Dufisthenics

So one of my online calisthenics buddies, Steve P, likes to post the various workouts he does on FB.  I have borrowed a number of them.  I like them because they save me from having to think and most of them are tailored to take 3o minutes or less, just about ho much actual workout time I get on my lunch hour workouts after travel and warm up/stretching takes place.

Well the other day Steve posted this routine:

Pyramid Work
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 wide pullups
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 pushups

Go pullup set to pushup set back and forth till complete

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 close chinups
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Dips

Go chinup set to dip set back and forth till complete

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 hanging leg lifts to 90deg
20-19-18-17-16-15-14-13-12-11-10 back extensions

Go leg lift set to back extension set back and forth till complete

No rest

On Friday’s I normally like to mix it up so I figured I would give it a shot although I knew I would have a very difficult time doing that many pull ups and chin ups back to back.

I got through the first pyramid of pull ups and push ups but it was a struggle.  I knew if I tried to jump to the chins/dip pyramid it was a guaranteed fail so I figured I would drop down to the leg raise/back extension pyramid to give my pulling muscles some rest.

Now I am not quite sure exactly what type of back extensions this was referring to. I took it to mean the contraption where you have pads on your thighs, your feet are secure on a platform and then you bend down at the waist and back up again.  When I did my reps I interlocked my fingers behind my head which raises the resistance level compared to folding your arms in front of your chest.

Well this is an exercise I NEVER do.  Yea I do some lower back warm up routines once a week or so but nothing extensive.  So I basically went from nothing to a total of 110 reps of an exercise, a ridiculously stupid thing to do.  And actually, I did less than I was supposed to.

I didn’t write down the routine so I relied on memory, a dangerous thing nowadays.  I thought the back extension countdown was supposed to go down 2 reps each time 20-18-16-14 etc… I was SUPPOSED to go down by only 1 rep per set.  Well as is my lower back felt like it was on the verge of spasming.  I can only imagine what it will feel like tomorrow at this time.

I wasn’t timing myself although the entire workout was supposed to be done within 30 minutes.  I actually ran out of time and did a condensed version of the remaining pyramid, only doing the 5,4,3,2,1 portion of it before I had to run out of there. I was BEAT.

My hands were already beat going into this workout, they were thoroughly trashed by the end of it.

Still, it was a good way to wind up a week. I’m sure I will keep borrowing some of Steve’s routines now and then, no matter how much they hurt.