Post: #1

In the "how many pullups can you do thread", I wrote that I no longer do pullups because I live mostly in motels or short term rentals with no pullup bar available, and I like doing morning exercises at home, and I lack the motivation to do a second set of daily exercises using a public pullup object. Last part of preceding sentence is a cop-out. Fortunately, forum does not allow editing because otherwise weakling in me would be tempted to go back and revise what I wrote so as to wipe away all traces of my shameful hiding behind excuses. I am now going to put my shame to good use, so as to accomplish the following goal:

Other than when camping or when it is raining, I will attempt to find a pullup object and do at least 15 pullups per day, which may take multiple sets initially or anytime I am tired or full of food or pullup object is hard to hold onto. Correct form less important than sheer quantity of reps. Most important of all is consistency, same consistency I show with morning floor exercises. I will not be afraid of looking bad with puny sets, if puny sets is all I can do.

19 Nov 2018: used open concrete stairs at motel, which means can't go all the way up because head hits stairs. Sets of 8 then 6 while fasting, then 5 then 4 after returning from one big meal of day. Total of 24.

Post: #2

Only going to update monthly, to avoid cluttering forum.

Rest day was because of internet advice. Sorry now that I took it. Pushing though soreness good for mental discipline even if it retards bodily progress. More important to build mental discipline and consistency initially. Pullups must become part of daily routine (assuming overhead support available), same as morning floor exercises. Progress unlikely until late January at earliest, because camping in desert until then.

19 Nov 8,6,5,4=23, motel stairs
20 Nov rest day
21 Nov 7,4,4=15, motel stairs
22 Nov 7,5,4=16, "
23 Nov 5,5,5=15, "
24 Nov 6,5,4=15, "
25 Nov 5,5,5=15, "
26 Nov 6,4,3,2=15, "
27 Nov no time to find overhead support
28 Nov camped in desert
29 Nov "
30 Nov "

Post: #3

You can do pullups while camping. Put a rope over a tree branch or just hang from the branch itself

Post: #4

>>Put a rope over a tree branch or just hang from the branch itself

Desert. No trees. And no vehicle or camper to hang from either: I'm on a bicycle, camping under a small tarp.

Also, it's a common misconception to think trees in real nature have horizontal branches strong enough to support a man and not too far from ground. Maybe live oaks near the Gulf Coast are like that. Most trees I encounter in the mountains of North America and Europe are completely unsuitable for using as pullup support (or for hanging food to protect from bears, another unrealistic idea). I've spent over 2000 nights camping (18 years x 100+ nights+/year), over half in forests, so I'm speaking from considerable experience.

But you did provoke an idea, which is another reason, besides motivation, why these accountability threads can be useful. What I could do is carry a 30 foot or so length of nylon webbing and wrap that around a tree to support some sort of rowing, maybe one-armed if two-armed too easy. Not the same as pullups, but closer than what I'm doing with floor exercises.

Post: #5

As of 19 Dec, decided to replace pullups with rowing. Problems with pullups:

1) Often unable find bar or other overhead support suitable for pullups. Some types of overhead support suitable for static hanging but not pullups, such as concrete block fences.

2) Unable to generate sufficient volume. With pushups, squat jumps and hindu squats, 60 reps once daily sufficient volume to retain/build muscle. Whereas with pullups, currently can only do about 8 reps under optimum conditions and less reps under typical conditions (bar thick or wet or freezing cold, concrete stairs instead of bar, etc). Multiple sets is usual way to generate volume with low reps per set, but multiple sets of same exercise requires too much motivation for me.

Rowing can be done using vertical supports such as trees or poles, which are much easier to find than overhead supports. Wrap length of rope (such as mil-550 paracord, dual ropes better, in case one breaks) around vertical support, tie to hiking stick with clove hitch, hold stick with one hand, lean backwards, bend and straighten arm for 30 reps, repeat with other arm. Over time, increase lean to increase intensity.

I am not too old to build muscle, since legs strengthened significantly recently after several weeks bicycle touring, as they always do. With bicycle touring, volume is tremendous: several hours of hard leg work daily.

01 Dec camped in desert
02 Dec "
03 Dec 6,5,4=15, baker park
04 Dec 7,4,4=15, "
05 Dec 6,6,3=15, "
06 Dec camped in desert
07 Dec "
08 Dec "
09 Dec unable to find overhead support
10 Dec "
11 Dec camped in desert
12 Dec "
13 Dec "
14 Dec "
15 Dec "
16 Dec static hang (baseball seating)
17 Dec "
18 Dec "
19 Dec rowing (ironwood tree)
20 Dec "
21 Dec "
22 Dec "
23 Dec rowing (pole at motel)
24 Dec "
25 Dec rowing (ironwood tree)
26 Dec "
27 Dec "
28 Dec rowing (pole at motel)
29 Dec "
30 Dec rowing (ironwood tree)
31 Dec rowing (railway trestle)