Chez Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 I have a little experience with pull-ups, although I weigh a fair bit less at about 200lbs, my arm-span is very similar to yours. Essentially, in my opinion the best way to go is to try and get into a routine where you do a few each day, with a mix of supinated, pronated, narrow and wide grips. Then gradually build up the numbers. The way I did it was every time I got home from school and put my bike away, I would do 10 pull-ups and 10 chins on my swing. Obviously I worked up to that gradually, starting with sets of 5 (i've always had pretty decent pulling strength). The great thing about pull-ups/chins is that they take forever to get easy, you can keep making them more difficult by working towards perfect form (as described by Coach Sommer) - not many people can do 10 shoulders to bar reps with a hollow body, no kip and a 2 second up, 2 second down rhythm. I find it helpful to do a mix of explosive reps and slow controlled ones. Word of warning though, if you do decide to try and up your chins/pull-ups, make sure you take care of your elbows. After starting on my current calisthenics programme, my elbows got really sore to begin with from volume pull-ups and muscle ups. Pretty long post given that it was a bit of an aside, but seeing as Mike hasn't been active since ending his log, I guess I'm shooting for the vacant role of resident calisthenics expert lol! Thanks for the advice dude. I started by doing 4 reps for my first 2 sets and 3 for my next two. I was trying hard to keep the form strict. I'm definitely going to have to work my way up gradually. I'll stay with the unassisted ones and add a rep every workout. My knees almost hit the floor hanging from doorway bar because I got some monkey arms. Going to try it at the pull up bar at the gym because its much higher and I won't have to worry about hitting the floor. The program calls for sets of 8-15 reps but its going to take time before I'm at that level. My upper back is feeling sore today. It really is a great exercise. I just have to be patient and keep working hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macaz Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 What do your forearms feel like the next few days after doing a back routine with the fat grips? Mine feel sore for three days, I have been using them for about 4 weeks and I’m surprised they have not gotten used to it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 What do your forearms feel like the next few days after doing a back routine with the fat grips? Mine feel sore for three days, I have been using them for about 4 weeks and I’m surprised they have not gotten used to it yet. My forearms looks like they belong to Popeye right after the fat gripz back workout and are usually sore the next day as wel. My recover time has really improved since I have been training grip high frequency. Except for right now since I went nuts on Saturday with hours of grip training. Hands are still sore from Saturday so I'm not training grip again until Wednesday which is a long rest for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba29 Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 chins and pull ups gonna be hard for you big man. they are a great all around movement though. keep at it. i guarantee when you get up to 10, and you will, other big guys will look at you in amazement. you just don't see big guys do that exercise because they typically are not good at it. although there are freaky big guys out there who can do 15+ reps. honestly i don't have any advice. i am smaller and sucked at them when i started. now i can do over 20 and 14 with rolling thunder handles. but i have messed around with them on and off for almost 6 years. just do them every week. you will not be disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Chez I'm in a similar situation--used to be able to kill it on pull ups... when I weighed 170 and did them daily at 5 am. Now 240 and as of two months ago, I'm lucky to get 2 or 3. If your only option is a pull up "machine" that you put your feet on or no pull ups at all, use the machine. But I prefer to use bands. I bought a pack of four from JumpStretch "specifically designed" for people who suck at pull ups, lol. The difference is you're moving your body through space in a more realistic motion than on a machine and I've noticed the difference, at least. Once I get to a decent level with the help of the bands, I plan on following either the Armstrong Pull Up program or the Recon Ron program, both of which will give you good results. It's just getting to be able to do between five and 10 that at least I need the bands for. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macaz Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I really like the manus grips I use and don’t plan on doing back workouts without them. I think this will help me on my goal of lifting an inch dumbbell. I am just surprised at how it is still taxing my forearms, which is a good thing. I am used to something new hurting the first time but rapidly getting used to it. Maybe its because the load I’m able to pull is going up rapidly too. When I started I was pulling 250#s on the hammer strength machines (pull down and the lateral row one too) now I’m up to my normal workout range of 350-400#s. Basically my thick grip has caught up to my back strength in a month. I think Ill have to do some static holds soon because my back cant handle much more. Well enough about me. Sorry for high jacking your workout thread Chez! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 (edited) You guys are always welcome to comment in my log and give advice. I'm actually throwing in cardio on the days that I don't strength train. I want to eventually drop down to 230 lbs. I admire Andrew Durniat. Hes tall (a little taller than me) but has a defined athletic build and is still incredibly strong. The same with Adam Glass and its no surprise that both of them are at the top of our sport. I know that my weight will blow up on this strength program so I need the cardio to keep things in check. I started off slow tonight. I did 30 mins on my exercise bike at home on its highest resistance (the highest resistance isn't very strong). I'll ramp up the intensity as I go by using machines at the gym. Time to get serious about strength training and general fitness. I want to make some noise in competitions next year and to do that I need to bring up my weaknesses. I can't just be a gripper guy (of course I still love them and will train them intense as always). I really need to bring up pinch and thick bar to match my crush strength. Edited July 10, 2012 by Chez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba29 Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 chez: body composition is 80% diet, 20% exercise. i know you are gluten free so what i am recommending would not be a tough conversion for you. have you heard of the paleo/primal diet? it has worked great for me and many other people too. here are some posts from 2 well know gripsters about their success: http://az-grip.blogspot.com/2012/05/5-1-2012.html http://www.strongergripblog.com/2012/03/ripped-abs-after-all-these-years.html most people who get good results do it without cardio. i would also suggest you get a body composition test like a bodpod. in the end, you don't really want to lose weight, you want to lose fat. eyeing the scale can be deceiving and sometimes frustrating. your new training program could cause you to slap on weight in the form of muscle. oh well, that's my 2 cents. let me know if you want more info. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 chez: body composition is 80% diet, 20% exercise. i know you are gluten free so what i am recommending would not be a tough conversion for you. have you heard of the paleo/primal diet? it has worked great for me and many other people too. here are some posts from 2 well know gripsters about their success: http://az-grip.blogs...5/5-1-2012.html http://www.strongerg...hese-years.html most people who get good results do it without cardio. i would also suggest you get a body composition test like a bodpod. in the end, you don't really want to lose weight, you want to lose fat. eyeing the scale can be deceiving and sometimes frustrating. your new training program could cause you to slap on weight in the form of muscle. oh well, that's my 2 cents. let me know if you want more info. I'll look it up online. Its hard being gluten free since my food options are already limited. I'm not going to lie, I hate dieting. I love eating and drinking but I need to tighten up my diet if I want to be a monster next year. The fat doesn't help me lift. I need to replace it with more muscle. I'll check that diet out. Thanks Chuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba29 Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 (edited) chez: body composition is 80% diet, 20% exercise. i know you are gluten free so what i am recommending would not be a tough conversion for you. have you heard of the paleo/primal diet? it has worked great for me and many other people too. here are some posts from 2 well know gripsters about their success: http://az-grip.blogs...5/5-1-2012.html http://www.strongerg...hese-years.html most people who get good results do it without cardio. i would also suggest you get a body composition test like a bodpod. in the end, you don't really want to lose weight, you want to lose fat. eyeing the scale can be deceiving and sometimes frustrating. your new training program could cause you to slap on weight in the form of muscle. oh well, that's my 2 cents. let me know if you want more info. I'll look it up online. Its hard being gluten free since my food options are already limited. I'm not going to lie, I hate dieting. I love eating and drinking but I need to tighten up my diet if I want to be a monster next year. The fat doesn't help me lift. I need to replace it with more muscle. I'll check that diet out. Thanks Chuck. imo, dieting is starving yourself. that is not how this works. you just change the way you eat. you may end up eating less without knowing it but you will not be hungry. you may want to consult aaron as he is closer to your size and may be able to relate better. Edited July 10, 2012 by bubba29 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macaz Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Aaron is on the primal blueprint diet as am I. I know this would work for you Chez. You can order to book on amizon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoggoth Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 (edited) I'm on Primal Blueprint as well. There's a bunch of information on Marks Daily Apple as well. I also used some intermittent fasting in there as well and dropped about 22-23# and stalled. Recently I've been leaning towards Carb Backloading which I think is helping reset my hormone levels and fatloss again (dropping about 2# a week again). I'm down about 25# now and have eaten boxes of cookies, whole pizza's and soda during the periods that require an insulin spike as well. Edited July 10, 2012 by Shoggoth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KRC Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 whole pizza's One of my favorite meals! Chez I have used the Anabolic Diet with success as well and it's very similar to the Primal Blueprint, except there are Carb backloads every weekend after the initial two weeks. I have a pdf you can take a look at if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 whole pizza's One of my favorite meals! Chez I have used the Anabolic Diet with success as well and it's very similar to the Primal Blueprint, except there are Carb backloads every weekend after the initial two weeks. I have a pdf you can take a look at if you want. definitely dude. I could use all the info I can get my hands on. I have a decade of lifting experience but no diet experience. I'll PM you later on today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macaz Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 when and why do you need an insolin spike? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba29 Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 when and why do you need an insolin spike? with insulin comes insulin like growth factor which is very anabolic. maybe that is what he is after??? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoggoth Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 when and why do you need an insolin spike? with insulin comes insulin like growth factor which is very anabolic. maybe that is what he is after??? Correct. The later dump comes pre-bedtime for the same reason plus glycogen replenishment. Being crap foods they spike quickly but also leave quickly letting my body go back to burning fat again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wojo Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 I'm a little late to the party with this.....but here's a great article on pull-ups/chin-ups from EliteFTS..... http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/sports-training/the-other-bar-hang-time-for-strength-athletes-part-1-needs-formatted/ I'm pushing 300lbs, so banging out chin-ups is as likely as me running hurdles in the Olympics....so I'm going to start doing inverse rows like this article suggests and work my way up from there as I get stronger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickmeniru Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 As someone who also struggles to control what they eat, I thought I'd put my 2 cents in on losing weight. I don't find that traditional 'diets' work that well for the majority of people. When you limit what you can eat too much, binges tend to be the result and a lot of grumpiness in my case! In my opinion, the best way to go about it is to start my cutting out the crap that you eat on a regular basis. For me that meant not buying crisps, pastries and chocolates/sweets whenever I went to a shop. I still buy treats occasionally, but less often, rather than a daily thing it's become more of a 'treat'. It's still okay to treat yourself (in my case mainly donuts) but rather than buying a pack of 5 dounuts because it's not that much more expensive than buying 1 or 2 individually, I just buy 1 or 2. Eventually I stopped craving masses of sweet foods - although I still have a major weakness for free foods... The next part was a little harder to begin with. Cutting down on carbs. Rather than having plates full of rice, pasta, and breads, I started to reduce the amount I was having and now have about half the amount of carbs, I used to eat. I keep protein intake high, mainly from chicken - but I guess tuna, lean red meats and shakes are good too. I replace the lost food bulk with salad type items that are low in energy content, but high in vitamins etc, dressings are ok, the salad helps you feel fuller. An important point to make is that I now eat slower. It helps me feel a lot fuller after a meal, I was sceptical at first, but it really does work (provided your meal is an appropriate size i guess). I'm now at a stage where, by gradually making my diet more balanced and healthier, I am maintaining my weight at around 200lbs but gradually replacing fat with muscle. I still go out and have a few beers most weeks, I eat out a fair bit and I don't do that much cardio generally speaking - just the odd run here and there mostly, although I do play football (soccer) too. Just my thoughts and experiences. I've tried a couple of very good short term diets, and have lost weight rapidly, but then put it all back on. I think that the most important thing is to be happy with what you're eating. If you are constantly feeling hungry and dissatisfied with meals, then the diet won't work long term. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 Lifting and bending tonight. I was very tired after work and felt sluggish at the gym. I did stiff leg deadlifts for the first time ever and attempted barbell seated presses for the first time in a while (I usually use dumbbells or a machine) so I was feeling out the weight with these exercises. Definitely need to increase the weight next time because I don't feel I was working hard enough, but at least I got a good baseline for next time. I set a huge PR in bending Tonight. Light Squats - program called for lighter squats today Warm up 135 lbs = 10 reps Working 205 lbs = 2 sets of 5 reps. Very easy so I concentrated on form Seated barbell shoulder presses Warm up 45 lbs = 10 reps 95 lbs = 5 reps Working 135 lbs = 5 reps 155 lbs = 5 reps 160 lbs = 5 reps 115 lbs = 8 reps - need to start the working sets with 155 lbs next time Stiff Leg Deadlifts (knees slightly bent and bar lowered to about mid shin with a straight back) Warm up 45 lbs = 10 reps 95 lbs = 10 reps 135 lbs = 5 reps Working 185 lbs = 5 reps 185 lbs = 5 reps 185 lbs = 5 reps 155 lbs = 8 reps Bending - all in ironmind pads and double overhand Warm up Grade 2 bolt = easy 60D galvanized nail = easy Working Black Grade 8 bolt = Got it! Video below. The form was sloppy and it took a while but this bolt went down! Huge PR for me. . super happy about this. Daniel Reinard sent this to me and he says this rates around 500 lbs which is more than a Red Nail. The Red is longer though so more awkward. I will be on the red nail list eventually no matter what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yummy Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 looks like all that reverse bending helped strengthen your wrists for a huge pr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel reinard Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Great job hanging in there and getting it done. That's a serious bend in those pads. Steel ratings are weird. We're not supposed to take the rating too literal with different length steel because the rating can be misleading. A 6" 500 will be way easier than a 7" 500. Lengths and bolt diameter quickly vary the difficulty. None the less the ratings help and that my friend was a serious bend. A red normally rates at 420 but due to the diameter it will be harder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba29 Posted July 11, 2012 Share Posted July 11, 2012 Great job hanging in there and getting it done. That's a serious bend in those pads. Steel ratings are weird. We're not supposed to take the rating too literal with different length steel because the rating can be misleading. A 6" 500 will be way easier than a 7" 500. Lengths and bolt diameter quickly vary the difficulty. None the less the ratings help and that my friend was a serious bend. A red normally rates at 420 but due to the diameter it will be harder. i am curious where you find ratings of various pieces of steel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted July 11, 2012 Author Share Posted July 11, 2012 looks like all that reverse bending helped strengthen your wrists for a huge pr. It definitely helped. I am the weakest at the initial kink because I never trained my wrist until recently. Been doing a lot of lever work also. My crush is much stronger from years of chest, tri and shoulder work. I need to keep getting stronger at the initial kink. As soon as this bar started to move I knew I could finish it. I also really need to toughen my hands because this bend hurt like hell. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 Thanks Tommy. I haven't seen that post before. I have been taking it easy this week from grip because of the marathon session last Saturday which left my hands nice and sore and the Grade 8 Bend recently which actually left a nice little bruise on my right palm. I was back in action today. Lifted at the gym, hit crush and pinch late tonight Incline Bench Press Warm up 135 lbs = 10 reps 175 lbs = 5 reps Working 205 lbs = 5 reps 205 lbs = 5 reps 205 lbs = 5 reps 175 lbs = 8 reps Squats - Ankle is feeling better so I'm slightly increasing the weight warm up 135 lbs = 10 reps 185 lbs = 5 reps Working 225 lbs = 5 reps 245 lbs = 5 reps 265 lbs = 5 reps 225 lbs = 8 reps Bent Over Barbell Rows - not much experience with these so this session was to feel out the weight. Warm up 95 lbs = 10 reps Working 135 lbs = 5 reps 155 lbs = 5 reps 165 lbs = 5 reps 135 lbs = 8 reps Vulcan V2 Right Hand warm up L 3 = 8 reps L 6 = 3 reps L 9 = 1 rep L 12 = 1 rep Working All with a 20 MM block set (RB gripper handle) L 15 = 1 rep L 16 = 1 rep. Stopping here so I don't aggravate the bruise on my hand. GHP 7 = 4 reps RB 240 = 9 reps GNC 250 = 7 reps Left Hand Warm Up L 3 = 8 reps L 6 = 3 reps L 9 = 1 rep L 11 = 1 rep Working All with a 20 MM block set (RB gripper handle) L 14 = 1 rep L 15 = 1 rep Ghetto Stub Weight only includes the weight plates 10 lbs = 5 lifts each hand 17.5 lbs = 3 lifts each hand 23 lbs = 2 lifts each hand 27.5 lbs = 1 lift each hand 30 lbs = 1 lift each hand 33 lbs = 1 lift each hand 40lbs = 1 lift Right hand PR! Nice! 36 lbs = 1 lift left hand. 41.25 lbs = Air Right hand. Next Time! 37.5 lbs = 1 lift Left. PR! lefty! Loadable Blob 24 lbs = 5 lifts each hand 29.5 lbs = 5 lifts each hand 34 lbs = 3 lifts each hand 39.5 lbs = 1 lift each hand 42.5 lbs = 1 lift right, failed left Vulcan Thumbscrew Key Pinch 2 Red IM bands top notches = 3 sets of 10 reps each hand Extensors Red IM band = 3 sets of 20 reps each hand Note: lot of stuff but very fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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