Diesel Dad - Part Five, Other Important Exercises
Besides Bench Press and Dips, there are a few other exercises that you will be doing in a Groundhog Day fashion, over and over again. It’s fun, really!!! The other exercises are Pull-ups, Box Jumps and Jogging on the treadmill.
Pull-ups are flat out grueling. If you weigh 150 pounds then you will probably be able to do a respectable number of Pull-ups, but if you are packing over 200 pounds then it becomes a grind to lift your body weight. Well, suck it up and get used to it, because if you want to be a Diesel Dad it is so important to do Pull-ups. I am talking about the whole variety of Pull-ups and associated exercises: Wide grip, turned grip, chin-ups, jump-ups and simply hanging.
First off is an easy one that will take less than a minute. A simple hang will help you out on a few levels. Grab a bar shoulders width apart and hang. Find a bar that is 8 feet or more higher so that you can easily hang without bending your legs. Each added movement of other parts of your body will make this harder, so your goal should be to hang like a needle. This exercise is harder than it sounds. I can only hold myself for 75 seconds. The theory behind it is that a Pull-up workout may take 30-45 seconds to complete. So, if you can only hold your bodyweight for 20 seconds in a dead hang then how on earth can you expect to rep out for 30-45 seconds. When you are done, your forearms will be pulsating and your entire body will feel good – it also turns out to be a great full body stretch.
Like Dips, another Pull-up workout is a max rep session where you will do one set of wide grip Pull-ups until failure. This is another 1 minute exercise. This is the one exercise where I deviate from my strict form mantra of other movements. Pull-ups are so hard and I feel that any way you can raise your body above the bar is accretive to your strength. I try and go 10-12 strict reps but the remainder I am doing a variety of kipping and jerking that is out of my norm but the end result is a high volume of reps. There are other Pull-up workouts which do have strict form throughout, so for this workout just go for it. Your good rep total will go up gradually over time and the key here is to just get it done.
The core Pull-up workout is done after the core Bench Press and Dips workout. While you will begin with completing 100 Bench Press Reps and 100 Dips reps, for Pull-ups the total will be 50. Try and do this in 8-10 sets. I hold a wide grip and look to get my nose or chin above the bar – kipping for the extra reps is fine. Presently, I am up to 100 reps of Pull-ups and do sets of 18, 17, 16, 14, 12, 10, 7 & 6. For a beginner, 50 reps total could be sets of 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 & 4.
The third Pull-Up workout is completed as part of the core calisthenics workout. For this workout, you will do a set number of a variety of Pull-ups. You can meet the total in 3-4 sets each. Side grip 25, Chin-up 20, Pull-ups 15 and Jump and hold 10. Jump and hold is exactly as it sounds. You will jump from the floor and grasp the bar then pull your nose/chin over the bar and then release the bar after you are fully extended on your way down. Regroup and jump up again, etc.
Box Jumps are very important for explosiveness of your legs and hips. The exercise is also great for endurance and to improve your vertical jump. Keep a wide base as you explode up and stay focused so you do not trip, as always form is paramount. You will do this workout once per week as part of the calisthenics workout. For three separate height levels you will do a set number of jumps in 2-4 sets. The lower the height the more jumps you will do. I do 18” for 40 jumps (15-15-10), 24” for 35 jumps (12-12-11) and 30” for 25 jumps (10-10-5). For beginners I would recommend 12” for 25 jumps, 18” for 20 jumps and 24” for 10 jumps. In addition to this, I do dedicated vertical jumps by gradually jumping straight up to a stationary target. I do not go full out with each jump and only exert fully on the final 2 leaps. I do 30 reps total (15-15). Beginners should do 15 jumps total.
Jogging on the treadmill is another familiar place you will be. I know many people like to run outside, but the treadmill solves many issues for you. For a few days, you will have to either intertwine jogging with calisthenics or other workouts so being in one place is just more feasible from a logistic standpoint. Also, I am a person of exactness, so knowing average speeds and distances on a consistent basis is ideal to me. You also do not have to worry about weather extremes, mapping courses and a clock plus it would take longer to get set up. Now, with this said, when it gets warm, there is an advanced portion of the workout that takes place outside (around track and on football field) but that is not until the fourth phase of the workout schedule. For jogging, my ideal weekly total is 16 miles. This is not an arduous number and provides you with ample time to do the many other aspects to the program. I have found that 16-20 miles is the most I need to run. I can easily accomplish this in 3 sessions. I would recommend a beginner to start at 8 miles a week. After each 4 week cycle, increase your weekly total by 1 mile so that by the ninth 4 week cycle you are at 16 miles/week. When you reach 16 miles then flat line for the remainder of the cycle. The reason I like the treadmill is that I can grind it out at a low pace on certain days and up my tempo on other days. My routine is to jog 5-6 miles at a good pace (sub-9 minute mile) for one workout, for another workout I jog 6-7 miles at a slow pace (9-10 minute mile)-ups and Stationary Rows. My final day of Jogging is incorporated into Calisthenics. I will run 4 miles in splices for each round of calisthenics. I may run 1.5 miles and then do a rotation of calisthenics, then 1.25 miles after another rotation of calisthenics, 1 mile after a rotation of calisthenics and then .25 mile for my final rotation of calisthenics until I accumulate 4 miles total. Jogging is important on many levels. I find it the best way to sweat and maintain weight so you can freely eat and drink to fuel your system for the other workouts.
Another important exercise is pushups. You will do a few types as part of the calisthenics workout; the same with sit-ups/crunchies. Other overlooked exercises that have a home in the Diesel Dad workout are jumping jacks, agility drills and the stationary rower. I do not have to go into detail on these yet. I will have it for another post.
Next though, is the moment you have been waiting for; D-Day. Day 1, Week 1, Phase 1.
Pull-ups are flat out grueling. If you weigh 150 pounds then you will probably be able to do a respectable number of Pull-ups, but if you are packing over 200 pounds then it becomes a grind to lift your body weight. Well, suck it up and get used to it, because if you want to be a Diesel Dad it is so important to do Pull-ups. I am talking about the whole variety of Pull-ups and associated exercises: Wide grip, turned grip, chin-ups, jump-ups and simply hanging.
First off is an easy one that will take less than a minute. A simple hang will help you out on a few levels. Grab a bar shoulders width apart and hang. Find a bar that is 8 feet or more higher so that you can easily hang without bending your legs. Each added movement of other parts of your body will make this harder, so your goal should be to hang like a needle. This exercise is harder than it sounds. I can only hold myself for 75 seconds. The theory behind it is that a Pull-up workout may take 30-45 seconds to complete. So, if you can only hold your bodyweight for 20 seconds in a dead hang then how on earth can you expect to rep out for 30-45 seconds. When you are done, your forearms will be pulsating and your entire body will feel good – it also turns out to be a great full body stretch.
Like Dips, another Pull-up workout is a max rep session where you will do one set of wide grip Pull-ups until failure. This is another 1 minute exercise. This is the one exercise where I deviate from my strict form mantra of other movements. Pull-ups are so hard and I feel that any way you can raise your body above the bar is accretive to your strength. I try and go 10-12 strict reps but the remainder I am doing a variety of kipping and jerking that is out of my norm but the end result is a high volume of reps. There are other Pull-up workouts which do have strict form throughout, so for this workout just go for it. Your good rep total will go up gradually over time and the key here is to just get it done.
The core Pull-up workout is done after the core Bench Press and Dips workout. While you will begin with completing 100 Bench Press Reps and 100 Dips reps, for Pull-ups the total will be 50. Try and do this in 8-10 sets. I hold a wide grip and look to get my nose or chin above the bar – kipping for the extra reps is fine. Presently, I am up to 100 reps of Pull-ups and do sets of 18, 17, 16, 14, 12, 10, 7 & 6. For a beginner, 50 reps total could be sets of 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 & 4.
The third Pull-Up workout is completed as part of the core calisthenics workout. For this workout, you will do a set number of a variety of Pull-ups. You can meet the total in 3-4 sets each. Side grip 25, Chin-up 20, Pull-ups 15 and Jump and hold 10. Jump and hold is exactly as it sounds. You will jump from the floor and grasp the bar then pull your nose/chin over the bar and then release the bar after you are fully extended on your way down. Regroup and jump up again, etc.
Box Jumps are very important for explosiveness of your legs and hips. The exercise is also great for endurance and to improve your vertical jump. Keep a wide base as you explode up and stay focused so you do not trip, as always form is paramount. You will do this workout once per week as part of the calisthenics workout. For three separate height levels you will do a set number of jumps in 2-4 sets. The lower the height the more jumps you will do. I do 18” for 40 jumps (15-15-10), 24” for 35 jumps (12-12-11) and 30” for 25 jumps (10-10-5). For beginners I would recommend 12” for 25 jumps, 18” for 20 jumps and 24” for 10 jumps. In addition to this, I do dedicated vertical jumps by gradually jumping straight up to a stationary target. I do not go full out with each jump and only exert fully on the final 2 leaps. I do 30 reps total (15-15). Beginners should do 15 jumps total.
Jogging on the treadmill is another familiar place you will be. I know many people like to run outside, but the treadmill solves many issues for you. For a few days, you will have to either intertwine jogging with calisthenics or other workouts so being in one place is just more feasible from a logistic standpoint. Also, I am a person of exactness, so knowing average speeds and distances on a consistent basis is ideal to me. You also do not have to worry about weather extremes, mapping courses and a clock plus it would take longer to get set up. Now, with this said, when it gets warm, there is an advanced portion of the workout that takes place outside (around track and on football field) but that is not until the fourth phase of the workout schedule. For jogging, my ideal weekly total is 16 miles. This is not an arduous number and provides you with ample time to do the many other aspects to the program. I have found that 16-20 miles is the most I need to run. I can easily accomplish this in 3 sessions. I would recommend a beginner to start at 8 miles a week. After each 4 week cycle, increase your weekly total by 1 mile so that by the ninth 4 week cycle you are at 16 miles/week. When you reach 16 miles then flat line for the remainder of the cycle. The reason I like the treadmill is that I can grind it out at a low pace on certain days and up my tempo on other days. My routine is to jog 5-6 miles at a good pace (sub-9 minute mile) for one workout, for another workout I jog 6-7 miles at a slow pace (9-10 minute mile)-ups and Stationary Rows. My final day of Jogging is incorporated into Calisthenics. I will run 4 miles in splices for each round of calisthenics. I may run 1.5 miles and then do a rotation of calisthenics, then 1.25 miles after another rotation of calisthenics, 1 mile after a rotation of calisthenics and then .25 mile for my final rotation of calisthenics until I accumulate 4 miles total. Jogging is important on many levels. I find it the best way to sweat and maintain weight so you can freely eat and drink to fuel your system for the other workouts.
Another important exercise is pushups. You will do a few types as part of the calisthenics workout; the same with sit-ups/crunchies. Other overlooked exercises that have a home in the Diesel Dad workout are jumping jacks, agility drills and the stationary rower. I do not have to go into detail on these yet. I will have it for another post.
Next though, is the moment you have been waiting for; D-Day. Day 1, Week 1, Phase 1.
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