The PUSH Fitness Fantasy Draft

Every August, millions of people dive headfirst into fantasy football drafts.

And by "every August," I mean I've already been researching players, listening to podcasts, and convincing myself I've found this year's sleeper months before my draft.

So, like any completely rational fantasy football addict, my brain started wandering...

What if fitness had a fantasy draft?

Every fantasy football league has different roster requirements. Some start two running backs. Some have multiple flex spots. Some still make you draft a kicker for some reason.

So I created my own fitness league.

The challenge?

Build the best overall fitness roster by drafting one selection from each category.

Not necessarily the strongest roster.

Not necessarily the fittest roster.

My roster.

One that balances quality, longevity, versatility, and personal enjoyment.

Because just like fantasy football, this isn't about drafting ten favorites.

It's about building the best team.

Sometimes that means taking the obvious first-round pick because the value is too good to pass up.

Other times, it means passing on a movement you love because another one simply makes your roster better.

Every pick had to land somewhere in the overlap of three things:

• Quality – Does this make me a better athlete?

• Roster Balance – Does it complement the rest of my team?

• Personal Enjoyment – Will I still enjoy doing it twenty years from now?

Draft Rules

• Once a movement is drafted, it's off the board.

• One selection per category.

• The Flex can be any additional non-barbell movement.

• The goal isn't to draft your ten favorite movements. It's to draft the best overall roster.

Movement Families

Every pick has to be specific.

You can't simply draft Squat. You have to choose Back Squat, Front Squat, or Overhead Squat.

Likewise, Strict Press, Push Press, and Jerk are all different movements. Clean, Hang Clean, Snatch, and Hang Snatch are separate movement families. A Clean can be received as either a Power Clean or a Squat Clean, while a Hang Clean can be received as either a Hang Power Clean or a Hang Squat Clean.

At the same time, not every variation deserves its own draft pick.

Pull-ups include strict, kipping, butterfly, chest-to-bar, and weighted Pull-ups.

A Back Squat is still a Back Squat whether it's heavy, light, paused, tempo, or high reps.

And just because two movements share a similar position doesn't make them the same movement.

A Muscle-up isn't just a Pull-up. It's a pull, a transition, and a press.

Likewise, Handstand Walking isn't the same movement as a Handstand Push-up. They both happen upside down, but one is locomotion and balance while the other is pressing strength.

You'll probably disagree with some of my classifications...

Honestly, that's part of the fun.

Roster Requirements

To complete my roster, I had to draft one selection from each of these categories.

Category	Description
🏋️ Barbell Movement	The one barbell movement you'd build your training around.
🤸 Gymnastics Movement	The one bodyweight movement you'd keep.
❤️ Monostructural Movement	One cyclical movement to build your engine. (Running, Rowing, SkiErg, BikeErg, Swimming, Rucking, etc.)
💪 Accessory	The movement you'd use to build strength, resilience, or shore up weaknesses.
🪵 Odd Object	Anything awkward, unconventional, or difficult to replicate with traditional equipment.
🏆 Benchmark Workout	One benchmark workout you'd happily test forever.
⏱ Workout Format	The format you'd choose if you could only train one way.
⌛ Time Domain	Under 5 • 5–10 • 10–20 • 20–40 • 40+ minutes
😴 Recovery	The recovery habit, strategy, or tool you value most. (Sleep, Nutrition, Sauna, Mobility, Massage, Walking, Stretching, Compression Boots, Cold Plunge, Theragun, etc.)
⭐ Flex	One additional non-barbell movement that simply deserves a place on your team.

With that...

I'm officially on the clock.

Barbell Movement

Pick: Back Squat

Why:

Squats are king.

Sure, I can deadlift more than I can squat, and there's nothing quite like receiving a perfect snatch. But if I only get one barbell movement, it's the Back Squat.

I can load it heavy. I can make it a brutal conditioning piece. It develops my legs, trunk, and bracing, and we move through the squat pattern every single day of our lives. It's a movement I never want to lose.

Besides...

Thicc thighs save lives.

Runner-ups:

• Front Squat

• Clean & Jerk

Gymnastics Movement

Pick: Pull-up

Why:

This one actually changed during the draft.

Originally, I had Handstand Push-ups here because I realized I didn't have much pressing elsewhere.

Then I caught myself.

I wasn't drafting for positional need.

I was drafting the one gymnastics movement I'd want to keep for the rest of my life.

If I could only keep one gymnastics movement for the rest of my life, it had to be Pull-ups.

Pull-ups simply offer too much variety within one movement family. Strict, weighted, kipping, butterfly, chest-to-bar...they all challenge you a little differently while carrying over into rope climbs, obstacle courses, muscle-ups, and everyday pulling strength.

Runner-ups:

• Handstand Push-up

• Toes-to-Bar

Monostructural Movement

Pick: Running

Why:

I can already hear about half of you...

"Ewwww."

Hear me out.

To me, running is one of the purest expressions of athleticism.

Almost every field or court sport requires it, and unlike a machine, you actually have to move yourself through space.

You can sprint.

Run hills.

Hit the track.

Go long.

Run trails.

It's endlessly versatile and one of the best ways I know to build an engine.

Runner-ups:

• RowErg

• BikeErg

Accessory

Pick: Farmer Carry

Why:

Farmer Carries might be one of the most underrated movements in fitness.

They challenge your grip, posture, trunk, shoulders, and your ability to stabilize while moving under load. More importantly, they train something we do all the time outside the gym—pick something heavy up and move it from point A to point B.

Grip strength is also one of the strongest indicators we have of long-term health and function, making this movement even more valuable.

Plus...

I won't lie.

I feel pretty jacked after putting down a heavy set of Farmer Carries.

Runner-ups:

• Weighted Walking Lunges

• Sled Push/Pull

Odd Object

Pick: Yoke Carry

Why:

This was almost Sandbag Clean to Shoulder.

Almost.

Standing underneath an incredibly heavy load and then having to stabilize and walk with it is one of the greatest displays of total-body strength I can think of.

Strength is one thing.

Controlling that strength while moving is another.

Runner-ups:

• Sandbag Clean to Shoulder

• Continental Clean & Press (Mostly because I'd love to get better at it.)

Benchmark Workout

Pick: Nate

20-minute AMRAP: 2 Ring Muscle-ups, 4 Handstand Push-ups, 8 Kettlebell Swings, 70/53.

Why:

I've always loved Nate.

Maybe it's because I love workouts built around small, digestible rounds. Instead of staring at fifty reps, I just keep collecting little wins while trying to hold a consistent pace.

Kettlebell swings are one of my least favorite movements.

They aren't why Nate made the team.

The Ring Muscle-ups, Handstand Push-ups, and the challenge of holding my pace for twenty minutes are.

It also gave my roster some much-needed pressing without using my gymnastics pick on Handstand Push-ups.

And yes...before anyone asks...

I intentionally consider Muscle-ups their own movement family.

Runner-ups:

• JT (21-15-9 Handstand Push-ups, Ring Dips, Push-ups)

• Diane (21-15-9 Deadlifts, Handstand Push-ups)

Workout Format

Pick: EMOM

Why:

I love rhythm.

EMOMs naturally teach pacing and consistency better than almost any workout format.

Can I finish when I expect to?

Can I earn my rest?

Can I repeat that effort over and over again?

The clock keeps you honest. If you go out too hot, your rest disappears. If you pace it well, you're rewarded with recovery before the next interval.

I also love how versatile they are. An EMOM doesn't have to mean every minute. It can be every two, every five, or every ten minutes, depending on the goal. You can build strength, develop skills, or create an incredible conditioning piece all within the same format.

To me, EMOMs reward repeatability over randomness, and that's exactly how I like to train.

Runner-ups:

• Intervals

• Chipper

Time Domain

Pick: 20–40 Minutes

Why:

Ironically, I think I'm actually at my best in really short workouts.

Give me three minutes and I'll happily put my head down and make some questionable life decisions.

But when I'm programming for myself, I almost always gravitate toward the 20–40 minute range.

That's where pacing matters.

Movement quality matters.

Strategy matters.

It's long enough to demand pacing, but short enough that I can still push the intensity.

Runner-ups:

• Under 5 Minutes

• 10–20 Minutes (...which is also probably my least favorite.)

Recovery

Pick: Sleep

Why:

This one wasn't close.

Everyone is looking for the next recovery hack.

Cold plunges.

Saunas.

Massage guns.

Compression boots.

Supplements.

They all have their place.

But none of them come close to consistently getting enough sleep.

The workout is simply the stimulus.

Recovery is where adaptation happens.

Sleep isn't just another recovery strategy.

It's the foundation that every other recovery strategy is built on.

Runner-ups:

• Nutrition

• A True Rest Day

Flex

Pick: GHD Sit-ups

Why:

This is my emotional pick.

Not necessarily the movement that creates the best athlete.

Not necessarily the one that perfectly balances my roster.

Just...the movement I'd personally miss the most.

I've always loved GHD Sit-ups.

No, I don't think everyone should be doing them. They require progression and respect because of the large range of motion.

But once your body adapts, I think they're incredibly rewarding.

I love the trunk strength they build.

I love the range of motion.

Who doesn't like training their abs?

Sometimes they're the movement you recover on.

Sometimes they're the movement you dread the most.

Either way...

They've always been one of my favorites.

Runner-ups:

• Sled Push/Pull

• Incline Dumbbell Bench Press

Draft Results

🏋️ Back Squat

🤸 Pull-up

❤️ Running

💪 Farmer Carry

🪵 Yoke Carry

🏆 Nate

⏱ EMOM

⌛ 20–40 Minutes

😴 Sleep

⭐ GHD Sit-ups

Scouting Report

Looking back at my roster, one thing jumps off the page.

I clearly value consistency over chaos.

Pacing over panic.

Control over simply surviving.

Almost every pick rewards rhythm, quality movement, and repeatability rather than hanging on for dear life.

I didn't set out to draft this way, but after ten rounds it's pretty obvious what I value.

If there's one weakness, it's probably upper-body pressing. Not a surprise, seeing that I'm not good at upper-body pressing.

This roster definitely leans toward pulling. If I could make one trade after draft day, it'd be finding a way to sneak a little more pressing into the lineup without sacrificing one of the movements I love.

The hardest cuts?

• Sled Pull/Push

• Front Squat

• Handstand Push-up

• Sandbag Clean to Shoulder

• Toes-to-bar

Alright...

Now it's your turn.

What's your first overall pick?

What movement somehow fell to the late rounds?

And which one of my picks are you immediately taking off my roster?

Stay Dope.