badass status

It all began with the pull-up.

That was the end of my ambition-less, unmotivated, half-ass working out. It was the end of the steady-state treadmill running that was getting me nowhere. It was the end of avoiding working heavy on my shoulder and back muscles. It was the end of worrying about my weight more than my strength.

I started my pull-up training sometime in early September 2015. I hoped to do one before I left for a long trip in late October although I knew it was a long shot. In my zest to "hurry up and do one", I read countless articles and watched dozens of videos on training to do a pull-up. Each new article or video led me to a new idea or a new training program. I was so excited that I kept bouncing around erratically from one to another. Although I do not recommend this scatterbrained approach to others, I was somewhat successful. In fact, by the time I left I could do >90% of a pull-up - I just couldn't get the bottom pull.

My trip proved to be a substantial setback because I was not able to find a pull-up bar (even at a park!) and therefore lost 2.5 weeks of practice, which, as it turns out, practice is super critical for getting the pull-up. I was very disappointed, but still determined. I chose a program and stuck with it this time. I started practicing chin-ups, which I had avoided previously. Also a stupid move!

So from mid-November to the end of the year, I greased the groove. I did Australian (or reverse) pull-ups on my daughter's gymnastics bar and I alternated chin-up and pull-up negatives, ~5 days a week. On Dec 20, I got my first dead-hang chin-up, and another, and another (short breaks in between)! I got to a set of 3 pretty quickly!

On Dec 27, on a whim, I decided to try a pull-up AND I DID IT! And again! And again! And again! I did 4 pull-ups with 1-2 minute breaks in between my first time. What a freaking fabulous moment. I finally achieved badass status (because to me any woman who can do a dead-hang pull-up is a badass).

Fast forward 3 weeks, I am currently following the 50 pull-ups training program to increase my reps. I made it to 10 pull-ups in a day, but only 1 rep at a time. I started the program on 1/5 and haven't completed the first cycle yet. The training has me doing only sets of negatives and I can't test myself for a few more days. My goal is a set of 3 (and a better video)!!!

This is my one of my first pull-ups.