Training for a one-arm pull up

[Tornado]

Remy asked that I document my training for a one-arm pullup so that's what I'll do.

1) Two arm hangs (2AH) alternated with one arm hangs (1AH). I switch arms with each alternation (so, 1AH-R and 1AH-L).

I repeated the following sequence twice. Rest periods were arbitrary but they didn't last more than 30 seconds since the sets weren't particularly tiring (and they're not meant to be).
2AH x 10 seconds
1AH-R X 3 seconds
2AH x 10 seconds
1AH-L x 3 seconds

2) one-hand assisted chinups - 4 x 8 each arm. the last set was tough. I need to practice these a lot more.

3) conventional deadlift 10 x 315 x 2 (pussied out and used straps)

4) 2 sets of 10 second overcrushes with COC #2. Since Carnal's a COC and keeps harping about overcrushes to everyone, It's only reasonable to take his advice.

5) finished off with finger, wrist, and forearm self massage to get the lactate out and relax the muscles as much as possible since I can't be a keyboard warrior with tight hands and forearms.

 

[Tornado]

Bodyweight: 185 lbs
1) Two hand Pull-up: 5 x 8 (these and the deadlifts were the only easy part of the workout)
2) Deadlift + shrug combo: 10 x 225 x 4 (hook grip)
3) pinch grip walks around the gym: 2 x 45lb plates each hand x 50 m trips (did it the pussy way with smooth side towards my thumb. I had to reset once during the first trip and twice during the second because of my weak pinkies.)
4) one arm pull assisted pull up: right hand 1 x 5, left hand 1 x 2 (doing these were totally unnecceary considering my fingers were fried at this point. Not my brightest moment but I could've done worse.)
5) contrast showers - 3x(10 min sauna/10 minute cold shower) I always finish off with a cold shower.

This is going to be project of patience for me. Let's just pray I don't gain any weight by August or September, since that's a realistic time frame for me to be able to pull this off at this weight, hopefully less. I think I said six months before, but I take it back. I was giving myself too much credit. If I were 165 lbs still, sure, I'd give myself six months, but not at this bodyweight.

 

[Tornado]

bodyweigh: 187lbs (not a good sign)

1) hanging leg raise (touch toes to bar) - 4 x 8...believe it not, these are one of my favourite lat exercises. if you lean back during the movement and pull your shoulder into your hips, you can get the entire lat working from the top of the hip, along the spine, and into the armpit. If you're strong enough to do this, try it out. If not, practice with partial movements but always try to drive through the sticking point for a couples of seconds. To an onlooker, it seems that you're just holding a position, but when you're doing it, you have to try driving the sticking point the whole time. That's how I worked up to full raps and that's how i also worked up to one arm pullups. It's a simple method but it works.

2) Brookfield block weight figure-eights: 10lbs and 20 lbs. Didn't count sets or reps since I wouldn't know how to but I just played with the weight for about 15 minutes doing as many configurations of figure-8 pattarns.

3) chin-ups with a plus - 4 x 5....do regular chinups but instead of keeping your grip on the bar the whole time, hang off your fingertips on the way down, flex (curl) your fingers, then pull yourself up. this will fry your forearms.

then did a yoga class to stare at t&a.

 

[graedy]

any body who can do a one handed pull or chin up is "da shit". But if you manage to do one at this bodyweight you are "DA MAN"!

 

[Tornado]

Graedy, we'll see by the end of the year if I can do it. If not, then I'll be "full of shit", but that won't happen

I had an easy series of workouts today. I basically spread out sets up pushup and free squat variations throughout the day, did some high rep shoulder and arm work with a 40 lb (I did this for ten minutes straight but changed the movement and arm being used every two to four reps), then I did 10 sets of 2 reps for straddle deadlifts. I used 100 kg. The straddle deadlifts I'm talking about are kind of like the Jefferson lift but instead of having one hand in front and the other behind, I clasp both my hands in front and lift it like that. It's not a particularly difficult lift but it requires some steadiness to keep the bar in balance since the bar is directly in line with your center and the weights are in front and behind you. It's a fun lift. I recommend it. I do one handed versions of it from time to time, and when I do, i keep the non-lifting hand on my thigh and make sure to push that hand into the thigh really hard.

 

[Tornado]

to clarify the weight workout was all done in one session.

and i did some rowing on the machine afterward to loosen up a bit then did some light calisthenics to stretch out.

 

[Tornado]

Well, yesterday I got a bodycomp done and it's wasn't particularly good news. I'm 192 lbs at 15% bodyfat. Oh well, thank God i was born with a back insertions like Franco Columbu's otherwise I'd give up on this project.

Yesterday's workout went like this:

1) Deadlift: 2 x 225 x 3, 1 x 315 x 3, 2 x 225 x 3, 1 x 315 x 3, 2 x 225 x 2, 1 x 315 x 4
2) Shrug: 3 x 225 x 25
3) Hold Dumbells (40lbs) over head and walk
4) Leg raise, pullover motion + rowing motion combo on chinup bar: 2 x 8 --> basically, hang from a chinup bar, raise you legs perpendicular to the floor (I keep my legs fairly straight), then do a pullover motion by rotating your entire body towards the ceiling (your shoulders are the axis of rotation and your elbows should be unlocked but not bent more than 5 or 10 degree), then do a rowing motion when you torso is perpendicular to the floor (so pull the chinup bar into your naval), then reverse the movement into the hanging position. Relax your body and repeat. It's ok to get some swing in there but I prefer saving it for the last few reps of a set when I know I can't do it slowly with full coordination.

45 minute contrast shower and self massion after the workout.

Today, my gut is on fire.



#4 is an awesome exercise for teaching guys to pu

 

[Tornado]

only had one workout since my last post because of shit happening around my life.

all I did today was exercise 4 from the post above alternated with 230 lbs quick deadlifts+shrug. 2 sets of 5 for #4 and one set of 30 for the deadlift shrug combo. I didn't have much energy and I'm exhausted from the shit going on around me. next week will be better.

 

[Tornado]

Set up a circuit in my home gym and did the following:

1) exercise #4 x 2 reps
2) deadlift 315 x 1
3) one arm assisted chinup - x 2
4) hanging leg raise + lat shrug x 2

I repeated this circuit 10 times but rested about 30 seconds between and called it a day. My abs and grip are fried but I'll have to specialize on these groups especially for the next couple of months. And if you're wondering why I'm keeping the reps so low...I'm up to 192 lbs now but I feel strong as a bull, especially since I was pulling the deads very fast..and know I can easily cut 15 pounds by September. I'm optimistic that I'll be able to do at least one one arm chinup again.

edit: I'm an idiot..I didn't answer why I'm keeping the reps low...it's to keep my weight down because lately I've been putting on size that I don't want to :S

 

[Tornado]

1) one arm hangs with unlocked shoulder and elbows 30 x 2 second holds
2) bent press 40 lbs x ? x ?. The dumbell handle is three and half inches in diameter. I just did these to stretch out my lats and obliques. I *would* (edit) say I did 20 to 30 reps with each hand but I honestly don't know because I wasn't counting.

 

[Tornado]

Yesterday my brother brought down his kettlebells for the weekend so we toyed around with them. He did a shitload of swings, followed by clean & jerks, then figure 8s around his knees.

I did *not particularly feel like training but I use the 44 lbs kettlebell for swings to shoulder height, and did 4 sets of 30 reps (15 each hand) but instead of doing 15 straight reps with one arm then 15 with the other I release the bell at shoulder height then switch hands. It feels more natural for me to it this way.

No pullup action yesterday or today.

 

[rEmY]

hey, thanks a lot for putting this up there man, very good read.

 

[Tornado]

hey, thanks a lot for putting this up there man, very good read.

No worries Remy. I made a promise and the least I could do is keep my word and document this as much as possible. To give you my perspective, I reaaaaaaally need to beef up all the tendons in my shoulders, which is why I do a lot of isometrics...the real trick though is to try and breath as normally as possible without holding the breath at all. What ends up happening is you train yourself to inhale on exertion and I find you can build a tremendous amount of pressure...but you don't feel the pressure in your torso, you feel in every joint of your body and actually start to feel your tendons and ligaments tightening and getting stronger. A drawback to this though is that you end up building so much tension you have no choice but to spend your non training minutes as relaxed as fluid as possible...and you have to make an effort to stretch and relax the muscles and tendons to their proper lengths.


Today's workout:

1) narrow stance sumo deadlift (feet were positioned a little outside shoulder width and hands were positioned so my arms rub the inside of my thighs during the lift): 10 x 280 x 2
2) partial bent over row to neck: 3 x 280 x 3 --> edit: elbows were pulled to 90 degrees. I just bend over, load up the weight on my entire body, pull the bar as high as I can (being 90 degrees) while keeping my spine in the same position, put the bar back on the ground, relax every muscle, reset my tension, then repeat.
3) cat stretches
4) touch knees then reach the sky behind me - 40 nice and slow
alternated with
5) touch toes then reach the sky behind me - 20 nice and slow

If you try keeping your body as tense as you would while doing a heavy lift the calisthenics, you could get a workout as tough as you would while lifting weights, but without any danger of hurting yourself, and getting a good stretch too. Just make sure to breath deep and strong..if it helps, yawn while doing these (you'll realize why cats and dogs don't lift weights.)

 

[Tornado]

hey, thanks a lot for putting this up there man, very good read.

by the way...wait until I publish my book. I hope you guys enjoy that when it comes out.

 

[Tornado]

I felt like running so yesterday and today I went for a run by the river near my house. So I ran...and I ran..and I ran 'till I couldn't run no more. Jenny would've be proud of me.

 

[Tornado]

I worked out yesterday and did the dumbest thing...you'll understand the moral of the story after I write out the workout.

1) Straddle deadlift + straddle bent over shrug + straddle bent over row - 5 x 225 x 4 (I have to tape this combination lift so you know what I mean...It's an interesting lift that I think some of you diehards would love to use)
2) situp + knee extension combination (the exact reverse motion of a glute-ham-calf raise) - 4 x 12
3) Exercise #4 - 2 reps
4) one arm assisted pullup - 2 reps right hand, zero with left

You read it right..two fucking reps and no fucking reps. Why? Because I fried my grip and back with the straddle lifting and couldn't hold onto the bar. Moral of the story: Specifity...if you're training to improve upon something, do it first and do it fresh.

 

[Tornado]

didn't really have a set workout today but the bar in my weightroom is loaded with 315 lbs at the moment...so every time I walked by it I did just a rep of something. I remember doing wide stance and narrow stance sumo deadlifts, conventional deadlifts, snatch grip deadlifts, partial low bent over rows, deadlift + shrug combination. I know I walked by that room twenty times throughout the day, so I can safely say I did at least 20 reps of some exercise with a 315 lbs barbell between the hours of 11 am and 10 pm this evening. might not sound like much but I do pick up barbells off the ground on almost all of my training days.

edit: I also did some dumbell swings with thick handle 40 pound dumbell. other than that, today was an easy day.

 

[Tornado]

yesterday's workout:

bodyweight: 185 (YES!!! I'M LOSING WEIGHT!! edit: I didn't write this down but a couple of days ago the scale said 193 :S, which kind of got me worried. I think the coffee and psyllium husk helped me lose weight, hehe)

1) Hanging leg raise, touch toes to bar 2 x 8
2) Leg raise, pullover motion + rowing motion combo on chinup bar: 2 x 8 (this the "exercise #4" I keep referring to..I'll just cut and paste the name from now on)
3) one arm, straddle style, bent over row with a 7' bar: 5 x 140 x 1 each arm. (these only got the past my knees...BE VERY CAREFUL DOING THESE...it's too easy to blow a rotator cuff muscle with this exercise. this isn't an exercise you bang out reps with unless you're a cromag, which I'm not, yet.
4) two arms strict barbel curl: 5 x 140 x 1...with all this talk about curling, I thought I'd start working towards a good curl weight...and you know what? girls like strong looking pipes, so why give them something hard to hold on to (other than the cack)?

 

[Tornado]

man...life's been kicking my ass. all I've been able to do since the last post is calisthenics, and it doesn't help that I'm also rennovating my gym so I can't lift weights. Maybe it's better that I take a break from the heavy iron and get back to body weight control for a while. I have been practicing a lot of one arm planches, one arm pushups, and I managed to get one rep on a one-arm, one-leg pushup, lost my balance and all my strength attempting a second rep and just missed separating my shoulder and breaking my nose. I'll stick with the planche's and one arm pushups for now.

 

[peanut butter]

heres a video to motivated you

http://www.crossfit.com/cf-video/onearmpull.mpg