Copyright 2015 by Mixed Martial Media Inc.

Copyright 2015 by Mixed Martial Media Inc.

Copyright, Disclaimer, Other Fun Stuff

Copyright 2015 by Mixed Martial Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means
without express written permission of Eric Wong or Mixed Martial Media.
Published by:

Mixed Martial Media Inc.

1139 College Street, 1st Floor
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M6H 1B5
E-mail: support@ericwongmma.com
Web: www.EricWongMMA.com

I figured Id update my little disclaimer here for 2015... The bottom line is that this is an exercise
program and as such, will get your heart rate up and increase your blood pressure, which is what
any physical exertion is supposed to do. If you cant handle this, then you may need to back off
and figure this out. One suggestion is to walk consistently, at least 30 minutes a day, at a brisk
pace (no need to power walk but dont dawdle). Do this and eat a diet comprised of whole and
natural foods and drink water and youll soon be able to handle exercise like whats in this
program. While I do my best to teach you proper technique, its up to you to do it. If you dont,
youre at an increased risk of injury. Even if you do, theres a risk of injury, just like there is with
anything including going up and down stairs. While a lot of time and effort has been invested in
making this program as effective and safe as possible, you may still hurt yourself while doing it.
You may even die. While both are unlikely, if either happens, its not my fault. It couldve been just
the trigger for something thats been hanging around for a while, waiting to come out. Thats why
before starting any exercise program, including this one, you may want to get cleared by your
doctor. If you have any weird symptoms like dizziness, pain in your left arm, forgetfulness, or
anything else thats not normal, stop and seek medical help. If you choose not to obtain the
consent of your physician and/or work with your physician throughout the duration of your time
using the recommendations in the program, you are agreeing to accept full responsibility for your
actions. I dont know what the law says if your doctor is fat and unhealthy, though, in which case
you may want to get a new doctor. You cant give what you dont have! This is my legal disclaimer
as well as a tidbit of sound advice.

Copyright 2015 by Mixed Martial Media Inc.

Introduction
Dear Fitness Buff,
Thanks for checking out my 1-arm Pushup Power program.
Before we get into the details and background about why you want
to perform 1-arm Pushups in the first place and how this program
will help you achieve this, Id like to tell you a bit about myself.
I specialize in working with mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes.
MMA is such a dynamic and explosive sport that requires so many different qualities to be
trained, that it creates a challenge to develop programs that balance these considerations
and improves them, without detracting from anything.
So even if youre not a fighter, if you want functional, athletic muscle and a lean, not overly
bulky physique, then you definitely want to pay attention to how these guys train.
The first fighter I ever worked with was my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor, Jeff The Inferno
Joslin.
Whenever he tells people his nickname, he always throws in, Not because it burns when I
pee.
Hes a funny dude, an amazing instructor and was a highly skilled MMA fighter.
Anyway, after I started training him, he got the call to fight for a belt in a Canadian
organization, which he won by brutal KO in the first round.
Heres a pic of what the big punch looked like:

Copyright 2015 by Mixed Martial Media Inc.

After this win, the UFC called and Jeff was matched up
against Josh Koscheck.
Although he was close to a submission before the bell
ended the round, he lost a tough decision.
Soon after this, other fighters started calling and asking
Jeff what he was doing to make such drastic
improvements in his strength, conditioning and
physique.
He pointed them in my direction and it was soon after
that I was training a lot of local fighters and now I
continue to train fighters, the latest being Claude Patrick,
whom I had the privilege of stepping into the Octagon
with as one of his cornermen in his UFC debut at UFC 115 in Vancouver, BC.

Theres me in the background.

So thats a little bit about me! Id love to talk with you on my blog at
www.EricWongMMA.com where I post articles, videos and other training and nutrition
strategies for athletic performance and health.
See you there!

Eric Wong, BSc, CSCS

Copyright 2015 by Mixed Martial Media Inc.

Program Background
When you think of the 1-arm Pushup (OAPU), who comes to mind?
For me, the first guy that enters my mind is none other than Bruce Lee.
He made the OAPU famous when he busted out a huge set off of 2 fingers in front of a big
crowd, wowing everybody in attendance.
This is an amazing feat of strength, and more importantly for a mixed martial artist core
stability and total body integration.
Because youre pushing off of one arm, your core must resist rotation to maintain good
form.
Its this rotational core stability that creates explosive knockout punches and helps pull off
big throws.
Plus, because the internal and external obliques are the primary muscles in performing
this function, theyll get shredded up in the process (not a bad side effect, eh).

Other muscles that get maximally activated during the OAPU include the shoulder
stabilizers (all the rotator cuff muscles, serratus anterior), the lats, triceps and hip flexors.
This aint no regular pushup!

Copyright 2015 by Mixed Martial Media Inc.

Ive seen lots of pictures of people attempting to perform OAPUs on

the net and most have horrible form.
Bad form looks like the picture to the right, which includes:
Hips rotated
Feet rotated to the sides vs. staying on the toes
You dont get the elbow to at least 90 degrees
The butt hikes up too high OR
The hips and stomach sag toward the floor
And this clown isnt even at the bottom of the movement where it really
gets tough.
Anyway, heres how the OAPU should look at the start and the bottom:

START

END

Youre basically trying to maintain the same form as regular two-arm pushups shoulders
and hips square, spine in neutral position, shoulder blades pulled down and back
throughout the movement and a good range of motion.

Copyright 2015 by Mixed Martial Media Inc.

So before you set out on your quest to improve your OAPU form and #s, lets review why
you want to do this in the first place:
1. Because doing OAPUs is bad ass
2. When you increase your #s and improve your form, you know youre improving the
most important form of core stability for a fighter rotational stability
3. Itll harden your entire core from the abs to the obliques to the lower back muscles
4. Youre shocking the nervous system into learning something new and improving its
ability to co-ordinate multiple muscle groups in a functional pattern
5. You can easily assess your progress by performing max OAPUs before and after
6. You can clearly see if you have a muscular imbalance from side to side
The first step is to assess yourself and see how many OAPUs you can do before starting
the program, then you can compare your results after.
Print this sheet off to track your #s.
Date
# of OAPUs left arm
# of OAPU right arm
When you do the after test, give yourself 4 days after you finish the last workout to give the
body time to recover and peak so you know exactly how much improvement youve made.
Right after finishing the program, your body will be recovering from an intense final
workout, so make sure you take this rest.
Its also a good idea to video your technique so you can compare that as well. If you do
this Id love to see it, so upload it to YouTube or facebook and send the link to
support@ericwongmma.com.
Lots of guys do the same # before and after, but because they now practice better
technique, theyve actually improved drastically, so if you havent improved in the # of reps
you can do but your technique has improved, good job.
The 4-week program is made up of alternating a Day 1 and Day 2 workout, training 3 days
per week.
So a typical schedule would be Monday (1), Wednesday (2), Friday (1), then the next
week starts with Mon (2), Wed (1), Fri (2), etc
And its not just an upper body/core program its a balanced program with the goal of
finally being able to bang out some impressive OAPUs!
Ill never give you an unbalanced, incomplete program.
The most important thing is to stay consistent with the workouts and follow all the outlined
# of reps, sets, and rest periods exactly.

Copyright 2015 by Mixed Martial Media Inc.

Understanding the Training Template

All strength programs will be provided in the following format:
Exercise

Reps

Tempo

Intensity

Rest

Sets

1) Bench press

8 12

202

-1 RM

60 s

2-4

2) Prone cobra

3-9

20 60 s

3 min total

of hold

Exercise name and order of the exercise to perform

Reps a repetition is one complete motion through the exercise, for example, one
repetition of the bench press is taking the bar off the rack, lowering it to your
chest then pressing it up until your elbows are straight
Tempo the pace of the movement or amount of time to hold a static exercise
2 0 2 lower the weight over 2 sec (eccentric), no pause at bottom, lift weight over 2 sec
(concentric); if you see an x that means you do the rep as fast as possible
1 2 X lower the weight over 1 sec, pause at the bottom for 2 sec, lift the weight as
explosively as possible
Intensity the amount of weight to use or time to work for the exercise
Max do as many reps as you can in perfect form
-1 RM (reps to max) stop when you feel like you have one more rep left in perfect form
-2 RM stop when you feel like you have two more perfect reps left
BW body weight exercise
% 1 RM your 1 rep-max multiplied by the % given
Rest - amount of time to rest in between sets
of hold if holding for 20 s, rest 10 s between reps

60 s if you see a down arrow, it means proceed to the next exercise without resting,
once you see the right arrow, rest for the amount of time shown then go back to the first
exercise in the sequence (superset or circuit techniques)
Sets a number of repetitions performed together
Now that you understand the terminology used for your program, you may be curious as to why we
prescribe ranges of repetitions and sets.
The ranges are given instead of exact numbers because of the principle of progression; exercises will
continue to benefit you only if they are progressed.
If you do the same weight for the same number of reps each session, your body will adapt and the
exercise will be less beneficial.
So, the bottom portion of your program is dedicated to the Tracking Log. The Tracking Log enables
you to write down the exact number of reps, sets and weights that you used so that you can improve
upon the session next time.

Copyright 2015 by Mixed Martial Media Inc.

Exercise

Reps

Tempo

Intensity

Rest

Sets

1) Bench Press

8 12

202

-1 RM

60 s

2-3

2) Prone Cobra

3-9

20 60 s

3 min total

of hold

Exercise

Date:

Aug 10/07

Aug 13/07

Aug 16/07

Aug 20/07

1)

Reps
Intensity

12 10
135 lbs

12 12 10
135 lbs

12 12 12
135 lbs

10 8 8
145 lbs

2)

Reps
Intensity

9
20 s holds

6
30 s holds

4
45 s holds

2
2
60 s 30 s

For the Bench Press on Aug 10/07, the athlete completed 2 sets, doing 12 reps for the first set and 10
reps for the second, both using 135 lbs. For the Prone Cobra, the athlete did 1 set of 9 reps holding
each rep for 20 sec on the same day.
KEY: make it a habit to write down the reps performed after each set is completed
As you can see, for each session the athlete was within each rep and set range for both exercises.
The progression from workout-to-workout follows a step-wise progression model for the bench press
as displayed in the following graph:
Step-Wise Progression
14
12
10
8

Repetitions

Intensity

4
2
0
1

Workout #

The athlete starts at 8 reps then works up to the top of the range (12). At this point, the athlete
increases the intensity, and goes back to the bottom of the rep range (8).
To progress your exercise program, work your way up to the top of the rep range, then increase the
intensity, which will bring the number of reps you can perform back to the bottom of the range, at
which point you will work your way back to the top. Following step-wise progression will ensure that
you continue to improve from workout-to-workout.
Now there are many ways to progress a routine, this being the most simple. However, you may need
advanced techniques to break through plateaus. If this is the case, I suggest you contact me and tell
me your problem and Ill see what I can do to help.

Copyright 2015 by Mixed Martial Media Inc.

10

1-arm Pushup Power Day 1

Click Here to Watch Videos of all the Day 1 Exercises
Exercise

Reps

Tempo

Rest

Sets

1) OAPU (with spot if needed)

See table

Control

90 sec

23

A2) Pullup (or wide pulldown)

68

20X

24

A3) Bulgarian split squats

68

Control

90 sec

24

4) Renegade rows

4 6 per

202

60 sec

24

B5) Barbell rollouts

68

Control

24

B6) 1-leg Jacknife on SB

8 10 per

202

60 sec

24

7) OAPU (with spot if needed)

See table

Control

23

8) Mixed grip pushup iso hold

2 positions

30 60 sec

90 sec
Same as
hold time

Training and Tracking Log

Workout #1:

Workout #3:

Workout #5:

2 sets x 4 reps

3 sets x 4 reps

2 sets x 6 reps

A2

2 sets

3 sets

4 sets

A3

2 sets

3 sets

4 sets

2 sets

3 sets

2 sets

B5

3 sets

3 sets

4 sets

B6

3 sets

3 sets

4 sets

2 sets x 4 reps

2 sets x 4 reps

2 sets x 6 reps

Hold 20 sec

Hold 30 sec

Hold 30 sec

Training and Tracking Log

Workout #7:

Workout #9:

Workout #11:

3 sets x 6 reps

3 sets x 8 reps

3 sets x 10 reps

A2

3 sets

2 sets

3 sets

A3

3 sets

2 sets

3 sets

3 sets

4 sets

3 sets

B5

3 sets

4 sets

3 sets

B6

3 sets

4 sets

3 sets

2 sets x 6 reps

3 sets x 6 reps

3 sets x 4 reps

Hold 40 sec

Hold 40 sec

Hold 50 sec

Copyright 2015 by Mixed Martial Media Inc.

11

Eric Wongs 1-arm Pushup Program Day 2

Click Here to Watch Videos of all the Day 2 Exercises
Exercise

Reps

Tempo

Rest

Sets

1) Bench press

4 6 per

Control

90 sec

23

A2) 1-arm row

68

20X

24

A3) Deadlift

68

Control

90 sec

24

6 8 per

Control
Hold 10
sec
Control

60 sec

24

24

60 sec

24

4) 1-arm dumbbell press SB

B5) Superman plank

3 per

B6) Prone rollup SB

Up to 12

Training and Tracking Log

Workout #2:

Workout #4:

Workout #6:

3 sets

3 sets

3 sets

A2

2 sets

3 sets

4 sets

A3

2 sets

3 sets

4 sets

2 sets

2 sets

3 sets

B5

2 sets

3 sets

3 sets

B6

2 sets

3 sets

3 sets

Training and Tracking Log

Workout #8:

Workout #10:

Workout #12:

2 sets

3 sets

2 sets

A2

3 sets

4 sets

3 sets

A3

3 sets

4 sets

3 sets

3 sets

3 sets

2 sets

B5

4 sets

3 sets

4 sets

B6

4 sets

3 sets

4 sets

Copyright 2015 by Mixed Martial Media Inc.

12