Jun 13 2012
In Chains – Pull Ups Workout
Ready to intensify your pull ups?
If you can do 10 consecutive pull ups it might be time to up the intensity. Add a bit of weight. You can use a weighted vest, strap on some weight attached to a belt, or wrap some chains around you “Rambo” style and feel like a total bad ass.
You don’t have to use chains for this workout, but if you want to intensify the workout they work perfectly.
This is the first real workout I have been approved to do since my car accident. It felt so good!
Men, if you have been just watching the workouts, this is a good one for you to actually DO! I am a tiny, little girl. If I can add some weight to my pull ups, then you can too!
Ladies, don’t be intimidated by pull ups! If you can’t do one yet I explain how to build up in the previous post, “Can’t Do a Pull Up Yet? Here’s How to Build Up” and once you get more advanced, “Guide to Doing Pull Ups – Phase 2.”
You can do this! Busting out a few pull ups is awesome. Doing them while draped in chains is just awe inspiring!
Get into the best shape of your life with me, at home, for free! Make a decision to change your life. One workout at a time. One meal at a time. No excuses! You don’t need equipment. You just need commitment!
Get to it! Go on with your bad self!
xoxo ~ Cori
In Chains – Pull Ups Workout
SONG: Depeche Mode – In Chains (Small Links) Remix by Naweed
SONG: Depeche Mode – In Chains (Small Links) Remix by Naweed
Get your gear:
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CHAINS Get your equipment here |
Buy the same nutrition products as me:
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PROTEIN Get your protein here |
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SUPER GREENS Get your super greens here |
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Peanut Butter Get your PB2 here |
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EGG WHITES Get your egg whites here |
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Tea Get your tea here |
In Chains – Pull Ups Workout
You will need a pull up bar, playground, tree with a sturdy branch, or anything else you can hang from. You will also need some chains for this workout if you want to go for the intensified version. If you’re not quite ready for the intense version, you can also just use your own bodyweight (no chains), especially if you’re a beginner.
Beginners, if you are concerned about not being able to do a pull up, simply modify it so you can do it successfully. You can check out the previous post, “Can’t Do a Pull Up Yet? Here’s How to Build Up” and once you get more advanced, “Guide to Doing Pull Ups – Phase 2” to help you. Even if you can’t do a pull with weight, or even a regular pull up yet, you can do assisted pull ups. There is no shame in that. We all start at the beginning.
Remember to post your scores! I want to know how you did! Post how many pull ups you were able to get through! Posting it right here on this page is a great way to keep track of your workouts so you know when you’re making progress!
Upper Body Warm Up:
Always warm up with a dynamic warm up and rotator cuff exercises for any upper body work. You can see an example of a few upper body warm up exercises here: Stable Shoulders – 10 Minutes for Less Headaches, Less Backaches and Better Posture.
Wide Grip Chain Pull Ups
4 sets to failure
( I used a 10 lb chain and did 6 – 4 – 3 – 3 )
You want your arms out a little wider than your shoulders for these. A wider grip is typically harder for most people. I like to think of it as more of a challenge, with a bigger pay off. If adding weight is too hard right now, work your way up to it! Remember to lift your chest up to the bar and not to let your back round at all. Try to your best to not let your back round at the very top of the movement when you get tired. Try to keep your chest up even at the top! I’m continually working on my own form on these. Let’s work on it together!
Regular Grip Chain Pull Ups
4 sets to failure
( I used a 10 lb chain and did 4 – 4 – 3 – 3 )
Your hands should be just about shoulder width apart. Remember to lift your chest up to the bar and not to let your back round at all. If you’re using a chain, keep in mind that you can take it off whenever you feel your form is faltering! Try to your best to not let your back round at the very top of the movement when you get tired. Try to keep your chest up even at the top! I’m continually working on my own form on these. Let’s work on it together!
Narrow Grip Chain Pull Ups:
2 sets to failure
( I used a 10 lb chain and did 2 – 3 )
I know. At this point your lats are getting fatigued and you’re saying, “Cori, more pull ups?” Yes. More pull ups. This time I want your hands narrow. Bring your hands as close together as you can. Pull yourself up. You can always modify them. Just keep working your way up! Remember to lift your chest up to the bar and not to let your back round at all. Try to your best to not let your back round at the very top of the movement when you get tired. Try to keep your chest up even at the top!
There it is. Grab some chains and take this workout to the gym, to a park, or do it in your own home. I can show you how, but now it’s up to you to do it.
Want more? Check out the gym workout I did earlier in the day. I did 10 sets of regular pull ups, with just my own body weight, to complete failure. That’s a total of 86 pull ups. Want to do a double duty workout like me? Go for it. Just remember that it is ultimately your nutrition that will make or break your goal, no matter how hard you workout.
Keep in mind I also do a minimum of 45 minutes of stairs with intervals as cardio each and every day. I love my cardio and I like to stay conditioned. I personally prefer to do a little more cardio than the average figure competitor, then also eat a little more. It takes more time and effort, but I feel the pay off is well worth it. The pay off is that I feel awesome.
There it is. Take this workout to the gym, to a park, or do it in your own home. I can show you how, but now it’s up to you to do it. Start with your own personal best and try to improve each week.
Post your scores! Try to come up with a way to make the exercises even more challenging! Try to have even better form than me! How long did it take you?
Follow Through
I like to post something about cardio and nutrition at the end of every post because it is important.
Cardio and nutrition are going to be two of the most important parts of achieving your results, no matter what what your goal is. You can not work off your nutritional decisions with exercise. What? You can’t eat a donut, then just do 2 hours of cardio and *poof* it will be like it never happened? That’s what I’m saying. Come on. No. You can’t.
Your body doesn’t work like a simple addition or subtraction problem. It is not calories in vs. calories out. What you eat has a chemical effect on your body. Even if you do cardio to ‘burn it off’ the chemical effect is still present. Different sugars have an affect. Different proteins have an effect. Different fats have an effect. When you take a vitamin, you understand that it has an effect in your body that cardio will not ‘work off,’ right? Food works the same way. Different foods have positive and negative chemical effects within our body. You can’t just work them off.
You have to unlock and unleash the body fat by working with your body in every aspect. Your body works in harmony like a symphony. When one instrument is off, the entire song doesn’t sound right. A good steady drumbeat can’t make up for a guitar that’s out of tune. 2 hours of cardio cannot make up for a donut. Or pizza. Or macaroni and cheese. Or wine and a baguette. Got it?
Cardio
I do a minimum of 45 minutes of stairs with intervals as cardio each and every day. When I’m trying to lose fat I usually do two separate 45 minute cardio sessions a day. Even while I have been recuperating from the car crash, I have still been able to do at least one session of my daily cardio. I love my cardio and I like to stay conditioned. I personally prefer to do a little more cardio than the average figure competitor, then also eat a little more. It takes more time and effort, but I feel the pay off is well worth it. The pay off is that I feel awesome. I feel energized by cardio. I love it.
Post Workout Nutrition
When I was trying to gain muscle I finished every workout with a protein shake, animal protein, and some complex and simple carbs. These are healthy choices for gaining or for performance. These are not the right choices for me for trying to lose fat, define and sculpt muscle. Trying to define and sculpt muscle is different from gaining muscle. This means I need to eat something different.
When I am trying to lose fat and sculpt muscle, I am much more strict with my diet. Only true food sources. No protein powder.
I finish up every workout with lean protein from true food sources (a little red meat, white chicken, white fish and egg whites are best) and some dark green veggies or Super Greens mixed with water only. Again, no protein powder. If you are a vegetarian you would most likely need to supplement with protein powder. If you are not, let me say again that true food sources work best for losing body fat.
Even when I am trying to lose fat, I still FEED my body.
Want more information about nutrition? Check out BPM.tv Nutrition 101.
You can also look at my current personal fat loss diet in order to get ideas on how to develop your own nutrition plan.
Cori Ann’s Prepping Fat Loss Diet:
You can click on the link to my fat loss diet to get details about what works for me, but here is the basic breakdown.
This is my meal plan while I am trying to lose fat and define muscle. My carbohydrates come from complex sources only and are kept to about 100 grams per day.
My sugar is kept at about 18 grams per day. That’s it. That is less than what is in one banana. That means fruit is not in my fat loss nutrition plan. My sugars come from minimal amounts that naturally occur in veggies and in the complex carbs I eat each day. No matter what your goal, I highly recommend you watch your sugar intake, even ‘healthy’ sugar like fruit, and moderate it to a minimum based on your own personal goals.
My protein is kept at about 250 grams per day and comes from high quality, organic, free range (or wild) lean animal sources. My fats are kept at about 40 grams per day and come from my protein and complex carbohydrate choices (not additional plant sources like olive oil, coconut, nuts, or avocado).
That equals about 1800 calories per day. I don’t drop it much lower than that.
I eat natural, organic, whole foods that I cook myself, or if possible I eat them raw. I drink 1 to 2 gallons of water and a couple cups of either coffee or tea. There is no mysterious, magical diet. If you want to lose bodyfat you need to eat a fair amount of lean protein and A LOT of green veggies at every meal. Period.
Did you like this post? Tell me in the comments!
Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments. Don’t be shy! Your comments may help to inspire another. Your questions may help someone else who has the exact same question, but is too shy to ask. I love hearing from you!
Try to come up with a way to make the exercises even more challenging! Try to have better form than me! Let’s inspire each other.
Jun 13, 2012 @ 21:30:34
You make it look so easy oh my goodness! That is def bad ass!
Jun 13, 2012 @ 22:10:59
Try it Rebecca! I honestly wasn’t entirely sure I could even do one pull up with 10 lbs of additional weight until I tried it. I surprised myself!
Jun 13, 2012 @ 21:33:24
Love the P.S. too. us women do get injured doing hair lol