Hello, hello :0)
I am very happy today. I had a great workout and I am in great mood. Maybe because of the workout :) It was so hard and so painful. I just loved it. I know that the squats with knee ups might look like a sissy exercise – guys would think that for sure, but believe me it is an ass ripper! I did 20 reps of the Prisoner Squats with Knee Ups and 5 Pull Ups per round. It ’s been so long since I have practiced pull ups that I feel like I am almost a complete beginner. It is just about practice tho. Every exercise that seems hard to you right now (like pull ups or one leg squats) will be easy to do very soon if you practice it on a regular basis. If you don’t have a pull up bar at home or the rings, then look into getting them. Seriously. I am not trying to make you spend money for some worthless gimmick. With pull ups alone, you can develop very nice muscles on your back and give your upper body really nice shape. The other cool thing is that if you have nicely developed lean upper back muscles it will make your waist appear smaller.
Today’s workout will take you only 15 minutes, so set your timer before you start. You will be doing 20 reps of the Prisoner Squats with Knee Up and 5 Pull Ups. Try to do as many rounds as you can. I completed 11 rounds and 9 squats.
Beat me if you can :)
Zuzana.
Prisoner Squats with Knee Up
Start by standing with your hands behind your head and your feet slightly wider then hip width apart. Squat down and try to go as low as you can without turning your knees in. Also pay attention that your knees don’t go over your toes. Keep your chest up and shoulders down.
Rise up and bring one knee up really high towards your opposite elbow. Turn your upper body so that your elbow can reach your opposite knee. This exercise is targeting not only your legs and glutes, but also your core muscles including your abs. Not to mention that it is a great cardio. You will love it! :)
Pull Ups
You can use pull up bar, gymnastic rings or a tree branch :) Grab the bar (rings, tree branch) so that your palms are facing away from you. You can use a chair for support. Put one foot on the chair to help pull up your body.
Pull your body up until your chin is higher then your hands. Lower yourself back to the floor and use the chair for support if you need to.
I have a pull up bar called the Iron Gym. It is great and works in most doorways and you don’t install it. It is awesome and only costs $29.99 US. We have them at pharmacy stores, but they are available by mail. The IRON gym rocks my world. I have been training and I did one single full body weight pull up in one week. My goal is 5 by Christmas.
Simple, yet awesome workout, hitting the major muscle groups. Calling it the ‘Drag Me To Hell Workout’ has inspired me to tweak it a bit. Hell to me is infinite Burpees. So I’m going to see how many burpees-to-pullups I can do in 15 minutes.
Also, 3 suggestions for those who aren’t able to do too many full pull-ups yet (please correct me if I’m wrong; I may look like a gold medal gymnast, but I just play one on TV):
(1) I like to place the chair behind me, bend my knees and place the tops of my toes (both feet) on the chair. This seems to make it easy to limit the amount of support I derive from the chair to just as much as needed;
(2) “Kipping Pull-ups” (Search for it on youtube, especially from the crossfit folks – I have zero affiliation). I thought it was ‘cheating’ at first, but if you’re going for as many pullups as possible as fast as possible to exhaustion and only counting the ones where your chin is fully extended above the bar, I guarantee you are burning all the same muscle groups as a regular pullup. I still do regular pullups, but Kipping Pullups are not to be laughed at.
(3) Reverse rows – if you can set up the pullup bar or rings low enough, you can pull yourself up with your legs fully extended in front of you and your body in a full plank position. Think of it as the opposite of a pushup. This does alter the specific muscles you’re working, but you’re still in the same ballpark.
Thanks!!!
Hey Joe,
thanks for the ideas.
haha I’m embarrassed to even tell you, but I did 5 rounds and 20 squats. I’m not upset though. it was really tough, I worked hard, and broke a great sweat!
Obviously, I couldn’t do a full pull up, so I used a chair for assistance. Looking forward to more practice :)
Thanks Z!
Hi Everyone,
There are things you can do as alternatives to pull ups. One that pops in to mind is Lat Pull Downs as on (strangely enough) a Lat Pull Down Machine. Not something most people have at home. Maybe both push ups and barbell (or dumbbells) rows combined would cover most of the muscles involved.
You could also grab the trim over a door or the door itself. Both have some hazard of sharp edges and splinters which can be avoided by using a towel or gloves. Of course you could also accidentally damage or pull the trim off the door frame. Not likely to pull the door off it’s hinges unless there is poor quality craftsmanship involved. Also you could lean a ladder up and use a rung as the pull up bar (again maybe with a towel or gloves).
And for those who would like to use “rings”…3/4″ 90 degree elbows for electrical conduit can be used as simple “rings” if you pass a piece of rope or cargo strap thru them. I could take images of ones I’ve made awhile back and post them at Flickr (my link).
–Chris
To Alexa
Hi, I just wanted to respond to Alexa’s comment, ’cause I thing I might be able to explain her weight loss.
I wonder if you are breast feeding, because if you didn’t gain much weight during pregnancy, breastfeeding will make you super skinny. As in my case, I was soo skinny like never before, my family thought I was sick and all were worried for my health. I guess the body needs lots of energy and food to make all the milk supply and eventually it starts taking it from your storage (fat deposits)…haha. But beware, once you’ll stop breastfeeding you will gain the original weight back + more. But this will take some months. I think for me it took over 6 months before I became the normal size. Also I ate all the time and anything I felt like during the time I was breastfeeding, but the weight kept coming of. I was skinny like Zuzana, but without the muscle tone… it felt good though.
Hi Zuzana,
thank you so much for another amazing workout idea. I’ve been going to the gym for a long time, and once in a while a girl needs some change. I cannot tell you how amazing it is to find someone like yourself doing workouts that are challenging and fun. Amazing :)
Thanks
………….AssRipper? hahahahahahahahahaha!
10 rounds squats–9 rounds pull ups. I utilized your very helpful tip of the chair as assist for the pull ups,it was slightly difficult because my chair was still low and I had to give a little jump to complete the pull up. Even my thighs were hurting at the end of 9 rounds. I didn’t like the unbalanced rounds at the 15 minutes mark,so I did the last 10th round of pull ups. I have a roman chair frame with an attached bar on the back side in our garage. I am actually happy that I will now be able to practice doing the modified chair assist pull ups. I went inside and did 5 rounds of the LIGHT STRETCH-TONE WORKOUT. Instead of 30 Cross Crunches I did 50 each round. My arms are still sore,at 12:39am! But, I feel fantastic!
Zuzana -
If you’re going to use your legs to assist your pullups, you should alternate legs. If you only assist with the left leg (as in the video), you are eventually going to end up with a series of imbalances, starting with the lower back and eventually producing shoulder problems.
I love your workouts, hope that you continue this for some time as its such great motivation!!!
Greetings from AZ desert, Awsome as usual. Cool dog.
Mark McPherson, I think we’re smart enough to have figured that one. Thanks anyway.
As an ex gymnast I know pullups, dips and leg lifts are the key! THis is a great piece of excercize equipment that lets you do pullups, abs, dips, pushups and more. I bought mine at wallgreens but found it here for you all! Zuzana Rocks!
Power Trainer Pro (& Iron Gym)
https://www.asseenontv.com/offers_on_demand/igym_ood_ontv.html
Hi there, I love your site. So you used to live in Canada? Do you miss it? I’m from Nova Scotia, Canada and I have been following your site since about early August this year. I have not had a very active lifestyle however your site has been inspiring me to change that. I am about to turn 40 (god help me) and with your site I will hopefully feel and look better for the next 40+ years.
I have always been a bit of an experimenter with food, at least my family thinks that I eat weird. I absolutely love the cinnamon raisin, pear, sprout sandwich, so much so that I have to eat both slices, I cannot wait for 2 hours to eat the other slice.
You may be interested in reading “The Thrive Diet” by Brendan Brazier, a fellow Canadian, professional ironman triathlete. It is an interesting read and there are some good recipes as well which I have incporporated into my life.
Blessings
Christine L
Hello Zuzana~do you feel like the muscles that connect your neck and your shoulders have gotten bigger? I’m not saying they have because yours looks great :) I think it’s perhaps because you have a nice long neck, but I’ve noticed that for me at least, that muscle’s building fast for some reason and I wasn’t sure if you had any other suggestions besides pull-ups–before my neck starts to become like a man’s :P. Are most of your other shoulder exercises safe for that? Also, I love pushups but I think a woman with not-a-big chest should be careful or the sternum really alters in shape, and so does the chest. haha I’m sorry, I hope that this doesn’t throw you off, but do you have some suggestions for that too? Thank you! have a peaceful Sunday.
Hello! I am Cátia! Usually see all your exercises … i´m huge fan yours! Wanted to know where I can get a gymnastic rings like yours? KisseIs
Hi, I’m new here. Just happened upon this site yesterday and the workouts look very challenging. I just jumped in on this one today though I’m not in the greatest shape right now. I’ve just been sporadically exercising here and there doing some Zumba, P**X(too out of shape for this right now), some biking, walking but not really sticking with anything and being inconsistent, going for long periods doing nothing at all. I have a tendency to jump into things with a lot steam and gusto only to burn out quickly. I ended up doing 7 1/2 or 8 1/2 rounds in 15 mins. I’m not used to doing these timed workouts and lost count, (LOL!) plus had an interruption halfway through and had to pause for a few minutes and restart :(. I do have a pull-up bar that fits in a doorway but must have a chair to assist. I’m still working on getting those right… not sure if I’m doing them effectively. It sometimes feels like I’m using my legs to push me up (either/both the one on the chair or the one on the ground) instead of really using my arms to pull. I really have to concentrate on this. I can see where having a trainer guiding you would be a real plus to make sure you’re doing things right and not just spinning wheels. Any tips on making sure I’m doing those pull ups right?
Hey I’m confused about what is the difference between a chin-up and a pull up? I’m not quite sure what I’m doing now.
Hi Colleen,
When I pull myself up with palms facing towards me, then I call it chin ups and pull ups when the palms are facing away.
Zuzana
what ever happened with the pull up challenge?
Ive been watching you now and then, i use some of your workouts in my pilates mat classes. I think you are awesome, and damn in shape. I have been teaching pilates for a little more than a year now. I love it so much. I start yoga training next month. Can’t wait.
thanks
Michelle
Hey Z, thanks for the reply. I took @joe’s advice this morning (just trying different pull-up styles and techniques to see what works best for me right now) with the chair behind me and what a difference! I can barely budge maybe a centimeter or so off the chair. I’ve definitely been using my legs the other way and was not doing anything for my upper body. I also saw your other pull-up challenge post and tried also just lifting my knees and dead hanging– both very tough for me. I’m going to try working on just the hanging and knee lifts for now everyday to see if I can build myself up to eventually a negative pull-up and then a pull-up. Thanks for the tips.
Hey Zuzana and Fedrick,
My husband and I have been following your daily workout routine. We really like it. It’s quick and the amount of time is short. =) Both of us did 13 rounds. Not sure if we are going too fast.
[...] you have problems with your knees, then it would be wise to avoid this exercise altogether. Check this link to a previous video where at the end I show you two quick ways to modify this exercise to make it [...]
You wrote: “I did 20 reps of the Prisoner Squats with Knee Ups”
Silly question:
Are you counting 1 rep as one squat and one knee up?
Or one squat one knee up, and then one squat and opposite knee up?
And Thank you for posting these workouts. They are simple (but still kick your butt bigtime) and really effective. I’ve started incorporating them into my workout schedule and can feel the results. Keep up the great inspiring work.
Hello – I’m a girl who can hold a flexed arm hang on the pull-up bar for 70 seconds. However, I would really like to be able to do some pull-ups. My question is this: for training, is it better to do the “cheating” pull-ups like above, with a chair, or is it okay to do an “assisted pull up,” where your feet remain on the ground and you pull yourself up at an incline? Which is better?
Thanks and I love your workout routines!
I did this workout yesterday, because Zuzana had not posted her work out for yesterday. Last time, I did 10 rounds in 15 minutes. This time, I did 11 rounds :)
This workout looks great… I’m a college student & headed to the rec right now but wanted to get some ideas from you.
you are seriously my goal body. (not trying to be creepy haha)
thanks for the inspiration!!
:)
I REALLY appreciate these work outs and your website period! i”ve never been the type to workout but you’ve shown me that workouts don’t have to be repetitious and boring. BodyRockTv is so freakin AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tHANX for the daily Encouragements;-)
This is kinda like Crossfit Cindy, which is 5 pull-up, 10 push-ups and 15 squat for 20mins, do as many as possible. i did twice, 16 rounds and 19 rounds. i didn’t need any assistance for pull-up. will try this routine for sure and post result here.
Obsessed with your body, energy and motivation. :)
I just finished this workout and my arms are so tired, they don’t really even like me typing. I was only able to do 8 rounds and 8 squats. I blame the pullups. They really slowed me down!
Krásný je že říkáš pejskovi pac a šikovnej :o) Je fajn vedět že i tak daleko používáš na pejska české výrazy… Mám sestřenku a ta si bude kupovat pejska ale myslím že tím že bydlí v Anglii bude používat výrazy anglické…