There is always room for improvement! šŸ’ŖšŸ¼

Wishfulthinker580 said:
What kind of pull ups are you doing? Just curious
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I use one of those 'above the door' pullup bars. This exact one (ProSource Multi-grip pull up bar).

GUEST_70288cbf-3d44-4a02-8c4f-2ab8703db21a_remastered.jpg

1st and 5th sets, I do neutral grip (palms facing each other. The angle in the Pic makes it harder to tell, but yes, there are foam grips on the inner and outer sides of those U-bends, eith enough room for hands, specifically for doing pull-ups from).

2nd set is wide grip, palms forward

3rd set is narrowest grip, palms towards me

4th set is wide grip behind the neck, touching the support bar to my traps at the top of the rep.

*** full extension down, to just a slight bend at the elbows at the bottom of each rep.

As far as exercises vs the average person, pull-ups have been my strongsuit, ever since I decided that I needed to train myself to do them at around 12-13 years old.

At the time, I couldn't do a single pullup with my own bodyweight, so what I did was place a chair beneath the bar, and use just enough assistance from my legs to barely get my chin over the bar for each rep. As I got stronger, I'd continue using as little assistance as possible. The day I was finally able to do my first rep with my feet not touching the chair, I was ecstatic! Kept going, using the assist to complete 10 full reps.

Then when I could do 10 reps with my feet not touching the chair, I continued to use my legs to do another 2-3 assisted reps. My highest ever consecutive reps was 30, but this was when I still weighed maybe 140lbs.

Posted earlier in this thread, that I hit a PR for the last few decades, with 26 bodyweight reps in a row (wide grip, palms forward).

As mentioned in those earlier posts, I alternate weeks between bodyweight for total reps, and pullups with a 40lb weighted vest. Managed to hit 8 reps for 5 sets, 2 weeks ago (up from 7x5 several weeks prior).

When I can do 10x5 with the vest, I'll add another 10lbs to it (I have 3 weighted vests, that all use the MIR brand cast iron weights. The heaviest RunMax vest is fully loaded to 140lbs, and is the one I use for weighted calf raises, now with the mid-vest on top, for more weight. I think the mid-sized vest (that I use for the weighted pull-ups) can be loaded up to at least 60lbs. Maybe 80. I can't recall.

I also have the short Runner's vest (for running), which is the one I'd use for The Murph Challenge.

P.S.

If you've ever seen the show American Ninja Warrior (spinoff from the Japanese show Sasuke), and been to a Ninja Warrior type gym, between the weighted pull-up training, and high rep bodyweight training, pull-ups are easy enough for me, that I can do them explosively enough to skip up two rungs on the Salmon Ladder.

i.e. this

 
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David Mary said:
Can you do muscle ups? I did one. Literally one, in my entire life. šŸ¤£
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Yes. The explosiveness is a key factor in how easy or hard, a muscle up will be.

Having the explosiveness from the pull-up, launches my body high enough that the push-up/dip portion is really more a half rep, than if the pull-up movement was slower.

I think a part of it, was priorities and goals in training. When I began focusing my resistance training on supplementing my power in Sanshou and Muay Thai, I began focusing not just on raw strength and power, but specifically on explosive power.

Things like what are apparently known as Commandos (for pushups. We just called them clap pushups, where you clap your hands between each pushup. Requires pushing up explosively, to get enough hang time at the top of the rep, to clap your hands and put them back down before falling on your face).

At my peak, I was able to do what I dubbed Ultimate pushups (doing a 1-armed pushup explosively enough to raise the hand and slap my chest between reps). Those days are long gone (especially after reinjuring my shoulder). I won't even attempt those now, but Commandos are no problem.

Likewise, when my training buddies and I would try to compete/show off, we started doing things like clapping between each pull-up, then clapping our hands behind our backs between each pull-up šŸ˜…

I have to say, though: I have mad respect for folks who can do a genuine 1-armed pull-up (none of that, "See? I only have one hand gripping the bar. Ignore the fact that the other hand is gripping my wrist, and I'm still using both arms and lats to pull myself up" stuff, but a genuine 1-armed pull-up).

As much as I've trained pull-ups, I've still never been even close to doing a 1-armed pull-up.
 
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GmpaJim said:
Not looking forward to squat day?

Try horse stance every other time.
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Ugh. That gives me PTSD šŸ˜…

A little background:
My dad first began teaching me some basic judo when I was about 4-5. Began Shito Ryu karate at 7. At 13, I had my black belt, but for whatever reason, the school had limited sparring, and didn't have kumite, and I wanted to fight.

My brother had joined a Goju Ryu karate dojo, and I was impressed by all the bruises he routinely came home with, especially after his first kumite, so I switched to his dojo, and began competing (and had my first real introduction to impact conditioning and the difference it makes for sparring/fighting).

All that, to say that I was quite familiar with horse stance, as it's a staple in karate, and many Asian martial arts.

When I first took interest in Wushu/Sanshou, I went looking for an instructor/school, and an American Chinese buddy recommended a place, so I went and checked it out.

Sifu Wong had very heavily accented English. When I first inquired about signing up, he just looked me up and down, and said, "You know horse stance?", I said, "Yes. 10 years in karate".

Sifu Wong, led me to the side of the training area, and said, "You show". The horse stance in Wushu is wider than in karate, so he showed me, "No, like this", and emphasized that thighs had to be parallel to the ground.

Then he stepped back and said, "You stay. 1 hour" and pointed at the large clock on the wall, then went back to his other students.

I don't think I made it 10 minutes.

He came back, and said, "No good. Come back when you can do horse stance 1 hour".

I started training it at home; first, trying to stay in a level horse stance while watching a 1 hour TV show, and taking breaks only during commercials (I think I barely made it to the first commercial break, the first time I tried, but after the commercial break, couldn't last more than an additional minute).

Took a couple months before I could do a full hour, and went back.

I didn't see the movie Iron And Silk, until a few years later. Then it made sense. Sifu Wong had studied under Grandmaster Pan Qing Fu (one of the Chinese philosophies Grandmaster Pan, and Sifu Wong prized was the ability to "eat bitter", or to show the willingness and dedication to push through pain/discomfort).

Sifu Wong, later told me, "You lucky. My teacher make me horse stance TWO hour".
 
Fonedork said:
I can do a pull up
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Yeah, man. I think thereā€™s a lot of focus in this thread on serious stuff, but thereā€™s a lot of people that are likely put off or even intimidated by this. ā€œRoom for improvementā€ doesnā€™t have to involve Murphs.

Most people would be better served by eliminating soda. THAT is an improvement. A genuine, life-changing improvement.


Or just walking. Getting into a routine of walking, even for a mere fifteen or twenty minutes, has countless studies attached to it that demonstrate not only physiological improvements but stress relief, blood sugar reduction, improved sleepā€¦ even cognitive function improvements.


ā€¦that last one seems to elude me, so far, but perhaps itā€™s just because thereā€™s so little to work with.



We always seem to have a predisposition to turn shit to eleven. I just want to avoid being ill, and strong enough to do the shit I want to do. More power to the folks that are striving for ā€˜gainsā€™, but taking ANY step to improve your health is a worthwhile step.


I want you to know that Iā€™m proud of you and your pull-up, Eric. You have my support.


šŸ˜‰
 
Matthew Gregory said:
Yeah, man. I think thereā€™s a lot of focus in this thread on serious stuff, but thereā€™s a lot of people that are likely put off or even intimidated by this. ā€œRoom for improvementā€ doesnā€™t have to involve Murphs.

Most people would be better served by eliminating soda. THAT is an improvement. A genuine, life-changing improvement.


Or just walking. Getting into a routine of walking, even for a mere fifteen or twenty minutes, has countless studies attached to it that demonstrate not only physiological improvements but stress relief, blood sugar reduction, improved sleepā€¦ even cognitive function improvements.


ā€¦that last one seems to elude me, so far, but perhaps itā€™s just because thereā€™s so little to work with.



We always seem to have a predisposition to turn shit to eleven. I just want to avoid being ill, and strong enough to do the shit I want to do. More power to the folks that are striving for ā€˜gainsā€™, but taking ANY step to improve your health is a worthwhile step.


I want you to know that Iā€™m proud of you and your pull-up, Eric. You have my support.


šŸ˜‰
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I was going to congratulate him too, but I was waiting for him to DO the pull up...
 
Matthew Gregory said:
Yeah, man. I think thereā€™s a lot of focus in this thread on serious stuff, but thereā€™s a lot of people that are likely put off or even intimidated by this. ā€œRoom for improvementā€ doesnā€™t have to involve Murphs.

Most people would be better served by eliminating soda. THAT is an improvement. A genuine, life-changing improvement.


Or just walking. Getting into a routine of walking, even for a mere fifteen or twenty minutes, has countless studies attached to it that demonstrate not only physiological improvements but stress relief, blood sugar reduction, improved sleepā€¦ even cognitive function improvements.


ā€¦that last one seems to elude me, so far, but perhaps itā€™s just because thereā€™s so little to work with.



We always seem to have a predisposition to turn shit to eleven. I just want to avoid being ill, and strong enough to do the shit I want to do. More power to the folks that are striving for ā€˜gainsā€™, but taking ANY step to improve your health is a worthwhile step.


I want you to know that Iā€™m proud of you and your pull-up, Eric. You have my support.


šŸ˜‰
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Couldn't agree more.

As the thread states, "There's always room for improvement".

"The longest journey, begins with a single step".

Take that step. You never know where it may take you, if you don't take that first step.

To everyone out there; Don't let the overenthusiastic nuts like me deter you from your journey. Your goal doesn't have to be climbing Everest, but take that step. And then another, and another.

*** and some serious advice. Be honest and assess yourself. We could all use a little improvement, but know where you realistically stand, and go from there. If you need to; go get a physical, and approval from your PCP, before beginning anything intensive.

"One of the leading causes of injuries, is old men thinking they're still young men". Guilty šŸ˜”. When I first began trying to see if I could get back in shape, one of the training injuries was from, "Alright... I'm making progress! I used to do... Ouch. Maybe not".

Start slow, and listen to your body, and don't go overboard. You can't turn things around in a week.

Here's a story, on the lighthearted side. When my brother and I were in HS, and we were doing things like karate kumite, lifting weights, basketball, hockey etc., my dad had developed a gut.

Every so often, he'd get into his, "I'm going to get back in shape" mode, but it rarely ever lasted more than a week, or even a few days, because he would dive into the deep end and go waaayyyyyy overboard, to the point of being so sore and stiff, just doing normal stuff became difficult (and obviously, he couldn't continue working out, because everything hurt. And that would be the end of working out, until the next time), instead of starting off slow, and keeping at it.

He also tended not to like working out with us, because he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up, and was the type to be dissuade by that, vs the the types who are encouraged to improve.

One night, my brother and I had stayed up late, just chatting about various things. We'd gotten hungry, so we headed downstairs to the kitchen to rustle up a late night snack.

We headed downstairs, only to find dad pedaling away furiously on the stationary bike, while simultaneously furiously doing dumbbell shoulder flies.

The incongruity of this scene made us stop dead in our tracks, before both of us began laughing so hard, we were literally rolling on the floor. My brother said, "You know... no matter how fast you flap, you're never going to get off the ground", which made me crack up even more, because that's pretty much what it looked like; The old black and white footage of early attempts at wacky flying machines, with some guy on a bicycle flapping wings made out of wood and paper. šŸ¤£

Yeah, don't do that.
 
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