOU ARE WORKING WAY TOO HARD. PICK AN EASIER LEVEL OF INCLINATION/EXERCISE VARIATION THAT YOU COULD DO SEVERAL MORE REPS OF IF YOU HAD TO. THE FOCUS OF THIS PHASE OF THE PRIMER ROUTINE IS ON TECHNIQUE PRACTICE AND LEARNING, NOT PUSHING YOURSELF TO YOUR LIMIT OR EVEN CLOSE. IF YOU PUSH YOURSELF TO FAILURE 6x A WEEK FOR TWO WEEKS YOU WILL BE MASSIVELY OVERDOING IT AND BURN OUT QUICKLY.)
Ok, I did it!
Congratulations!
I’d recommend joining my discord server if you haven’t already! It’s a great place to not only get answers to any primer (or general fitness) related questions you might have, but also a lovely little social space to get to know like-minded people. Here’s the link: https://discord.gg/DZ5CCQZ. See you there!
Cheers,
Nick-E
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