The build-up to a pull-up

I have spaghetti-arms. This is what a lifetime of dancing will do—you get really strong legs and little tiny toothpick arms. When I was in my early 30s, I couldn’t even do a single military press over my head with any weight. I had to just use the bar.

I’ve gotten better since I’ve been working out regularly. I work my biceps, triceps, shoulers and back on the TRX. I use my sandbells and resistance bands. I can actually lift things over my head now. But there is still one exercise I cannot do: the pull-up.

One of the difficult things about pull-ups is that you need to do them in order to get better at them. But if you can’t even do one, then you’re sort of stuck. It’s not really rewarding to say, “I did 20% of a pull-up on Monday, and 22% on Wednesday! I killed it!”

There are a few ways that fitness pros suggest you work up to a pullup. One is by doing lots of push-ups and lat pull-downs. But I can do scads of both of these exercises, and still no joy with the pull-up.

Modified pull-up with chair assist

Another suggestion is using a chair/stability ball and putting one toe on it to take some of the weight. If I use the chair method, I can do pull-ups like crazy, but only because my strong leg is overcompensating for my weak upper body, thereby defeating the purpose of the exercise. As you can see from this photo, in which I am hanging about mid-way through the pull-up motion, I am able to smile, which means I'm not really working all that hard (thank you, chair!)

At last, I devised a solution that worked pretty well for me. I use a rubber resistance band and loop the two handles around the ends of the bar. I put one foot in the band, and use the extra bit of resistance to assist me in the path of the motion.

Hallelujah. It worked. It is still an exhausting exercise and I can only do two sets of four (spaghetti arms), but this is still eight more quasi-pull-ups than I have ever been able to do in my life. 

Modified pull-up
with resistance band assist

The first few days I did this, it worked great. But then I made the mistake of putting both feet in the band. This worked for about five seconds, until I reached the top of the movement, and the resistance on the band slipped off behind my heels, smacking me first on the Achilles tendon and then firmly on the butt. (Maybe it would have helped if I wore shoes, but it's still a risk worth avoiding).

It was a little like getting paddled, which I guess is nice if you’re into that kind of thing, but it wasn’t really what I was looking for. My Achilles tendon still hurt the next day, too.

I would also advise guys to either be very careful when using a single foot in the band, or just not to do it at all. Because the fourth day I tried the band-assisted pull-up method, it slipped off my single foot and smacked me in the crotch. For me, it was a bit of a shock, but for a guy, this is unthinkable.

So what would I advise? Lots of pushups. Lots of lat pull-downs. Then probably try the foot-assisted chair method for a while. If you do try the rubber tubing assistance method, be very careful when getting in and out of the band. And consider having a buddy take pictures of you during the exercise. From this little photo session, I learned that my right shoulder is working way harder than my left (oh, the evil left side!)

I would also suggest that you try these adaptive methods at home. As potentially painful as a sound ass-smacking with a resistaband may be in your bedroom, at least it avoids the total embarrassment of doing it in front of the 6am crowd at the gym. Even better, lot of gyms have pull-up towers on which there is some sort of ledge where you can rest a foot, or even an assisted pull-up weight machine that is designed specifically to help you offset some of your body weight with the machine’s weight stack.

Whatever method you choose, you should at least try to do some pull-ups. Not only are they an amazing total-body workout, but if you ever find yourself dangling from a helicopter skid (which happens like, every day in the movies), then you will have a better chance of pulling yourself to a safer position and living to fight off all the zombies.

Working out on the road: The TRX

I have written before about my love affair with the TRX. It’s such a simple product--just a couple of straps, belts and handles--and it is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment I have ever used. My eighty-two year-old mother could use it. My 14 year-old son could use it, and Drew Brees does use it (and he stars in how-to workout videos about it on YouTube).

I only wish I had invented it, so I could be a millionaire right now. But I can’t even be upset about that, because it was invented by a former Navy SEAL, and I think he deserves to be sitting on my imaginary beach sipping margaritas.

The TRX weighs just about 2 lbs, packs up in a mesh bag that takes up as much space in your bag as one pair of shoes. 

You can use this piece of equipment anywhere. You can even tie it to a tree and use it in the hotel parking lot. But that is not something I would ever do. I think that would encourage a flood of people to come ask questions. And by a flood, I mean more than zero people.

I usually hook the TRX over the hotel door in my room. It’s pretty quiet, so I was able to get a nice workout in 20 minutes without waking up my husband or kids when we were all sharing a room before visiting Busch Gardens this summer.

The compact size, light weight, time efficiency and silence make it a perfect travel workout tool.

Following is an example of a travel TRX workout that should take about 20 minutes and totally kick your butt. If this workout is too easy for you, increase the challenge by changing your position relative to the anchor point, or doing the moves one-armed or one legged. 

I have also provided video so that you can see what I’m talking about.

Set 1. Complete two full sets.

            Rows from seated to standing         Sit, pull up, 3 rows. Rest 5 seconds.

                                                                    Sit, pull up, 4 rows. Rest 5 seconds.

                                                                    Sit, pull up, 5 rows. Rest 5 seconds.

            Triceps pulls                                    Repeat 8-10 times.

            To increase the challenge, stand further away from the anchor point.

Set 2. Complete two full sets.

            One-legged lunges                            Lunge 8 times on each leg = 1 set

            Bicep curls                                        8-10 reps.

            To increase the challenge, make it a single-hand curl.

Set 3. Complete two full sets of 4-10 reps.

            Squats with raised arms                  Keep arms up, out of your field of view

            W, Y, Ts                                         Shape these letters with your arms.

Set 4. Complete two full sets. One set = continue the move for one minute, taking breaks as needed.

            Plank, body saw OR atomic pushup.                       

            Side plank, rotating plank, or with a hip dip on each 3rd

What I’ve learned from my TRX

 I bought a TRX trainer about six weeks ago. If you aren’t familiar with this piece of gym equipment, it is basically a bunch of straps that allow you to use your own body weight to perform exercises from basic to extremely advanced in a limited space. To set it up, you tie it to a tree, a pole, or hook it over a sturdy door.

What I love about this piece of equipment is that absolutely anyone at any fitness level can use it. The only thing you have to change is the type of exercise you do and the angle of your body. For example, you can loop your feet in the handles, hands on the floor, and do a TRX pushup.  A beginning exerciser would to this activity on their knees. A more intermediate person would do it with legs extended, as a full pushup, and a very advanced athlete would do it with power (either pushing themselves off the floor or adding a clap at the peak of the upward phase of the pushup).

Of course, you can do these same exercises without the TRX, but putting your feet in the straps makes you instantly unstable. In order hold form, your core, arms and even your legs have to work much harder to do the same movement. You activate more muscles with every exercise you perform. That makes your workout more efficient, so that you can get better results and burn more calories in less time.

The TRX is also fun—when you change up a simple movement like pushups, it becomes a new exercise, and you engage your brain. You get to learn a new skill, which means you’re building new neural pathways.

I knew about all these benefits when I first bought the TRX, but what I did not know was the way it would clearly display my muscular imbalances—in other words, before I had the TRX, I did not know how much weaker my right hip was than my left. I do lunges all the time. Lunges with weights, side lunges, walking lunges, but I had never performed a one-legged lunge with the free foot in a TRX handle.

On my left foot, I could easily do eight reps the first time I tried it, with no balance issues. On the right foot, I was so wobbly that I had to grab on to the wall or furniture nearby each time. I could manage to do eight reps, but I had to gut it out. And I definitely felt it the next day.

This experience solved a big question I’ve been having. For the past year or so, my right knee has been bothering me from time to time. It’s not horrible or disruptive pain, but it is uncomfortable.

From working with the TRX, I have also noticed that my right leg always wants to rotate outward when I do a squat—which all indicates a muscle imbalance: my right glute is overly tight, sapping its strength and rotating my right leg outward, which in turn, is misaligning my foot and knee so that I don’t roll through the knee joint properly, causing the hip and knee discomfort.

Long story short: because of my work with the TRX, I am beginning to correct the weakness in my right glute. My hips and knees feel so much better, and every day, I am decreasing my risk of long-term joint damage—all stuff I never would have known if I hadn’t bought the TRX!

For more information:

The Official TRX Training YouTube Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/TRXtraining?feature=watch

ACE Fit

TRX Suspension Training Workout

http://www.acefitness.org/acefit/fitness_programs_core_workout.aspx?workoutid=1