newsletter archives
Discipline of steel #36
1) Road to Pull-up: Stage 3.
2) I’ll help you design your workout.
3) How to use obstacles to get fitter.
4) What is a good excuse?
Read time: 4.2 minutes
Hey warriors,
One of your fellow students recently shared his story with me and had some interesting questions.
While I’m not sure I can share the details of his condition, I thought you’d benefit from part of my answer to him.
If you’ve ever considered using sleeves and other joint supports, keep reading.
And I’ll go straight to the point, I’m not a fan of them.
Athletes may need them to compete, while other people may need them to relieve pain and help them in their daily lives.
But if you need them to exercise, you probably shouldn’t exercise, or at least you shouldn’t exercise that hard.
Training with joint support is like learning to walk with a crutch.
You’re not building strength where you should and it becomes dangerous the day you try lifting without it.
And if you have an injury, you’re probably making it worse by taking on more than you can handle.
It’s always better to start very small, where it doesn’t hurt, and slowly work your way up as your strength increases and your joints get tougher.
Not only is it the safe way, it’s also the best way to progress and make solid gains.
For a more detailed explanation, you can read this article I wrote about joint supports.
PS: save this email in a special folder, so you can easily find any stage of the Road to Pull-up series whenever you need it. 👍
If you need any help with your training, please let me know by replying to this email and I’ll share my answer with everyone.
Now let’s start! 💪
1. Road to Pull-up: Stage 3.
This is going to make the biggest difference for your pull-up strength.
So make sure you spend enough time on this exercise to not only build strength but also master the form.
Here’s how you will do it:
3 sets of max repetitions with good form and 1.5 minute rest, twice a week with at least 2 rest days in between.
Max repetitions with good form means you must stop when you feel like you won’t be able to go through full range of motion (from straight arms to chest touching the bar).
As usual, start with a higher bar and switch to a lower one as you get stronger.
When you can do 3 sets of 15 reps on a 1 meter high bar (3 ft 3), you’re ready for stage 4.
However, your long term goal for this exercise should be mastery.
And I would define mastery as being able to do 25 reps through full range of motion, at a low angle (<45°), and slow tempo.
Click this link for the full YouTube video and instructions.
Or click here if you haven’t completed Stage 2 yet.
2. Design your own workout and I’ll review it.
Here's how to design your own workout with Enso Bodyweight Training System.
(Works with any type of resistance training.)
Identify your main goal for a given muscle group (example: doing 5 pull-ups).
Divide your workout into 5 parts:
1. Standard Warm-up Routine
2. One strength exercise
3. Two strength endurance exercises
4. One core exercise
5. Stretches
Your strength exercise is the closest thing to your goal that you are currently able to do.
The resistance should be a sweet spot where you can only perform 3 to 5 reps with perfect form.
Do 3 sets.
Your strength endurance exercises work the same muscle group but at different angles. You should do 3 sets of 15 to 20 reps with a resistance that only allows you to do that much with correct form.
It's a very simple system that requires minimum knowledge.
Exercise:
Define one goal and use the framework above to design a workout to achieve it.
Send it to me and I’ll review it for you! 😊🤝
3. This is part of the game, accept it.
There will be a lot of tough times on your fitness journey, and it's a good thing.
Take every difficult thing you encounter not as an obstacle, but as a challenge that is part of the game.
You can only win if you accept every one of these challenges and keep playing.
In fact, you are guaranteed to win if you keep playing. That's how the fitness game works.
But for that you need to recognize that your schedule, your mood, your muscle soreness, and everything else you use as an excuse are part of it.
They are not exceptional events, they will always happen or be there.
Not only that, they are what the game is about.
It is when you face them and choose consistency as a response that you can get what you want.
Only when you accept the game can you win.
4. Sometimes you do have a good excuse.
Sometimes your excuse to skip a workout is a valid one.
If you haven't slept properly for example.
It's a good idea, maybe not to skip, but to postpone your workout to the next day.
Because if you do train, it’s rest you're skipping.
And nothing good ever came out of that.
Don't let guilt make you forget one of the most important principles of training.
Progress happens during recovery.
So if you're really not in a state to train, remember this: there is a time for grinding and there is a time for taking care of yourself.
You will never reach your goals faster by skipping recovery.
On the contrary, this is the surest way to injury and detaining.
And that is the surest way yo waste your time and delay your goals.
Learn to recognize when you do have a good excuse.
“If you realize you have enough, you are truly rich.” ― Lao Tzu
