pull-ups assessment

I asked myself how sporty I am really, I wish I could do more pull ups, dahhh... probably I should train more...
but for the moment this is where I am realistically.


pull-ups assessment:
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https://rumble.com/v6s965j-pull-ups-call.html


Where do you score in the below table?
Low (Sedentary) 0-1
Average (Untrained) 1-3
Modest Exerciser 4-6
Regular Sporty Guy 7-10
Athlete 10+

I am going to score Low = 0

Dear hubby installed a bar over one of our door though I cant reach it.

I don't have the desire to try to jump up to grab it.

I am going to give you a A for getting out there and doing this.

No brag just fact, 67 years old, 24 pull-ups three times a week, 25 on Friday!
I believe in consistency, been doing the same workout since I was 18.
Disciple of Jack LaLanne 😁

Marko, I noticed that you're doing your pull-ups with your palms facing you, I've always done pull-ups with my palms facing away from me
I don't know if this is a difference between pull-ups and chin-ups but I thought that pull-ups were palms facing away.
There is a good topic to research,  the difference between a pull-up and a chin up and what's the difference between the way your palms face when doing them.

Anne Miller wrote:I am going to score Low = 0

Dear hubby installed a bar over one of our door though I cant reach it.

I don't have the desire to try to jump up to grab it.

I am going to give you a A for getting out there and doing this.

I was going to say I'm a zero!
But thanks to you I guess I'm a 1, because I can at least dangle.
🤣

I did a little checking, and apparently my memory served me correctly.
A pull-up is done with palms facing away from the body.
A chin up is done with palms facing towards the body.
Pull ups focus more on the back and shoulders.

So actually the pictures shown are those of a person doing chin-ups.

Hmm! I would not qualify for jock status. But when I grab hold of things, they generally move. And if they don't, there will be a flurry of cross-training activities that will certainly move the damn thing, period.

The requirements of the land force me to be strong. How do we translate all these conventional metrics (activities which accomplish zero work) into homestead metrics that build/measure fitness while actually doing something tangibly useful in the real world?

Actually , moving an object such as your body against a force such as gravity is the definition of work
So doing pull-ups or chin-ups does accomplish work.
And whether doing exercises accomplishes anything immediately practical they do provide the maintenance of certain muscle groups that will definitely be used in the real world.
Such as splitting 10 chords of wood every year with an axe.
And keeping track of progress or lack thereof when doing exercises it's just a convenient way of measuring where you are in accomplishing your goals.

Rich Rayburn wrote:Actually , moving an object such as your body against a force such as gravity is the definition of work
So doing pull-ups or chin-ups does accomplish work.
And whether doing exercises accomplishes anything immediately practical they do provide the maintenance of certain muscle groups that will definitely be used in the real world.
Such as splitting 10 chords of wood every year with an axe.
And keeping track of progress or lack thereof when doing exercises it's just a convenient way of measuring where you are in accomplishing your goals.

I respect what you say, and agree that cross-training exercises help maintain strength and potentially prevent injury. For me, I find that walking an hour daily helps stretch out the muscles I have abused while digging and chopping for hours. It also refocuses my head, which is important.

If you will permit me to rephrase -- I am asking how I could incorporate these elements into what I already do. Looking at my last month, I have not been on the couch: climbing ladders, chopping and dragging fire danger wood up and down hills, pushing wheelbarrows up and down hills, chopping up growing areas with a grub hoe, carrying 5 gallon pails of water to growies, turning saturated compost heaps at 500 L each, etc. etc. etc.  I would love to have the luxury of driving an hour to a gym in town for a formal workout. But there are problems to be solved right here requiring my bone, muscle, sweat, and will. Our growing season is short, and time is of the essence. Surely there must be a away to infuse additional and useful fitness elements into the work I am already doing?

I'd put my self at average, I can do 2 and a half pullups

I can pull a lot more than I can push. I got knocked over by a kid at the local rolla-rena and smashed my right wrist about 8 months ago, and it still hurts to do pushups. Before that, knocking out 50 pushups was pretty easy.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote: I would love to have the luxury of driving an hour to a gym in town for a formal workout. But there are problems to be solved right here requiring my bone, muscle, sweat, and will. Our growing season is short, and time is of the essence. Surely there must be a away to infuse additional and useful fitness elements into the work I am already doing?

Douglas, I appreciate the reply and it looks like we both have a lot in common as far as our workloads on our homesteads, I live in Minnesota and talk about a short growing season!
I personally have never belonged to a gym, the thought of intense physical effort inside a closed building with dozens or more other people all exhaling does not appeal to me, and doesn't sound healthy.
I merely have always had some free weights, mostly just dumbbells now, and all of the other exercises don't require any equipment at all such as push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, squats and the like.
That way I just use up about an hour and a half three times a week. That schedule seems to keep my tone and strength at a level consistent throughout the decades.
The key for me is that I'm basically lazy, I think many people are and as you get older it gets easier to be lazier, so a work out routine that is practiced religiously wards off the laziness. Working out is hard to get started, however once you get into it you realize that it becomes somewhat of an addiction and you actually feel so much better after you get the endorphins flowing.
I would encourage everyone to engage in some type of regular fairly hard workout routine.
I think it will give anyone a longer and healthier life.

James Bridger wrote:I can pull a lot more than I can push. I got knocked over by a kid at the local rolla-rena and smashed my right wrist about 8 months ago, and it still hurts to do pushups. Before that, knocking out 50 pushups was pretty easy.

Soft tissue injuries can easily take a year to resolve, so don't give up hope! That said, a little professional help can go a long way to help it resolve also, if you haven't already gone that route?

Rich Rayburn wrote:[I think many people are and as you get older it gets easier to be lazier, so a work out routine that is practiced religiously wards off the laziness. Working out is hard to get started, however once you get into it you realize that it becomes somewhat of an addiction and you actually feel so much better after you get the endorphins flowing.
I would encourage everyone to engage in some type of regular fairly hard workout routine.
I think it will give anyone a longer and healthier life.

Good points. I find that our long, dark winters take an increasing toll on my core strength. I shovel our many walkways and long driveway by hand as much as possible, and work on firewood whenever the snow pack is light. But it's hard to maintain the intensity of spring, so it takes longer for me to get up to full speed. Maybe I need to connect up with some of the local boys just to be motivated.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:
Good points. I find that our long, dark winters take an increasing toll on my core strength. I shovel our many walkways and long driveway by hand as much as possible, and work on firewood whenever the snow pack is light. But it's hard to maintain the intensity of spring, so it takes longer for me to get up to full speed. Maybe I need to connect up with some of the local boys just to be motivated.

What you mentioned above is the exact reason for maintaining a routine workout schedule.
No matter what, winter, summer, warm, cold, dark, light.
The routine keeps your body in the same condition through it all, you don't get out of shape during one season and then have to work your way back up to par. You're always there ready to go!
And if the locals will help motivate you that's great, don't wait too long though none of us are getting any younger 😁. Grab a dumbbell , a floor pad,  and some information on a beginners type workout.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:...  How do we translate all these conventional metrics (activities which accomplish zero work) into homestead metrics that build/measure fitness while actually doing something tangibly useful in the real world?

I would bet it's not possible to translate it. I'm a 53yr old female who has been working with my husband for 12-15 years repairing & renovating homes. I've built decks & additions, put in doors and windows, put up sheetrock, spackled, painted, etc, and much, much more. Recently in a parking lot loading sheetrock onto the top of our minivan, I watched 3 very strong young men struggle to put one sheet of sheetrock into the back of a pickup truck, trying all different ways. Meanwhile, my husband and I methodically hoisted 6 sheets above our heads and walked them over the top of the van. Now, I DO realize there is knowledge involved, of the best way to lift an odd object, using wood to support it and how to position it, how to use the body in a safe and efficient way, etc. But my point is, although I am a middle aged woman and those guys were young and visibly muscular, I was more useful in getting a job like that done. And I KNOW that would apply to other tasks, even if I'd never done them before. I know this because I experience it every so often; I apply principles from something similar to something new ("Hmm, I've done something like this before"). Now, once those young men are taught a method, or figure one out, and do it a few times, they will outperform me because they could go for longer, maybe dealing with 20 sheets before needing a break whereas I'd need a break sooner. But we don't deal with large quantities of anything anyway. So.... do what you will with that input from me.

I'd also like to add (thinking also about tai chi, which I've been doing for over 25 years) that there are things to consider like muscle memory, balance, coordination, muscles working together (ex: climbing a ladder on only part of your feet, diagonally, while carrying a tool in one hand and holding each rung with the other, or similar 'complicated' motions), and the brain communicating with all different muscles including balancing, holding things, talking to someone, being aware of one's surroundings, and more. This is all opposed to a gym workout of standing or sitting in one safe space (not on bumpy ground, or mud, or a slope, or with animals around, or while someone is using tools) only focusing on one body part, doing one movement at a time. Maybe it could be like comparing a decathlon athlete who can do 10 different sports to a weightlifter.