The Elevator Speech

Really funny conversation this weekend with a friend I have known for over a decade and it got me thinking. I have spent my adult life professionally in sales and learned early on the need to perfect your personal "elevator speech". The conversation my friend and I had (granted, after a few Holiday pops) reinforced this basic lesson, regardless of what you do in life.

It's been a while since we had coordinated getting the families together, so time was spent getting caught up. She told me about her sister-in-law who is now "into some kind of crazy work out thing, muscle head/garage gym stuff". That's about all my friend could convey, but of course this peeked my interest and opened the door for me to share a little about Steelfit and the exciting new bars and systems we have been working on. When I shared our vision of the pursuit of the perfect pull up, the glazed over eyes and complete confusion had me pouring another glass of Holiday Cheer!

I did mention that this was a really good friend right? "The perfect pull up" in her mind was a completely different pursuit that involves a bra and some magical illusion that this garment has the power to create. I quickly moved into "sales" mode and if well conceived should have been able to articulate in a couple of well honed sentences (in the time it takes for a short elevator ride) what Steelfit was all about. As it turned out, this wasn't so easy as I felt compelled to talk about CrossFit, high intensity work outs, why pull ups became such a passion for me, etc. Needless to say, she was more confused then when we started. "Why pull-ups? I don't get it", she said; I was speechless this night.

As we prepare for another year, this exchange caused me to reflect. Seeking clarity, setting goals and getting things in order each January seems to be on many people's list. Each of us is on a personal journey and being able to share it with others is often what makes it worthwhile.

The pull up is the king of back and upper body exercises. Legitimate pull up bars are not prevalent in many commercial gyms and are not as easy to find as you would think. Steelfit is all about creating really great bars and making them accessible to athletes of all skill levels.

This more concise explanation may have helped my cause with my friend. Despite our obsession with taking stairs at any chance provided, perfecting your personal "elevator speech" will serve you well personally and professionally as we aim to share our passions with others.

Steel For Strength

What is it about steel that makes it so strong? Is there a difference between steel and iron or are they one in the same? Are other metals just as strong or stronger? Is all steel created equally and how important is the fabrication process and/or the finish? Most importantly, does any of this really matter to us?

Encylopedia Britannica says that "iron is the most used and cheapest metal". However iron is soft by nature, very reactive and can corrode. Iron by itself is not effective as a metal, so clearly is not our answer for the rugged pull up bars we are seeking. While iron and steel are often used interchangeably, they are not one in the same; so much for "pumping iron". Steel is an iron alloy and iron alloys are mixtures of iron with other elements. In the case of most common steel, iron is mixed with carbon which gives it its strength and durability.

Many of the wall mount pull up bars you see for home gyms, doorway types and other commercially available models may be made of steel, but that does not make them all equal. You want to look out for those that use lighter weight tube versus steel pipe. I have seen some that are actually made of aluminum; ouch! Also, check out the fabrication. Are there a lot of bolts that hold the brackets, bars and other components together? Welded joints are ideal, limiting the number of parts that show up in a bag for you to assemble and increase strength, durability and overall quality.

The finish too is also something to consider. While the finish of the brackets tend to be purely aesthetic, the actual bar surface will definitely effect performance. For the work surface, we believe in raw blackened steel. Painted, textured surfaces or other finishes are all out there, but provide for unnatural conditions in our view. As far as the overall "look" of the unit, we opt for the authentic and rugged approach here too; raw blackened steel.

So, while steel is certainly the material of choice, there are several factors that really do matter when searching for the perfect bars. The functionality of the bars are key no doubt, but let's be honest, we want them to look cool too.

After all, this is a pull up bar, not a beauty contest. The slick, pretty bars out there have a place I suppose, we just haven't figured out where.

The Strength Grid at CrossFit Balance DC

This weekend was the grand opening of the new CrossFit Balance in DC and the crew there celebrated in style on Saturday with an open house which included competitive events, several demos and great fun. We had installed a Steelfit Strength Grid in this awesome new space and really enjoyed as the crowd took turns playing around on this massive new toy. The Strength Grid is a raised obstacle course built from W8 x 31 solid steel I- Beams and is suspended 10' in the air. Multiple hand grips, ladders, V- Bar attachments and other challenges are built into the Grid and the workout possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Check out the video below. Owner Mark Crick, along with Blair Morrison and Josh Courage had completed an AMRAP workout on Friday that included the Strength Grid and they tore it up; really nice work!!

Thanks to Balance owners for allowing Steelfit to be a part of this awesome new CrossFit affiliate. Congratulations guys!

Cheating or Just Honest Hard Work!

Wow, I was a bit surprised at the ongoing and spirited nature of the debate over kipping vs. regular pull ups. The crux of the conversation seems to be centered around which one is better than the other?

I had to think twice before electing to add my view on the topic. After all, there are serious critics and strong advocates who have taken sides one way or the other. Critics say kipping is cheating and still others advance that the stress placed on the muscles can have real negative side effects. I don't pretend to be a fitness expert, just an active participant. My views are a result of personal experience and after a little thought decided to jump right in anyway.

The kipping pull up involves a hip snap generating momentum that moves up the spine and into the arms. This lets you lift your body over the bar with less direct pulling. The result is a lot more pull ups. The strict pull up by comparison requires that the body stays rigid and only the joints needed to perform the movement come into play. Dead hang pull ups isolate muscles in the back and and arms while kipping pull ups are a full body exercise. While easier on the direct pulling muscles, they are much harder on the grip and are inarguably more cardiovascular.

Ok, so why the debate over which one is better? I don't recall any rules posted on the gym wall that says I must do a pull up one way or the other. The idea that doing one variety instead of the other is cheating simply makes no sense to me. Intention and desired benefit seems to be the only appropriate qualifiers here. During my regular work outs, there are days when I'll do weighted heavy pull ups and others where L- pull ups create the challenge for the day. If I kip while performing these exercises, I suppose I would be cheating myself of the intended advantages. Conversely, if the WOD calls for high volume kipping pull ups and I choose to perform the regular variety instead, I will miss out on the full benefit of the total body, high intensity workout that was programmed.

I have been working out with a new partner now for a couple of months. Because we are evenly matched in so many ways, our workouts tend to be intense and a little competitive; a perfect situation. He trusts me to program our workouts and I feel bad about selecting a WOD that has high volume pull up work since he doesn't have a consistent kip yet. As I write these comments, the soreness in my lats and shoulders from doing the "Murph" on Friday can't be denied. I of course, tackled the 100 pull up reps by kipping. My friend completed the work with regular pull up attempts, slowly shifting more toward kipping as the set progressed since maintaining strict form becomes really hard. Did either one of us cheat?

We both worked really hard....... Obviously, I was able to finish the pull ups quicker, but he made up all of the time on the squats. He has a definite edge on me when it comes to lower body strength and he pushed himself that much harder to ensure we were both heading out the door for the last mile run together.

In my view, pull ups are king, no matter what version you practice. The desired benefits vary and doing just one variety exclusively is the only real "cheating" that should enter this conversation. As for honest hard work; you bet.... my friend made this point for me perfectly clear on Friday!

The link below (1 of 4 in a series of demos) from CrossFit really helped when I was learning to kip; check it out.

http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_KippingPullupStep1.mov