Back And Bicep Workout...

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DIY Pegboard...

Isn’t she lovely?! Now cease that jealous stare! For you can have one like she! All that’s needed is some wood, a pillar drill, screws, a hand drill, broomsticks and a smidgen of DIY knowledge. If you ain’t got any of these continue jealous stare!

The steps we took:

Step One: Get some wood at least 3 inches thick and 40-50cm wide.
Find something solid like pine, oak, plywood but not MDF. The wood should be 40-50cm wide so that the average pillar drill can make holes in the centre. The height can vary but it should be long enough to allow several holes to be drilled into it.

And the thickness of the wood should be at least 3 inches thick to accommodate the holes and provide a secure housing for the pegs.

You could use an old bench or tabletop for example, we used four old bedposts and screwed them together. If your better half wakes up and objects to your sawing of the bed we suggest you find some wood elsewhere.



Step Two: Drill 30mm holes about 2 ½ inches in.
Mark the peg holes where you want them. Leave at least 30mm space between the holes and if you’ve had to fix pieces of wood together take care not to drill into any screws!

If you don’t have access to a pillar drill then beg, borrow and steal one. Hand drills won’t do as the holes are very unlikely to be straight.

Drill the holes about 2 ½ inches in where you marked them. (if you’re doing this on your own then practise with some scrap wood first).



Step Three: 28mm broom handle, Cut two 7inch lengths (pegs)
As easy as it sounds.

There should be 2mm diameter difference between the hole and the pegs to make it easy to put them in and take them out.



Step Four: Make her look fancy
Put down the make-up and the lipstick, freak!!!

Just sand down all her rough edges as well as the pegs.

Then add varnish. The water resistant stuff is good because you can mount her outside (what an interesting sentence - perhaps some lipstick wouldn’t go a miss).



Step Five: Put her on wall
Securely screw two pieces of wood longer than the width of the pegboard at the back of the board. We’ll call them the pegboard wings. One should be toward the bottom and the other towards the top. We used 3cm thick decking that was 80cm long.

Get 8 long screws and raw plugs. (You want to go at least 3 inches into the wall to make it completely secure). We used 10x100mm screws and plugs.

Drill 2 equally spaced holes on either side of the exposed wings.

Mark a hole on the wall roughly. Drill it, plug it then screw the pegboard to the wall using just the one screw. Hold the board straight or ask someone to help you. Mark the rest of the holes with the drill. Take the pegboard down, drill and plug the rest of the holes and screw her into the wall.

All we had to pay for was the screws. Everything else we found in the shed.

Here’s a video of the finished product being used:

The Farmer's Walk...

Squat down, grab two heavy objects, stand-up and walk. That's it, lesson over!

Ahh actually...make sure to push your heels into the ground when you stand-up and when near lockout, explosively squeeze your glutes rather than using your lower back.

And...take short choppy controlled steps. If you are able to take long strides the weight you're using is probably to light.

The staple of strongmen competitions the farmer's walk will work your grip, forearms, shoulders, upper back, glutes and your legs. Your abdominals, hips and lower back will also come into play to stabilize you.

Here's a nicely edited vid from our pal Val from Rawfit.co.uk showing how it's done:

The One Arm Barbell Snatch!!!

Gotch Ups (Revisited)...

Here's an exercise that we posted back in late 2009 and thought it was good enough to post twice. It's inspired Mr Karl Gotch and is a tough exercise requiring dexterity and upper body strength.

1. Stand to one side of a dip bar (or other suitable frame) and grab hold of the bar. Your training partner stands a few steps behind you and holds your feet/ankles at about waist height.



2. Lower your hips to the ground and feel the stretch in your chest and abs.



3. Contract your core and at the same time pull up so your chest is just above the bar and your arms bent.



4. Push away from the bar whilst raising your proud posterior in the air and unfortunately in your training partners face (or fortunately depending on how fond you are of your training partner).

5. Rinse and repeat.

One Arm-Inverted Rows...

Exercise description here.

The Human Flag...

Batfinks AKA Bodyweight Vertical Rows...

Batfinks work your back, shoulders and abs. Getting into position can be tricky if you haven't got the core strength as your abs and lower back act as a brace. So strengthen them by doing exercises such as hanging leg raises/planks for the abs and alternating supermans for your lower back.

Checkout one of our very old clips of a basic batfink. It demonstrates how to get into position but rather than having your legs tucked into your chest you slowly raise them straight up whilst using your core and lower back to keep balance.

The batfink pictured above is kinda like the bodyweight equivalent of the vertical row but much more impressive with strength transfer to more muscles.

Renegade Rows...

We scoured the net for the best executed Renegade Rows. Just as we were about to give up we stumbled upon this fellow from Bulgaria. Odd choice of gym attire but great form.



1 - Using dumbells or kettlebells get into a push up position with your feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart (as your core strength develops bring your feet closer together).

2 - Draw one dumbell up so that your fist is just below your chest and squeeze your back. Fight the urges to twist your body, sag your hips and or bring a foot off the ground.

3 - Lower the weight in a controlled manner so that the weight gently returns to the floor.

4 - Rinse and repeat with the other arm.

This exercise targets the abs, back and shoulders.

Getting Schooled...

A couple of weeks ago Housemate Heather and I bumped into Lemar AKA LMTGJ and his compadre Jeff whilst out training at Primrose Hill. It's the first time I've met peeps from youtube's bodyweight exercising fraternity and it was a pleasure!

These young fellas are a marvel, not just in the skills they possess but also in the focus and dedication they put into achieving them.

Last weekend I joined these dedicated scholars of the bar and their crew in session. Even with a small window of time to train their expert advice and pointers took me giant leaps and bounds in mastering the elusive muscle ups.

Here's a video of Lemar, on the bar cranking out muscle ups, dips and more...



With Lemar and Jeff schooling me watch this space for my muscle up vid!

The Ify One.

L-Pull Ups...

The L-Pull Up (overhand grip) or the L-Chin Up (underhand grip) are great exercises which teach the body to function as a unit. The back, forearms, biceps, core and thighs are recruited to perform this beast.

The above pic shows Allison Bishop of CrossfitObsession and her pal Alicia Kostka cranking out perfect form L-Pull Ups.

The progression prescription is pretty straightforward but may take some weeks:

1. If you are still mastering the pull/chin up start off by holding the mid point of these exercises for a few seconds.

2. As you get stronger move on to negative pulls/chins (thunder birds) in your next sessions.

3. If you can perform a fair few negatives then in your subsequent sessions crank out pulls/chins but pay particular attention to controlling the decent and fighting gravity all the way down.

4. Now that you are more comfortable with the pulls/chins in your next few workouts you now need to progress to doing them as if you are sat in an imaginary chair. Legs should be bent with your thighs and the soles of your feet parallel to the floor. If this proves too difficult repeat steps 1-3 in this chair sitting position.

5. Now for the "L." Grab the bar and raise your legs so that they are parallel to the floor. Keep your core tight and away you go! If you can't get your legs perfectly straight incorporate more quad (thighs) and hamstring (backs of legs) stretches in your workouts.

If you master the L-Pull/Chin Up and fancy taking it up another notch try the one arm L-Sit for size:

Swiss Ball Leg Curl…AKA…

The Missus rarely remembers names of exercises and isn’t great at describing them either but she has come up with an ingenious name for the Swiss Ball Leg Curl which neither she nor anyone reading this will forget – “Vag**a In The Air.”



This move is great for addressing imbalances between the front and the back of the body. The ego muscles in the front of our bodies tend to get all the attention whilst our rear halfs get little.

The Swiss Ball Leg Curl works the hamstrings, glutes, calves, back and core.

1. Lie on your back with your arms out to your sides, legs extended and heels resting on the top of a Swiss ball.

2. Raise your hips off the floor (or ladies put your vag**a in the air) and roll the ball towards your buttocks whilst bending your knees. Contract your core and hold this position for a second.

3. Slowly roll back out and do the movement again.

One Arm Assisted Pull Up...

One Arm-Inverted Rows...

The bar you use for this must enable you to fully extend your arm and get a full stretch in your back. Throughout the move the only part of your body in contact with the floor is your feet.

Gotch Ups...

Inspired by Mr Karl Gotch (see yesterday's video update). The Gotch up is a tough exercise requiring dexterity and upper body strength.

1. Stand to one side of a dip bar (or other suitable frame) and grab hold of the bar. Your training partner stands a few steps behind you and holds your feet/ankles at about waist height.



2. Lower your hips to the ground and feel the stretch in your chest and abs.



3. Contract your core and at the same time pull up so your chest is just above the bar and your arms bent.



4. Push away from the bar whilst raising your proud posterior in the air and unfortunately in your training partners face (or fortunately depending on how fond you are of your training partner).

5. Rinse and repeat.

The Flying Carpet (Bartendaz inspired)

The Flying Carpet is a member of the pull up family and close cousin of the L-pull up.

Inspired by the artistes of the bar, the Bartendaz this exercise hits the back, shoulders, abs and thighs!

For more inspired moves and a much crisper version of The Flying Carpet visit the keeper of all things Bartendaz, Mr Farisi Daniel.

*NB* Please consult a doctor before starting any new exercise programme.

Ladies There Are No Excuses!!!!!

The first lady has the disadvantage of the wall being so close to her legs so she can't use any leg momentum to aid her pull-ups. So my money would be on her if they were competing!!

Checkout - www.gubernatrix.co.uk and www.visionquester2.blogspot.com

The Back That Pull-Ups Built!!!

Push Chair Crunch Chair

This exercise hits every major upper body muscle and of course the abs.

The Push Chair Crunch Chair (sorry couldn't think of a quirky catchy name) is a real beast of an exercise that will develop not only your chest and abs but also your triceps, biceps, shoulders and back.

The cruch part of the exercise if done on thick carpet is intense but well worth the effort if you want nut cracking abs!!

Tips -

(1) Too increase the intensity on your chest try to go as deep as is comfortable between the chairs.

(2) Before you start to crunch your abs to bring your legs forward make sure to tilt your pelvis up to stop your back sagging. If your back sags too much that means you've gone farther than your midsection can cope with.

(3) Imagine your abs are a wet sponge and when you get to the top of the movement try to squeeze all the water out.

(4) Make sure the chairs you use are strong and sturdy.

(5) Make sure that immediatley behind the roller chair there is a wall or something really strong and sturdy to stop it from rolling away on your way back.

*NB* Please consult a doctor before starting any new exercise programme.

Batfinks AKA Vertical Rows

This is a fandabulous exercise for building strength in your back and it works your abs really well too.

Tips -
(1)So you are using your back rather than your biceps don't grip with your thumbs. So your grip should be like the picture on the right:

(2) Plus as you're doing the movement mentally focus on your back.

(3) If you are finding it hard to balance in a Batfink then work on your lower abs by doing hanging leg raises or planks! Your lower abs act as a craddle in the Batfink.

*NB* Please consult a doctor before starting any new exercise programme.