Is maxing out a good idea?
As I swung myself across the monkey bars with “gay abandon” the other afternoon, a crowd gathered, curious to see what the foreign devil was up to.
It wasn’t any ole swing I was doing, you see.
I wasn’t simply going one rung at a time (which is something that is apparently not even easy for KIDS these days to do, let alone adults, who’d be doing well to even HANG on to the bar for any length of time) — and not simply going forward either.
I was doing them two — sometimes three rungs at a time, and I was doing them FAST — and I was going BOTH ways i.e. forward and backward.
The above might not sound like a lot, but I’ll tell you this — if you’re new to this type of training, you better proceed slowly — or you risk pulling a shoulder muscle or pec muscle — or worse.
And of course, as I’ve stated in the books on pull-ups — getting GOOD at this little exercise is one of the hidden keys to ape like grip strength (or as humanly close to it as you can get) and getting better at pull-ups in general.
Strangely enough, this one tip is the one that seems to be the most ignored. Go figure, huh?
Anyway, I’ve been hitting it hard and heavy these days — MUCH harder than usual.
I’ve been going hard on the cardio — so hard that it now seems I’m literally “waltzing” up the hill as opposed to climbing it being a cakewalk.
Four to five climbs in the afternoon heat seems to be nothing — and while I’m doing this for a certain purpose which I’ll reveal later, here is the kicker.
I’m still doing my pull-ups — and dips — and pushups — and handstand pushups — and you’d think I’d be cranking out super human numbers of reps on each of those, right?
Well, not exactly … not all the time, at any rate.
A guy who does pull-ups with me at the local park remarked, “You look so strong. How come you’re only doing 5 pull-ups per set?”
I smiled one of those inscrutable smiles.
Banged out 10 in the next set, and then dropped down to 4 — and then 5 — and went on that way, while the guy looked on, bemused.
One question which I’ve often got from the 0 Excuses faithful is this — Rahul, why don’t you just bang out the 250 pushups in a row?
Or, Rahul, why don’t you just do 50 x 5 during the workout?
Well, I could — and HAVE in the past, but thats not the point of me putting together a workout video for you, my friend.
First thing you know, most people are so out of shape that completing even 2 sets of 5 pushups in proper form is a chore — let alone more.
Second, it’s not always about doing ONE type of pushup. The workout videos show me doing a wide variety of pushups and other exercises — why — because changing things up keeps your workouts more interesting, and challenges your body to respond differently to the different types of pushups — and that is a GOOD thing, my friend.
Last, and most importantly, sure, I’ve done 500 Hindu squats in a row — but do I do that daily?
NO.
It’s NOT necessary to go for “broke” each day — or chances are you’ll actually be regressing in your workout as opposed to progressing.
I know this for a FACT.
When I got good at pull-ups, I thought I’d max out in every workout. And so I did — and for a short while it worked.
My reps increased, and I was getting through each workout even quicker — but then something stranger happened.
I couldn’t seem to hit the same number of reps — or sometimes even close to it during my workouts.
I’d feel fatigued — and “not ready to go” as it were.
And when I dropped down to a decent number of reps per set — and maxed out occasionally — BOOM — my gains shot right back up.
So there it is folks. I don’t care if you’re hoicking heavy weights (which you shouldn’t be anyway) — or doing bodyweight exercises — or swimming — or sprinting — the key is this — you do NOT max out every workout.
You leave something in the tank for the next one — and that’s really where the gains come from.
More on this later. For now, enjoy your weekend — and if you’re working out today — make it a great, great one!
Best,
Rahul Mookerjee
P.S. — For those interested in insane levels of “kung fu like” grip strength — here is the very course you need — https://0excusesfitness.com/gorilla-grip-the-compilation/.
P.S #2 — I might not be able to offer these two courses “for the price of one”, as it were — that “throwaway price” is NOT going to be applicable for much longer. Get your paws on it NOW, my friend.