CrossFit Games 2010

Steelfit had the opportunity to spend some time in Carson, CA at the 2010 CrossFit Games this past weekend. Cheering on friend Blair Morrison (Anywherefit) and others was a blast; so much talent, strength and grit displayed by all.

About two weeks ago I made a passing comment that I personally needed some inspiration to breathe some life back into my gym work; this weekend did the trick for sure.

The final event at the games on Sunday afternoon (involving rope climbs, scaling walls, overhead lifts and so much more) was unbelievably hard and so much fun to watch. But it was the Day 2 individual event to start the day (Double Helen) that was right up Steelfit's alley...........72 pull ups in all, but lots of running and Kettlebell swings on top.

For time:

Run 1200 meters
63 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 pood
36 Pull-ups
Run 800 meters
42 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 pood
24 Pull-ups
Run 400 meters
21 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 pood
12 Pull-ups

It's almost time for an update to Steelfit's favorite pull up "centric" workouts and I suspect that this one will make the cut.

Congrats to all of the athletes for competing this weekend!

A Day's Work; 3,376 pull ups!!!!

Sailor sets world pull-up records

The Combat Fitness Test must seem like a walk in the park for Seaman Jason Armstrong, who shattered three world records by cranking out 3,376 overhand pull-ups in one day.

My friend Eric shared this article and I had to pass it on. I can't even fathom churing out 218 pull ups per hour for 15.5 hours.........the pace Jason Armstrong kept when he set this new record.

Check out the full article and video at the link below:

http://www.militarytimes.com/news/2010/07/marine_pullup_071010w/

Sweet !

We all know the formula by now; no sugar, lots of protein, whole grains sparingly, etc. A diet devoid of SWEETS is the "right": thing to do, or is it?

A weekend excursion to Hershey PA to reward the kids for a series of goals achieved (Honor roll grades, soccer championships,certain number of books completed)was in the cards for our family. While so much of this annual adventure has become routine & familiar (an obligation/tradition if you will), about mid-way through the weekend, my mind had finally arrived along with my body.

It's the choice of just going through the motions or really committing to something mentally and embracing the moment. Every one's daily lives (small business owners, students, professionals, personal trainers and the like)often consume us. Obligations to people, institutions, expectations and even principle and can force us into a robotic existence that may challenge us in the physical sense, but misfires in the attempt to ignite the mind.

Whether its how we approach relationships or how we approach each morning when we start the day, it's about being "present". Just getting in the gym might result in some physical movement, sweating, calories burned and some muscle growth, but without being "present", the real sustainable gains won't be realized. The trick is to get engaged and let go to a degree. We get so hung up in our daily routines, our rules, habits, etc., sometimes you just need to roll with it and simply appreciate the fact that you can.

The epiphany that finally hit me; being with the family physically would probably get me by, but "being" there with them would be far more fulfilling. So, I did the coasters, some water rides, dropped a bunch of dollars trying to win some silly prizes and YES, I bagged the diet rules and indulged in some Hershey's treats too. Not to say I wasn't looking for a pull up worthy aparatus as I was standing in lines, but the moment never arrived.

Stopping to smell the roses and just enjoy..............or the chocolate in this case was the work out of choice this weekend. SWEET!

Bars.....for Hanging

This weeks post was inspired by the devastation I brought to my hands last week on the way to 200 pulls in a scheduled work out. By 130, my hands were shredded; really bad shape for whatever reason.

Needless to say, kipping pull ups were out of the question for the balance of the week, considering my palms. By mid-week they were clearly on the mend, but still could not stand up to major pull up work.

So to combat my withdrawl from the bar, instead of pulling, I just HUNG from it....and....HUNG....and.....HUNG!

Bar hangs or Pull up holds are a perfect exercise to help you work on your grip strength and to work on the scapular muscles in your back. Many of us have weak spots in our grips and our scapular, the latter which stablizes the shoulder blades and provides the foundation for so many other upper body exercises. Weakness in this area can limit your ability to perform at maximum levels with outher upper body lifts like a simple bench press.

For a simple bar hang, all you have to do is grab onto a pull-up bar, like you're going to do some pull-ups, and just hang for as long as you can. Don't re-grip, just hold on as long as you can with your initial grip. This will work your hands, fingers and will torch your forearms. Grip strength, of course, will provide for better results in many other activities, lifts and sports.

To get your back into the act, pull your chest up to the bar and hold for 20 to 30 seconds. When this becomes routine, add weight by using a vest or a dumbbell.

Several lessons learned this week. 200 pulls was pushing too hard and I need to embrace my own advice and not push to failure/maximum too often. Second, as always the case, with a little creativity, something good came out of my banged up palms.....a hanging contest in this case.

Pull Ups Across the Pond #3

With the time running out on my buddy Blair (Anywherefit) who is set to return home from his 9 month stay in Europe, we agreed on installment #3 of our coordinated work outs across the ocean. Keeping with tradition, the intention is for the work to be pull up "centric" and for this edition, we were not lacking in that department.

Run 1 Mile
200 Pull Ups (2 pulls, then One Burpee x 100)
100 Burpees
Run 1 Mile

The work out was modeled after CrossFit's GI Jane. I was calling it GI Jane and her sister (since we were to double the pull ups and do 200 in lieu of the 100 in the original). After texting a few buddies the idea, I quickly got a note back suggesting we call it GI Jane and her "bloody"" sister........my friend had no idea how true that would be in the end. Graham from Balance Gym wrote, "This was a little like Murph - the CrossFit workout that tests all athletes".

So I enlisted a few a few friends and we all gave it a try. Common theme among all of us: REALLY Banged up hands. At 130 pulls for me and somewhere in the same neighborhood for Ed, hands tore; making the last third a real challenge. Graham had a similar story and ended up modifying the sequence a bit. He said " so the first 20 rounds were fine, but then I started getting blisters. I brought tape, but not chalk. I got to round 30 before my grip started to fail me. I moved on to jumping pull ups: 10 jumping pull ups to 5 burpees for the remaining sets to get to 200 pull ups/100 burpees".

The Damage was as follows:

Graham: 52:10
Ed: 39;20
Eric: 35:25
Frank 35:30
Blair ?? (yet to be revealed)

It started out innocently enough, but lesson learned on the high volume pulls. We all agreed that chalk would have helped mitigate the ripped up hands a bit (but none of us used it). For Graham, a little baking soda might have been helpful; somewhere around 70 burpees in, he dropped to the ground and got stung by a bee.

Bee stings, torn hands and bruised egos. Makes me glad Blair is on his way home from Europe. Pull Ups Across the Pond is a wrap!

Bars.....Forever

Well, the questions just keep coming so I will stick with it for another week. First, it was about the ideal thickness of a bar, then the finish and now lots of comments and inquires about strength and durability. I have had several guys quiz me on whether or not a bar would collapse or bend under the weight and abuse one would expect in most gym settings.

I gotta tell you, I can't even fathom what kind of bars these guys may have bought or made based on the stories they tell....ouch!

Now, this certainly isn't a new topic for Steelfit to address. After all, Steel is the main attraction in the products we advocate; "Steel for Strength" is our mantra for good reason afterall.

Steel itself 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, making it the perfect match for our challenge of strong and durable pull up bars.

With that said, 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(and many are not), but that does not make them all equal. You want to look out for those that use light weight wall pipe versus structural grade standard or extra strong steel pipe. If you come across a bar made of another material....aluminum, etc., then run. Also, check out the fabrication which is just as critical when assessing whether the bar will hold a 300 pound guy kipping away at top speed. 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.

Often the culprit behind those sagging, bending or otherwise ineffective bars is not the bar at all but the quality of the install or the integrity of the surface it ishanging on. If hung hastily or without the proper hardware or expertise, even the most durable of bars won't do much for you in the long run. Don't rush the install and take the extra time to seek some help if you are unsure of the integrity of your install location and best method to ensure success.

Good bars are made with structural grade steel piping. While hanging the bars correctly and on a wall that can handle the load is key,attention to detail, hand welding and minimal bolts for assembly will ensure that your bars will last......forever.

Bars...Au Naturale!

Polished chrome, powder coated, galvanized, padded, textured, painted, etc. The number of questions I have been fielding lately regarding the actual finish on pull up bar surfaces has ramped up; hmm.

Like everything, personal preference is going to ultimately prevail. There is no right or wrong and it comes down to comfort and performance results. As you know, we are all out there using pull ups in our strength building programs in a variety of ways. My personal use of a bar is going to vary from the next guy, so the surface I am hanging from may differ as well. Sometimes the answer is simply, "it's what we get used to".

So what about all those surfaces? Well, if you want it, there is someone out there selling it; a smorgasbord for the taking. From our perspective, we are of the opinion that most of the manipulation is simply not necessary. In our view, raw steel, minimally treated, provides the most natural and most effective all-purpose grip for all pull up variations. A simple agent used to blacken the steel leaves the integrity of the surface in tact, but gives it a rugged and cool look. Over time, with the natural oils from your hands, combined with the sweat and effort from some killer work outs and the bars become well conditioned; perfect for pulling.

As for galvanized bars specifically(think chain link fence),it won't alter the grip surface much. But unless you are using the bar in an outdoor application where weather proofing is a requirement, it's a step and expense that won't add much else.

So, it may not be advisable (unless your motives involve more then strength building)to hit that next set of pull ups in YOUR Birthday Suit...........but for our money, letting the bars you are hang from go "au naturale" is the only way to go!