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Tom Heath
Tom Heath Production Editor
2/10/09 1:32 p.m.
derekshannon wrote:
ignorant wrote: check out the beastskills no handed one arm pullup... It still blows my mind.
I've always been able to do 3-5 one-handed chin ups but I need to hold my other wrist so I'm cheating. At 6'-2" and 250-260 lbs, high rep chins are not my forte'.

That's the beauty of using your own body weight. IMHO, all pull-ups are created equal, you're only lifting yourself with the two arms dog gave you. Bigger guys (cough...Per...cough) disagree.

Free weight is different. Me saying "I bench 200 lbs" isn't impressive, but "I bench 133% of my body weight" makes me feel super tough. Strangely, I don't get invited to move many couches, so I guess it's a win-win for the little folks.

ignorant
ignorant SuperDork
2/10/09 2:00 p.m.
derekshannon wrote:
ignorant wrote: check out the beastskills no handed one arm pullup... It still blows my mind.
I've always been able to do 3-5 one-handed chin ups but I need to hold my other wrist so I'm cheating. At 6'-2" and 250-260 lbs, high rep chins are not my forte'. Give me some deadlifts, squats, cleans, presses and some stone-lifting and I'm a happy boy. The only drawback? "Can you help me move my couch?".

http://www.beastskills.com/nohandOAC.htm <---- blows my mind.

Salanis
Salanis SuperDork
2/10/09 2:14 p.m.
ignorant wrote: http://www.beastskills.com/nohandOAC.htm <---- blows my mind.

Geez. I have a heck of a time just trying to campus a V0 bouldering route. Campusing a route is climbing it without using your legs or feet. On campus-friendly routes, I can usually do about 1/2 of a bouldering route. Getting some swinging momentum helps a lot though.

ignorant
ignorant SuperDork
2/10/09 2:18 p.m.
derekshannon wrote:
Tom Heath wrote: That's the beauty of using your own body weight. IMHO, all pull-ups are created equal, you're only lifting yourself with the two arms dog gave you. Bigger guys (cough...Per...cough) disagree.
Nothing is "equal" in the human body. My long arms and big frame don't make for a great chinner (or bencher or squatter for that matter) but my deadlift is great. We've all seen the guy with short arms benching 3x bodyweight where I struggled with 360lbs when I weighed 270lbs. You gotta think in terms of leverage so you don't get discouraged! No excuses though!

i found the same thing with my monkey like long arms.. I could never reliably bench over 250 or so.. 400lbs deadlifts with no straps.. Hell I could do them..

daytonaer
daytonaer Reader
2/10/09 2:30 p.m.
derekshannon wrote:
ignorant wrote: check out the beastskills no handed one arm pullup... It still blows my mind.
I've always been able to do 3-5 one-handed chin ups but I need to hold my other wrist so I'm cheating. At 6'-2" and 250-260 lbs, high rep chins are not my forte'. Give me some deadlifts, squats, cleans, presses and some stone-lifting and I'm a happy boy. The only drawback? "Can you help me move my couch?".

Hang out with some Marines. High rep PU is part of their pft, so there are some BIG guys doing 20+ PU's. They also have some sweet programs designed just for pull ups. High rep push ups and PU's w/weights helped me up my ## quick.

I can do 20 PU's but haven't been able to do one one handed.

I also thought about this more. Crossfit is about as grassroots as you can get.

gamby
gamby SuperDork
2/10/09 2:40 p.m.
derekshannon wrote:
gamby wrote: I also do pullups (not on the same day as the jomprope thing). A couple of sets of 20 will do it for me at the moment.
What do you weigh? 20 full ROM chins is great! I'd love to see a video, maybe that'd get me to shoot for high reps instead of all the heavy, low rep stuff I do now.

I'm right around 200lbs (5'11" if it matters).

I should have specified "chin-ups"(underhand) not "pull-ups" (overhand). I'm starting to do the overhand ones, but 10 per set is my max.

No video, but honestly, the number isn't all that special. You could work up to it in not-too-terribly long. The key with them is--don't get discouraged at first. Do multiple sets of lower numbers and do them a few times a week. After a short time, you'll notice your rep numbers growing.

I used to be a fairly decent gym-hound, so curling big numbers was part of the routine.. Chin-ups are excellent maintenance for the muscle mass/strength level you already have, too.

gamby
gamby SuperDork
2/10/09 2:44 p.m.
93celicaGT2 wrote: I REALLY need to work on stretching, though... i notice as i bulk up, i'm losing a lot of flexibility.

Yoga is awesome for this. I was on a pretty good yoga kick a few years ago. Rodney Yee is the MAN when it comes to yoga vids. Power Yoga will literally stun you with the workout it gives you. This dude will PWN you. Great for muscle tone, too.

I keep saying that I want to take it up again--I could use the flexibility in skateboarding.

alex
alex Reader
2/10/09 3:21 p.m.

I've always been quite flexible for my size - I was a chunky kid when I was doing martial arts, but I had better high legs than most of my instructors. I've still got a good degree of it, but I could always go for more.

I'm intrigued by yoga, despite the yuppie connotations. I always said I wanted to learn it from an old Indian man, though... One local school has a class called 'yoga for stiff guys,' which I could likely pwn, I just don't know if I'm up for buying pants and a mat.

And by the way, thanks y'all. I knew there was nothing I couldn't bring up on this board that wouldn't find a host of informed opinions.

iceracer
iceracer Reader
2/10/09 6:44 p.m.

Make a carefull review of what you eat. No Dunkin Donuts, soft drinks, afore mentioned beer, etc.

MitchellC
MitchellC Reader
2/10/09 7:17 p.m.

Let's not get too hasty... beer is fine in moderation. And if it's good beer; otherwise it's not worth it.

Gone_John_Galt
Gone_John_Galt
2/10/09 7:34 p.m.

I see someone mentioned "Crossfit.com" because it is a great Grassroots work out program, though starting out trying to do crossfit is imtidating, it can be scaled back and work fine. Crossfit is kind of the anti-Gym type work-out, as grassroots as it comes. (I have been training to do the 300 work out by my birthday. I'll be 45 this year.)

The number one thing is to completely change your attitude about fitness. The gym is not your enemy. I completely understand not liking the gym when you are wanting to get back into shape. I hated going to the gym and feeling like the weight bench guys were there solely to laugh at my progress, until the day when I was able to do 50 lb Kettlebell swings and then they kept their smirks to themselves. (My wife also works out and can lift more than me...after doing a 100 set-ups with a weight plate on her chest...the gym rats run to the shower when she shows up,) Perserverence. When I feel embaressed at the gym, I just imagine how much better I will be doing next year and keep at it. I use the same philosophy as I do when I ride sport bikes, I look thru the curve to where i want to be instead of where I am at. I get completely in the "me" zone. It is something I am doing for me so that I will feel better, look better and not regretting what I did with my life when I am sucking on tubes and pooping in bags at the old folks classic alt. rock night at the Senior center when I am 75.

My wife uses a book that I started stealing work-out schedules from, (and being in tip top shape and able to run a solid 6:00 minute mile 10K,) I found the work outs to be very good and versitile, the book is called " The new rules of lifting, lift like a man look like a godess"...I know the title sucks, but the work outs are great. The book is written by Lou Shueller who writes for Men's Health magazine, my wife says he wrote a book for men, (probably a couple) but me being a tight wad just reads her book and was shocked how good it was. Tons of good information about getting in shape and staying there. You will not regret reading the book.

Diet. No more beer, soda or fatty snacks. I work a swing shift of twelve hour shifts at a steel mill, no one is more tempted than me to grab a Mt. Dew at 3:00 AM to stay awake, but I absolutly know that a soda habit means weight gain and a bad dieting habit...Mt. Dew leads to Milky Way(s). Discipline. Tupperware containers, Broccoli and Califlower. Water and coffee.

I subscribe to Muscle and Fitness magazine, though it features ridiculous steroid models, there is a ton of good information in it about fitness and dieting..just scale back their weight about 70%. (I do anyway.)

I run... a lot...but running or walking will not cause you to lose weight...I have seen plenty of obese people run for hours on treadmills. You have to change your heart rate while you run, up hll, down hill, outside.

Sign up for a 10K. Decide that you do not want to be the last person across that line. Buy an Ipod, (stimulating the economy while you do,) and go out and have a good time.

dyintorace
dyintorace GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
2/10/09 8:41 p.m.
Gone_John_Galt wrote: I see someone mentioned "Crossfit.com" because it is a great Grassroots work out program, though starting out trying to do crossfit is imtidating, it can be scaled back and work fine. Crossfit is kind of the anti-Gym type work-out, as grassroots as it comes. (I have been training to do the 300 work out by my birthday. I'll be 45 this year.)

Would you be willing to expand on how you got started with crossfit? I've read quite a bit about the program and am intrigued, but cannot really see a logical entry point. Currently, I'm running quite a bit (just walked in the door from 5.4 miles) to get ready for the half-marathon here in town next Sunday. But I really don't like running long distances and would like to dial that back, to be replaced by more cross training activities. I'd love to hear more if you don't mind.

Type Q
Type Q HalfDork
2/10/09 9:05 p.m.
alex wrote: I've always been quite flexible for my size - I was a chunky kid when I was doing martial arts, but I had better high legs than most of my instructors. I've still got a good degree of it, but I could always go for more. I'm intrigued by yoga, despite the yuppie connotations. I always said I wanted to learn it from an old Indian man, though... One local school has a class called 'yoga for stiff guys,' which I could likely pwn, I just don't know if I'm up for buying pants and a mat. And by the way, thanks y'all. I knew there was nothing I couldn't bring up on this board that wouldn't find a host of informed opinions.

I have been doing yoga in one form or another for about 9 years now. It is an interesting mix of stuff. I took classes with an older white guy who was far away from the new-age-yuppie end of the spectrum. If you are working someone good, you come away feeling like you had a strength workout and a massage at the same time. My teacher moved to New Zeland last October, so I stopped for a few months. I put 15 pounds almost immediately. I just started with someone new.

Gone_John_Galt
Gone_John_Galt New Reader
2/11/09 7:32 p.m.
dyintorace wrote:
Gone_John_Galt wrote: I see someone mentioned "Crossfit.com" because it is a great Grassroots work out program, though starting out trying to do crossfit is imtidating, it can be scaled back and work fine. Crossfit is kind of the anti-Gym type work-out, as grassroots as it comes. (I have been training to do the 300 work out by my birthday. I'll be 45 this year.)
Would you be willing to expand on how you got started with crossfit? I've read quite a bit about the program and am intrigued, but cannot really see a logical entry point. Currently, I'm running quite a bit (just walked in the door from 5.4 miles) to get ready for the half-marathon here in town next Sunday. But I really don't like running long distances and would like to dial that back, to be replaced by more cross training activities. I'd love to hear more if you don't mind.

I don't remember who suggested Crossfit to me, but I remember reading the website and thinking it would work in my tight schedule. I started out doing Crossfit, but using a lot less weight than they suggested in their daily work outs and maybe not as many sets. But I kept at it. Some things they do, I still cannot do and I am in great shape, (headstand push up are FN hard...and I am 45, I'm not trying to outlift Arnold, I am just trying to stay healthy,) If they suggested 15 kettlebell swings with a 40 pound weight, I used 15...and try to swing more the last set...I don't do their wild pull-up method, but I do try to do any many pull-ups...I liked Crossfit because it changed things up...not the same old every single day...I don't use crossfit religiously, I have added a lot to my work outs now, but I have to say that if it was not for crossfit, I don't think I could have gotten back into shape.

Crossfit worked for me, because I literally had a half an hour before work and no time after. Once I got stronger, I found I got up even earlier and kept adding to the work outs. I also bought kettlebells and dumbells and do a lot of stuff at home now, including the breathing ab exercises that Lou Schueller uses and find they are just or more effective than set-ups...

I just started running off road, on our farm, I can hardly run a mile off road compared to be able to run 11 miles at speed....my legs get twice the work out and my heart beats out of my chest.

Mostly I'm not the kind of person who likes the same old routine day in and day out. I have never approached new adventures from a logical stand point and Crossfit fit right into that thinking.

abumason
abumason New Reader
2/12/09 12:40 a.m.

Would you be willing to expand on how you got started with crossfit? I've read quite a bit about the program and am intrigued, but cannot really see a logical entry point. Currently, I'm running quite a bit (just walked in the door from 5.4 miles) to get ready for the half-marathon here in town next Sunday. But I really don't like running long distances and would like to dial that back, to be replaced by more cross training activities. I'd love to hear more if you don't mind.

Go to crossfit.com and check out the links and look for an affiliate. Most CF gyms will let you try out a workout for free. Look for at least a level II certified instructor. While most of CF is based on Olympic lifts and gymnastics moves, it's really easy to get hurt if you don't quite know what you're doing.

Be prepared to be sore and humbled.

As others have mentioned - diet is the key. I know a lot guys that follow CF, but the ones in the best shape and perform the best all follow The Zone in one form or another. Check out Men's Health Abs diet for an easier (for me at least) way to eat than weighing out all your food.

Either way, good luck and doing something, anything, is better than nothing.

alex
alex Reader
3/8/09 10:23 p.m.

Bang-o!

I'm resurrecting this thread to link to some articles I recently stumbled upon. This is pretty much exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. Thanks Digg!

http://www.nationalmassagecertification.org/blog/2008/the-ultimate-guide-to-bodyweight-training-100-killer-resources/

http://www.frixo.com/sites/fitness/exercises.html

http://renegadehealth.com/blog/top-10-best-bodyweight-exercises-for-advanced-and-beginners-the-renegade-health-show-episode-104/

And, a recommended Yoga site, which I haven't had much time to browse: http://anmolmehta.com/blog/category/yoga/yoga-illustrations/

It all came from this page, and any invocation of Bruce Lee in terms of fitness is good enough for me.

MitchellC
MitchellC HalfDork
3/8/09 10:30 p.m.

I'm still running quite a bit (last three days were 5, 4, and 4 miles, respectively). I splurged with my tax return and bought a membership to the rock climbing gym. I'm having trouble at the level zero climbs, hah.

Osterizer
Osterizer HalfDork
3/9/09 2:09 a.m.
dyintorace wrote:
Gone_John_Galt wrote: I see someone mentioned "Crossfit.com" because it is a great Grassroots work out program, though starting out trying to do crossfit is imtidating, it can be scaled back and work fine. Crossfit is kind of the anti-Gym type work-out, as grassroots as it comes. (I have been training to do the 300 work out by my birthday. I'll be 45 this year.)
Would you be willing to expand on how you got started with crossfit? I've read quite a bit about the program and am intrigued, but cannot really see a logical entry point. Currently, I'm running quite a bit (just walked in the door from 5.4 miles) to get ready for the half-marathon here in town next Sunday. But I really don't like running long distances and would like to dial that back, to be replaced by more cross training activities. I'd love to hear more if you don't mind.

Tucker, I'll give you the low-down at work.

ignorant
ignorant SuperDork
3/9/09 6:21 a.m.
alex wrote: Bang-o!

thanks for links!

mad_machine
mad_machine GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
3/9/09 9:05 a.m.

I am just waiting for spring. Put on 10 pounds over the winter (185 at 5'11). Soon I can get back on my bike and start doing my 15 to 20 miles a day

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