Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Getting Them Pull-Ups Slowly

It's so hard to keep in fit physical condition in my forties, I concede. At 46 years old, I can't afford to slack off for more than 3 days on the diet. I would need to work doubly hard to retrieve all the gains I've made. I'm not training for any hikes, treks or ski trips. I'm just keeping fit. I'm not going to get rock-solid abs unless I cut alcohol and carbs completely. Naaaahhh. I'll just get some defined abs and no flab, and that's do-able.

I am getting stronger and faster. Training with the friends for their Spartan and Hyrox outings has been fun. I didn't bother participating in them — not inclined to. It's not about "pushing myself". Why would I?!!! Hahahah. One is the mud, and I don't like being scratched. I can almost deal with everything in the other race except for the 8km-total run. Madness. I do not run 8km. I do not want to get rhabdo. No thanks. 

I can do pull-ups, 6 of them. BUT. My engagement of muscles for pull-ups isn't ideal, so I need to re-work that to be stronger. My teres muscles, traps and lats are simply not there yet. I want to do 10 consecutive pull-ups effortlessly, making my way eventually to two strict muscle ups in the way I used to do it as a kid. I'm back to doing the basics, doing dead hangs and scapula shrugs. I have weaker grip strength in my left hand, so I need to work on those farmers' walk with heavier kettlebells too. 

I also really like doing assisted pull ups with a loop over the bar. That works much better for me than kneeling on the machine. I think my favorite equipment in the gym is the squat rack. I can work every muscle group on it, and the overhead bar is the right thickness for my hands.

No comments: