I have to seriously start to work on my pull ups. I still can’t believe that I couldn’t do even first 5 reps without the chair! On the other hand I think it will be interesting to see how fast I can get my strength for pull ups back if I practice regularly. I decided to try Pavel Tsatsouline’s GTG method and I will do a few pull ups every hour or so. I will do that every day for a week and then I will let you know about my progress. Since Malta is famous for being a great location for rock climbing, I decided to take advantage of living on this beautiful island and try this sport for the first time in my life. That’s why I really want to work on the pull ups. If you guys have some good advice for me regarding rock climbing, I will greatly appreciate your comments.
Fast Death Workout
The name of this workout refers not only to the length, but also to the intensity. Move fast, don’t take any breaks, keep moving! The time is going fast and you have to beat me.
You will be doing jump tucks, one leg squats and pull ups. The workout goes like this: jump tuck, one leg squat on the left leg, jump squat, one leg squat on the right leg and repeat the whole thing 3 times, so that you get 6 one leg squats total and 6 jump tucks. Then move directly to the pull up bar, or rings and do 5 pull ups. This counts as 1 round. How many rounds can you do in 15 minutes? Try to do as many as you can. I did 10 full rounds, one set of squats and 2 pull ups. Frederick did a full 13 rounds, but he substituted the one leg dead lift instead of one leg squat. It’ s important for all of these workouts that you make them work for you. If you can follow the routine exactly the way I do it, then great – but if you need to make some modifications, then don’t hesitate. The important thing is that you work hard and you enjoy it at the same time.
Have an amazing workout!
Zuzana.
For the Jump Tuck try to get your knees as close to your chest as possible when you are in the air. We tried to do a picture of me in the air doing the Jump Tuck, but we just couldn’t take a decent picture, so on the photo above I am just showing the Jump Tuck on the ground. Imagine doing the same thing in the air and that’s the right Jump Tuck :)
One Leg Squat could be a hard exercise if you are trying it for the first time. If you can’t get your bum all the way down, then just try to do your best. You will get better and increase the depth of your One Leg Squat over time. If 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 easier.
When you are using the chair for Pull Ups, make sure that you are not just pushing your body up with your leg. You have to really engage your arms and back to pull yourself up. What I find helpful is to look up.
Zuzana, You inspire me sooooo much! I’m looking forward to doing this workout. Fortunately for me, regarding the pull-ups, the stalls in my horse barn have a bar over the door frames that I pull myself up on & I use my ford 8n tractor tire that’s parked in the isle way to help hoist myself up. How’s that for improvising :) This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. My horse thinks I’m nuts! And thank you for your reply the other day on my post regarding overeating vs eating a treat now & then. Your advice was well-taken. It’s dumb to overeat, period. And Frederick, thank you for your post on March 18, 2009 regarding “Cheating Days”. What you quoted bears repeating…”The longer I hold to a discipline the stronger that discipline becomes”…”Enjoying a well made desert or a piece of birthday cake, or even a bit of ice cream in the summer is ok, but the idea of eating junk just for the sake of eating junk is a complete turn off”…”The weeks I have invested into the discipline of clean eating are changing my perceptions about food – I have lost interest in gorging on cheap, low quality junk foods that are going to clog up my body”…”Scheduling a cheat day on a regular weekly basis would just serve to undermine the weeks of clean eating discipline I have established”…”I am never going to reach my fitness goals unless I maintain my discipline – and in the end reaching my goals is more important to me than eating a dairy queen cookie dough ice cream treat every week”.
Thanks again Zuzana & Frederick for your practical, common sense advice. I appreciate you both very much.
rock climbing, our 19 yr old son has always talked about Malta and taking a trip there. he has been rock climbing for 4 years and is currently rank 93 in the world. core strength is critical. Yoga has helped him too.
would love to see some footage of rock climbing and maybe some people at the popular spots climbing?
Hi Zuzana , How tall are you ? (if its not a secret , afcourse ) …
yay the site is working again. It was down all day. I did 10 rounds. I use the chair for both pull ups and one knee squats. I slowed down at the end to watch my form because my knee started hurting.
Hey!
I just discovered your youtube account which led me to your awesome website. I have some problems and would like some of your advice. I’ve been gaining a lot of weight lately, and it doesn’t seem to stop. My doctor says I’m overweight, and I’m getting really self conscience of my figure. I want to become fit and have a healthier body. What do you recomend me to do? And what kind of exercise should I start to do? Please respond to my message. Thanks.
Hi Zuzana,
I just started checking out your site and i really like your workouts. Its also really cool to hear you getting into rock climbing! It’s so fun and can be a great workout. A couple tip for starting off: 1)Finger and wrist stretching will help your hand strength 2) learn to relax on the wall, your forearms will get pumped quickly in the beginning – don’t fight it. Instead of grinding it out until you fall off the wall, relax, rest, and breathe to get passed it. 3) All core exercises will help with those funky positions and weird reaches that you will find yourself in.
Hope some of this helps!)
Cau Zuzano!
For rock climbing it doesn’t really matter how many chin up that you can do; grip strength and toe strength is more important then anything else.
If you want to condition for rock climbing you should focus on hanging from things by your fingertips for as long as you can. Then practice focusing all you body weight just onto your big toes. Often when you are rock climbing your toes are supporting all your weight, so you need to be able to comfortably exert that amount of force in order to stay on whatever rock is available on the wall. I have a girl friend who can easily do 8 wide grip pull ups, but when I take her out climbing she is literarily screaming with pain from her calfs and toes burning!
When it come to rock climbing your whole body is important, but I would say that those two areas, finger grip and toes, are the most critical. If you don’t have the endurance and strength in your forearms you wont last very long, no matter how many chin up you can do, and if you can’t focus your weight onto your tip toes its going to limit your ability to climb as well.
So, train your grip (forearms and finger strength and endurance) by hanging from stuff for as long as you can, because that is what you are going to end up doing when you are rock climbing. Especially as a beginner, you spend a long time hanging on the rock while trying to figure out what to do, so that really makes forearm endurance important! And training to maintain weight and balance on your big toes will be your saving grace when your forearms can no longer hold on.
Most of the time you are pushing yourself up with you feet rather then pull your self up by the arms (althought sometimes you have to obviously!)
Zuzana, I know that you have the upper body strength to climb, so try these tips and remember when you practice your chin ups, do so with your palms away form you because that is the general position that you are in when pulling yourself up a rock face.
Im really excited for you! I hope that you love your rock climbing experience!
Rock on ;)
Lucka
Ahoj Zuzko,
to víš, svaly něco váží a obvykle víc než sádlo:-)
Na druhou stranu, to zase dobře plave:-)
Kolik vážíš a měříš?
Nezdá se mě, že by jsi měla slabé paže :-)
.. To tedy opravdu neeee.
Zkus se vždy přitáhnou velmi zprudka (rychle) a pomoci si tělem i nohama tzv. sebou mrsknout a ušetřený čas při zdvihu použít k odpočinku zavěšená. Na pomalé zdvihání je potřeba víc síly.
Zkrátka, zkus nejdřív pilovat techniku.
This exercise was reallyyyyyyyyyyy intensiiveeeeee!
I did first 20 minutes of cardio workout, it was very hard but i done!
I love ittttt!
Thanks for all that you do!
I love your website!
Saludos desde Monterrey
Mexico!
Amazing workout, thanks for all the videos you share with us, yo uare blessed. Greetings from NYC.
Ouch, ouch, ouch. That’s all I can say. However having said that, I loved this workout and can really feel the results. My upper body strength needs some serious attention and these pull-ups will do the trick. I’m trying your suggestion of doing more exercises throughout the day. Today when we were home for lunch break, my boyfriend came downstairs to find me doing them and he thinks I am losing it. But wait until I can beat him in the number of Pull Ups! Thanks Zuzana.
yes, i used to rock climb 4 times a week and i agree with L. u need legs, deep core and flexibility. yoga helps A LOT. the guys that rely on comando style rock climbing have no endurance. foot work is also very important. And one more thing, after you start rock climbing your fingers might hurt for a while, up until u build ligament strength. MSM really helps with that. and the best advice ever is a super advanced climbing buddy :)
Hi Z. I really enjoy the workouts you do, and I’m fine with all your exercises, but… the one leg squat is killing me, how can I get to do the one leg squat like you do? Thank you, and “Ciao” from Italy.
Mark.
Hi Mark – there are some tips at the end of the video. You can also place a chair directly beside you and use it for support and to take some of the weight off of your leg. Try this a few times and you should build the strength you need to do the one leg squat unassisted.
You should try bending your legs up when doing pull-ups–it helps me out.
As a mixed martial artist/ training instructor I am glad to say i enjoy watching your videos and learning a few things about new moves and going over new techniques through personal and physical development. It is interesting to find out that you are pushing yourself to do your best, instead of giving up on a routine. I have the same work out routine where i will do martial arts 30-40 hrs a week with a mix of cardio and kickboxing along with full time work and school. It is uplifting as it educating to the mind to help in my daily workout routine, thank you.
Sean