Dips For Beast Mode

Straight bar dips  Straight bar dips are another challenging and worthwhile variation. As the name implies, the straight bar dip is performed with both hands on a single straight bar positioned in front of the body. When you do a parallel bar dip, you dip in between the bars, but when you dip on a straight bar, your body must move around the bar. As you lower yourself down, you’ll need to reach your legs out in front a bit to keep balance. The...

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Exercise:Parallel Bar Dips

Once you can comfortably perform many dips with your feet resting on the ground you will be ready to attempt the real deal. The parallel bar set-up is the gold standard for the triceps dip exercise. Like pull-ups (and most of the exercises in this book for that matter), dips will be more difficult for women than they are for men. They are still amongst the best exercises for either gender. "The parallel bar set-up is the gold standard for the...

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Exercise:Low Bar Dips

A great way for novices to work up towards full dips (and avoid the humiliation I felt after my first try) is by first practicing with the feet resting on the ground. This is most commonly done by placing your hands on a bench or a low bar held behind the back, with your hands in a pronated grip. Al Kavadlo doing low bar dips Beginners should start with their knees bent and feet flat on the floor. This allows you to push gently with your legs...

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Slow Muscle-up

Once you’ve gotten a feel for kipping into a muscle-up, performing a slow muscle-up is a worthwhile challenge. After you can perform six or seven kipping muscle-ups, you should be ready to go for it. As I mentioned before, I sometimes use a false grip for muscle-ups, but there’s actually a special false grip that I like for slow muscle-ups. For this variation I like to have my closed fist resting on top of the bar with the bar in the crook of...

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Chin-ups For Strong Body

Once you are strong enough to do lot of Australian pull-ups and negative pull-ups, you will be ready to start working on chin-ups. As with the flex hang, it is easier for beginners to start with an underhand grip first. If you’ve gotten pretty good with Aussies but you still can’t manage a single pull-up, here’s something to practice. Get under the bar with your feet resting on a step or bench (or use a lower bar if you have access) so you can grab...

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Australian Pull-ups

Down Under the Bar The Australian pull-up (or bodyweight row as it’s sometimes known) is a great exercise for someone who is working their way up to a standard pull-up. The Australian involves getting “down under” a bar that is a little above waist height, with your feet resting on the ground. Keep a straight line from your heels to the back of your head as you squeeze your shoulder blades together and pull your chest to the bar.  Novices...

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Ladies and Pull-ups!

Females can be especially intimidated by the bar, but let me assure you, women can do pull-ups! It might be a little more work for the ladies, but it is within the potential of every able-bodied woman to perform a pull-up. Some women may be concerned that pull-up bar training will make them too muscular. I can't tell you how many times I have heard this myth perpetrated. Being afraid that pull-ups will make you too muscular is like...

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