Post: #51

Incorporating powerlifting bands with pullups will take your workout to another level. I saw fast gains with these.

   

For guys starting out and can't do but a couple, these will give you a boost. For advanced guys, they shock the muscle groups. Loop the band around a stationary bar and put your knees in it. It makes the pullup easier, but then you have to push yourself back down to the starting position.





I'm a firm believer in bands and have a couple hundred dollars invested. Well worth it for long term gains.

Post: #52

(11-03-2013 10:36 AM)Aliblahba Wrote:  I'm a firm believer in bands and have a couple hundred dollars invested. Well worth it for long term gains.

These bands are just another product to waste your money. There is no need for them. Just do regular pullups. Even if you can do just one or two or three pullups - just do as much as you can. Do a total of 10 sets per day for thee non consequtive days per week, so that your muscles can heal. Don't be afraid to take long breaks between sets if you cannot do any more more, 10 min break is ok. You should sureky be able to add one pullup per week this way if you eat and sleep at least moderately healthy.

Pullups will train your strength untill you can do 10 pullups, your mass will increase utill you can do some fifteen and after that it's just muscular endurance. So even if you do just one pullup per set you ARE training! And your strength gains are in fact the biggest when you can do just a few pullups.

So it's okay to do just one to three pullups. You can add weight as soon as you can do five pullups and never do more then five. Your strength and mass will increase. If you train with weights for some time and never do more then 5 pullups you will be able to do much more when you take weights off anyway.

These bands are just commercial products that hook you by your ego by making you beleive you did more pullups then you can. But if I were a newbie I would be more proud that I did two real pullups rather then none.

Post: #53

double post

Post: #54

gym bad monkey bars good, got it. Every week with the new craze that nobody keeps up

Post: #55

(11-03-2013 12:24 PM)mikeymike Wrote:  gym bad monkey bars good, got it. Every week with the new craze that nobody keeps up

It is not really a "new craze".

Where would you rather workout?

Here:



Or Here:

Post: #56

I'm going to the park for my "Al-Queda Workout"..

Post: #57

(11-03-2013 12:24 PM)mikeymike Wrote:  gym bad monkey bars good, got it. Every week with the new craze that nobody keeps up

Calisthenics/bodyweight exercises have been around a lot longer than gyms. I wouldn't exactly call it a craze. I consider it far more masculine to use ingenuity and imagination to use common things around you for fitness, not in a controlled environment where someone else has figured it out for you. Ie. gyms.

While most people go into Home depot dreaming of remodeling the kitchen, I think of how to turn everything into weapons or workout gear.

   


   

Post: #58

As I mentioned in the OP, gyms all around the US have been getting rid of straight pullup bars to the point where you'd be lucky if your gym has one. This was part of the motivation for the thread.

Post: #59

(11-03-2013 01:55 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(11-03-2013 12:24 PM)mikeymike Wrote:  gym bad monkey bars good, got it. Every week with the new craze that nobody keeps up

It is not really a "new craze".

Where would you rather workout?

Here:



Or Here:

Id rather guys stick to shit they can do consistently year in year out, consistency builds bodies not week to week summer activities, not the new fad that has everybody wet on the forums at the moment, not the new quick fix to fight fat, not everybody lives where its sun shining all year round. Not everybody has the willpower to workout at home. Its really easy to get excited and constantly start something new with the best of intentions but I'd venture to guess less than 5% of the guys will maintain this for 3 months, even less for 6 months, less than that will buy the equipment and thats the problem with new ideas all the time instead of a regular routine, it takes time to develop a habit and every time you start a new one instead of keeping one going and working new ideas in you're less likely to keep it up but it usually becomes one or the other for most and if I gotta say one or the other id rather the one that they can keep going longer, I can tell ya guys as they get older aren't gonna be lining up to be on the kids playground...instead go to the gym workout, every gym worth a shit has a pull up station try these things out, incorporate new ideas into a structured routine but nope its gotta be all one way... you're with the fatties in gym or it's the g manifesto ideal beach living the high life with 10s...even if it was that bad and it was fatties vs the beach...I know I can bust ass in an hour and a half in the gym tops, get a workout thatll tear me to shreds and the rest of the day Im free to be on that beach, my days not shattered all that badly by being away for it for a little bit to do something else I enjoy.

Post: #60

(11-03-2013 02:18 PM)Aliblahba Wrote:  

(11-03-2013 12:24 PM)mikeymike Wrote:  gym bad monkey bars good, got it. Every week with the new craze that nobody keeps up

Calisthenics/bodyweight exercises have been around a lot longer than gyms. I wouldn't exactly call it a craze. I consider it far more masculine to use ingenuity and imagination to use common things around you for fitness, not in a controlled environment where someone else has figured it out for you. Ie. gyms.

While most people go into Home depot dreaming of remodeling the kitchen, I think of how to turn everything into weapons or workout gear.

Bro if you can keep it up more power to ya, most people aren't going to think about turning weapons into workout gear, this to many is just going to be something new to try and they just keep trying new things, tell me im wrong here...I don't think it's unrealistic to say you're a special breed Ali, not a lot of guys with your drive and work ethic in and out of the gym...if reg folk could stick consistently to it i'd be for people doing near anything to get them active but the gym is structured, it's straight forward and you can make it as tough as you want it to be, it's a greater place for the majority to cut their teeth while as I said incorporating these other activities...I didn't mean that this is a new craze in that it's never been around but everything goes in and out of favor at times, this is just back to being a talking point...like all I heard for a while was crossfit now Im hearing about real functional strength...yet I still see most of them looking like shit...

Post: #61

(11-03-2013 02:24 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  As I mentioned in the OP, gyms all around the US have been getting rid of straight pullup bars to the point where you'd be lucky if your gym has one. This was part of the motivation for the thread.

which gyms are you going to? I travel most of the year yet to find a gym without a pull bar, hell even my hotels little tiny gym in thailand had its own pullup bar. If youve seen it I'll take your word for it but Ive never seen it.

Post: #62

I would say that the last 4 gyms I've been to didn't have a straight pullup bar, including the main gym I train at. Most of them used to have one and have replaced it with various bullshit curved handles positioned at different angles. I believe the reason is that women like the curved handles better and the gyms accommodate them.

I'm not surprised that a tiny hotel gym in Thailand would have a straight bar, after all it's just about the simplest thing you can put in a gym. But it's the fancier gyms in the US that are actively getting rid of them.

Post: #63

(11-03-2013 03:36 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  I would say that the last 4 gyms I've been to didn't have a straight pullup bar, including the main gym I train at. Most of them used to have one and have replaced it with various bullshit curved handles positioned at different angles. I believe the reason is that women like the curved handles better and the gyms accommodate them.

I'm not surprised that a tiny hotel gym in Thailand would have a straight bar, after all it's just about the simplest thing you can put in a gym. But it's the fancier gyms in the US that are actively getting rid of them.

like I said I haven't seen it but then I usually go to a gym rats gym wherever I happen to be, tho my home gym is more a metro type gym and its got it.... any bb'er knows the value of a good pull up, so it's not the pull up I'm against here it's the making it the cornerstone of a workout and saying thats pretty much all ya gotta do that I think is tough, as part of a balanced workout plan its got value but basing it on just pull ups is gonna see more burnouts than people who keep it up

Post: #64

(11-03-2013 03:36 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  I would say that the last 4 gyms I've been to didn't have a straight pullup bar, including the main gym I train at. Most of them used to have one and have replaced it with various bullshit curved handles positioned at different angles. I believe the reason is that women like the curved handles better and the gyms accommodate them.

I'm not surprised that a tiny hotel gym in Thailand would have a straight bar, after all it's just about the simplest thing you can put in a gym. But it's the fancier gyms in the US that are actively getting rid of them.

If you're worried about having a straight pullup bar, just put a barbell on the top rung of a squat rack and do pullups off of that.

Post: #65

   

   

   

   

Post: #66

some inspiration:






A lot of good videos from Barstarzz

Post: #67

@mikeymike, to reiterate: I never said lifting was just about pullups.

Only that pullups are an extraordinarily effective exercise for building upper body strength.

And yes, of course I agree that to get benefits you should do them consistently, not as a passing fad. That's exactly why I suggested getting a home pullup bar -- that's one way (not the only way, but one way) to make sure that you will do them consistently.

@Cyr,

Quote:If you're worried about having a straight pullup bar, just put a barbell on the top rung of a squat rack and do pullups off of that.

Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what I ended up doing in my gym, except that I use a leg-lifting/dipping station instead of a squat rack.

Post: #68

I see something else entirely. I was in the fitness equipment business for a long time so I look at this stupid stuff. I see gyms all over the US going more 'functional'. Oly platforms, bumper plates, kb's, power cages, pullup bars, ghd's, battle ropes, jump ropes, sandbags, etc etc. Right now I have an Equinox membership, lame I know but with my schedule and being all over the place its easier, plus its damn nice. They have all of this stuff, and the trainers are all trying to get certified and up to date with this stuff, because their clients are asking for it. Its only a matter of time before it trickles down to the lower cost gyms and what not, its already there anyway. I see 'strength and conditioning' gyms opening in every town in the US, basically lower cost versions of crossfit without the crossfit name.

Would I like to work out in my yard and garage? Fuck yes. Can I do that in a 600 sq ft apartment, well.. apart from some kb's, weight vest and jump rope....

Post: #69

(11-03-2013 06:47 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  @mikeymike, to reiterate: I never said lifting was just about pullups.

Only that pullups are an extraordinarily effective exercise for building

sorry youre right you didnt say that my apologies, ive read so many of these threads over my time here talking about body weight exercises as the only thing you need I assumed you were conveying a similar message and didnt properly read your post before jumping the gun to post. Sorry for putting words in your mouth. I still wouldnt recommend most guys get a pull up station unless theyve got the funds to invest in other equipment for an entire home gym otherwise theyd be better off investing in a good gym membership so they can get an overall workout but I definitely would recommend guys making pull ups part of their overall workout plan.

Post: #70

If you talk about "functional strength" but can't wrestle a man to the ground and choke him out, you are a poser.

Doing kipping pull-ups ain't functional. Real life doesn't require you to fuck the air while you try to pull yourself up to the bar with weak lats.

Get your functional strength in the boxing or mma or bjj gym.

The gym is for getting strong and looking jacked.

Post: #71

True that 'functional' isn't going to get you jacked, but pullups and dips are excellent excercises in their own right and target a lot of the muscles which will give you that v-taper and thick upper body. The proof is that the pullup/dip station is almost always available, just like with the squat rack ;-) I've personally never seen much mass gain in the chest from flat bench, despite strength gains. That leads me to believe the flat bench hits triceps more really.

I've always been told to do pullups instead of pulldowns and to do more dips instead of flat bench. Rippetoe has them in Starting Strength as well. And if you're not a skinny guy, you are actually moving quite a lot of weight which means strength gain and hypertrophy.

Post: #72

What the fuck does "functional" mean???

It means that you can use the strength in real life situations?

Banging a girl is a real life situation. So, if the exercise helps me bang better and longer, its functional.

Lifting weights is a real life situation. So, if the exercise helps me lift weight better, its functional.

Playing sports is a real life situation. So, if the exercise helps me play ball better, its functional.

Modeling is a real life situation. So, if the exercise helps me get a modeling contract, it functional.

Bodybuilding is a real life situation. So, if the exercise make me a better bodybuilder, its functional.

Arm wrestling is a real life situation. So, if the exercise helps me become a better arm wrestler, its functional.

"Functional" is all relative to ones life and ones personal "functions".

Any exercise can be functional as long as you use it in real life.

Post: #73

(11-01-2013 12:50 AM)JayMillz Wrote:  

(11-01-2013 12:16 AM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  Get any straight bar that works for you and that you can safely do pullups on.

I like a str8 bar much more than the apparatus I tend to see in most fitness/health clubs these days.

HAHAHA

There's a guy at my gym, you know the small but shredded type with small legs, the sort who ought to be great at this shit, still uses that machine. I burst out laughing, what a pretty little faggot. Lats bigger than mine, bodyweight lower, legs thinner, doesn't even do real pull ups.

That machine is for people who think they're too good to jump. If you can't do chins, then you jump. That's how it goes fellers.

I started jumping, now I can hang 25kg and do pull ups. That loser is still using the assisted machine. Case closed, it's more modern bullshit.

Post: #74

MikeCF, who said anything about "functional strength"? And who said anything about "kipping pullups"?

Here's what I wrote in the OP:

Quote:There is no better exercise for developing a strong and proportional upper body than strict straight bar pull-ups done with perfect form. That is:

-- completely locked out at the bottom
-- going up as as high above the bar as you can
-- moving up and down in one plane instead of swinging your body for momentum

Again, that is all I'm saying: that strict straight bar pullups, done with correct form (meaning, no kipping, among other things), are a fantastic exercise for developing a strong and proportional upper body. I think it's the single best upper body exercise and others may disagree, but that's not really important. As far as I can tell there is no argument that it's one of the best.

From what I've observed I think it's also under-utilized because when done correctly it get very hard very quickly. I see a lot more guys in the gym duly and dully curling dumbbells than I see doing strict pullups, that's for sure.

Post: #75

Tip: if you're gonna do high volume pullups daily (or 3-4x weekly), rings or TRX are safer than straight bar for your shoulder health. Do straight bar too, but don't overdo it.