July 23, 2007
Two Training Aids, by Greg Glassman - Sept 03 CFJ
It has long been said that necessity is the mother of invention and this month we give support to that adage with two exceedingly simple inventions. Both devices address problems that have long plagued our training efforts.
The first problem in dire need of remedy was how do we bring the pull-up to people who've never done one? Our first and easiest solution was the use of an assisted pull-up device like our favorite, the Stairmaster Gravitron, and we have long made regular use of the Gravitron with all our pull-up initiates.
There are several aspects of the Gravitron, though, that make its use problematic. First, the Gravitron is outrageously expensive. At nearly $3,000 after shipping, few pieces of gym equipment come even close in price. The steep price is perhaps particularly foreboding to someone relatively new to serious strength and conditioning training as are most people working to develop their first pull-up. Imagine if your first weight set had to be an Eleiko; there'd be a lot fewer weightlifters!
The second major problem with the Gravitron and all other assisted pull-up devices is that they are about as portable as your kitchen refrigerator.
I have never been able to do a pull up,...until crossfit. I could do 30 good push ups, and respectably in most other physical things but that darn pull up was always a source of embarrassment.
It took 8 months but because of what I read on crossfit, I knew it would happen I just had to keep trying and using the thera bands. That was the key for me, knowing that it would eventually happen, as long as I kept trying. Now I can do 2! Thanks.
