April 2008 Archives

[Pull-ups can be scenic.]

Yes, I'm still going on about pull-ups. (Mainly to postpone doing the work I should be concentrating on instead.) But hey, if you've grown weary of the topic -- if you don't want to learn how to do this bang-for-your-buck bodyweight exercise better -- you're welcome to leave. Wait! I didn't mean it! Please don't leave.

It's just ... wouldn't it be nicer if we did this together?

 
[winning smile]

Confession time: In my current state of fitness, I can only do 2.5 pull-ups without assistance. OK, 2.25. In my last post, when I said, "For instance, tuckered after two?" I was talking about myself. Sigh.

A couple years ago, I could do seven, and at the time, I thought that was pretty decent, but now I've got to take my old number and double it. Oh, and add one more (see this post for the herstory of this madness).

THE FOLLOWING WORKOUT PROGRAM has been ripped off seven ways from Sunday, so allow me to trace its path so everyone involved gets credit. My friend Liz sent it to me, as her friend Dre had sent it to her. Adam Campbell, editor at Men's Health, likely wrote about it over there at some point, but by the time we got our grubby mitts on it, the article was posted here on Active.com. The trail doesn't end there -- the technique originated with Michael Mejia, CSCS, former U.S. Navy Seal and author of The Special Ops Workout. (Not to be confused with Mark De Lisle's Special Ops Fitness Training: High-Intensity Workouts of Navy Seals, Delta Force, Marine Force Recon and Army Rangers.)

Mejia recommends doing the following routine two or three days a week, resting at least a day between sessions. The original copy set the goal at the Rangers' lofty-enough goal of 12, but I've altered it to reflect the U.S. women's rugby backs' standard of 15. Because that seems reasonable.

THE SPECIAL OPS' PULL-UP PLAN
The Goal: 15
The Plan: Take the most pull-ups you can do at one time and divide that number in half. Now perform sets of that number of repetitions -- resting 60 seconds after each set -- until you've done at least 15 pull-ups. Each workout, reduce your rest between sets by 5 seconds, until you're down to zero rest and able to do 15 consecutive pull-ups.

Pretty simple, really. Hypothetically, say you can do four consecutive pull-ups max. Halve that so you're doing sets of two with 60 seconds rest in between until you get to -- well, 16, because these numbers don't crunch perfectly. Let's call it mandatory extra credit. In total, you'll do eight sets of two. That's reasonable, right?

And each workout will take less time than the last, which is hugely motivating (to me, anyway). Especially since I'm starting with sets of one, and this thing is going to take me forever at first. Oooh, I'm whiny today, and I think my Door Gym (like the one pictured at right) is mocking me. I guess I should be thankful that a creepy batwoman isn't hanging on mine. That would be awkward.

IS ANYONE ELSE being haunted by encounters with pull-ups lately? I mean, besides by me. Ha! I can't seem to escape them, and thus, neither can you. That's the way this works.

Take, for instance, last night. My friend Kim invited me to do a workout with her at Velocity Sports Performance in Cherry Hill, N.J., and being a sucker for performance gyms, I took her up on the offer. I nearly collapsed after the seemingly extra-dynamic warm-up, but considering there seemed to be no escaping the evil, Justin Timberlake-lookalike trainer, I hung in there -- literally.

We ended the hour with three sets of 10 partner pull-ups. (For how to do partner pull-ups, see "Clear the Bar" in the May 2008 issue of Experience Life.) And even as I was thinking, "Whyyyyy?!" I was also thinking, "Why not?" It's fun to be strong.

This past weekend, I attended a rugby camp for the U.S. women's 15s team, and the topic of pull-ups came up. Often. A lot like the way pushups keep coming up lately. (See here, here, and here for examples.)

Granted, the rugby camp attendees are probably a skewed sample of individuals -- many of them were discussing how to meet the national team's strength and conditioning standards for the exercise. The requirements vary by position, but the minimum runs from 10 to 15. Players in my position, wing, need to be able to do at least 15 consecutive pull-ups. (May I just say, Gaaaah!)

But this emphasis on bodyweight exercises extends far beyond rugby campers -- as part of their 2008 predictions, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) cited bodyweight and equipment-free workouts as emerging fitness trends.

While pull-ups aren't entirely equipment free, they certainly don't take much -- a tree branch, football goalpost or jungle gym will do just fine.

SO HOW APPROPRIATE IS IT that in the May issue of Experience Life, Krista Scott-Dixon wrote an article called "Clear the Bar" -- all about how to do a pull-up. Or 15.

Take a look for exercises that will help you meet your goal, from standing lat pull-downs and negative pull-ups to resistance-band pull-ups and L-pull-ups using a bench.

Even if you can already do full bodyweight pull-ups, the exercises Scott-Dixon covers can be used to boost your number. For instance, tuckered after two? Have your workout buddy jump in to assist with some partner pull-ups. (See pics in the article.)

On the other hand, if you're itching for more advanced maneuvers, check out her other article on the topic, "Mistressing the Pullup," on her women-oriented fitness site, Stumptuous.com.

FOR THOSE OF YOU who asked about my dear friend Stubot's progress on our Pull-Up Challenge (see this post for details), she hasn't even started yet. But she swears she's about to. Any minute. Regardless, she could probably use a few words of encouragement, so kindly leave yours in the comments section.

So ... no one outside the Experience Life staff knows this yet, but former -- and possibly future -- karate world champion Elisa Au will be gracing our cover in June. Now you know, too. Shhh.

A little background: Au (pronounced "Ow" -- go to town on that one) is the only American woman to have won a world championship, and remains the only person in the world, male or female, to win more than one world title at a single world karate championship. The only person in the world. Can you imagine being able to say that?

If you want to read more about her, check out the links here, here and here. (Highlight from the last one? She recommends people not try the fictitious "crane technique," pictured at right, from the movie Karate Kid.) There are lots more articles about her, but I've grown weary of pasting the links. These days, she's training in Chicago, where she owns and operates three martial arts schools with her spankin'-new husband, John Fonseca (no slouch himself when it comes to karate accolades -- to see a video of Fonseca, click here).

I interviewed Au several weeks ago, and before we hung up, she promised to share her favorite workout on my blog. (A very, VERY big thank you to her for sharing!)

HERE'S THE WORKOUT SHE SENT ME over the weekend -- if you try it out, please tell us how it goes in the "comments" section! I tried (albeit half-heartedly) to find photos or video demonstrations to go with at least some of the exercises below, but if you're having trouble figuring one out, post your question(s) in the comments.

FROM ELISA: I've chosen exercises from my training in karate and with my personal trainer, Corey Shackelford. These exercises do not require any equipment -- they rely on your body weight for resistance and focus on the core muscles, which are most important for a strong body.

You can definitely start with less reps if the moves are unfamiliar to you. Or, you can add for reps and sets in order to challenge yourself.

1. Warm up! [For an article on the benefits of warming up and cooling down, see "Gradual is Good" from the March 2007 issue of Experience Life.]

2. Charlie's Angels Lunges -- Lunge sideways with your left leg, feet parallel, arms straight out and parallel to the ground in front of you (in a gun-shooting position). Twist your upper torso to the left so that your arms rotate 90 degrees, then back to starting position. Step up and repeat on right side. 10 reps on each side.

3. Burpees -- Squat down and place hands on the floor, shoulder width apart. Kick your feet back into a push-up starting position. Bring feet back under you and immediately jump up in a star position (arms and legs all extended). Repeat 15 times. [For a video demo of how to do a burpee, click here.]

4. Arm Shuffles -- Start in push-up position. Shuffle your arms so that your body moves clockwise like a hand of a clock. Try to keep your feet at the middle position as your arms move from 1 to 12. Do 2 times clockwise, 2 times counter-clockwise.

5. Superman -- Lay on your stomach. Lift your legs and arms off the ground and hold position for 30 seconds to a minute. [For pics, see here.]

6. V-Ups -- Lie on your back. Lift your legs and arms/shoulders off the ground to create a V-shape with your body. Lower your arms and legs without letting them touch the ground. Do 15 reps. [Pics here.]

7. Plank Positions -- Place elbows/forearms on the ground, feet in push-up position. Be sure your shoulders are directly above your elbows so that all body angles are 90 degrees. Hold this position for 1 minute. Point right arm straight ahead, parallel to the ground. Hold this position for 20 seconds. Switch arms and hold for another 20 seconds. Repeat with extended right and left legs, each for 20 seconds. Lastly, extend right arm and left leg, hold for 20 seconds, then switch to other side for the last 20 seconds. You will total 3 minutes. [See a basic plank pose here. You got the rest through the description, right?]

For the next three exercises, use small pieces of tape stuck to the floor. Mark 5 points like the 5-side of a die. The outer points should be about shoulder-width apart on all sides.

8. Hourglass -- Start on the bottom two points with feet shoulder-width apart. Jump to the middle point to bring feet together, then jump to the top points to get back to shoulder-width position. Jump back to the middle point, then back to starting position. Repeat 15 times.

9. Figure 8 -- Keep your feet together the entire time on this one. Start at the bottom left corner. Hop to the middle point, then to the upper right point. Continue on to the upper left point, middle, bottom right, then back to the beginning at the bottom left. You have made a figure 8. Repeat 8 times this way, then 8 times the opposite way.

10. Around the World -- Stand on the middle point with one foot. Hop to the bottom left point then back to the middle. Continue to the top left then return, top right and return, bottom right and return. Repeat in this clockwise position 5 times, then 5 times counter-clockwise. Repeat with other foot.

11. Cool-down and STRETCH!

~Elisa

If you want to check out a rerun of my gently used January 30th entry, "The Benefits of a Superior Posterior," it's being featured as a guest post over at Cranky Fitness today. (May I just say, wahoooooooo!!)

The Cranky tagline? "Your Guide to Health, Fitness, Nutrition, Personal Development, and Whining." Definitely worth adding to your Google Reader.

Speaking of which, if you haven't signed up to receive Survival of the Fittest updates via email or RSS feed -- and you're sick of clicking obsessively on your favorite blogs each day to see if they've updated -- fill out or click on the widdle-bitty widgets at right (if you can't see 'em, scroll down a bit). If this is not one of your favorite blogs, please disregard these instructions.