As part
of my 2014 weight loss challenge I've been contemplating taking on a physical
challenge and then yesterday I stumbled across an article called Do More Than One Stinking Pull-Up.
It
reminded me of a "Superstars" competition run by my junior school’s
PE teacher. One of the challenges was who could do the most "chin
ups" as we called them. The winner was the skinniest, unhealthiest kid in
the class who had the advantage of only having to lift half the weight of
everyone else.
Having to
lift nearly 15 stone is one of the reasons I currently can't do a single chin
up or pull up. It's something that us men are supposed to be able to do and if
I didn’t have such weedy arms then maybe lifting nearly 15 stone wouldn’t be a problem.
Women
have an excuse for being rubbish at chin ups. Sports scientists say that women have less upper-body mass than men which means their natural upper body strength
is about 50 to 60 per cent as strong as a man’s. Pull-ups are so much more difficult for women that the US marines have delayed introducing pull-ups as a fitness test for women after fewer than half of female recruits managed the minimum 3 pull ups (which is 3 more than I can do right now).
As a man I can’t use science as an excuse. There is no avoiding the fact that I can’t do chin ups because I’m too heavy and too week in my upper body. And so I’ve found my physical challenge for 2014. My aim is to do not one but 10 (yes 10) chin ups by following the Art of Manliness’s tips on how to Do More Than One Stinking Pull-Up.
The catch-22 is that the programme starts with one pull-up! Fortunately I found a great tip in the comments section, if you can't do one start with a "pull-down", which means jumping up to the finish position and lowering you body to the starting position. (I've found I can do this, so it's a start).
As a man I can’t use science as an excuse. There is no avoiding the fact that I can’t do chin ups because I’m too heavy and too week in my upper body. And so I’ve found my physical challenge for 2014. My aim is to do not one but 10 (yes 10) chin ups by following the Art of Manliness’s tips on how to Do More Than One Stinking Pull-Up.
The catch-22 is that the programme starts with one pull-up! Fortunately I found a great tip in the comments section, if you can't do one start with a "pull-down", which means jumping up to the finish position and lowering you body to the starting position. (I've found I can do this, so it's a start).
Watch
this space!
DAY FOUR NOTES
WEIGHT: 14 stone 8lb (healthy range 9 stone 7lb to 12 stone 12lb)
WAIST: 36-39 inches/94-99 cms (depends if I'm breathing in or out)
BMI: 28.4 (healthy range 18.5 to 25)
ACTION: Ran and walked 4 miles, did 12 x 1 "pull downs", drank lots of water, stayed off the biscuits, snacked on fruit and homemade popcorn
Tomorrow: The crazy stuff that happens when men ask for help
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