“Extreme Fitness” has been a major part of my identity for the past several years. I enjoy being unique and pushing myself during training, so it fits me. However, there has been a recent uprising of a certain mindless and ridiculous extreme fitness cult.  This particular cult has ignorant people believing that they define all things extreme or hard in the fitness realm. But, this common misconception has only made me work harder to widen the gap between my abilities and those of the cult member elites. It’s my form of protest and a demonstration of how I believe people should think for themselves and not be followers. From Burpee Two Milers to Standing Rollouts, I am always seeking a way to separate myself from the rest of the fitness crowd by simply doing things that they can’t.

With that said, approximately 18 moths ago, I stumbled on a statistic on a rock climbing web site that claimed only one out of every 100,000 people in the general population can do a One Arm Chinup (OAC).  Immediately after reading that, I knew I wanted to be that one person out of every 100,000 people.  It would quench my thirst for distinction.

At the time, I was merely scratching the surface of rock climbing and saw that many climbers train up to or with OAC’s as functional strength for their sport.  After reading this, I thought the elusive OAC would be a good goal to pursue in order to be ready for when I dive head first into climbing. With the OAC under my belt, my thinking was that all I would need to work on would be climbing technique and grip strength.

Armed with the drive to be set apart coupled with functional sport strength- my journey to the One Arm Chinup began.

In order to find out how big of a deal training would be, I turned to my own fitness library and the internet and became obsessed with researching exactly how others accomplished this feat. There were several methods people used to get them to their goal. I wanted to compile all of these methods and put them through my own personal filter in order to determine what would work best for me. My training regimen was to be efficient, effective, and derived from those who have experience.

From these plans, the total time it took to achieve the OAC was all over the spectrum. I saw one individual who accomplished the OAC in just six months, for another it took two years, and many were “still working on it” -most likely meaning they got discouraged or impatient and gradually let it slip away.  Being honest, I tend to think of myself as being on the stronger side, so I figured on the OAC taking a year to accomplish. And based on research, I also broke up the training into three phases, each with it’s own objective:

Phase I:          Raw Strength

Goal:    1 rep Max Pullup with 120 lb attached. (70% Bodyweight)

Phase II:         Negative OAC

Goal:    OAC negative lasting 10 seconds with each arm. Learn balance on the bar.

Phase III:       Positive OAC

Goal:    Achieve a full OAC with each arm.

Phase I – Raw Strength

All of the training methods had one thing in common: Weighted Pullups. Frequency, reps, and load all varied by program.  But, what I really wanted to know was:

How much weight do I need to be able to pull relative to my bodyweight to know I’m strong enough to do an OAC?

These numbers were also all over the spectrum. But, I eventually came to the conclusion that I would shoot for a 1 rep max pullup with 70% of my bodyweight attached. I weigh 170 pounds, give or take a few. So, my first stepping stone became accomplishing a pullup with 120 pounds attached to me.

Obviously, the first thing I did was tested my strength to see how much training it would take to achieve Phase I success. I did a few warm up sets with 45 pounds and it felt light. Next, I jumped up to 70 pounds. I was able to do four reps.  After I finished the set, I thought to myself, “Pshh, I can probably max out at 100 pounds…”  So, I hooked 90 pounds into the belt and gave it a shot… I couldn’t even budge it.  I then tried 80 pounds. I couldn’t get past 90 degrees.  I then knew I had my work cut out for me to increase my pullup strength from 70 – 120 pounds.

Since my muscles are weird allowing me to do 4 reps at 70 pounds and not a single at 80 pounds, I began using a 4 x 4 protocol with 65 pounds. I implemented this into my workouts three times a week. I noticed hypertrophy taking place in the following weeks, indicating that my reps were probably too high to be gaining maximal strength. But, I didn’t have much of a choice considering I couldn’t really work with a lower rep range. Looking back on it, I definitely would have used the same load, but decreased the reps to 2 per set and increased the number of sets to 6 or 7. Hindsight is always 20/20.

After two months of the 4 x 4 protocol at 65 pounds, I tested my progress. 90 pounds was now my new 1 rep max. I also was able to do a strong set of 4 with 80 pounds. I then upped my 4 x 4 load to 80 pounds… And this is where I stayed for a painfully long time.

Back in high school baseball, I dealt with severe elbow tendinitis that ultimately took me out of my freshman season. If you have ever had elbow tendinitis or rotator cuff issues, expect a long road ahead. Weighted pullups will bring these particular injuries back to life. There is simply no way around it. When my elbow would flare up on me, I would simply push through and ignore it. But, tendinitis doesn’t listen to the cold shoulder. This happened many times. I would take one step forward and two steps back due to the fact that tendinitis rest needs to increase  after each time it becomes inflamed.  It got to the point where I couldn’t sleep at night because my left rotator cuff and right elbow were in so much pain. I thought about putting my goal on hold, but I knew that I would have a hard time picking it back up if I stopped.  I needed to rest, but I wasn’t disciplined enough to do so.  Soon after, I got the 12 hour heads up call that I was going to North Dakota for business.

The only good thing about going to North Dakota several times for work last year was the fact that it was forced rest from pullups. Every time I would return from the tundra, I would hit a new max on weighted pullups. Over the next many months, I recorded and analyzed my own training data and studied my own body in an attempt to bypass tendinitis and continue to gain strength. It was after looking over months of my training log, I discovered that my body’s natural mesocycle for progressive Periodization was 3 weeks on and 1 week off.  Once I found this sweet spot, I  incorporated the necessary rest – without a business trip to Hell froze-over forcing me to do so.  My elbow and rotator cuff finally seemed to be cooperating with the new cycle.  However, if there were any flare ups, I would automatically skip weighted pullups on my next workout and ice the inflamed area immediately.

Phase 1.5 – The In Between

Once I started making progress again, I began to think ahead on my Phase II goal. I wanted to get a head start. So I began incorporating isometrics into my routine so that I could work in parallel with weighted pullups.  My setup for isometrics was simply using one of my gymnast rings I have hung from the ceiling in my garage. Standing under the ring allowed me to adjust the height quickly to match the angle I was targeting. I would perform 4 maximal tension isometric contractions lasting 4-5 seconds, with a quick breather in between. Then I changed the angle so that I could work through the entire range of motion.

Angle 1 (almost extended- 170 degrees):

Angle 2 (90 degrees):

Angle 3 (almost to the top- 30 degrees)

When I first started using isometrics, I tested myself on the bar to see how long I could perform a static hold at 90 degrees with each arm. I held my right arm for a split second and dropped like a stone with my left.  After a few weeks, I was able to last 5 seconds with my right and 3 seconds with my left. Of course, introducing a new stimulus helped gain strength. But, isometrics are extremely valuable when training for maximal strength.

Not to my surprise, my isometric training seemed to be paying off more than my weighted pullup training. I no longer felt like I was ripping my tendons and seemed to be getting closer to my ultimate goal. So, I began to taper off the weighted pullups when my 1 rep max was 105 pounds and focus on isometrics. One beautiful thing about isometric training is that the body tends to recover rapidly- almost 100% in 24 hours. This enables you to get in a higher volume of work.  In no time, I was able to perform a 90 degree static hold on the bar for 10 seconds with my right arm and 8 seconds with my left. At this point, I felt ahead of the curve and ready to move onto the next phase.

Phase II – OAC Negative

 Now that I was strong enough to support my own weight in various static positions, it was time to go dynamic.  Muscles can handle the greatest resistance when eccentrically loaded, so OAC negatives through the full range of motion made the most sense as the next step.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJETA6ZE_Cg

There is really no way to get better at these other than diligent practice. I kept the reps at one per arm per set and I did four sets with each arm – striving to go as slow and controlled as possible all the way down.  It’s not an easy movement by any means, so you have to really fight hard all the way down and refuse to give in.  If you can’t control your decent for at least 3 seconds, you’re not doing technically performing an eccentric contraction and need to gain a little more strength first with isometrics. If you do last three seconds or longer, is a good indication that you’re ready to begin training with negatives.

The first few sessions of negatives will leave you feeling like you’ve torn your rear deltoid.  I remember having muscle spasms for a few days after my initial workouts. Those will go away after a few weeks of getting used to the movement.

After a few months of training with negatives once a week, I was able to maintain complete control through the entire decent for 10 seconds with each arm.  I then got the itch the test my weighted pullup max again due to the fact that I felt so much stronger than I did when I tapered them off.

100 pounds… Really easy.

110 pounds …Easy.

115 pounds …Getting tougher.

          125 pounds …Not pretty, but I got it!

So phases I and II were completed one week apart from each other.  Below is a video of me almost getting a 105 pound double using a more difficult close grip (Listen-Brooklyn counted it as two reps!).

Phase III – Positive OAC

 I felt great going into the final phase.  I learned to train while keeping my tendinitis under control, gained most of the strength, balance, and control needed to execute the movement.  There was only one problem: I had never actually attempted or practiced the OAC itself.  Using isometrics, I was able to generate enough tension to remain at a constant angle (Force = Load).  Negatives, or eccentric contractions, helped me to learn balance and control on the bar while slowly lowering my body through the entire range of motion (Force < Load).  Now it was time to see if I was capable of generating enough tension to overcome the load using a concentric contraction (Force > Load).

 So I tried my first OAC…

 Fail.

I got up to almost 90 degrees, but couldn’t pass through the toughest point of the movement.  So I began using two different ways to practice the OAC itself. While using both of these methods, again, I kept the reps at one and sets at four to five.

The first method is called the “counterweight method”.  In this method, you tie a dumbbell to one end of a rope. Throw it over the pullup bar and hold on to the free end of the rope with your non pulling hand.  Obviously, the less counter weight your non-pulling hand needs, the closer you are to achieving the OAC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ln51SyA8Do

The second method is using a “climber’s assist”. Ever seen somebody who said they can do a one arm chin up only to find out they were grabbing the wrist with their non-pulling hand? Yeah, not a real OAC…or even close. But, imagine moving the non-pulling hand further and further down your pulling arm.  The further you move it down, the closer you are to the OAC. So, getting to the point where you have no more leverage on your pulling arm (collar bone) means you have achieved the OAC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHgY1UDaNOA

Although this method doesn’t track your progress as accurately as the counterweight method, I felt better using it due to the fact that I was only using my own body. No weights or ropes. Just a little bit of leverage. Below is a video of my first OAC with my right hand, 18 months after I started training for it.  You’ll notice that my non-pulling hand is wrapped around my ribs, leaving me with no leverage for assistance.  So, at the moment, phase III is half way complete. I will update this post when my left arm is game.

FINALLY – Right Arm

Mon: 5-5:30 AM — Cardio (ASHLEY) 

Tue: 11-11:45 AM — HALF & HALF Cardio & Lifting (ASHLEY)

Wed: 5-5:30 AM – ABB Abs/Back/Bottom (Women’s Bikini Toning w/ ASHLEY)

Thu: 11-11:45 AM —  High Intensity Interval & ABB (ASHLEY)

         8 PM — DAN’S CAMP

Fri: 5-5:30 AM — TRACK DAY 

Sun: 4 PM — DAN’S CAMP

Looking forward to training everyone!

**Schedule is subject to change. Please refer to calendar for latest updates!

With this in mind, I decided to progress slowly to multiple reps. It was really easy to be patient since I had already reached my goal of a single rep. So, I performed multiple sets of one rep for four months – which was how long it took my body to adapt to the stimulus. My core no longer felt as if I had been repeatedly stabbed in the days following a workout with single rep rollouts. It was time to try for multiple reps.

The first time I tried doing sets of doubles, it went very smooth. No trouble with my lumbar and no belly flops. But, I did realize that multiple reps seem to sky rocket my blood pressure. Not a big deal at the time because after a minute or two I was back to normal.

Fast forward to our trip out west a few weeks ago. There was a lot of driving, planning, running, and all-nighters the first five days. Between preparing for the trip, getting to Vegas, getting to Death Valley, and crewing E.T. on his Badwater finish; there was no time for strength training. Only running and burpees up to this point in the trip. So, the day after Badwater the entire crew and Scotty stayed at a hostel in Lone Pine. We had some down time in the morning, so I decided to bust out the ab wheel. It had been several days since my last core training session, so I was well rested. I decided to try for a set of three (as seen below).

So, I am now up to doing sets of three reps on standing rollouts. However, I did have a small side effect. After the trip, I had my first training session back home where I again did sets of three. This time, my blood pressure went really high. I was seeing tiny purple dots for about 10 seconds after my sets. I didn’t think it was a big deal since it came right back down just like the other times. But, when I finished the session and walked inside and looked in the mirror, I saw this:

Straining during reps seemingly popped a blood vessel in my left eye. Not good for my appearance considering my left eye is always banged up from taking hits in sparring anyways. I guess I should breath a bit more next time!

In my case, I weigh 170 pounds, so 70% is 119 pounds. Needless to say, when I decided to pursue the OAC, I also knew that a secondary goal of pulling up with an added weight of 120 pounds came with it. This afternoon, before sparring, I thought I would test my progress from my last max two months ago of 115 pounds.

I did a couple of warmup sets and then decided to go for 125 pounds due to the fact that the plates were easier to arrange. I’m OCD and I hate using 5 and 10 pound plates doing weighted pullups. They just irritate me because they take up valuable room on my belt and don’t offer a lot of resistance in return. But using two 45 pound plates and a 35 pound plate would equal 125 pounds, which was close, but just beyond my goal and didn’t violate my logical mind’s rules against the small plates.

Lazy and strange? Yes. But, I’m an engineer and that’s how we think.

With my weight belt properly loaded, I took a shot at my new max. It wasn’t the prettiest pullup in the world, but I got my chin over the bar with an added weight of 125 pounds (73.5 % BW).

From this point forward, I will shift gears from gaining maximal strength to gaining better balance and control on the bar using only one arm. My OAC negatives are feeling good, so my goal should be reached pretty soon!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs3SJWDDrfU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I had severe elbow tendinitis when I played baseball through high school and the pain still lingers if I push OACs too hard. With that in mind, my goal at the end of any single arm pulling session is to not get injured. But, at the same time, progress is slow when you’re paranoid about potential injury.
After experimenting with many workouts, methods, and frequencies – I think I have finally found one that works for me. For the first time since I started training, I can actually train the OAC specifically only five days apart.

Sounds like a ton of rest right?

Not really considering I work with high reps, odd grips, and weighted pullups in between sessions. Also, when I first started training for the OAC I could only train the movement once every two weeks.

So, how was I able to increase the frequency? The answer (for me) was simple: Implement singles and negatives.

Meaning instead of the typical sets of 2-4 reps per arm, I give it everything I’ve got for one single rep per set. A lot of my injuries would flare up when I would be hanging at the bottom of the movement in between reps. So, I cut out that pause and dumped everything into the quality of only a few single sets rather that the quantity of many 2-4 rep sets. Throwing in OAC negatives is an excellent way to build strength and balance on the bar, so I add a set of those in at the end- to make me feel more manly.

As of today, I’m getting so close I can taste it. I’m able to pull up with my right arm while giving little assistance from my left hand, which rests on my right shoulder.

Think of it this way: You have seen people do a “one arm chin up” while grasping the wrist of their pulling arm with their non-pulling hand, right? I have simply moved my non-pulling hand all the way down my arm to my shoulder. There is very little leverage available at the shoulder joint. When I get to the point of resting my non-pulling hand on my collar bone, there is zero leverage I can use – and it will be a legit OAC. I’m literally an inch away. But I need to be careful. If I get feeling too saucy, I’ll jack up my elbow and be forced to rest.

Patience needs to be the weapon of choice when on the brink of a victory.

Strict Bar Muscle Ups 5 x 1

DB Snatch
70 lb x 6 each arm
80 lb x 5 each arm
90 lb x 1 each arm
100 lb x 1 each arm

Single Leg Squats 4×4 each leg
(holding 5 lb plates)

Towel Grip Pullups 4 x10
Supersetted with
Single Arm Pushups 4 x 5 each arm

Plus a core circuit…

I’m going to be tender tomorrow. But not as bad as Ash. Her sexy self and her friend Amber are running 50 miles tomorrow in the Grand Canyon! Have fun and be safe, ladies!

TRAIN!

I have a theory on work vs training. Everyone says training or exercise is “stress relief”, right? If you are under a lot of stress at work, you must relief all of this stress to get back to a normal state. Therefore,

Hard day at work + A hard workout = 0

Most people see it the other way around… They are blinded.

I brought out the jump rope and I had intentions of destroying an intense skipping session.

Using the sprint-in-place style:

1:00 On – as fast as possible
30 seconds rest
5x
30 seconds On – as fast as possible
15 seconds rest
5x

I typically do this workout at least once a week with not too much trouble, but today was different. The dome where the fitness center is located on site is heated to about 100 degrees – seriously. I felt like I was in a sauna and had a couple of questionable moments during rest intervals where I thought about hurling. Needless to say, it was rough, but I needed it! I finished up with:

Inverted Pullups 5 x 5
Supersetted with
One arm Pushups 5 x 10

Standing Rollouts 5 x 1
Supersetted with
Band Goodmornings 5 x 12

I still needed something else, obviously. But, I wasn’t in the mood for short, intense cardio or a run – and I was sore in many places in my upper body after my snatch max out the day before. So, I tried my hand again at the strict bar muscle up. This time, I had the camera rolling. I actually did it on a power tower to prove there is no swing or kip- otherwise you hit the chair back with your legs and the rep will fail in the transition phase.

Strict Bar Muscle Ups 8 x 1
( to develop muscle memory)

I still wasn’t satisfied at this point. I felt the need to get my heart rate up due to the fact that the volume of my workout at that point was so small. I sprung for the sorry excuse for a heavy bag and did 3 x 3:00 rounds – bare knuckle.

As the site has developed in the past few months, also has an indoor fitness center! Even though running outside would not be bad now due to the temperatures being above freezing, it was nice to walk into a room with a full set of dumbbells, treadmills, pullup and dip stations heavy bag, and several machines.

After a full day of travel and teetering on burnout as a residual result of the Burpee Two Miler, I wasn’t sure if I should even strength train this morning. My lower back has been feeling stiff for a few days, so I wanted nothing to do with standing rollouts. There was no belt to attach weight for weighted pullups, so those were scratched. My legs and IT band were sore from running yesterday and an intense rope session the day before. Do I didn’t want to do single leg squats. Most of my main strength exercise options were eliminated before the workout even began. So, I honestly thought about slacking due to my lack of options. Then I decided that slacking is for douches.

After my three hours of sleep, I dragged my stiff and groggy self into the fitness center and tried to make the best of it. Not having a workout in mind, I just started on the pullup bar. I did a couple of warmup sets and decided to try to hold a dumbbell between my knees for some weighted sets. I did one set with a 70 lb dumbbell between my knees, which was cut short due to the dumbbell slipping. With weighted sets not being possible, I tried my luck at a strict bar muscle up- a goal I have unofficially set the near future. I’ve never been able to do it without a slight swing on the bar. To my surprise, I actually got it! I then did another one a few minutes later to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. Sweet! I need to get it on tape to make it official. Then of course when I turned on the camera, I couldn’t get it. I’ll try again in 48 hours.

I then decided to do some random sets of single arm dumbbell bench with 80 lbs. I did 4 x 6 each arm with some crappy isometric pulls in between sets. After this, I felt as if I had done nothing, which is not a good feeling after a training session.

What else could I do? Ah ha! Snatches! I haven’t done them since before the Burpee Two Miler due to my rotator cuff being so tender.

I figured I would do a few light sets and see how I felt. After all, a goal of mine for this year is to be able to Snatch a 100 lb dumbbell with each arm. 70, 80, and 90 lbs felt easy and smooth. I was shocked. They have a 100 lb dumbbell, so I decided to go for it. And, in case I actually achieved this goal, I had the camera rolling. After a crappy first half of a work and already feeling stiff, I was floored when the 100 lb dumbbell came up easy! Cross that goal off the list!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7KhuJoAcyY&feature=youtube_gdata_player