Any super body who can bend steel with his bare hands and jump tall buildings in a single bound can certainly do pull ups. Wouldn’t you agree? On the other hand, odds are anybody who’s unable to do pull ups, will probably have a pretty hard time with the bare hands steel bending and tall building jumping as well.

But it’s also interesting to see how many super bodies with bulging biceps, chest pounding pectorals, and thundering thighs, absolutely melt at the sight of a pull up bar. I suppose it’s an ego shot to someone who’s ripped from head to toe if he’s seen struggling with an exercise as simple and basic as pull ups. That being the case, these big dogs often stay as far away from the pull up bar as humanly possible. It’s just easier when you avoid it.

A Basic Instinct Lost to the 21st Century

Historically speaking however, pull ups are an exercise that any self respecting ape or chimpanzee (our ancestors some would claim) can do quite naturally, often with one arm, while chomping on a banana. But then apes and chimps are still pretty much the same size they were five or ten thousand years ago, while man has become…larger. I mean give the apes and chimps ready access to cars, computers, TV’s, video games, and fast food, and just see how long they can still do pull ups, right?

So the questions suddenly becomes, how can we self respecting male humans most effectively recapture our natural born ability to do pull ups in the midst of all the 21st Century cars, computers, TV’s, video games, pizza and beer? As you might expect, the answer to this question has several parts. Check it out.

Number One

First and foremost you have to be motivated. That is to say, if you’re one of those guys who’s been humiliated by pull up bars and drill sergeant coaches ever since you were a kid, you may just take pull ups as a personal challenge, a mountain to climb, a white rapids river to swim. I mean in a certain sense, the ability to do pull ups has always been one of those things that separates the men from the boys, and if you’re biting at the bit to take your place alongside the men, that means you’re motivated!

Number Two

Second you must now find a pull up bar that allows you to perform at least eight repetitions right from the get go. In other words you must have a place to get on before you can expect to make progress. What fills the bill? There are any number of contenders ranging from a high tech and expensive health club gismo called the Gravitron, to the adaptive machines that use springs and rubber bands to lighten your load, and allow you access.

A New and Simple Solution

But interestingly enough a young engineer from Perdue University named Jeff Gotts (Delta Fitness of West Lafayette, IN) has come up with an incredibly simple and naturalistic substitute for those who are interested. That simple substitute is…your own two legs! You see he combined a height adjustable pull up bar that raises and lowers in one inch increments, with what he calls leg assisted pull ups in which participants are encouraged to jump and pull up at the same time, giving almost anyone instant access to pull ups. It’s the kind of thing that makes me say, “That’s so simple. Why didn’t somebody think of this before?”

The Simple Strategy

The strategy here is equally as simple. You set the bar at a height where you can do at least eight leg assisted pull ups, jumping and pulling at the same time, and you do two or three sets. A couple of days later in workout number two, you do a couple sets of nine reps each. In the subsequent three workouts you do 10, 11, and 12 reps.

And when you do 12 reps, you raise the bar ONE INCH next time and start the whole 8 to 12 rep cycle all over again. Gotts reminds readers to “Avoid the temptation of trying to go too fast too soon. This strategy is built on a series of small, predictable improvements over a period of time. Stick with the strategy and you’ll come out a winner,” he said.

Eventually You Run Out of Leg Assistance

Over a period of weeks and months what happens is the bar gets higher and higher and you eventually run out of leg assistance. And when you’ve run out of leg assistance you’ve reached your goal of being able to do real, live, conventional pull ups just like the drill sergeant coach wanted you to do all those years ago. At this point you no longer melt at the sight of a pull up bar and you can finally take your rightful place alongside the men…if not the super body’s.

A Natural Antidote to Obesity

One more interesting observation comes from Jeff Gotts, the Indiana based entrepreneur. He contends that, “The ability to do pull ups is a cost effective and naturalistic antidote to the obesity problem in this nation. Think about it,” he said. “People who can do pull ups are NEVER obese. And people who are obese can NEVER do pull ups.”

“If school districts around the US would start teaching pull ups in kindergarten, and make the ability to do pull ups a high school graduation requirement, the obesity epidemic would be over in no time. People’s health would improve significantly, they’d be more productive, health care costs would plummet, and everyone benefits,” Gotts challenged.

In Summary

In summary, if you’re reading this article and you’re a budding super body who has yet to find a way to conquer the pull up mountain, and who may be carrying a little bit too much excess body luggage, take heart, get motivated, find a good height adjustable pull up bar, and start out with eight good reps.

Continue making small but predictable chunks of progress week after week, month after month and before you know it you will have reclaimed your natural born ability to do pull ups, and immunized yourself against obesity for as long as you maintain your hard won ability. The other thing is that you may want to back off on the pizza and beer. For these things the pull up Gods will smile on you and speed your progress. So I say let’s all carpe diem today. We have everything to gain, and nothing (except excess weight) to lose.



By: vishal

About the Author:

Body Weight Routine

Push-ups are one of the oldest and easiest exercises that you can do to keep yourself healthy and fit in every way. They are probably one of the cheapest and best exercises, as they can be done at the comfort of home without much guidance. Unfortunately many people don’t know how to perform pushups and thus don’t know the benefits too.

Pushups can offer you with many perks, only when you perform it in a proper way.

In today’s busy world many people won’t find enough time to go to a gym and workout for hours to be fit and healthy but a simple pushup does it all. They are one of the excellent ways of exercising and can be done anywhere as they are budget friendly too.

Pushups are designed to strengthen your triceps, pectorals, shoulders and almost the whole of your upper body. Performing pushups will not only help you to pump up blood to muscles but will also help you to lose weight and keep you fit in all possible ways.

As I always say warm-ups are very essential before doing any kind of workout. It will be more effective, if you warm-up well before starting your pushups.

Pushups can be done in various ways:

Regular Pushups- Regular push-ups are the usual push-ups that everybody does.

Wide pushups keep your hands just a bit wider than shoulder width, in order to gain maximum effect.

Medicine ball pushups- This is performed just like a normal pushup, but the only difference is to use medicine ball. This move requires lot of core strength. Medicine ball pushup is a bit advanced one, as it stabilizes the muscles of your upper body and gives you great strength.

Chair pushups- Performing chair pushups are very useful for lower chest, shoulder and triceps. Let me tell you how to do this. Have two chairs of equal height of your shoulder far away from one another. Place one hand flat on each seat and extend legs behind. Press yourself back up and repeat as many times as possible.

“But some fitness gurus recommend that it is better to use stairs than chair as they increase resistance and stamina”.

As push-ups are a high-rep exercise, they help to increase your blood flow within the muscles and arms. If you use these exercises properly, you will definitely gain strength and condition your muscles. Start with the basic push-up and work up to 3 sets of 8 reps, then challenge yourself more.



By: Ranju Kumar

About the Author:

Body Weight Workout

What’s the oldest trick in the big book of fitness exercises? You guessed it, it’s the push ups. This exercise is so well known and has been around for so long that I think it must have been performed by Roman soldiers, too. It looks ancient and it feels ancient. But it’s also extremely simple and extremely effective. So, if you want those bulging pectorals, get down and give me 20.

Push ups are a great exercise that can be performed anywhere. The basic push up is performed lying face down on the floor and then raising and lowering the body using just the arms. Push ups are meant to strengthen the pectorals, triceps and, to some extent, the deltoids, but are also good as core body strength exercises.

If you really want to put pressure on your shoulder and chest muscles you can try the press ups, which are the military or athletic version of the push ups. Press ups are performed with the back and legs straight and off the floor. If you are at home, you can put your feet on a low chair or armchair. If you’re in the park, you can use a bench to prop up your feet. Try not to raise your legs too high above the shoulder line.

Other variations include push ups performed using just four fingers at each hand, using only one hand, clapping the hands (requires strong pushes that raise the body higher than usual), or pressing against a wall instead of using the floor (the farther your feet are from the wall, the harder the exercise). Take care not to injure yourself while performing some of the more exotic variations.

If you’re an overweight person looking to get back into shape, you should not avoid push ups. This exercise can teach you something about carrying your own weight.



By: MAIKEL WOOD

About the Author:

Bodyweight Exercise

Push up exercise is a well known exercise. And it should be around for hundreds of years. Although this is only a traditional exercise, it does not mean that it is not something that is good for your health.

As we all are aware, the exercise is very simple. However, we have also to admit that it is very effective. It is great because you can perform it virtually anywhere and anytime you want. Basically you lie face down on the floor and then you will raise and lower you body. You can only use your arms to do so. Push ups are excellent to train your pectorals and triceps. It can also train your deltoids.

Some people will go further in order to train the shoulder and chest muscles. In this case they will do perform the press ups exercise. You can consider press ups as an athletic version of the push ups exercise. Performing press ups is basically the similar to push ups. However, in the case of press ups you will your back and legs straight and off the floor.

In the case that you are performing press ups at home, you can put your feet on a chair. As an essential tip he chair should not be too high. You may put your feet on a bench if you are performing it in a park. In both case you should never raise your legs above your shoulder line.

Interestingly, there are a lot of variations of push ups. For example, there are people who will use only use four fingers at each hand when they are performing push ups. Some may even use only one hand when they are performing the exercise. In some cases people will try to clapping the hands when doing the exercise. Of course you will need to raise the body higher than usual in this case. No matter what kind of variations you will take, you should be very carefully when you are doing that. Safety is always the first priority. You should never hurt yourself when you are performing exercise. It will be totally nonsense to injure yourself!

For people who are overweight, push ups exercise is just perfect in order to lose weight or get back into shape. It helps you to lose fat and at the same time train your muscles. It will be even better if you can combine push ups with other exercises such as sit-ups.



By: Jerry Leung

About the Author:

Body Weight Training