I came across a great challenge in Men’s Fitness Magazine. It was developed by Jay Cardiello. I think it’s well worth it to share it with you and give you the challenge to do this challenge described below. It’s really 8 minutes of hell.
After I saw this challenge I knew that I had to do it, I also had a sinking feeling in my stomach because I also knew that I’d be in the barf zone mighty soon with this one. Funny how I know how a challenge is going to push me to the edge and I still do it. (Maybe I need some counseling or something for that…)
I thought it best to get up and get it over with. I planned my strategy and got to it. How bad could it be? It was only 8 minutes….
This is it:
Pull-Up Mayhem Fitness Challenge
TEST ONE: Pull-ups
MISSION: Perform as many pull ups as you can in 2 minutes.
Coaching Tip: Use as strict form as possible, chin over the bar, full hang extension each rep.
< REST 60 SECONDS >
TEST TWO: Squat-Ups
MISSION: Perform as many squat-ups as you can in 2 minutes.
Coaching Tip: Begin in a full squat position. Explode off of the ground, jumping high enough to grab onto the bar. Use your momentum to pull yourself over the bar and perform a pull-up. Retract and repeat as many times as possible.
< REST 60 SECONDS >
TEST THREE: Burpee-Ups
MISSION: Perform as many burpee-ups as you can in 2 minutes.
Coaching Tip: Begin by performing a standard burpee (minus the push up) As soon as you jump to your feet, explode off of the ground and perform a pull-up. Descend back towards the floor and repeat.
Here’s the video: (I decided to film the rest times too so you’d see that the whole challenge with the introduction actually takes a little over 9 minutes):
Here are the results:
2 min of pull ups: 30 (I paced myself knowing that I had 6 minute total of pull ups coming up, I tried to keep my form top notch although I know I had a few ugly reps at the end.)
2 min of squat ups: 23
2 min of burpee ups: 17 (This was almost followed by 2 minutes of throw ups…)
70 pull ups in 8 minutes
I’m okay with that. Want to give it a try? Go ahead and demolish my scores and post them below…;)
PS. Get better pull ups here.