Question: The strength in my left arm almost matches that of the right one, my grip strength has improved, I can do series of 3×15 scapular retractions and also the controlled descents aren’t too bad. However, unfortunately, I still can’t do a single pull up. Possibly my brain still doesn’t know which muscles to address? Could you give me a tip which kind of resistance band for the assisted pull ups would be best for me? A gym instructor I asked thinks one which takes around a third of my body weight would be right, yet I think, as long as I can’t do a pull up I need one which can hold my full body weight. What is your opinion?
I am very interested in your advice and look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards, Maria
Answer:
Maria,
Check out this post to read about resistance bands: http://challengeworkouts.com/
I think your trainer is correct to say that you need a band to take about 1/3 of your weight, especially if you’re doing negatives with all your weight. Doing the band assist will help your brain make those neural connections so that your muscles know what to do. (You’re not to far off when you say your brain doesn’t know what muscles to recruit 😉
All the best and keep me posted ok?
Shawna
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For the fitness trainers in the crowd:
Question: I do the same thing over and over again in boot camp, my clients are getting bored. Help.
Answer: Grab my pal, Brian Kalakay’s 31 Done-for-You Boot Camp Games (on sale till Saturday). I use them in my fitness boot camps and you’d be surprised at how adults like to play like kids again. They forget all about how hard they’re working when they’re having so much fun.
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In the past, I’ve had some questions regarding wrist pain both from my online clients and from my fitness boot camp clients. I thought since I have a wrist pain solution for you, I’d throw up those questions and have my friend Rick Kaselj offer answers for you.
If your wrist are sore, go HERE. Rick has a program for you to do at home to eliminate wrist pain and expensive appointments, drugs and surgery.
Question: What can I do for wrist pain during pushups?
Answer: Check out this video from Rick:
Question: Do I need to strengthen my wrists in order to fix the pain I have in my wrists?
Strengthening your wrist is important but weakness may not be the only problem. You need to eliminate the tension, stretch and lengthen the muscle as well as improve your range of motion. I have a complete process for healing and avoiding wrist pain in the future.
Question: If I just google wrist pain solutions, won’t I just find some exercises to do at home on my own?
You can always find an endless amount of info on the internet, but it’s difficult to find complete and reliable sources. You may get some temporary relief from pain, but by missing valuable components, your pain will likely return. This is just a band-aid solution and won’t get to the root of the problem. Even simple concepts like the order that exercises are done as well as progressions, can take an other-wise decent program and make it not only ineffective for you, but also make you worse. I’ve been researching and developing my program for years so you’ll not only get better, you won’t have to worry about experiencing this kind of pain again.
Question: Will re-habing my wrist take a lot of time?
Surprisingly, the stretches and exercises that I suggest take very little time and for the amount of time you invest, you’ll be surprised at the return in pain free living and training.
If you’re interested in Rick’s program, you can check it out HERE.
Question: Are you done boring us with your dang kitchen reno yet??
Answer: Well, I’m getting close to wrapping that up, I’ll just post a final before and after picture once it’s all done and then not another word. Deal? (Although the bad cooking will continue… ;))
