The Answer

As long as gym existed, gym-rats have asked each other, what is one exercise that you will choose, if that is the only exercise you can do for the rest of your life. This is my answer.

Equipment

Pull-up bar or monkey bar.

The Movement

Quickly squat down and get your chest to the floor, do a push up, stand up, jump and use your momentum to pull yourself up and over the bar. Basically this is a burpee with a pull-up included.

The Benefit
Consider this a full body cardio workout. Use it to work on whole body strength endurance. It works both your upper body and lower body. But remember, this movement is a jack of all trades, but master of none.

The pull-up in this movement is driven not by muscular strength, but momentum. This is not a strict pull-up, however it does replicate the condition of a wall-climb. You aim for the top of the wall, grab it, and use your momentum to get over it.

Regression and Progression
By choosing pull-up bar of different height, you can adjust the amount of strength required to perform the pull-up portion of this movement. A higher bar would require greater strength involvement from your pulling muscles.

Wearing a weight vest would help increase the overall difficulty of this exercise.


Lin Yimian, CSCS, SGX

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