Avoid Injury and Stay Strong (Minded)

At some point in time, we have all tweaked , strained or down right damaged something in our quest to stay fit. And along with the physical pain comes the mental anguish of not being able to do what your mind is trained for and wants to do. Long recovery injuries can really take their toll mentally; I have been nursing a shoulder issue for 6 months now and can honestly say that it has come close to pulling me down.

To be clear, the goal for all should include avoiding injury at all cost. We often get carried away, push too hard, lose concentration during reps or don't warm up and skip stretching properly; all recipes for trouble. While all work can lead to potential issues, pull ups can leave us especially vulnerable and high volume kipping adds to the opportunity for something to get out of kilter.

A few thoughts to consider:

Try to only go to fatigue when you are testing your maximum. This really includes most exercises that involves lifting external weight and is particularly important when addressing the pull up.

While we are all tempted to push it to the wall each time we hit the gym, don't exercise to fatigue too often. It's easy to do with pull up exercises (especially a WOD with high volume reps required), but it will lead to injury if done too much. Your technique is likely to be poor in the last few reps before fatigue, and there's a danger of straining a muscle....I have been there for sure.

So when that injury does happen(shoulder and back most often) rest is key but SO hard for many of us. The thought of taking a few weeks, months or even more off plays havoc with the mind. It sucks to lose that training time with the pull up, but there is a point when it just has to happen. Of course a doctors visit is always advisable if things don't improve over time with rest but often a visit to a good massage therapist or a dose of physical therapy may do the trick.

While healing the body is the obvious goal, the mental calisthenics caused by physical hurt is sometimes just as hard to cope with, if not harder. From my personal shoulder experience, the best advice I can give is to find something that you need to work on that does not aggravate the injured area, but didn't necessarily earn the necessary training time to master it when at full health. Set goals, make progress and through small victories, the distress from not being at full strength isn't nearly as hard to deal with. Double Unders were one of my focus areas with my shoulder injury holding me back a bit from other work.

The mind game may be hard to manage so one best just avoid injury altogether and stay strong minded with no distractions!

Hanging up the Bands..... for Good

As I have said many times, the "pursuit of the perfect pull up" is a personal quest, defined by each goal we set and each milestone achieved. It is an evolution that moves over time and is as unique as each person who takes on the challenge.

I have had a blast watching the progress of my friends Lisa and Patricia over the last eighteen months. I had casually introduced them to CrossFit and that is all they needed. At first it was an introduction to CrossFit, but it quickly transitioned to a complete commitment to it; to the point where I feel like a light weight most times when comparing notes on recent PR's and work outs. They are loyalists at Potomac CrossFit in Virginia, one of the many great CrossFit affiliates in the DC area (and growing rapidly). As one would expect, I have been particularly interested in their progress with pull ups and Lisa's recent success (30 unassisted pull ups in a morning WOD) has once again confirmed my thinking on the subject. I asked Lisa to share her personal journey including the major milestones, obstacles and successes along the way :

* Started foundations in November of 2008, completed in December; initial introduction to kipping pull-ups
* Practiced kipping pre and post WOD’s in foundations
* Early encounter with PU’s in Foundations 21/15/9 – used green band for assistance
* Ended up with Compartment Syndrome – arms were swollen for days, muscles and tissue were rock hard in my arms
* Got the kip down pretty well with some practice but had trouble with stringing them together
* End of December 2008 was able to string together 3 or 4 consistently), still with the green band
* End of January 2009 I progressed to the blue band with Heavy Fran
* Mid February started experimenting with the tan band – one at a time; still using blue in the longer WOD’s – for higher reps
* In May, started using thin tan band in WOD’s with less reps – coaches comments compared it to a rubber band "so why bother"
* Started playing around with kipping not using a band, was lucky to get one, still needed a blue band for strict pull-ups
* By June pretty much gave up the blue band
* Mid summer was able to get a couple (max of 5) kipping without a band but not large number of reps – still a happy day!
* January 2010 focused more on flexed arm hands and negatives in order to improve strength for pull ups
* January 23, 2010 – MAJOR Milestone; first WOD sans band – was supposed to be strict but did kipping and was happy
5 Rounds
3 Front Squat, 70% 1RM from 100104
6 Strict Pull-ups
9 Burpees
* Coaches recommend reducing reps in the posted WOD in order to do them well and without a band
* Workout recently was highest number of pull-ups yet with no other exercise in between, not unbroken, but legit kipping pull-ups…YES!!!!!!!
20 DB Push Press, 25#
30 Pull-ups
40 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood
50 Sit-ups
60 Burpees

Lisa says that It still depends on the day, depends on what the previous few workouts have been and how the arms and grip feel - some days are better than others but it is always a great feeling to do it! Off the record, she shared that all of the above came with the expected share of callouses and torn hands......of course.

What I personally love about Lisa's journey is that it once again proves that the pursuit takes each person down a different path and while she has reached a specific destination, another leg of her journey begins immediately....and The "Pursuit" Continues.

Lisa's final words; "Baby steps…have come a long way and looking forward to the continued improvement! Every day is a new challenge!"

Taking This Week Off

The Steelfit blog is taking a break this week. CRAZY busy with work,family and Steelfit. Managed to run a 1/2 marathon this weekend too; Steel for Strength is spent!!!

Back next week!

2010 Pull Up Challenge - Final Update

Log book says we surpassed the 2010 repetition mark this past week; nice!

Reflecting on the last 3 1/2 months, the education alone has been eye opening for sure. While I thought I knew something about pull ups before, what I really garnered was how much more there was to learn.

Human physiology, muscle impact, variants, technique, history and so much more has entered into my pull up vocabulary, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and "validated" at the same time. Before you say that I am getting carried away, let me assure you that I am grounded......but even more passionate now if that's possible.

Bottom line, pull ups are incredibly simple (not easy though) yet complex and powerful at the same time. They are the purist and most natural way to strengthen and build muscles in your back; we all want lats that resemble wings, no? But, pull ups will also sneak up and surprise you with their profound impact on your arms (biceps and forearms), and total core. I can promise you that this guy hasn't done and arm curl in four months, yet biceps are more pumped than ever. As I have said numerous times before, the pull up is the king of all back exercises in my view, providing benefits to every color muscle on the image I included along with this post.

It is perfectly clear that I am more of a STUDENT of the exercise today than than ever before and this "Pursuit" we initiated just keeps getting better and better. There is so much more to explore and learn!

Playgrounds are for Pulling

Guest blogger and buddy, Ed Merrick shares his thoughts on training and his recent pull up adventures...............................

"Last Sunday, I was telling Frank about how I turned my neighborhood playground into "PlayFit". As I described the different exercises, he suggested I guest write for his weekly blog. I had actually already started an email to him about my workout and really should have hit send days ago. Unfortunately, I’m a procrastinator by nature and couldn't’t get this out until this Saturday evening. In retrospect, the timing worked out well since he introduced me to the book “Convict Conditioning” from his post last week. I was intrigued enough about the book that I bought it; –it arrived on Thursday and it was finished by 1 am this Saturday morning. Ironically, much of my workout last Saturday on the playground parallelled.a few of the concepts introduced by this book.

As background, Frank introduced me to Crossfit about 9 months ago. Prior to joining, I was in relatively decent shape and most of my workouts were centered around the martial arts. For the better part of my life (since I was 9), I’ve been active in the martial arts. I currently teach a very traditional form of Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido (not one of those belt factories you might run into). This has always served as a base for every other activity I’ve pursued – basketball, surfing, and just about anything else given the time constraints associated with being a father, a husband and having a job located in another state. Crossfit has turned into a great compliment to not only my martial arts activities, but also my overall life and I seem to be sinking deeper and deeper into the Crossfit-style of life (if there is one – on the paleo diet, pumping protein, constantly looking for any place I can do a pull-up or dip, etc.). I blame this all on Frank.

An common thread between Crossfit, “Convict Conditioning”, and my martial arts experience is that a good workout can be done anywhere, any place, and with little or no equipment. One should not ever be limited by what they don’t have – they should make use of the resources they do have. My original instructor, Grandmaster Shin used to say that a martial artist could stay in shape on a desert island without any of the fancy gym equipment or heavy weights. I’ve always believed that to be true, but it took me about 30 years to really know it to be so.

A trip down to the park in my neighborhood last week proved the case. Last Saturday, I turned the local monkey bars into a pull-ups/situps extravaganza. The bars are too close to kip so only a slow and steady pull-up is achievable. A quick transition to the top led to hanging situps. This was the first time I’d ever tried them, in repetition format. It actually got a little scary as I started getting tired and wondered how I would get down…. Nevertheless, it felt great hanging upside down from pull-ups imitating Rocky Balboa getting ready for his Russian fight.

Next, I ran down to where the spider web was located and knocked out a set of what I’ll call transition pull-ups. I’d start on the two bars leading to the center anchor and do a few pull-ups. Then I’d pull and leap up to the anchor bolt above the bars.
The anchor bolt, shown here, was a tough transition while hanging. It took 3 tries before I could pull on the support bars and leap up to the anchor bolt and then run through a set of pull-ups. What really made this interesting was the unique position of my hands. I actually had to wrap my hands around the bolt in order to hang on. It was definitely a different pull-up than I’ve ever done before (at least intentionally).

Once done with the spider web, I moved onto the swing set. I never knew how challenging the swing set could actually be. I started at one end of the swing set, knocked out a few pull-ups at the archway, then without falling I transitioned to the central bar and “walked” hand over hand to the other end and then knocked out a few more pull-ups. Moving through the swings proved a challenge as well as doing pull-ups on the larger bar in which I was pulling from.

Finally, I moved to the central part of the playground and did what I’ll call “up/downs”. Notice the fenced-area at the top of the main structure. Well, I jumped up to those bars and pulled myself to the top. After reaching the top, I ‘walked down’ to the bottom. Doing a few sets of these (climb up and then down, then back up) really took its toll.

All in all, I was able to turn my local playground into a real workout area. Aside from scaring the parents (thinking that I might kidnap their kid - no thanks….), it was truly a rewarding revelation. The playground has now become my choice of workout areas. Every time I drive into my neighborhood and pass the playground, I have this urge to jump out of my car and pump out a few pull-ups on the monkey bars or knock a few “up/downs”. The truly unfortunate thing in all this is I’ve turned into a pull-up whore. If there’s a place to do a pull-up, whatever type, I’m headed that way. My martial arts class has a chain hanging down to support our heavy bag (which is never up). As I have my students run laps at the beginning of class for their warm-up, you can find me hanging from the chain – knocking out a few pull-ups.

Yes – I’m addicted to pull-ups – and the playground (really any playground) is becoming my gym of choice"

"Convict Conditioning"

My personal thoughts on this new 304 page strength training manual authored by Paul "Coach" Wade. I was turned on to this book by my friend Jim from Beastskills; he thought I would be especially interested in the chapter devoted to the pull up and the photos included there.....more on that later.

As I have said often, I don't pretend to be an expert, just a fitness enthusiast, passionate about pull ups and a guy trying to stay healthy. I call it like I see it from my own "average" training perspective and personal experiences.

Well, I devoured this read quickly and really liked it; very different from most fitness books and articles I have read for sure. It's hard to say exactly why, but I sense that it's because the author comes across as believable and supremely credible. I connected with the material and can definitely see myself using it daily; not just reading and filing it. The writing style is gritty, authentic, backed with historical context and surprisingly entertaining for a "manual".

The authors passion and theory behind "old school" body weight training as compared to modern day gym training is presented in the first part of the book. His no nonsense writing leaves no question where he stands on the topic of body weight strength training as the most effective way to build real, functional and supreme strength. This is followed by a deep dive into the "Big Six" with a dedicated chapter for each of six major muscle movements: Push Ups, Squats, Pull Ups, Leg Raises, Hand Stands and Bridges. For each of the six, he outlines 10 steps to mastery, a simple to follow progression from the easiest to the most skilled variation of each major movement along with other variants and things to consider and try.

The manual is well organized and presents a compelling and unarguably convincing case that dumbbells, barbells and all weight machines are simply modern day obstacles to achieving real strength. It left me excited to incorporate the methodology into my work out plans for sure. I'm afraid however, it won't convert me to a practitioner in the purist sense; can't see myself giving up everything I do today and starting over. I would imagine that for many this may be the case. While the author concedes to this reality in a brief mention, finding the right balance between cardiovascular conditioning, functional weight training, in concert with body weight training is certainly what I plan to do next.

WHAT I LOVED:
There is a lot I really LOVE about this book and as stated, I'll be using and sharing it for certain. First, there are no promises of quick fix strength gains. This is not an infomercial or fad work out program and the author preaches the virtues of patience, discipline and hard work. I love the methodical approach prescribed for progressing through the major muscle movements and the true commitment required to earn success. Second, and needless to say, an entire chapter was devoted to the Pull Up; my passion. The king of all back exercises in my view, is affirmed as totally under-rated for its endless benefits. In this instance, I too can't wait to start from the beginning and work my way up to the master step. Finally, but certainly not all that I love, is the validation that serious training does not require serious money, fancy gyms and the like; no frills input for superior output.

WHERE I STRAY:
Unless you are completely new to any form of strength training, going cold turkey without any added weight seems unlikely. While I can appreciate the argument that heavy external weight could create unnatural imbalances, some high intensity weight training strikes me as an appropriate complement. Also, not ALL weight comes in the shape of man-made plates, barbells and machines. My afternoon in the yard hauling large stones, removing downed tree limbs and flipping 200 pound railroad ties reminded me of that. The author references the natural evolution of man in the earlier sections of the book. For me, I think about the men from earlier civilizations who were responsible for building grand palaces, pyramids, coliseums, etc. I suspect that moving objects heavier than their bodies aided in some fashion to their strength development.

As it relates to the Kipping Pull Up, I am in disagreement with the characterization that they are "cheating". As I have chronicled in the past, kipping is only cheating if you kip while intending to execute a strict variety of pull up. Kipping pull ups are a different exercise altogether, providing unique benefits as is the case with most compound movements. I am of the the belief that the only cheating that occurs is if you opt for one variety over the other.

So what about those photos in the chapters on Pull Ups and Leg Raises Jim thought I would like? Unknowingly, the exercises were all demonstrated on the original Steelfit pull up bar we built. WOW!! Feeling like a proud father, it is validation for certain of our commitment to the real deal; rugged, authentic and serious bars as an integral ingredient for any serious strength training regime. Our Pursuit of the Perfect Pull Up continues...."Convict Conditioning" will help many on the journey. It's a Must Read!!!

Pull Ups Across the Pond.....Part 2

The second installment with my friend Blair Morrison of Anywherefit and joined by a few of the gang at Balance Gym in DC.

It was my turn to program the work out and was determined to get lots of Pull ups into this one. Also, the double under has been an evasive skill for me personally and a focus of extra skill work since January; still not there, but no better way to force the issue then to include them in a timed work out.

For Time

50 Double Under
Pull up Ladder 1 to 10 with Burpees
(one pull up, one Burpee, two pull ups, two Burpees, etc)
50 Double Under
Pull up Ladder 10 to 1 with Mountain Climbers
(ten pull ups, ten mountain climbers, 9 pull ups, 9 mountain climbers)
50 Double Under

Blair - 15:13
Frank: 18:47
Ori: 13:13
Eric: 21:07
Graham: 28:00
Luis: 21:04
Demetrios: 21:18
Ross: 25:20



This was a really fun work out.............just glad the ladder on the way down was coupled with mountain climbers and not Burpees. The key to a low scoring time however, is the mastery of certain technical skills. Unless you "have" a double under, you are toast. At the same time, if you don't have a kipping pull up, the 110
reps in this routine are brutal.

Interesting observations on this one overall though. When looking at the performance of the group that participated, we had athletes on all ends of the spectrum. Blair and Ori have the technical skills down pat and their times reflect it. My Achilles heal continues to be the double unders and Eric will surely make the kip a personal goal in the weeks to come. The others all had a little of this and a little of that. Add in the endurance requirements of the burpees, mountain climbers and lack of any scheduled rest and there was definitely something for everyone. This is EXACTLY what makes high intensity training so much fun; presenting a different challenge altogether for each person who participated. While we all completed the same work out in theory, it couldn't have been more different for each.

Looking ahead to the next edition......Blair will have moved on to the UK and will surely find suitable bars to hang on.....Part 3 coming soon!