So we start with exercise 1for 1 rep, then do exercise 2 for 2 reps and exercise 1 for 1 rep, then 3 for 3, 2 for 2, 1 for 1 and so on – like the song! These are the exercises I chose:

1. Squat
2. Pistols
3. Tricep press up
4. Jumping lunges
5. V-sit ups
6. Press ups
7. Jumping squats
8. Supermans
9. Divebombers
10. Mountain climbers
11. Burpees
12. Tuck jumps

Merry Christmas everyone!

Photo by listenmissy

What happened to summer?! Here in the UK we’re into August and still hardly any sunshine. I usually train outdoors but even the hardiest of fitness fanatics would have been discouraged by the downpoars we have been experiencing recently.

So I got in a quick workout indoors in my tiny flat and I thought I would share it with you. It’s useful for several reasons:

• it can be done in a very small space
• it can be done either as a finisher to blast the arms or as a workout on its own
• it is very quick if you don’t have much time
• it involves no equipment
• it is fun and challenging

You can make this workout as easy or as hard as you like. If the push up variations are too easy for you, choose a different variation or simply put your feet higher. I have poor overhead pressing strength (I’m working on it!!) so shoulder push ups are hard for me and I chose the easiest variation. You don’t have to sink to my level.

Whatever variation you choose, concentrate on getting the form as good as possible – use this as an opportunity to practise technique. And get 100 push ups done.

Quick and dirty push ups

10 burpees (with a push up and jump)

5 tricep push ups (arms stay close into sides, hands underneath shoulders)

5 shoulder push ups (the higher the feet, the harder they are)

5 rounds for time
Watch the video demo

More from gubernatrix

• No more girly push ups!
• How to: Handstand push up
• Fun with press ups!

My problem is that I get bored doing the same routine over and over again but I don’t have time to sit around making up long complicated circuits.

I used to get around this by going to circuit classes and training with groups – all the thinking and motivation is done for you. But what happens when there isn’t a suitable group or class available?

Enter the Deck of Cards circuit. I have recently started using it in my own training and I am an instant convert! It is brilliantly simple and performs the essential function of keeping my fitness and cardio endurance levels high.

With the Deck of Cards format you get a long workout (anything from 25 to 45 minutes) in a circuit training style without having to rack your brains for loads of exercises.

You keep your heart rate elevated for long enough to improve fitness and endurance and there is also the element of surprise to keep you motivated – you never quite know what’s coming next!

Here’s how it works

Take an ordinary deck of cards. Assign one exercise to each suit. So for example you might choose

• burpees for spades
• push ups for diamonds
• squat jumps for hearts
• jumping jacks for clubs

Then you simply go through the deck performing every single card, according to the exercise you assigned to that suit and the number on the card. If you turn over the 8 of spades, perform 8 burpees.

With 52 cards – or 54 if you are using the jokers – you have a pretty long workout and you never know what is coming next. Part of the fun (if you can call it fun) is turning over the next card and seeing what torture is in store!

The beauty of the deck of cards is that no two workouts are ever the same – well, unless you don’t shuffle the pack.

See more exercise combinations in the comments below!

So what about the face cards and the jokers? Well do what you like, there are no rules. Some people treat all face cards as 10, others increment by one so that Jacks are 11, Queens are 12 and Kings are 13. Some people assign a particularly high number to Aces and Jokers, just for some extra pain.

Here’s a video clip of me performing one of my favourite Deck of Cards variations.

Having to work through the deck keeps you pushing forward and once you’ve decided what exercises you are going to do, there’s very little thought that needs to go into it. Which is a good thing because you’ll be able to think of little else except the effort you are putting in!

There’s no denying that a Deck of Cards workout is tough. The first time you do the workout it will probably seem like it is going on forever! But it is a great way to get a long hard workout done on your own.

Olympic lifts, kettlebells, gymnastic rings….these are a few of our favourite things….

Ever wished that there was a single instruction manual containing all of this cool stuff? Well, now there is!

Andrew Stemler, creator of the popular i-Course – a full day of learning all the key Crossfit skills – has produced a manual to go along with it. You can support Gubernatrix.co.uk by getting your copy here.

This means, oh joy, that all you people who would love to go to the i-Course but can’t get to one can now do your own version at home. And you people who are lucky enough to have attended the i-Course now have a handy reference guide for all those skills that you only just managed to take in on the day.

What’s in the manual?

The 85-page Elite Fitness Manual is packed full of goodies including:

• Olympic lifts and all their progressions
• Kettlebell exercises
• Gymnastic ring training
• Bodyweight exercises
• Abdominal training
• Muscle-up

It covers practically every key exercise and lift in the functional fitness arsenal. All except the bench press. But you know how to bench, right?

Who is the manual for?

The manual is designed to be suitable both for beginners and intermediate trainees. There is plenty of progression in all the key exercises so if you are a beginner you start with the first progression and if you are an intermediate, jump in where you feel comfortable.

You don’t need any experience in the exercises themselves but a general familiarity with free weights and bodyweight exercises is helpful. If you’ve only ever worked out on machines, you’ll be in for a shock!

Many of the skills described in the manual are so complex and tricky to master that you will be kept busy for weeks, months, years. Stemler comments that “you never master the squat: its always work in progress: there is always something you can improve”, and I can personally attest to this as my squat has been a work in progress for about five years!

That’s why a manual like this is so useful and such good value for money. It will last many years, possibly a lifetime. As it is an ebook it is a good deal cheaper than the traditionally published equivalent would be.

Presentation

One aspect that has always impressed me about Stemler’s publications is the look and feel. Compared to many self-published ebooks in this genre, the presentation is slick, entertaining and easy to read. The photo sequences are very helpful. I always find it frustrating when a book presents only one photograph of a particular move; what you really want to know is what it looks like to get from A to B.

The Elite Fitness Manual breaks key moves down photographically, which is really helpful. Nevertheless Stemler acknowledges that this lends a certain falsity to what are fluid and dynamic movements.

The overall thrust of the manual is not: here’s an ideal way to do this difficult move that only super-flexible 12-year-olds can pull off, but more: here are some safe progressions that you can practise on your own.  Eventually you will be able to put them all together.

So the Elite Fitness Manual is your passport to a broad range of athletic, functional skills and can be yours for only £12.99. Worth every penny, I’d say.

Go shop!

More from gubernatrix

• Review: the Crossfit London i-Course
• The A-Z of training books
• Review: the complete guide to training with free weights
• Kettlebell training guide
• Muscle-up and ring training guide

This thought struck me as I was watching a climbing film, Alistair Lee’s Onsight where one interviewee comments that when you try to explain headpointing (practising a route on a top rope before leading it) to anyone who doesn’t climb, they don’t understand the point of it at all. It’s the same with functional fitness. I mean, since when has fitness not been functional?

Unfunctional fitness

“Veronica and I are trying this new fad called uh, jogging. I believe it’s jogging or yogging. It might be a soft j, I’m not sure, but apparently you just run for an extended period of time. It’s supposed to be wild.” – Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy

Somewhere down the line, the view was formed that a lot of so-called fitness activity was actually unfunctional. It may have looked like fitness and sounded like fitness and perhaps some fitness was gained as a by-product, but the overriding aim and ambition was to look good naked.

Shiny new contraptions were invented to assist in this goal, as well as accessories, pharmaceutical products and supplements. Perfection could only be attained with the right gear.

Now, I’d like to look good naked as much as the next person so I am not questioning the validity of this ambition. But could you argue that in the modern world, all you need fitness for is to look good and stay healthy, since work, rest and play can all be carried out with the minimum of physical effort? Is that the modern function of fitness?

Physical culture

This became the philosophy in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when the popularity of ‘physical culture’ was at its height.

Eugen Sandow, both poster boy and mastermind of physical culture, wanted to show that an attractive and healthy body was within reach for anybody who was prepared to follow a simple exercise regime.

Physical culture acknowledged that exercise could actually have good looks as an end. Lifting weights would not only make you strong, it would make you beautiful.

We got to the point where, like pop, fitness ate itself. It has certainly become an end in itself. So instead of needing to be fit for something, you can now just be fit. Fit for anything – and nothing.

Modern life is now so geared towards our own convenience, where we have so little need to lift, carry, walk, run or climb that we are obliged to make deliberate efforts to set time aside for fitness because we are just not getting this effect from normal life. So the culture has arisen where fitness is pursued in a gym environment for 30-45 minutes three times a week. It is no longer just part of daily life. For many people it has even superceded sports.

Functional fitness

Functional fitness is about linking fitness to real functions once more. It is designed to reflect movements and functions found in daily life – sled pulling, wood chopping, rope climbing and so on.

I have heard people say, “What’s the point of that? I’ll never have any need to chop wood or pull a sled!”

But the great thing about functional fitness is that you use ordinary objects found around the home or the garage. You don’t need expensive equipment or posh gyms to get fit. A sledgehammer is not only much cheaper than a cable machine, but you might actually be able to use it for other tasks as well. Smashing your old furniture up, for example.

Functional fitness is a simpler approach to fitness. The point is to get fit, not to spend lots of money on machines and supplements. Functional fitness practitioners appreciate simple and versatile equipment like the skipping rope, gymnastic rings or kettlebell. In fact many people get a lot of pleasure from making their own kit.

There is a feeling of self sufficiency that comes from making things or using objects imaginatively that improves your mental wellbeing as well as your physical health (and your financial health, come to that). We may not ever really expect to be dropped in the jungle and have to fight our way out, but it is comforting to think that we are capable enough to have a decent chance.

Functional fitness also takes a holistic view of fitness itself. Fitness encompasses strength, speed, endurance and agility. It includes short, sharp efforts as well as lengthy ones. Most people end up with a bias in one particular direction according to their own preference and build, but functional fitness aficionados make an effort to cover all areas and work on their weaknesses as well as their strengths.

You will often find functional fitness practitioners training outside or in a fairly basic indoor environment. Simple and functional environments are appreciated as much as simple and functional equipment.

Elitism

“Gym Jones is private and isolated from the modern fitness ideal precisely because we believe that attitude to be poison. We believe that a proper training facility is separated from the complacency of the general public, and has its own set of rules and values. We believe that nothing of value may be acquired by simply going through the motions; real fitness is earned.” – Gym Jones

There are people in the world whose jobs involve functions that could be classed under ‘fitness’ – soldiers or firefighters, for example. But many people are simply pursuing fitness for its own sake. And if we’re honest, to be better than other people. Underlying a lot of so-called functional fitness is simple elitism.

Personally I’m all for elitism. I like being fitter/cleverer/healthier than the majority of the population. But let’s call it what it is. In this spirit, I appreciate the honesty of Crossfit’s “forging elite fitness” tag or Testosterone Nation’s strap line of “unapologetic muscle building elitists”. Even the quasi-cultish mystique surrounding Gym Jones could be forgiven on the basis that it is more interested in being true to its values than in being loved.

Many of the functional fitness methods or schools are elitist in outlook. It is an acknowledgement that fitness is more than simply staving off obesity and incapacity for as long as possible. It is about being as good as you can be or as good as your motivation can make you.

There are times when functional fitness, like many interesting concepts, disappears up its own backside. There is an awful lot of gumph spoken about hunting and gathering and being ‘ready for anything’.

I used to be sceptical of this ‘ready for anything’ attitude. It seemed faintly ridiculous for middle-aged suburban men and women to be training as if for battle on the off chance that guerilla war is going to break out in Maidenhead. And if a meteorite does hit the earth wiping out all supermarkets, our survival is going to be more about bushcraft knowledge and a high degree of efficiency than supreme physical fitness (more Ray Mears than Bear Grylls, if you know what I mean).

“Like it or not, we are the product of a very long process of adaptation to a harsh physical existence, and the past couple centuries of comparative ease and plenty are not enough time to change our genome. We humans are at our best when our existence mirrors, or at least simulates, the one we are still genetically adapted to live. And that is the purpose of exercise.” – Mark Rippetoe

But like anything, it is a matter of degree. Some people train to be able to kick a football around with their kids, others want to complete a mountain marathon. Ultimately it is about finding out just how capable you are, and the harder you push the more you adapt.

So functional fitness is the practise of all-round training using basic equipment in an unfussy environment, preferably outdoors. If you are lucky enough to have some real wood to chop or a genuine reason for pulling a sled, lucky you. If not, you may have to make one up.

What are your thoughts on functional fitness? Is the ‘functional’ redundant? Would you call yourself a functional fitness practitioner?

More from gubernatrix

• What is functional strength anyway?
• Fitness on a budget
• Bodyweight or bust!
• “300″ workout

Further reading

• Budget training by Ross Enamait
• Ritual vs Routine – a leftfield take on the relationship between fitness and physical attractiveness from Bodytribe
• 30 days without weights – bodyweight training
• Why Gym Jones is a private facility
• Funckey – the functional fitness community in the UK

Gym membership, expensive clothing, shiny new kit, supplements – they all cost money. But there are many ways to get fit, look great and stay strong quite cheaply.

The good news is that the alternatives can be just as good as or even better than the things we pay huge amounts of money for.  What’s more, you won’t be able to kid yourself that you are succeeding simply by throwing money at the issue.

So if you don’t feel you are getting value for money, try swopping an expensive method for a cheaper and quite possibly better alternative.

Swop: Lifting weights in the gym
For: Sandbags and bodyweight exercises

British Military Fitness shows how tough the press-up can be

Many people underestimate the amount of strength that can be gained from bodyweight exercises. Most people when they think of ‘bodyweight exercises’ immediately think of press-ups. Well, they haven’t done the Marines any harm. But as Matthew Potak puts it in Another 30 Days Without Weights, “Don’t just do a bunch of pushups and situps to failure…You have to try things that you can’t or almost can’t do.” Check his article to find out how.

Sandbags are a great way to train the power or Olympic lifts at home without investing in expensive kit. You can make your own or buy one ready made. In fact there is all sorts of kit you can make at home, from medicine balls to the latest trendy fitness accessory – the slosh pipe. You get the same training effect that you do from the shiny toys in the gym without the cost – or the annoying music.

If anyone has doubts that real strength can be gained outside the gym, just look at the sport of strongman. It’s all about picking up very heavy and awkwardly shaped objects that are just lying around (well, they are if you live on a farm).

Swop: Cardio machines at the gym
For: Joining a running club

When times are hard one of the first things to be considered for the chop is the gym membership. Although it’s convenient and weather resilient you don’t get any expertise or training for your money, just a free towel and a bored look from the 12-year-old behind the counter.

Running clubs by contrast are usually very cheap and include coaching sessions in the price. In the UK you pay a modest annual subscription (£20-30 a year) and perhaps a token amount each session you attend (my running club for example is 50p a session). You get the companionship and motivation from being in a group, you get instruction as most running clubs will have track days or coached sessions and you get another facet to your social life.

You don’t have to be a serious racer either. Most running clubs have beginner sessions and not everybody competes for the club. Many people are there just to lose a bit of weight or for the social side. On the other hand, if you do want to get serious about running you are perfectly placed to take advantage of the coaching and competitive atmosphere.

Swop: Expensive training shoes
For: Bare feet

We’ve known for a while that weight training in bare feet is perfectly acceptable, if not preferable to shoes as weight training is best performed on a flat, stable surface – although you’d have a hard time persuading health clubs of this fact since they are convinced that wearing trainers protects your feet if you drop a dumbbell on them. However now it turns out that bare feet are ideal for walking and running too! Recent research shows that shoes work against our natural gait and make the foot less efficient.

Sportswear companies have jumped on these new findings as an excuse to bring out new types of shoes such as the Nike Free, Vibram Five Fingers or Clarke’s Vivo. Which is all very exciting but you can of course just go barefoot. Remember when you were a kid and you couldn’t wait to kick your shoes off and run around in bare feet?

There has always been some amused or hippyish interest in the issue and people remember barefoot runners like Zola Budd. But it seems that only now is the research being widely disseminated to show exactly why bare feet (or shoes that closely mimic the bare foot) could be better. There are a few longtime barefoot runners out there who were ahead of the curve. Of these, many seem to have taken it up because they were getting injuries from running in shoes, and barefoot running solved their problems.

It takes time to adapt to barefoot running so introduce it gradually. Start with a comfortable surface like short grass and don’t run for too long. You will certainly feel it in your calves the next day, but you will get used to it. There is some good advice about getting started with barefoot running at the end of this article.

Swop: Text Books
For: Ebooks

There are some excellent strength and fitness books out there but they can be expensive and lengthy. But now there are popular and proven titles available for free or low cost online as ebooks.

Ebooks are often focussed more on the practical than the theoretical. For people who want a good, easy-to-follow programme or a clear explanation of training technique, an ebook is ideal.

Here are some ebook suggestions for a range of different goals and topics:

What these ebooks have in common is a clear explanation of basic principles together with techniques and programmes that can immediately be put to use in the training environment. They obviously vary in production quality but I wouldn’t be recommending them unless I was convinced of the quality of the content.

Swop: supplements and mass produced food
For: catching your own or buying locally

Wild food is popular at the moment. It seems that people have begun to feel too mollycoddled by the conveniences of modern life. Add to this the concerns over modern intensive farming methods, the ethics of food production and supermarket meat and fish can leave a nasty taste in the mouth.

Not everybody can go completely ‘back to nature’ but it is worth considering whether hunting, fishing or keeping a few chickens is something you could try. It could be a cheap source of tasty protein. Fishing is fairly easy to get into – you can get a complete starter kit for around £50, which would pay for itself in fish quite quickly. You can even go on an organised fishing trip if you don’t feel confident trying it yourself.

Conclusion

Everything I have suggested in this article is something I have done myself so I know it is possible. I love spending money on new stuff as much as the next person but there’s a difference between treating yourself to a luxury and believing that you can’t get fit without the latest kit.

Many people have got into the habit of spending money on their fitness without stopping to think whether they are actually gettting fitter and reaching their goals. If your kit or your gym membership isn’t delivering, there are genuine alternatives.

Do you train on a budget? What money-saving ideas would you recommend?

More from gubernatrix

• Bodyweight or bust
• Improve your running mile
• Improve weaknesses with unilateral exercises
• Myths about food

Further reading

• Your body is a barbell
• 30 days without weights
• The rise of sandbag training by Josh Henkin
• Go barefoot to get stronger
• How to get fit and save money

On Sunday I attended the Crossfit London i-course in east London, a full day event aiming to teach participants all the essential Crossfit skills, from olympic lifts to rings to kettlebells to bodyweight exercises. I was invited to attend and review the course by Andrew Stemler of Crossfit London, whom I have trained with before.

About the i-Course

The i-Course concept is, as far as I am aware, the only course of its kind in the UK and certainly the most comprehensive workshop programme I have seen that is open to all. This unique proposition has proved popular: the next session has already sold out and Crossfit London is booking well into next year.

Why are tickets selling like the proverbial hotcakes? Well, the agenda for the day runs something like this:

• How to squat
• How to perform the olympic lifts, including the nine fundamental moves: squat, front squat, overhead squat, press, push press, push jerk, clean, snatch, sumo deadlift high pull and deadlift
• How to swing and snatch a kettlebell
• How to practise handstands and the handstand push-up with all the assistance exercises currently recommended
• Core including L-sit
• Crossfit kipping pullup
• Parallel bar and rings looking at ring dips and muscle-up progression

For anyone interested in functional fitness or Crossfit, it ticks all the right boxes, but it is a lot of learning to pack into one day! The agenda makes it look like great value for money, but can you really learn all of these skills effectively in a single session?

Learning

What you get out of the day depends to some extent on your level of knowledge and experience coming into the session. Those who are totally new to the exercises and concepts may not remember much of the technical detail but will come away with an understanding of the most important principles and the range of skills that can be acquired: plenty to build upon and be inspired by.

People who are already familiar with some of the material (perhaps they have done squatting and deadlifting but have never attempted a clean and jerk) will learn a good deal and will come away with better form in the exercises that they thought they knew.

However it is essentially an introductory course so if you have been practising these skills for a few months or more, you may have gone beyond what the i-Course can offer – unless you want some reassurance that you are doing the right thing.

On the day, participants told me that they did learn a lot, even if they won’t remember absolutely everything. I was impressed by everyone’s concentration throughout an intensive day. It was a motivating atmosphere to be in and even though I was getting pretty tired towards the end of the session, I tried to hide it as everyone else appeared to be in fine fettle and as keen as at the start!

Teaching

This concentration and application is testament to the motivation of the group but also to Stemler’s organisation of the session. He starts right on time, which sets the tone for the day, and keeps things moving along nicely.

The team consists of Andrew, a Crossfit Level 2 certified instructor, aided by three Crossfit Level 1 instructors (Miles, Chet and Simon) and police PTI, Colin. The quality of the teaching is very good, especially from Andrew who is a natural communicator and has boundless energy.

The emphasis is on drills and cues that help you get into the correct position for the exercise, rather than a litany of instructions about the relative position of each body part. This will save people from hours of struggle or the misguided belief that they are unable to do particular exercises. ‘Teaching the teachers’ is also built into the course, for those people who are there to learn how to instruct others.

Supporting the instructor team are a number of ‘helpers’ who are themselves experienced Crossfitters. Having this many people helping to run the course ensures that everyone gets attention and things run smoothly. My thanks in particular go to one of the helpers, Steve, for taking these photos when he wasn’t actually helping people with their exercises!

What sort of people attend the i-Course?

I had assumed that most of the participants would be Crossfitters looking to improve their skills, but there was in fact a variety of people attending: personal trainers looking to expand their repertoire for their clients; people just starting out in Crossfit or just wanting to get fit; those interested in a particular element (such as the olympic lifts or the gymnastics) who thought this course was the nearest thing available; and military personnel looking to increase functional fitness.

The exercises and drills are pretty challenging, although different levels of strength are catered for (for example, you don’t have to be able to do a pullup). It probably could have been made clearer at the start that you are not expected to be able to do everything perfectly within this session: the idea is to equip you with the knowledge to practise on your own or coach others over a period of time.

However I know that some people were inspired and motivated by the difficulty and the fact that some exercises did not come easily! There were some pretty strong lads who were very confident on familiar exercises like pullups, but were humbled by a simple L-sit progression. I spoke to one chap who is an experienced runner and was used to thinking of himself as reasonably fit and yet had real trouble with one or two of the more unusual exercises. But he seemed delighted by this discovery and keen to improve.

It would be a rare person who could turn up to a session like this and be able to do everything easily. This goes to the heart of what Crossfit is about: improving every aspect of fitness rather than specialising in one area. Stemler takes it as far as to say that sports people are not “fit” because they specialise too much. As soon as you start to focus on one particular sport, you lose fitness in all the other areas. I find this a controversial idea as the same argument could be applied to Crossfit: that is, doing Crossfit really only makes you fit for Crossfit! However the point is that a wide variety of skills are being taught.

Do you have to be drinking the Crossfit kool-aid?

The short answer is ‘no’ and you can get an enormous amount from this session without being or becoming a Crossfitter. Stemler refrains from trumpeting the benefits of “Crossfit” (except in a jokey manner), allowing the workshop to speak for itself. And rightly so: Crossfit didn’t invent these exercises, it just puts them together in a particular way and has a particular approach to performing them.

The verdict

A very worthwhile course for the motivated functional fitness fanatic! If you like learning new skills, want to work hard and don’t mind a bit of constructive criticism, this is a good use of your hard-earned money. Whether you ‘do’ Crossfit or not, you will come away with a fine array of skills that you can put to whatever use you like.

To book an i-Course, click here.

Have you done the i-Course? Post your comments below.

Further information

Get the i-Course manual here – your 85-page guide to elite fitness from Andrew Stemler

Crossfit London sunday workouts

Gubernatrix max chin-up attempt (video clip)

I attribute breaking through that frustrating plateau to two things:

1. Improving my max pulling strength through deadlifts and other pulling exercises.
2. Practising frequently (several times a week) and doing 3 or more smaller sets, not going to failure.

There’s no one right way to train chin-ups or pull-ups, but I can share what worked for me.

Pulling strength

I think general pulling strength is very useful. Most of you reading this will be all too aware that few people in the gym bother to deadlift, whereas you cannot move for people benching or shoulder pressing. In fact, attempting chin-ups or pull-ups might be the heaviest pulling exercise people ever do in the gym, which makes it them difficult to improve. However, if you are already deadlifting upwards of 150% of your own bodyweight, your ability to do bodyweight chins should improve greatly.

I’ve also been training other pulling movements in recent months, such as cleans (explosive full body movement), rack pulls (very heavy loads), inverted rows and indoor rowing (pulling endurance and power). I am sure that all of these have gone into the mix, although it is impossible to judge to what extent an individual exercise has contributed. The bottom line is, I have been doing far more pulling exercises than pushing exercises.

Training methods

When I actually train chin-ups or pull-ups, I don’t often train to failure. Instead I concentrate on volume of reps. For example, going for 8 reps in the first set, then 6 in the second, then 4, then 2. So I’ve done 20 reps in that session. Another method is to go for an achievable number in the first set, and then try to do the same for the second and third sets. So I may start with 8 in the first set, which is hard but achieveable, and try to do it again. I probably won’t manage it, but I’ll get perhaps a 6 and a 5.

Keeping an eye on your rest periods between sets is also a good idea. If the ultimate aim is for a high rep set, such as 20 chin-ups, you want to keep your rest periods short – although not so short that you can’t recover because you do need to get that volume in.

I also don’t train chin-ups or pull-ups every day. I’ll do them perhaps 3 or 4 times a week, usually at the end of a training session. My max attempt above was done after a heavy squat session. This has pros and cons; yes, you are definitely fatigued from the heavy lifting session. On the other hand, you are well warmed up and primed to lift efficiently. Bodyweight chins feel comparatively light after powerlifting, so you can trick your mind into thinking they are easy!

I have recently started doing weighted chins, although it is too early to know what effect this will have on my chinning ability. If it helps me on my way to 20 in a row, I will let you know!

Form

Form and technique are not big issues with chin-ups and pull-ups, as they are a pretty simple exercise. However, if you are struggling then looking at technique issues might just give you the edge you need. I recommend the following:

• Experiment with hand width to find your strongest pulling position. Shoulder-width apart is the default, but try narrower and wider to see if it makes a difference.
• Try to pull with your back as well as your arms. Make the connection with your mind, try to visualise your lats pulling you up.
• Train both chin-ups and pull-ups (overhand and underhand grips) in order to improve. Also, try doing them on awkward objects like a beam, rings or the branch of a tree.
• Don’t compromise on form. If you are aiming for deadhang chin-ups or pull-ups, make sure you straighten your arms after every rep. If you start cheating on reps, it is more difficult to come back from that and find good form again.

I have covered other methods of training pull-ups in How to do pull-ups. You don’t have to use every method under the sun, in fact this may be counter-productive. Pick a method that seems to fit with the way you train and your own strengths and weaknesses. Progress is rarely linear and we all have those frustrating plateaus, but there’s no substitute for just plugging away and working hard.

Do you have any useful tips for chins and pull-ups?

The muscle-up is one of the most challenging tests of strength for the amateur trainee. If you’ve mastered dips and pull-ups and you are looking for your next challenge, add the muscle-up to your arsenal.

If you want to learn this difficult move you will need some excellent guidance and Crossfit London’s Ring Training guide by Andrew Stemler is just what you need. I have been using this myself and it is brilliant – lots of drills, great pictures, easy to use. The introductory sections include items freely available elsewhere but the real meat of the guide is all the muscle-up stuff, which isn’t available anywhere else.

The guide also covers more basic ring training so even if you are not ready for the muscle-up yet, you will benefit from the instruction. The guide’s content includes:

• Full body ring training guide, including how to perform squats, dips, chest flys etc on the rings
• A-Z of pull-up training
• Muscle-up progressions and drills
• Muscle-up instruction

So if you want to take full advantage of your rings and get a muscle-up this year, considering investing the price of a pint in a decent guide to help you on your way.

What is the dip?

The dip is an upper body strength exercise where you lower and raise your body simply by bending at the elbows and then straightening them. Usually you will have each hand holding a parallel bar with your body suspended between them as you dip up and down (a parallel bar dip).

Resting your feet on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you makes the exercise easier, while adding weight or using a less stable apparatus such as gymnastic rings makes the exercise harder.

Why is it such a great exercise?

The dip is very versatile as it can be performed in a number of ways and can emphasise the triceps, chest, shoulders and core muscles in different ways. The dip is a great strength exercise in its own right, especially for anyone who feels they are lacking in upper body and arm strength compared to other areas. Dips are also a useful assistance exercise for big lifts such as the bench press and deadlift.

How to perform the dip

It is important to perform dips in a slow and controlled manner in order to prevent injury to the shoulders. A narrow grip, with your arms close to your body will emphasise the triceps while a wider grip emphasises the chest.

Step 1: Starting position

Hoist yourself into the top position. Your arms should be straight, with your body suspended between them. Shoulders are down, not hunched. Keep your chest up and chin parallel with the floor. You can cross your ankles for stability.

Starting position	Bottom position

Step 2: Bend elbows back

Slowly lower your body by bending the elbows back. If your grip is wide, you will naturally bend the elbows outwards a bit, but if your grip is narrow (arms close to your body) you should strive to keep your elbows close in. Bend the elbows straight back until they are parallel with the floor.

There is nothing to stop you going even deeper than elbows parallel with the floor if your shoulders are strong. However, do this with care as the shoulders can be a sensitive area where tweaks and injuries are concerned.

When your grip is narrow, try to keep your body as upright as possible by sticking your chest out and keeping your chin parallel with the floor. When your grip is wide, you will naturally want to lean forward more due to the different shoulder position, which is fine.

Step 3: Push up through the arms

When you get to the bottom position and your elbows are parallel with the floor or deeper, push up hard through the arms and straighten your elbows to lift your body back up to the top position. Make sure your elbows are straight at the top, don’t cut the exercise short as you will not be getting the full benefit of the exercise. Keep your chest and chin up to help with the ascent.

Dip variations

The fun aspect of the dip is that there are lots of variations and progressions to get stuck into.

Added weight

Once you can do ten or more bodyweight dips fairly easily, it is time to think about adding weight to the exercise. Most gyms have a dipping belt you can use for this purpose. It is a wide belt with a chain attached that you can use to thread on weight plates. These then hang from the belt round your waist as you perform the exercise.

If you don’t have access to a dipping belt you can grip a dumbbell between your legs just above the knees. This is do-able with light dumbbells, e.g. 10 kg, but is rather awkward with heavier weights. However, dipping belts are not difficult to make so consider making your own!

Ring dips

If you have access to rings, these are an excellent progression from parallel bar dips as the instability of the rings makes the dip more challenging. On the rings, the technique is slightly different. As you dip, focus on keeping the rings tight in to your sides – they will want to swing out.

You can get a greater range of motion with ring dips, because the rings can be pulled right into the body. Forget about elbows being parallel with the floor and just lower yourself until the rings are in your armpits.

Negative dips

If you are having trouble with dips, either on the parallel bars or on rings, doing negatives is a good way to improve, i.e. doing just the downward phase of the exercise.

Start in the top position as normal and lower yourself as slowly as you can to the bottom position – elbows parallel to the floor or lower. Try to take 5 seconds or longer. Then lower your feet to the ground, let them take the weight and use them to help push your body up into the top position for the next repetition.

How to use the dip in your training

The dip is a compound upper body strength exercise and therefore fits well into any upper body or bodyweight strength routine. A narrow grip targets the triceps, a wide grip the chest. You can use the dip as your main exercise for chest or triceps (adding weight when you are comfortable with the bodyweight variety) or as a secondary or assistance exercise for the bench press and other big lifts. If you are using the dip as an assistance exercise, don’t do the exercise in the same session as the big lift itself since you might end up overworking those muscle groups.

Dips are a popular exercise in circuit training or military training to improve strength endurance. They should be performed with high reps to get this effect. If you are training outside, it is easy to use a bench, log, railing or wall to do the exercise.

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