Fast and Furious Fitness

All,

An exercise combination which I love to do is mixing in squats (various variations) along with pull ups (in it’s various forms).

I’ve already spoken at length about squats, so I’ll speak a bit about the pull-ups today.

Pull ups are an excellent strength exercise, bar none. Done correctly, these work the entire upper body - especially the back and forearms which get “direct” work by virtue of pulling/gripping; but also the shoulders and core, and chest to a lesser degree. Done correctly, there isn’t a fiber in the upper body this exercise doesn’t hit.

And they go especially well with squats. Squats, and other leg exercises I’ve mentioned hit the back as well, thereby “warming” it up for the intense pull ups to come. And the pull ups stretch the spine/back out, thereby reducing the “tight” feeling which sometimes occurs while doing leg exercises. The two complement each other perfectly well, and a complete body workout can be achieved in 10-12 minutes. Of course you can go longer than that; I do a lot of times, but if done correctly, 10-12 is more than plenty for the average person!

Here is a short, but intense workout that’ll really get the blood pumping: -

- 50 - 100 Hindu squats
- Pull ups (10, break up into sets if required).
- Jumping Lunges (10 on each leg)
- Sumo squats
- Pull ups (10, break up into sets if required).
- Jumper squats (25 - 50, break up into sets if required)
- Pull ups (10, break up into sets if required)
- Back bridge (front and back) to finish things off.

That routine should take roughly 25 minutes to complete, depending upon how many reps you do for the pull ups. After these, find the nearest chair - you’ll need it! I’m used to working out in this style, but even so, this routine really gets things going; and I do need a break after it.

As with any other exercise, correct form is paramount as with the breathing. It is better to execute 5 perfect pull ups rather than 20 sloppily performed pull ups.

Pull ups are incredibly demanding, so you might not want to do them daily. Or, you might want to vary the numbers you do daily (i.e. do 10 one day, go for a “25″ max the other, etc etc). However you choose to do them though, they are something you definitely want to include in your training regimen.

So - squat, pull, squat, and pull some more. End things off with a stretch or two - and there you have it - an entire body workout that’ll hammer you into tomorrow.

Try it, and let me know how it works for you.

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul