Mini-Article: Mega-Shoulder Glider
by Christian Thibaudeau

What if I told you that I have a brand new piece of equipment that's guaranteed to add a whole lot of meat on your whole shoulder girdle? Would you be interested in purchasing it?

Maybe...

What if I told you that this marvellous machine could also dramatically build up your chest, arms, and upper back? Would it interest you then?

Possibly...

And what if I added that this veritable Godsend can help you shed a lot of fat and build washboard abs? Would your interest rise?

Definitely...

Well, how high would your level of interest be in this incredible piece of equipment if I told you that it can do all of that in about 10 minutes per day?

Probably very high!

Introducing the Thibaudeau Mega-Shoulder Glider!

Yes, it's true! Now, all those benefits are available to you with the purchase of my new muscle marvel aptly named the Thibaudeau Mega Shoulder Glider. You too can build ironclad shoulders, a barrel chest, and washboard abs in very little time.

How much would you pay for such an opportunity? Three hundred dollars? Five hundred? How about 50 cents or less?

I had you going for a few seconds...

No, I haven't turned into a sell-out. Believe it or not, the TMSG is nothing more than a plastic cover off one of those 5-pound jugs of protein.

But the rest of the sales pitch still holds true. With this simple tool it's possible to stimulate muscle growth in the whole upper body while getting in better physical condition and losing body fat. Let me explain how.

The Basic Principle

The movements I'm about to describe have been used by gymnasts as some of their main strength-building exercises (along with chin-ups and dips). The way it works is simple: you place the plastic disk on the floor (preferably a hard surface) and put your feet on the disk. Then you assume a push-up position.

Gliding drills consist of "walking" in various directions/patterns using only your arms and "grabbing" the floor. This builds a lot of muscle mass in your whole upper body as well as very solid abs (they keep the body aligned in a straight line during the exercise). These drills also have a very strong conditioning/fat-burning effect, especially if done for relatively long distances while "walking" at a slower pace.

You can also emphasize quick hands and power if you use a very fast pace for shorter distances. Either way, it's a very good GPP (General Physical Preparedness) tool to use, and a solid complement to the various forms of conditioning work that already exist (and that are mostly targeted at the lower body).

Various Types of Glides/Grabs

1) Forward grab: you move your body by walking forward with your hands, "pushing" the floor back with your feet. This variation is excellent in developing the latisimus dorsi, trapezius, rear deltoids, and arms (as well as abs). It's a very good GPP exercise for the power clean.

2) Backward grab: you move your body by walking backwards with your hands. This variation is harder and involves mostly the front deltoids and triceps, making it a very good GGP exercise for the bench press. It will also help you recover from a hard bench workout as well as help prevent shoulder injuries.

3) Advanced forward grab: this is essentially the same thing as the first exercise, except that you keep your elbows bent at 90-degrees during the whole exercise. This increases pectoral involvement.

4) Advanced backward grab: you move backwardss, but just like in the preceding drill you keep your elbows bent at 90-degrees to increase pectoral stimulation.

Note: You can make the drills even harder by attaching a dragging sled to your ankles as you grab. This variation is great for strength development!

Distance and Frequency

If you choose to use these drills for recovery/GPP purposes, I suggest adopting a moderate pace and doing 6-8 trips of 30-60m with about 1 minute of rest between each trip. Only use 1 variation per workout. Start with 30m and add distance as you feel more comfortable. For GPP and recovery, the objective is not to burn yourself out, but to increase blood flow and muscle activity.

If you'd rather use the grab drills for increasing muscle mass, I find that using a rapid pace (as fast as you can) for 4-6 trips of 15-20m works best. Instead of increasing distance as you get better, I suggest adding weight either by attaching a sled to your feet or by placing some weight plates between the disk and your feet. Keep the rest intervals short, about 30-45 seconds to maximize motor unit activation. For strength and power purposes you can use the same loading scheme but with longer rest intervals; around 2 minutes.

I personally use grab drills at the end of every workout. When I work the upper body I use the hypertrophy loading scheme and when I work the lower body I use the disk for recovery purposes. I suggest that you start at 3 sessions per week, gradually building up to 4-5 per week.

You can also do these drills before your workouts (which also serves as a good specific warm-up) or on a separate day. In the latter case, I find that they go together very well with some form of abdominal training.

Conclusion

Glide/grab training is an exciting tool! It will build-up your shoulders, upper back, chest, arms, and abs while helping you lose body fat. Furthermore, it doesn't cost a thing. The only downside is that you'll get all sorts of weird looks in the gym. All and all, it's not a bad deal, is it?