Start day??

lbenson2006
lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
Are we starting on 10/1 or waiting until Monday 10/3 to start? One of the parts read how it fit well into a Monday to Friday schedule, so thought I'd ask. Thanks!
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Replies

  • Yeah, I just skimmed over the advanced program and it's a Mon, Wed, Fri schedule. Guess we can start on the 3rd. Good luck!
  • Raptorbh12
    Raptorbh12 Posts: 56 Member
    Monday or Saturday. I will start a thread for our progress over the weekend.
    I will most likely start Monday.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    Went to spin this morning and then into the weight room. I am so excited they have a new assisted pull up machine. I was able to do 5 assisted pull ups using 1/3 of my body weight! I am so stoked right now! I think I will really be able to complete 5 unassisted by the end!!!
  • Ben_there_done_that
    Ben_there_done_that Posts: 732 Member
    Congrats, Joanna! I'm looking forward to hearing how much you're going to rock at pull-ups after this.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    I am digging this new machine at the gym!! I am not sure exactly how to measure my progress. Today I had the weight set at 55lbs and I did 3 sets of 5. Changed my hand position each set. I am also doing dynamic movements on my pull up bar.
  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    Great job @Joanna2012B ! I'm getting pretty excited too. Will be doing my push up piece first thing in the mornings and will be doing the pull up piece either at the gym at lunch or when I get home for the day. I might make an exception and try to knock it all out in the morning tomorrow, not sure yet. I hate to push them off to lunch tomorrow in case I have to skip and I have a function after work so I won't be home till late.
  • Ben_there_done_that
    Ben_there_done_that Posts: 732 Member
    I thought I was taking it easy this morning on day one, starting with 8 reps. It's the one-minute recovery times that killed me. What an eye-opener. Looks like there's plenty of room to improve. haha.
  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    I pushed and got them in this morning, just in case. I will try again if I go to the gym to see if the suggested 3-4 hour break between them and the push-ups makes a difference. Also at the gym I will be able to adjust the assistance amount whereas at home, I had as much help as I could get. 1st set started at 3 assisted, then 2.5 for a few sets and final set was only able to follow 1.5. Scared for pyramid day tomorrow. Lol
  • Raptorbh12
    Raptorbh12 Posts: 56 Member
    So today was a learning experience.
    I did a 6 rep warm up or 1st working set
    Then I put two 10lb plates in a draw string backpack and did 6 more (I felt like it was going to serrate my deltoids off)
    Next I tied the backpack to a weight belt to create a "dip belt" and this was the sweet setup. I did 6 more with 20lbs hanging.
    Then I did my 4th set of 7 reps with 20lbs.
    Then I mixed it up a little and ran a half mile to the forest pull-up bars on the edge of my community and cranked out a set of 10.
    Then I did some sprints and jogged back home.

    I should have done them all straight with the strict minute rest in between but i got sidetracked by a stick bug in my garage (attention span of a 6 year old).
  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    @Raptorbh12 can I just say you are insane?!?! LOL
    Done for today. It was definitely easier with the assisted machine at the gym versus the one I have at home, and the fact that I had the 3+ hour break after the push ups might have helped too. I was able to do the pyramid successfully through 5, failed when trying to do 6. After the final maximum effort set, I did a total of 22 assisted pull ups using the 60 lb setting. YEAH!!! It was pretty exciting!! LOL
    Now for tomorrow, any suggestions for the middle set where your hands are to be together?? Both the one at home and the gym do not have a bar all the way across so that I can do the close grip. Thanks!!
  • Raptorbh12
    Raptorbh12 Posts: 56 Member
    edited October 2016
    Now for tomorrow, any suggestions for the middle set where your hands are to be together?? Both the one at home and the gym do not have a bar all the way across so that I can do the close grip. Thanks!!

    pretty much the only way to do close grip is to do reverse grip (palms towards you) or "chin-ups" as everyone calls them.
    So just do reverse grip wherever you can place your hands and you will get the desired effect.
    The chin-ups work your biceps more while the palms out pull ups work your back and lats a bit more.
  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    Thanks @Raptorbh12!!
  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    Day 3 done!! Wasn't quite sure how many to put in each terrain ingredients set so I tried 3. Might bump it to 4 next time although I struggled with the the wide grip ones a lot. On those, I'll probably increase the assistance. I really struggled with the push ups this morning and could not do as many as previous days but my upper body is getting SORE! Lol. Had upper body DVD yesterday too though, so that probably didn't help.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    Day 2 and 3 completed. Not very well. I am struggling with the pull up bar at home and was unable to make it to the gym. I was able to get to 3 on the pyramid :# I have been a little scattered with the pull ups this week, I did forget them on Monday. I will go at it hard next week for sure!!
  • lmbarreto
    lmbarreto Posts: 19 Member
    I just joined the challenge. Sorry I missed the 1st week. I will start this coming Monday 10/10.
  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    Day 4 done! Was able to do 13 successful training sets of 4 each. Trying to figure out correct # for a training set seems pretty difficult. Hopefully next week will give me a little more clarity! I think for tomorrow I will repeat day one since I tried that with a different machine. I am really liking the one at the gym.

    Welcome to all the newer members. Pretty excited to see more people willing to try this.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    Holy Smokes @lbenson2006 and to think you were the one nervous! Way to go girlie!!! I hope to catch up to you someday!!
  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    That's what makes me nervous now though, am I not doing enough in the training sets...am I doing too much assistance?? I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to pull ups.
  • Raptorbh12
    Raptorbh12 Posts: 56 Member
    That's what makes me nervous now though, am I not doing enough in the training sets...am I doing too much assistance?? I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to pull ups.

    Start out with minimal resistance. Put as little assistance as you can while completing the minimum amount of reps for your training set.
    This will tear more muscle fibers and create deeper micro tears which will enable them to grow stronger faster.


  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    @lbenson2006 I don't really know what I am doing either. I did 3 sets of 5 on the assisted pull up machine last night. I was at 55lbs of assistance. I am not sure if that is good or not. I really had to work at the last set too!

    This is the one movement that I have always struggled at and I am feeling a little inadequate right now :|
  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    Raptorbh12 wrote: »
    That's what makes me nervous now though, am I not doing enough in the training sets...am I doing too much assistance?? I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to pull ups.

    Start out with minimal resistance. Put as little assistance as you can while completing the minimum amount of reps for your training set.
    This will tear more muscle fibers and create deeper micro tears which will enable them to grow stronger faster.


    I know that's a good thing, but that just sounds so wrong!! Lol. So, what should u be striving for in terms of # of reps in a training set??
  • Raptorbh12
    Raptorbh12 Posts: 56 Member
    Raptorbh12 wrote: »
    That's what makes me nervous now though, am I not doing enough in the training sets...am I doing too much assistance?? I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to pull ups.

    Start out with minimal resistance. Put as little assistance as you can while completing the minimum amount of reps for your training set.
    This will tear more muscle fibers and create deeper micro tears which will enable them to grow stronger faster.


    I know that's a good thing, but that just sounds so wrong!! Lol. So, what should u be striving for in terms of # of reps in a training set??

    Striving for failure on the last rep of your set. This ensures that you achieved muscle exhaustion and will maximize effectiveness of the workouts.
    Now because your doing it everyday, its not as important to reach muscle exhaustion everytime since that can cause some injuries.
    Just make sure that its really difficult every time you do it and if it seems too easy for any iteration, decrease your assistance.

  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    @Joanna2012B no need to feel inadequate...we are all still trying to figure this thing out. Sounds like I've been too easy on myself. Lol. Means today is going to SUCK!! Yikes!!
  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    Thanks @Raptorbh12 . Will be trying harder this afternoon. Will report back...if I can still type. Lol
  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    Ok, never got back in and posted on Friday...sorry...and left the paper at home. I did try reducing the assistance and it made it tons harder. Last week I was offsetting 60 lbs. I am now trying offsetting 40 lbs for as much as I can then switching to 50 lbs. Today I did 4 and then 3 reps at 40 lbs and then the rest of the max effort sets at 50 were 4, 4, and 3 for a total of 18 pull ups.

    Please tell me I am not the only one still doing this?? I need people to keep me going because I really want to complete this for the whole month to see what kind of progress I can make.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    edited October 2016
    Nope I am still doing it just forgot to post!!! Saturday I did 3 sets of 8 at 40lbs assistance! The gym is closed today for thanksgiving so I used my pull up bar....so much harder! I am going to keep working at it until I can do some unassisted even if it takes longer than the month! Way to go Lesley!!!
  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    Thank goodness! Lol. That would be rough trying to keep yourself going for the rest of the month. I'm with you, I want to be able to do this even if it takes more than the month! We will definitely have to keep each other going. Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!
  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    Today done...pretty pitifully!! Lol. 40 lb assistance (trying to force myself to try that) and did 1, 2, 2, 2 on pyramid day.
  • Raptorbh12
    Raptorbh12 Posts: 56 Member
    Yesterday was kind of rough. I ended up not using any extra weight due to being at my local track. I just did 5 sets of 8 after I did a half mile sprint in 3:03.
    I need to get my sprint time down to 2:45 in one month for the half mile to get a perfect score for this tears fitness test.
  • lbenson2006
    lbenson2006 Posts: 3,372 Member
    Holy cow Raptor...that is FAST!! So glad u are still with us. That's crazy to picture adding weight when doing these. U guys are extreme!! Sure we'll never be able to do that, but u give us great motivation to try to kick butt!!