Brent Fikowski is the 2017 CrossFit Games silver medalist and an all-around badass. True to the sport of CrossFit, he has trained to be able to tackle anything that’s thrown at him; and his podium finish this year was proof of that. Most athletes have that one favorite exercise they swear by that helps them get ahead, and now Fikowski has revealed his: he credits the Z press for seriously improving his handstand push-ups.

The Z press is a regular strict press, except you perform it sitting flat on the floor — and this one detail alone makes it a lot harder than you might think. You can do it with whatever piece of equipment you prefer — a barbell, dumbbells, or kettlebells, like Fikowski does. Note that dumbbells and kettlebells introduce an added challenge because you have to stabilize them in a way that you don’t with a barbell.

The Z press is a great upper body workout. It’s even a killer ab workout because you have to really engage your core to sit up straight and support your arms overhead. Here’s how Fikowski tackles them.

#trainyourweakness The Z-Press is without a doubt my favourite exercise for improving handstand push-ups #backatit #crossfit #crossfitgames #zpress #handstandpushup #accessorizeyourself ? @reebokcanada ? @Zevia ?? @mission6nutrition

A post shared by Brent Fikowski (@fikowski) on Oct 13, 2017 at 9:50am PDT

Main image: Brent Fikowski/Facebook