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Toby Cripps

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Hi Everyone,

Firstly, I just want to thank everyone who has contributed to this forum, it's been such a valuable resource for me whilst I've been training and I really value all of the information that has been broadcasted.

I'm currently training towards what I imagine is a rather common goal, that being getting maximum repetitions on press ups and pull ups in order to perform to the maximum standard on a military selection course. My current max repetitions are as follows (all conducted to a pre-recorded cadence beep):

Pull Ups - 12
Press Ups - 56

I've read the article on the Fighter Pull Up programme, and have a couple questions about how it would be best for me to progress forward. For increasing my pull up number, would I be better off simply working the 15RM programme at bodyweight (and adjusting it down accordingly so maybe Day One would look like 10, 9, 8, 7, 6) or would I instead be better hanging 10kg off my waist and working the 5RM Pull Up programme? Or would I be best served by hanging 20kg off my waist and running through the 3RM Pull Up programme. The end goal is simply performing as many pull ups as possible without ever dropping off the bar.

Similarly for press ups. Is it the best idea for me to use my weighted vest and work the 25RM Pull Up programme. Or instead would it make more sense for me to extrapolate up the 25RM Pull Up programme so I am performing much higher repetitions (e.g. 45, 40, 35, 30, 25) at bodyweight?

Should I do both the press ups and pull ups on the same day (this seems like a very high volume of upper body repetitions) at the same time of day (maybe super-setting the two), should I perform them on the same day but at different times, or should I just perform them on alternate days?

Finally, should I space the 5 sets of each respective movement throughout the day (e.g. 10 Pull Ups after waking, 9 at 11:00, 8 at 12:00, 7 at 14:00 and 6 at 16:00) or should I do them all at one point in the day with a 5 to 10 minute rest period between sets.

Thank you in advance for any contributions or recommendations on other places I could read more into information which would help me answer my question.
 
My two cents.

High repetition work has a good carryover to a 1RM lift with added weight (for pullups) but focusing on 1RM (low rep work) has limited carryover to increasing rep count. If you want to get your rep count up as a priority then make that your priority and just do the weighted work as a test every few weeks.

Recovery is a good guide to scheduling, some people can recover well and do all their work on the same day, others need to take a bit more time to recover between training sessions and have movement specific sessions. Sleep patterns and waking heart rate are a good guide, if you're not sleeping well and/or waking up with an elevated heart rate or your progress stalls it could be wise to re-asses your schedule.
 
My two cents.

High repetition work has a good carryover to a 1RM lift with added weight (for pullups) but focusing on 1RM (low rep work) has limited carryover to increasing rep count. If you want to get your rep count up as a priority then make that your priority and just do the weighted work as a test every few weeks.

Recovery is a good guide to scheduling, some people can recover well and do all their work on the same day, others need to take a bit more time to recover between training sessions and have movement specific sessions. Sleep patterns and waking heart rate are a good guide, if you're not sleeping well and/or waking up with an elevated heart rate or your progress stalls it could be wise to re-asses your schedule.
This is really helpful regarding rep schemes, thank you very much. Would you say consequently there is less of a need to train lower reps then as high reps will increase maximum strength in a given movement?

I've got a fairly decent heart rate tracker I use to run with (that also says it tracks my sleep patterns but I haven't looked into the research behind that yet) so I'll definitely make sure to check that as an indicator on how effectively I am recovering / sleeping.

Thanks again, wish you all the best with your training.
 
Hello,

If repetitions are the main concern, here is something that work well:

+1 @Tarzan

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hello,

If repetitions are the main concern, here is something that work well:

+1 @Tarzan

Kind regards,

Pet'
These are both really helpful, thank you very much for passing on the links to them. Seems like a similarish format to The Fighter Pull Up plan, but with slightly different emphasis on rep schemes and with use of alternating days for 2 weeks rather than a longer term plan.

Really interesting read, thanks again.
 
Hello,

If repetitions are the main concern, here is something that work well:

+1 @Tarzan

Kind regards,

Pet'
I’ll crack on with these for two weeks on each movement and let you know where I stand in four weeks time
 
Hello,

@Toby Cripps
My pleasure.

I tried these two approaches and they work well. They have a very precise purpose and are very short-term oriented (PT).

Now, if you have time, a more long-term approach can also be used. What follows may vary from a person to another but, working towards one arm push ups / one arm one leg push ups / handstand push ups (so using a classic 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps with 3-5 minutes rest between sets, or using GTG) will build endurance as a by-product. Obviously, it will not build a set of 100 continuous push ups. But it will give you at least 60 without really training for it. If you go for this strategy (low rep range), you will gain strength and endurance. The articles I mentioned will mainly give you endurance / stamina, but less strength. If you do the low rep training, you can do, on a daily basis or alternate day, a set of higher rep. This will secure the tendons and ligaments flexibility and also secure the required endurance.

I mainly use the low rep option + 1 set of higher rep, on a daily basis. It maintains a good level of strength (I use a combination of HSPU and OAOL) in no-time, without gaining mass, which is a good point when endurance is required. It also maintain an acceptable level of endurance (roughly 80+).

As @Tarzan stated, recovery is key. Some will respond better - meaning gains and recovery - to low rep training, but some will respond better to high rep training.

Pull ups seem to obey more or less by the same rule. Steve House's pull up routine (post #6) mentioned in this thread also gives good endurance results:

Pyramid are excellent as well:

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hello,

@Toby Cripps
My pleasure.

I tried these two approaches and they work well. They have a very precise purpose and are very short-term oriented (PT).

Now, if you have time, a more long-term approach can also be used. What follows may vary from a person to another but, working towards one arm push ups / one arm one leg push ups / handstand push ups (so using a classic 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps with 3-5 minutes rest between sets, or using GTG) will build endurance as a by-product. Obviously, it will not build a set of 100 continuous push ups. But it will give you at least 60 without really training for it. If you go for this strategy (low rep range), you will gain strength and endurance. The articles I mentioned will mainly give you endurance / stamina, but less strength. If you do the low rep training, you can do, on a daily basis or alternate day, a set of higher rep. This will secure the tendons and ligaments flexibility and also secure the required endurance.

I mainly use the low rep option + 1 set of higher rep, on a daily basis. It maintains a good level of strength (I use a combination of HSPU and OAOL) in no-time, without gaining mass, which is a good point when endurance is required. It also maintain an acceptable level of endurance (roughly 80+).

As @Tarzan stated, recovery is key. Some will respond better - meaning gains and recovery - to low rep training, but some will respond better to high rep training.

Pull ups seem to obey more or less by the same rule. Steve House's pull up routine (post #6) mentioned in this thread also gives good endurance results:

Pyramid are excellent as well:

Kind regards,

Pet'
Hi Pet'

Thank you again for your reply. In response to your query about time frames, I'm approximately 20 weeks out from a rough start date for recruit training. One thing I do have on my side is that in two week I sit my Uni finals and after that will have a whole lot of free time on my hands. So for 17/18 weeks, I'll be able to devote as much of my time as possible to getting those press up and pull up numbers as high as possible.

Am I understanding you correctly in saying you train both low rep options (such as handstand push ups and one arm push ups etc) and then do one higher rep set (e.g 50 reps) every day? And so you would suggest daily performing 3-5 rep sets and also then one very high rep set?

I completely see where you're coming from that recovery / tolerance to different rep schemes will vary hugely between individuals so it'll be really interesting to experiment and see what works best for me.

The fighter pull up programme seemed really effective for the individual in the link you sent so I think it'll definitely be worth experimenting with that.

Again, thank you for your help and the links.
 
Hello,

@Toby Cripps
You are welcome.

17 week could be long enough if you start soon.

As a disclaimer, FPP is a demanding programme. As soon as you experience a plateau, feel free to do it on alternate days. A lot of people report good results doing so.

To answer your question, the push portion of my routine is as follows:
Daily: 2 x 5r of HSPU
Daily: 2 x 5r of OAP
Daily: 1 set of 70-80

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
@Toby Cripps

@Tarzan (long time no-see) knows a thing or two about pull-ups.

Regarding your selection.... hows your running?
Hi Offwidth,

Regarding running, this is an area I've always been slightly more comfortable in. I'm by no means some insane running machine, but I've been really fortunate to train and compete with my Uni Cross Country team, as well as work some longer distance runs over some hilly terrain up in the North of England with mates. Similarly I've been really lucky to train with some of the triathlon team at university and get some proper time on the bike, which again was a big boost for my cardiovascular system and consequently my running.
 
Hello,

@Toby Cripps
You are welcome.

17 week could be long enough if you start soon.

As a disclaimer, FPP is a demanding programme. As soon as you experience a plateau, feel free to do it on alternate days. A lot of people report good results doing so.

To answer your question, the push portion of my routine is as follows:
Daily: 2 x 5r of HSPU
Daily: 2 x 5r of OAP
Daily: 1 set of 70-80

Kind regards,

Pet'
Great, thank you.

I'm thinking I'm going to start implementing the Fighter Programme, and yeah definitely reduce it to alternate days when I'm finding I'm dealing with poor recovery. Thanks for sharing your routine, I think I might dedicate 2 to 3 days per week
@Toby Cripps

@Tarzan (long time no-see) knows a thing or two about pull-ups.

Regarding your selection.... hows your running?
Any advice in that area would be really welcome though. Do you guys ever combine aerobic style training and callisthenics into a single training session (e.g 40 min aerobic run with 10 pull ups every 10 mins for example) or do you tend to separate these two disciplines?
 
Hi Offwidth,

Regarding running, this is an area I've always been slightly more comfortable in. I'm by no means some insane running machine, but I've been really fortunate to train and compete with my Uni Cross Country team, as well as work some longer distance runs over some hilly terrain up in the North of England with mates. Similarly I've been really lucky to train with some of the triathlon team at university and get some proper time on the bike, which again was a big boost for my cardiovascular system and consequently my running.
I don’t know how far north you mean, but I’ve done some running in the Peak District. Nice running...
 
Do you guys ever combine aerobic style training and callisthenics into a single training session (e.g 40 min aerobic run with 10 pull ups every 10 mins for example) or do you tend to separate these two disciplines?
I have done this (depending upon what I am training for | e.g. OCR‘s or climbing prep) but typically I would separate it AM / PM or by day.
 
I have done this (depending upon what I am training for | e.g. OCR‘s or climbing prep) but typically I would separate it AM / PM or by day.
I'll do a weighted and unweighted pull up session alternated with a 400m jog/run from time to time. Six to eight rounds.
 
I don’t know how far north you mean, but I’ve done some running in the Peak District. Nice running...
Yeah I did a fair bit of training around the Cheviots for a trail marathon up there, really really beautiful. Done a bit of hiking in the peaks (Jacobs ladder and Mam Tor with a Ruck was a pretty fun leg burner) but would love the chance to run there.

If you ever get the chance to get up North near the Lake District then some of the running near Helvellyn and Skidaw is amazing too.
 
Yeah I did a fair bit of training around the Cheviots for a trail marathon up there, really really beautiful. Done a bit of hiking in the peaks (Jacobs ladder and Mam Tor with a Ruck was a pretty fun leg burner) but would love the chance to run there.

If you ever get the chance to get up North near the Lake District then some of the running near Helvellyn and Skidaw is amazing too.
Yes so I hear.
I happen to live in Arizona where we have some pretty decent running as well...
 
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