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How to Master: Push Up, Pistol Squat & Stop Procrastinating
Blog | September 21, 2017
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Private Member |
Ok i have started pistol, push up & pull up…wish me luck 😊😊 btw Z, the meal plan is awesome, i have nearly finished my second 8 weeks & loving the food & feeling great. I am adjusting the meals for the whole family…very happy…oh & love the new 300 rep series too 😉😉😉
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
That’s awesome! I’m so happy you like it 🙂
Private Member |
This was a great coffee talk, Zuzka, I am one of those who followed you for a long time but avoided your workouts because they seemed so unattainable to me. I would use your recipes (always amazing) and watch your talks periodically, but work out with other fitness folks, or not at all. I recently decided to give your programs a shot, and I am doing your beginner’s workout program and loving it. I am only on week three, but already see improvement! And this video inspired me even more to get my pushups down and who knows, maybe even start working on the pistol squat?! I can do a push up or two, but basically always do push ups on my knees. I realize now I have not been pushing myself. Thank you Zuzka!!
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
Hey, I’m really happy you’re loving the beginner program. I hope to see you soon in the ZGYM – there are beginner advanced programs you can try to build your strength gradually. Can’t wait to hear about your progress with this strength training method. XO
Private Member |
brussels, belgium
Hi Zuzka! Thanks a lot for this, I love it.
I have a question for a future video. How does HIIT affect your cortisol levels? Can it have negative affects if you are already experiencing adrenal fatigue?
The reason I ask is that I’ve been doing HIIT for years and my weight has always remained steady, with very low body fat. I just turned 32, so maybe entering my 30s is also part of it, but over the past year, with no changes to my diet or exercise routine (doing your workouts consistently, mixed with other activity), I’ve put on a bit of weight… I know you shouldn’t freak out over numbers, but it’s more that I feel a bit puffier around my middle and seem to be developing some love handles which I didn’t have before..
So I’ve had a very stressful year and am going to have my hormones and thyroid checked, because another red flag for me is that my skin has also experienced major, consistent breakouts which I’ve never had. I strongly suspect that my cortisol levels are through the roof and that I may be experiencing adrenal fatigue/an overtaxed liver etc etc.. however we shall see. Listening to my gut though, I know that something is really out of balance, and diet and exercise are not going to solve it, it feels like I need to learn to really slow down and deal with stress better..
In this case I am wondering – do you think HIIT is a help or a hindrance? I feel addicted to working out hard, sweating, all of it.. maintaining an exercise schedule has never been difficult for me. However if your body is already stressed, does adding stress through these intense workouts help or raise cortisol levels? Could working out be backfiring on me, and for once causing me to gain fat/break out?
Curious to hear your thoughts… I really don’t want to give up working out but I’ve been thinking I may need to change my tactics for a while, or do less HIIT. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks for listening and as always love you and all your work so much!
Caroline
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
Hi Caroline, It’s a great question and I will cover that in the next coffee talk. XO
Private Member |
brussels, belgium
Thanks so much for your response! I can’t wait to hear what you have to say… have a beautiful day! xox
Private Member |
lisbon, portugal
Hello Zuska an thank you for this post.
Hand stand push ups and pull ups are close to impossible for me so I always go for simplifications in your training.
Also, I have problems in doing the pistol squat.
So will follow your advice/method in this post for sure, so that I can master it.
Just two questions:
When I am doing your training and you have pistol squat exercises in the sequence, I just place the leg, the one that (supposedly) goes up, on the floor and try to keep it as must as possible stretched out while going down with the other leg. This way I can help the movement to go up and can make the repetitions until the end. Is that ok?
Also, talking about mastering exercises, I found this on facebook and was wondering if the benefits of this exercise are actually real (there is so much stuff in the internet that sometimes you do not know in what to believe). I do not think I have ever seen anyone doing it, so that is why I am asking. II tried it and it is hard:
https://www.facebook.com/enjoy.science/videos/545420482472500/
Now about time managing: your speech is very inspiring. I always try to keep exercising, eat well, take care of my skin, teeth, dressing, etc… even though I have a family, house stuff to do and work. It is not an easy balance and I many many times struggle, give up on few tings, feel insecure, procrastinate a bit and eat a lot of chocolate, but well… 🙂 A step at the time and prioritizing is important, as you say.
Thank you so much for your answers and again, for the post 🙂
Inês
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
Hi Ines, Your modification of the Pistol Squat is great, it’s helping you to go through the movement and this way you’re really close to being able to do the regular pistol squat. The reverse plank exercise is indeed very effective and it’s actually one of the fundamental exercises for gymnasts as it greatly improves not only your core strength but also our shoulder and wrist strength and mobility. The only thing I would say about the video is that doing one exercise only (no matter how effective it is) is not going to improve your overall athleticism and bring all those benefits. You would have to do that move for many reps or hold it for a really long time to see those promised benefits, but that might lead to muscle imbalance and/or injury due to overuse. Our body was build to move in different ways and directions.
Private Member |
lisbon, portugal
Thank you 🙂
Private Member |
nancy, france
I loved this coffee talk. What do you do when you have missed your workout? Is it better to make up the missed workout (as in do 2 workouts a day) or just let it go and do the daily workout to get back on schedule? I really feel guilty when I miss a workout and sometimes one missed workout turns into several because I feel so bad about myself.
Private Member |
I do my chores once a week (I live in a small flat). I usually start at 8pm and since I want to go bed early, I need to manage it in two-hour window 🙂 This way I do not end up cleaning my apartment the whole afternoon. I had to push myself to start cleaning and I was usually procrastinating instead. One day I took 10 little papers and wrote one baby step on each (for ex. turn music on, bring a cleaning toolkit, wash dishes, etc.). It feels good when you complete each task and you get into momentum quite quickly and all of sudden everything is done 🙂
Private Member |
Probably one of the best coffee talks of all time!
Thanks for being such a good role model ninja Z !
Private Member |
Z I know this has nothing to do with this coffee talk but… I was wondering if you have ever thought about selling any of your personal clothes? I have always loved all of the jeans I’ve seen you wear over what seems like the past ten years or so. I am the same size as you but have trouble finding jeans that fit. I think that so many people would love it if you had a closet sale of some sort maybe for charity or something.
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
I haven’t really thought of doing that. I’m not sure if that would be popular because I get only rid off clothes that (believe me) no body would want to wear 🙂 haha.
Private Member |
Dobrý den,Zuzko,omlouvám se neumím anglicky.Uvažuji,že se na Vašich stránkách zaregistruji.Rozumím tomu dobře,že budu cvičit dle týdenních plánů?Děkuji za odpověď.Renata
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
Ahoj Renato, muzes se rozhodnout cvicit podle meho tydenniho rozvrhu, nebo muzes cvicit podle programu ktery si vyberes – je jich tam par od uplnych zacatecniku po pokrocile. Nebo si muzes vybrat jakykoli workout chces kdy chces a vytvorit si vlastni program ktery ti vyhovuje. Mam nekolik set workoutu na vyber takze se urcite nudit nebudes 🙂
Private Member |
vancouver, british columbia, canada
I posted this on a few of Zuzka’s youtube videos but I think it’s important; I was finally able to do a pistol squat EASILY because someone had suggested to me to try it while holding a weight arms straight out in front of me. This seems to do the trick for some people like me who have a short torso and long legs (our weight gets centered behind our feet so we just fall backwards). It seems I will have to do your pistol squat workouts with a dumbbell if I want to be able to do them at all!