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Pull-Ups/Chin-ups

Poki

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Every place I go has not a single door frame that works for the model of pull-up bar that presses against the over-hang. I keep briefly renting tiny apartments where the owners wouldn't want me to drill are a bar into the walls.

My current apartment has a sun room instead of a balcony so I have a computer desk on one side and my power tower(pullups/dips/leg raises/etc.) on the other side. Works out pretty good.

Been focusing the last couple days on pronated close(shoulder width) pullups to the chest to work on muscle ups. I am used to wide grip to the chest, but normally do chinups(supinated) when I do shoulder width. Pronated makes a huge difference since I am not used to them.
 

redacted

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I've been working towards a muscle up for the last 4 months. I could only do 6 pull-ups max at the time and wasn't even close to being able to do the explosive beginning part of the muscle up. I slowly got up to being able to do 10 pull-ups (did 6 sets of 6 4-5 times a week for a few weeks). I've also been doing dips 4-5 times a week. I recently started doing pull-ups with 20 pounds extra and doing dips on a pull-up bar. Now I can do 17 deep dips and I just tried to max out on wide-grip pull-ups and did 15. I can finally do a really ugly muscle up now (left elbow goes up, right doesn't, then ugly dip).

I've found that pushups and ab exercises have helped a lot too. I've been running 15-20 miles a week which has improved my core strength as well.

Hopefully I'll be able to get a semi nice looking muscle-up in the next month.
 

Zarathustra

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Used to do lots of pull-ups/chin-ups/hammer-grip pull-ups/wide-hammer-grip pull-ups back my last year in college. I'd pretty regularly gone to the gym and lifted since about 8th grade -- went 5-6 times a week some years during college -- but my last year of college I started doing yoga, and I was amazed at how much more I liked getting a full-body workout from yoga than isolating specific muscle groups once or twice a week -- something about lifting weights and the limited range of motions you go through just began to seem really stupid to me. So anyway, to supplement my strength/size -- cuz while yoga is phenomenal for core strength and full body strength, I'm already a pretty lean guy naturally, and yoga doesn't really build muscle mass, so much as get you really toned, lean, and flexible and make the muscle that you do have very... dense -- I threw up a pull up bar (with all four hand-grip variations) in my room, and started banging out sets of pull-ups and push-ups every day. I can't remember where I started, it was somewhere between 8 and 12 reps, and within a week or two, I was banging out sets of 12 on a pretty regular basis (combining that with sets of push-ups that started at 25, then moved up to 30, then 35, and eventually I was just doing them regularly enough that I had a good feel for what I should do, and I'd just kinda go with it -- sometimes doing a superset of 65-75, which I might follow up with a couple smaller sets of 35 or less over the next hour or two), and soon enough, probably within a month or two, I was easily banging out 5 sets of 12 and not really feeling properly worked out, so I started upping the reps and/or sets. The nice thing about push-ups and pull-ups is that, along with working out your biceps, triceps, forearms, delts, traps, lats, pecs, middle and lower back, abs, core, gluts, and more, you really don't have to even worry about getting injured. Experiment with whatever feels ok, and just do so until you get tired out. Eventually I got up to being able to do 30 solid pull-ups, at which point I was probably in the best shape of my life. I kinda let go of the workout after graduating, and started doing just straight yoga, but I've gotten back into it once before and it worked just as well, and I just recently started getting back into it again, and am up to 1-2 sets of 35 push-ups and 1-2 sets of 12 pull-ups every other day. I do yoga more now (about 3-4 times a week), so I do push-ups/pull-ups on the days I don't have yoga, and will probably keep my rep/set numbers down a bit lower than in college (when I only did yoga twice a week), cuz I've noticed if I do too much, I'm still a bit tired when I go to yoga and it affects my practice. I hope to get back up to about 3-5 sets of 15-18 pull-ups and 3-5 sets of 40-50 push-ups every other day without it affecting my yoga practice. If I can get somewhere within that range, I'll be happy. It's a bit funny to me how much people pay for gyms when throwing up a $50 pull-up bar, combined with push-ups (and crunches [which I don't do, as yoga's enough]), can supply you with most everything you need (other than that, just try to get some cardio, which, if you run, will work out your legs) -- I don't hate on it, cuz some people really know what what they're doing and take it seriously enough that they actually need a gym (or just want some place to go, I suppose), but, from my days in the gym, it always seemed like 90% of the people didn't know their ass from their hat.

/ the longest, most shallow post I've ever written on typeC
 

Zarathustra

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Some great posts in here.

Interesting to see other peoples' routines.

I've never tried a weighted anything, but I could see it being especially useful for dips.

I also had no idea what a muscle-up was until this thread, and am not 100% about hindu squats, flutter kicks, pistol squats, and manna.

Question: when doing a muscle-up, is kipping (which I believe basically means having a bit of a swinging motion) more-or-less necessary?

Also, when doing lunges, do you lunge one leg forward, then coming back to standing, then lunge the other forward?

Or do you jump from one leg forward straight to the other leg forward?

[MENTION=219]Metamorphosis[/MENTION]
 

redacted

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Some great posts in here.

Interesting to see other peoples' routines.

I've never tried a weighted anything, but I could see it being especially useful for dips.

I also had no idea what a muscle-up was until this thread, and am not 100% about hindu squats, flutter kicks, pistol squats, and manna.

Question: when doing a muscle-up, is kipping (which I believe basically means having a bit of a swinging motion) more-or-less necessary?

Also, when doing lunges, do you lunge one leg forward, then coming back to standing, then lunge the other forward?

Or do you jump from one leg forward straight to the other leg forward?

[MENTION=219]Metamorphosis[/MENTION]

You have to be reallllllly sick to do a muscle up with no kipping.
 

highlander

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Pull ups are difficult. At one point, I used to do 20 - 25 in a row - not half way - these are ones where your chin is above the bar. I never enjoyed it though. It was more about achieving and accomplishing something.
 

Magic Poriferan

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There are some new bars out that just flip into your doorframe, no screws or overhangs necessary.... one of my hallmates has one. It basically relies on pressure from either side to hold itself up, and it's really quite sturdy despite that obvious one-would-think weakness. Looks like a freakin' steel octopus though...

Hmm. I'm not sure I know what you mean. Mine requires a ledge at the top of a doorway. A lot of doors have that, but unfortunately this thing seems to require rather specific dimensions. The way it works is that extensions to the side push against the sides of the door entrances, while there are bars that vertically curve onto a plaque that pushes against the section above the door on the opposite side. It's strength is not an issue, it's quite stable. But for one reason or another I live places where the door can't quite fit it. Here the wall inevitably causes one of the curved bars to be pushed down a bit, making it tilted and causing a very noticeably uneven work-out if I try it.

My current apartment has a sun room instead of a balcony so I have a computer desk on one side and my power tower(pullups/dips/leg raises/etc.) on the other side. Works out pretty good.

Ohhh, you have one of those elaborate apparatuses.
 

Poki

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Used to do lots of pull-ups/chin-ups/hammer-grip pull-ups/wide-hammer-grip pull-ups back my last year in college. I'd pretty regularly gone to the gym and lifted since about 8th grade -- went 5-6 times a week some years during college -- but my last year of college I started doing yoga, and I was amazed at how much more I liked getting a full-body workout from yoga than isolating specific muscle groups once or twice a week -- something about lifting weights and the limited range of motions you go through just began to seem really stupid to me. So anyway, to supplement my strength/size -- cuz while yoga is phenomenal for core strength and full body strength, I'm already a pretty lean guy naturally, and yoga doesn't really build muscle mass, so much as get you really toned, lean, and flexible and make the muscle that you do have very... dense -- I threw up a pull up bar (with all four hand-grip variations) in my room, and started banging out sets of pull-ups and push-ups every day. I can't remember where I started, it was somewhere between 8 and 12 reps, and within a week or two, I was banging out sets of 12 on a pretty regular basis (combining that with sets of push-ups that started at 25, then moved up to 30, then 35, and eventually I was just doing them regularly enough that I had a good feel for what I should do, and I'd just kinda go with it -- sometimes doing a superset of 65-75, which I might follow up with a couple smaller sets of 35 or less over the next hour or two), and soon enough, probably within a month or two, I was easily banging out 5 sets of 12 and not really feeling properly worked out, so I started upping the reps and/or sets. The nice thing about push-ups and pull-ups is that, along with working out your biceps, triceps, forearms, delts, traps, lats, pecs, middle and lower back, abs, core, gluts, and more, you really don't have to even worry about getting injured. Experiment with whatever feels ok, and just do so until you get tired out. Eventually I got up to being able to do 30 solid pull-ups, at which point I was probably in the best shape of my life. I kinda let go of the workout after graduating, and started doing just straight yoga, but I've gotten back into it once before and it worked just as well, and I just recently started getting back into it again, and am up to 1-2 sets of 35 push-ups and 1-2 sets of 12 pull-ups every other day. I do yoga more now (about 3-4 times a week), so I do push-ups/pull-ups on the days I don't have yoga, and will probably keep my rep/set numbers down a bit lower than in college (when I only did yoga twice a week), cuz I've noticed if I do too much, I'm still a bit tired when I go to yoga and it affects my practice. I hope to get back up to about 3-5 sets of 15-18 pull-ups and 3-5 sets of 40-50 push-ups every other day without it affecting my yoga practice. If I can get somewhere within that range, I'll be happy. It's a bit funny to me how much people pay for gyms when throwing up a $50 pull-up bar, combined with push-ups (and crunches [which I don't do, as yoga's enough]), can supply you with most everything you need (other than that, just try to get some cardio, which, if you run, will work out your legs) -- I don't hate on it, cuz some people really know what what they're doing and take it seriously enough that they actually need a gym (or just want some place to go, I suppose), but, from my days in the gym, it always seemed like 90% of the people didn't know their ass from their hat.

/ the longest, most shallow post I've ever written on typeC

Good, because I cant read that. All I see are numbers scattered here and there. Good job, I guess.



Back to Muscle ups. Currently I am just working on more explosive pullups 4-5 times a day. I only do betwen 5-7 reps each time, but I attempt to pull myself as high as I can. I stop once I cant get my chin above the bar. Current progress is to the bottom of my chest leaning back some. onna start working on the negatives soon..from the top part of a muscle up to a slow hang.
 

Poki

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Maybe you should.

Even if i did, doesnt mean i would change. I am kinda fond of my issues. Oh well, theres my judgement of it...i am kinda fond of my issues.

K, i am bored. Back to working on muscle ups
 

Metamorphosis

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I also had no idea what a muscle-up was until this thread, and am not 100% about hindu squats, flutter kicks, pistol squats, and manna.

Question: when doing a muscle-up, is kipping (which I believe basically means having a bit of a swinging motion) more-or-less necessary?

Also, when doing lunges, do you lunge one leg forward, then coming back to standing, then lunge the other forward?

Or do you jump from one leg forward straight to the other leg forward?

It is possible to do a muscle-up slow but it takes a really strong base and I've never seen anyone doing it without a false grip, where your thumb is on the top with your fingers, your palm is on the top, and your hands are turned slightly in. I think most people at least sway/swing to get the extra momentum behind them. I wouldn't necessarily consider it kipping if your legs are still pretty much straight, but it definitely is easier if you are really kipping.

Jumping, walking, or just doing one leg at a time are just different variations of lunges really, with jumping being the more intense of the three. I prefer walking lunges but coming back to standing are just as good if you are lacking space. One thing that has helped me with lunges is making sure that, rather than pushing forward as I lower, I'm lowering straight down. It makes sure that the strain is on my glutes instead of my knees, so it's more like squatting down in a lunge position, making sure that the front knee doesn't pass the front of the foot (same rule goes for body weight squats).

I used the term hindu squat mostly out of habit. I actually just do normal body weight squats with my arms in front of me, rather than the big sweeping motion that a lot of people do with hindu squats, which is kind of annoying to me.

Here's some videos about the other things:

Flutter Kicks

Pistol Squats

Manna

Planche
 

Engineer

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Update: Tried the weighted pullup/dip format, using an "until-failure" tactic... My trainer friend at the gym let me borrow something that looks like a Kevlar vest, but it's weighted at about 25-35 pounds. Kicking my ass so far, but I've gotten a decent amount of gain using that method.
I'll go weighted pullups, then weighted dips, do those in max sets until failure, then take off the vest and do pullups/dip maxes until failure again.
Unbelievably good workouts so far.
Thanks for the tips, guys!
 

swordpath

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Typical routine: Weighted vest for pull ups. Quick and easy way to get a good upper body work out in. I also use the vest for push ups.

photoon52913at655pm.jpg
 
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[MENTION=1330]swordpath[/MENTION]

How much weight are you putting on the vest?

How many reps and sets do you do?

How long do you rest in between reps and sets?

How many different hand positions are you doing?
 

swordpath

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How much weight are you putting on the vest?

How many reps and sets do you do?

How long do you rest in between reps and sets?

How many different hand positions are you doing?

I've got 33 lbs on it right now. I usually do one set to start things off without the vest, and do about 20 reps. Then, I do about 3 sets with the vest - 1st set will be about 12 reps, second set around 10, and third set around 8-10. Then after I've done about 3 sets with the vest I'll take it off and do another set or two with just my body weight. I'm not strict about how long I rest between sets, but it's usually about 2-3 minutes.

I usually do chin ups when I'm wearing the vest and alternate chin ups/pull ups without it. I go with about as wide of a grip as I can with the door jam. Sometimes I'll do a set or two with those inner handle bars to hit biceps harder.
 
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