I think if I had to pick just one bodyweight exercise I could do along with my kettlebell training, it would be pull ups.

This is because vertical pulling – the movement pattern performed when doing a pull up – is so critical to balanced development and total body strength, yet it is very difficult or almost impossible to train with kettlebells alone.

Plus, it’s just SUCH a great way to develop upper body strength and overall fitness, using just your body weight!

All that being said, pull ups are tough for a lot of people to get going with. Here are five tips that should help:

1 – Be patient

Pull ups are extremely physically demanding, which means you won’t see the quick results that you can with other exercises. If you can do two today, it would be almost impossible to be able to do twelve in two weeks. Accept that being able to do more is a slow and steady process.

2 – Get lots of practice with the movement

When we’re tired, we often try to cheat by giving up proper form in order to make things easier on ourselves. Just focus on doing a couple per day at first, and think of it as practice – don’t work on them to the point of exhaustion or muscle failure.

3 – Use the Pull Up Ladder

Try this:

1. Do 1 rep and then rest for 30 seconds.

2. Do 2 reps and then rest for 45 seconds.

3. Do 3 reps and then rest for 60 seconds.

Then repeat this sequence again twice more (3 sets total).

4 – Use Negatives in your training

A Negative Pull Up starts with you at the top (over the bar) and then you lower yourself down. Your muscles are able to handle more weight on the way down than the way up, so this is another way to keep working even after you’re too tired to do any more normal repetitions.

5 – Lose some weight

Pull ups require you to carry all of your body weight, so less weight means being able to do more! It’s that simple.

#

To recap, pull ups are an excellent indicator of all around fitness. If you want to do more, follow the tips in this article, and you’ll be on your way to to success!

For the full, detailed program that will help you do more pull ups (plus the full at-home bodyweight strength program to go with it!), click the link below:

-> “Physique Zero” Pull Up Progression Method + Full 12-week Bodyweight Strength plan

– Forest Vance
Master of Science, Human Movement
Over 40 Training Specialist
KettlebellBasics.net

Happy Monday!!

I just back from a trip to Louisville, Kentucky.

I was there for a mastermind meeting with my business coach and some other industry colleagues. I am a big believer in coaching! Just like I coach men and women over 40 to get strong and lean with kettlebells, I have coaches in fitness, business, and other areas of life to help me be the best that I can.

On my trip, I also had some hot chicken for lunch one day that was the BOMB:

I’m not used to eating like this, so I felt pretty sick after eating it for a while, lol… BUT, it was so tasty, that I have to say in this particular case, it was worth it!! 😂

The epic hot chicken meal got me to thinking: The Holiday season is right around the corner, and the vast majority of us might be consuming a few extra calories here or there.

BUT, the LAST thing we want to do is go BACKWARDS on our fitness goals over the next two months.

So what we can do?

One thing is to allow yourself some leeway in eating things like hot chicken, or whatever else you want to enjoy. You CAN eat these kind of meals once you truly understand how they fit into your dietary “big picture”!

The other thing is to stay on track with your training schedule, or even kick it up a notch.

Hopefully you’re already doing a good three or four workouts a week. This is your base. If not, start right away. Whether you come work out with us in person at our Sacramento studio, or you do some of my at-home kettlebell workouts, or combination of both, three or four 20-45 minute workouts each week is something that should be do-able for everybody. No excuses!!

You can also add in a bit of extra cardio on top of your current training plan. This is what I will be doing. For example, if you could do three extra sessions a week and burn 500 kcals at each, that could be a great “buffer” to help mitigate some of those extra Holiday foods.

(It really depends on your goals as to the exact type of cardio that you do. I personally like a combination of low intensity training like hiking or rucking, and sprinting. Check out the plan at THIS LINK for an awesome program to help you incorporate sprints with your kettlebell workouts!)

To sum up, the main point of today’s post is really to get you thinking about your strategy for holiday fitness. If you are mindful and have a plan, you can maintain – or even make gains! – in the traditionally challenging time of year for your health. Start planning now!

Train hard, talk soon –

– Forest Vance

Master of Science, Human Movement

Kettlebell Expert

Over 40 Training Specialist

KettlebellBasics.net

ForestVanceTraining.com

Got a Spartan race coming up in about a week and a half.

I’m especially pumped, ’cause this is the first one I will be doing with my wife!

Wanted to share a routine that we’ve been doing on weekends to help prepare. This workout is great for ANYONE looking for an “outside the box” total body conditioning workout, whether they are preparing for a Spartan race or not. It’s also a great compliment to your kettebell routine:

#

*This free backpack has been my go-to rucksack for the last few months – highly recommended:

-> Free Tactical Backpack Offer

RUCK, LIFT, SPRINT (my Sunday “Spartan prep” routine)

PART 1

Ruck about 1 mile with a 20-40 pound ruck sack on your back (adjust weight, pace, etc for your fitness level and goals)

PART 2

Take your ruck off, and use it to complete as many rounds as you can of the circuit below in 10 minutes:

• 5 ruck clean-to-reverse lunge
• 5 burpees
• 10 ruck squat to overhead press

PART 3

5x100m sprints (beginner) 10x100m sprints (advanced) (take your ruck off for these)
(great set up: ruck to a football field; do your sprints; then move on to part 4)

PART 4

Ruck about 1 mile with a 20-40 pound ruck sack on your back (adjust weight, pace, etc for your fitness level and goals)

#

Add this RUCK, LIFT, SPRINT workout to your weekly routine to burn more fat and take your conditioning to the next level.

To your success!

-Forest Vance
Kettlebell Expert
Over 40 Training Specialist
KettlebellBasics.net

PS – This free backpack has been my go-to rucksack for the last few months – highly recommended:

-> Free Tactical Backpack Offer