Feb 15 2012
Part of Me – 600 Rep Playground Back Workout
Hi Team BPM! A single arm pull up sounds so daunting that it almost seems impossible, but we are working on it! Here is a 600 rep body weight back workout that will give you a gorgeous, sculpted back and get you closer to a single arm pull up.
All you need is a pair of straps, a towel, and a playground. This workout is great for experienced exercisers who are looking to work towards single arm pull ups and rows. Beginners, you can modify each movement and make it your own!
Using the towel in this workout helps to focus a little more on the arm that is gripping the bar. This is a perfect way to activate and focus on the proper muscles and move toward single arm pull ups and rows. We are going to work on it and get there together.
The full workout breakdown is below and includes how many reps, sets, and gives some of my tips on form. Like always, you can also do this workout in your own home, or you can take it to the gym or do it in a park like me. All you need is a bar to hang from. At home you can use the set up I have described in the past: 2 chairs, a closet rod, wooden dowel or broom.
Try to get this workout done is under 45 minutes if you are a beginner, or under 30 if you are experienced. It’s tough! You have to really move to get it done under 30.
Go for your own personal best. Remember to post your scores below! I want to know how you did!
xoxo ~ Cori
Part of Me Workout
SONG: Katy Perry – Part of Me
Workout Breakdown
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Time: Personal Best! As long as it takes |
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Workout Type: 600 rep challenge |
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Workout Exercises: 10 |
Get your gear:
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No gear needed. Just your own body and a decision to get it done. |
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 |
Absolutely no equipment needed. Just you, straps, a towel and a bar to hang from. You can take this workout outside to a park, to the gym, or do it at home.
2 warm up exercises. 5 back exercises. 3 ab exercises. The reps and sets are below. As little rest as possible. The pull ups are tough. Modify them if you need to. When you feel like you can’t get to the end of the set, modify the exercise to make it a bit easier then go after it again with proper form until you hit the goal. For each exercise, try to keep your chest toward the bar as much as possible.
Remember to post your scores! I’m letting you know how long it took me to get through the workout. POST YOUR TIME! Keep track of your workouts so you know when you’re making progress!
Rotator Cuff Warm Up:
External Rotation 25 x 4 (2 each shoulder)
Single Arm Scarecrows 25 x 4 (2 each shoulder)
Not sure how to do these? Look at this workout:
Turn Me On – 600 Rep Body Weight Upper Body Blast
Pull Ups:
10 – 10 – 10 – 10
If 10 is hard all at once, work your way up to it! I tend to get in one set of 10, then have to drop it to 8, rest a second, and get the last 2 in for the other sets. Remember to lift your chest up to the bar and not to let your back round at all. I’m still working on my form for these. My back tends to round at the very top of the movement when I get tired. Try to keep your chest up even at the top!
Towel Grip Single Arm Pull Ups (Modified with one leg assisting from behind):
10 – 10 – 10 – 10 right arm
10 – 10 – 10 – 10 left arm
Switch back and forth from your right arm to your left arm after each set without resting. Keep your chest towards the bar as much as you can. It’s really common to round your back, so don’t let that happen! One arm grips the towel, which makes the other arm work a little harder. One leg assists from behind so you are not pulling up your full bodyweight. This is the perfect way to progress toward doing a single arm pull up. You and I are working on it together. Let’s see how perfect we can keep our form in the process!
Towel Grip Pull Ups (Modified with one leg assisting from behind):
10 – 10 – 10 – 10
Chest Up. Squeeze your lats, but also focus on your entire mid back as well. Keep bringing your rib cage up to the bar. One leg assists from behind so you are not pulling up your full bodyweight.
Inverted Rows (Modified with Feet Elevated if possible):
10 – 10 – 10 – 10
Try to bring the bar towards your belly button instead of to your chest. It’s harder. You can also place your feet on the ground to make it easier. I do a variation of each in the video.
Towel Grip Single Arm Inverted Rows (Modified with Feet on the Ground)
10 – 10 – 10 – 10 right arm
10 – 10 – 10 – 10 left arm
Switch back and forth from your right arm to your left arm after each set without resting. One arm grips the strap, which makes the other arm work a little harder. This is the perfect way to progress toward doing a single arm inverted row. You and I are working on it together! If we really keep after it, we should be able to do it within a few weeks! To make it more challenging, elevate your feet.
Hanging Knee Lift:
10 – 10 – 10 – 10
If you have trouble with these, try lifting just one leg at a time. Even if you have to modify… try to do at least one set of knee lifts as show in the video! Keep your chest up as you bring your knees in.
Hanging Leg Lift:
10 – 10 – 10 – 10
If you have trouble with these, do more of the hanging knee lifts. Even if you have to modify… try to do at least one set of leg lifts as show in the video! Keep your legs as straight as possible and lift them as high as possible.
Dip Bar Leg Lift:
10 – 10 – 10 – 10
Press your body up as you also lift your legs. Don’t let your body slump into your shoulders. To make it easier, bend your knees.
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.
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.
