Training for a one-arm pull up

[Tornado]

heres a video to motivated you

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

Thank you

Too bad I was about his size when I first did them. This is gonna be a fun project though, if I get through these fucking exams, hehe.

 

[Tornado]

Shit, that guy's awesome.

 

[Tornado]

Now that I'm back on a normal life schedule, training can resume.

Yesterday's workout went as such:

1) Chinups and wide grip pullups (alternate sets):
20 total sets of 1 rep (ten second break in between sets)
2)Power clean + Front Squat
10 x 135 x 2
1 x 185 x 2
1 x 205 x 2
10 x 225 x 2
3) 3 one minute hangs form the chinup bar --> to make these sets more economical I incorporated some bent knee leg raises to get some pelvic rotation and stretch out my spine.
4) Self-massage --> this wasn't done as a deep tissue massage but as brisk skin rubbing exercises that were popular in Switzerland and Sweden at the turn of the century. Focused entirely on the upper body.

 

[Tornado]

simple workout today. I tore up heavy duty industrial garbage bags for fifteen minutes and rolled up and unrolled newspapers for ten minutes (five minutes each hand). Every tendon from finger to finger feels well worked.

 

[Tornado]

A) pullover + row movement cominbation on the chinup bar (no leg raise used)
8 x 3 reps
B) deadlift variation circuit:
Weight used 315 lbs.
1) conventional deadlift x 1 rep
2) straddle deadlift x 1 rep
3) hack squat/deadlift with bar behind body x 1 rep
4) straddle deadlift x 1 rep

6 circuits. 2 minutes rest between circuits.

C) two hand hangs ranges from 30 to 45 sseconds - 4 "reps"

D) slow hindu pushups as a hip flexor stretch. 10 reps.

 

[Tornado]

Same workout as yesterday. I was too lazy to change the weight on the bar.

 

[Tornado]

I kind of lost track of what I did today but since I was at home most of the day studying, i was able to get a lot of sets in throughout the day. Since I can't say exactly what order I did things in I'll try to give a ballpark figure of how many sets and reps I did for each exercise.

Bent over row: 225 lbs x 6 sets x 2-8 reps
High pull: 225 lbs x 3 sets x 4 reps
bent over row + deadlift: 225 x 4 sets x 1 rep
pushups: 10 or 12 sets of 10 to 30 reps

for your info, I reset the bar for most barbell exercise I do. in the bent over row, I always like to place the bar back on the floor and pull from a dead stop. same with highpulls. sometimes I do it this way for deadlifts and sometimes I stand up between reps, but I always make sure to relax every muscle between reps.

 

[bacon]

Same workout as yesterday. I was too lazy to change the weight on the bar.

Awesome. I thought I was the only one who did that....

 

[Tornado]

Awesome. I thought I was the only one who did that....

Cheers mate! Now I know I'm not crazy. By the way, I appreciate the visitors and thank everyone who drops by to read my training log. I know my workouts aren't quite interesting because they really don't change much but please bear with me. Everything I'm doing now is prep work just to toughen up my body through constant work. If one-arm chinups were my sole goal in life, I would do nothing but chinups. Since I'm also training for wrestling, judo, and jiu jitsu (more judo and wrestling), I train every possible pulling motion (insert heckle here) because that's the type of strength that makes me most comfortable on the mat. if anyone has any suggestions, don't hesitate to pass them along. visitors are always welcome.

Today's workout was as follows: (everything was done in one session and not spaced out throughout the day)

highpull: 5 x 225 x 2
bent over row to neck/upper chest: 5 x 225 x 3
bent over row to naval: 2 x 225 x 10

now I must get ready for the flaming.

giant set a1) bent over laterals (rear delt raise, one arm at a time): 2 x 40 x 10
a2) triceps kickbacks: 2 x 40 x 10
a3) hammer curl: 2 x 40 x 10

if it's any consolation, the handle on the 40 lbs dumbell is almost 4 inches in diameter because of the tape I've added to it. the damn handle is bigger than any wrist I've had to grab.

 

[Tornado]

did some Chinese yoga then I did two sets of deadlifts with 405lbs for 5 reps. i almost forgot what anything over three plates felt like.

edit: maybe I should elaborate on the yoga. it was a rhythmic bowing type exercise, in the same spirit that you'd do hindu squats. some of you might think it's a waste of time but I guarantee if you're a grappler who throws people, you'll love these because it noticeable improves your coordination for many throws. plus, it's good cardio and loosens up the spine and hips. i notice too many friends and men I don't know who lift weights walk stiff as a fucking brick. five minutes of bowing will loosen you up and make you swing your limbs more ape-like instead of dragging them gorilla-like.

 

[Tornado]

I feel like doing some high rep for a couple of days, so I'll change it up for a couple of days:

1) narrow sumo deadlift: 2 x 315 x 20
2) kettlebell swings: 2 x 40 x 20
3) nelson lift: 3 x 40 x 20
4) hindu squat: 1 x 100 --> I don't know about the rest of you, but if you're not able to do high reps on hindu squats, it's more than likely because you're trying to muscle out the exericse rather than swing out the exercise. that's a huge misconception which Furey will never teach because I'm not quite sure that know if he knows to tell people this. hindu squats are like any other swinging exericse, whether it's a dumbell, kettlebell, or cock swing. you gotta learn to relax when doing them, otherwise you won't last long.

 

[bacon]

did some Chinese yoga then I did two sets of deadlifts with 405lbs for 5 reps. i almost forgot what anything over three plates felt like.

edit: maybe I should elaborate on the yoga. it was a rhythmic bowing type exercise, in the same spirit that you'd do hindu squats. some of you might think it's a waste of time but I guarantee if you're a grappler who throws people, you'll love these because it noticeable improves your coordination for many throws. plus, it's good cardio and loosens up the spine and hips. i notice too many friends and men I don't know who lift weights walk stiff as a fucking brick. five minutes of bowing will loosen you up and make you swing your limbs more ape-like instead of dragging them gorilla-like.

So is it just basic bowing or is there more to it? You got a web link or a pic? I'm always looking for new stretching exercises.

 

[Tornado]

the one I did that day was a basic bow with my arms clasped behind my head and then to the ground. I don't have any weblink or pics but I think i got the move from one of the preliminary exercises in the the book "Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere" by Ratti and Westbrook. There are tons of great bowing exercises illustrated in that book.

In the book "Super Power Breathing", by Paul Bragg there are similar bowing movements illustrated. You could hit a health food shop that sells books and peruse the bowing/breathing exercises in that book. Its layout is kind of cheesy and so is the writing but the exercises genuinely are golden and a lot of the advice is sound.

 

[bacon]

the one I did that day was a basic bow with my arms clasped behind my head and then to the ground. I don't have any weblink or pics but I think i got the move from one of the preliminary exercises in the the book "Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere" by Ratti and Westbrook. There are tons of great bowing exercises illustrated in that book.

In the book "Super Power Breathing", by Paul Bragg there are similar bowing movements illustrated. You could hit a health food shop that sells books and peruse the bowing/breathing exercises in that book. Its layout is kind of cheesy and so is the writing but the exercises genuinely are golden and a lot of the advice is sound.

I do a "traditional" yoga (whatever that means). The only bowing movements is part of the sun salutation asana http://www.yogasite.com/sunsalute.htm (halfway down page).

The hands-behind-the-head method sounds harder. How far down do you go? Reps? How long?

 

[Diligent]

Hey, Tornado, your log here is pretty cool. Just curious, what are your max lifts like on deadlift, squat, etc.? I also saw that you've been doing overcrushes on the #2 ... can you close it? Do you do the Rolling Thunder or other thickbar stuff? sorry I'm askin' a lot of stuff, haaaa

I might be trying for a one arm pullup in a month or two just to see if I can ... I'm doing weighted pullups right now with 90lbs tied on to my belt ... but I can only get like 3 or 4 reps ... for now. Since you've already done one-armed pullups before, how close (or far away) am I from being able to do one if I'm able to get 3 or 4 reps with my bw + 90lbs??? Have any idea? I weigh in between 150 and 155, btw ....

 

[Tornado]

Diligent, I haven't squatted heavy in a couple of years so I can't say but once I hit some milestones in the pulls the I practice, I'll start specializing in the squat and other pushing movements. I also can't tell you what my max deadlift is because I haven't tested it in years. Judging by the ease that I lifted 405 for 5 the other day, I probably could've squeezed out 12 reps if I really psyched up for it. My best ever deadlift was 535 about 7 years ago at 185 lbs using only chalk as a lifting aid (no belt) but I'm nowhere near that now. I'd estimate my max at 475 to 495 if used a belt and a lot of psyche up, but those are guesses. In any case, 405 for 5 is the best I've done in a while so let's say that's my 5rm.

I can close the #2 with my right hand again but I've got 3 or 4 millimeters left to shut with my left, which in my case means I've got a while before I close it.

As far as comparing one arm pullups and weighted two arm pullups, I wouldn't really compare them. That's like asking how far away you are from bent pressing 225 if you can push press 315. They're completely different movements that require completely different strengths. You're better off judging how close you are to doing a one arm pullup by seeing how close you can pull your head to the bar. If you can at least hang comfortably and exert effort for a couple of seconds while you're hanging, you're in good standing. Just take a distance training approach work on increasing the distance of your reps and the endurane of your entire arm in the hanging/stretched position.

 

[Diligent]

Cool. I just started squats and deadlifts like about 3 or 4 months ago. I'm sooo close to closing the #2 right now ... it's frustrating. I find it hard to be 100% healthy for grippers when I mainly focus on thickbar stuff, though .... Thanks for the advice.

 

[Tornado]

no worries Diligent. thickbar training is great but unfortunately in my case it carry over to my crushing strength :^S




this week I didn't really do much in terms of weight lifting. I just went on a major stretching and calisthenics binge. the funny thing is stretching now tires me out more than lifting weights, which is an indicator than I'm starting to stiffen up. either way my joints feel rock solid now and needed a well deserved break.

 

[smedleyb]

Tornado,

Cool Log i hope you're lack of posting the last couple of days doesn't mean you've put the one-armer on hold... The fact is you've got me going on doing it again. I'm 37 and the last time i could do it i was 20 lbs lighter and 18 years younger.

I was goin thru boot camp @mcrd sandiego and one of the company di's was doing one arm chin's, he was about 5'9 and 180 and that motivated me. Once out of boot camp , i spent alot of spare time at millington and pensacola, and cherry point becoming a chinup monster but of course i've let it slide...

I want you to keep going on this, infact I will CHALLENGE you ,,, what is reasonable,,, i should be able to do one armed chin w/in 3 months from today, and i'll provide video. I'm about 190 lbs now and i've got super long arms and it will be tough but i thought you could use a good challenge..

btw, i won't be doing as much lifting as you, when i got the one arm chin before, one of the best things i did was to take my belt and sling it over the bar, then feed the end thru the buckle and use it as a crutch... at first iwould grap the belt near the bar and as i got stronger i would slide my hand down the belt.... pretty soon i didn't need the belt.

Again that was a long time and a few pounds ago... So Re Motivate and let's do it , you help me , i'll help you,,, it's a worthwhile goal for sure...

Cheers

 

[Tornado]

sure, let's do it. I haven't given up on training, I've just been concentrating on studying since finals are around the corner. I doubt I can match you in three months from today but how about three months from April 29th, the date of my last final exam?