Quest for the One Arm/Hand Chin-up

It’s that time of year again – time for the Arnold Pump and Run. The Arnold Pump and Run is just one of many events at the annual Arnold Sports Festival, held right here in Columbus, Ohio. The pump and run is a combination of running and lifting weights. Competitors first take part in a bench press. Weight, gender and age determine how much weight each participant will have to bench press. For each repetition on the bench press, 30 seconds are subtracted from the ensuing 5k time. Competitors are limited to a maximum of 30 repetitions on the bench press so a maximum of 15 minutes can be subtracted from the 5k time. Runners looking for a challenge beyond running often sign up for the pump and run.

Training for the pump and run has always been a challenge for me as there is not a lot of readily available information on how to bench press your body weight for up to 30 reps or more. You can find plenty of information on how to increase your one rep max for the bench press. To a certain extent, increasing your one rep max is helpful in achieving more repetitions of a weight at or near your body weight. For example, if your Arnold bench press weight is 135 pounds and your current one rep max on the bench press is 200 pounds then your Arnold weight is 68% of your maximum bench press. If you can increase your one rep max to 270 pounds then your Arnold weight becomes a mere 50% of your one rep max; therefore, the Arnold weight becomes easier to perform physically and psychologically. In essence, you gain endurance through your gain in strength; however, I believe that your training should match what you will do in competition and training strictly for a one rep max increase ultimately will not suffice to achieve a maximum number of reps at a much lower rate. Similarly, training for a 100 meter dash is not going to significantly lower your 5k time.
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2011 Arnold Pump and Run Results

The Arnold Pump and Run is less than a month away and, if you haven’t taken your training seriously, you may be here right now reading this post. I don’t have anything to tell you that will save your pump and run training but I might be able to add a rep or two.

Huge gains are rarely going to be made in the running portion of the event. Unless you’ve done very little running up to this point, your time in the 5k is probably already set. In other words, what you could run today will be what you will probably run on race day. However, you can do something that might make a bit of a difference in the bench press portion of the competition. One or two extra reps does count for 30-60 seconds off your final time. If you haven’t established your max reps with your target weight then you should do that now so we have some sort of a touchstone for later.

For years, I have focused on training for endurance for the pump portion of the pump and run. I achieved decent results but have never maxed out with 30 reps. My endurance training is outlined in previous posts and it basically consisted of high reps and many sets of my target weight. One workout that I vividly recall was the 8 x 8 x 8 at target weight. It was 8 sets of 8 reps at the target weight in 8 minutes. That’s 8 minutes total for the entire workout. It sounds impressive but improvements weren’t that dramatic.

This year, I’ve scrapped most of the endurance stuff and have been focusing on strength gains. A typical bench workout for me is

8 x 205
6 x 225
4 x 245
3 x 265
2 x 275
1 x 285
4 x 245

Here’s a chart containing this type of pyramid workout. The idea here is to build strength and increase one rep max. I still do some endurance workouts but building strength does wonders for building endurance.

Not convinced? Check out this article on Weight Training for Fat Loss and scroll down to Conditioning Work Is Not Strength Work. The author gives a great example of two guys competing to see how many times they can squat 400 pounds. One guy maxes at 600 pounds and never does more than three reps (heavy weights and low reps). The other guy maxes out with 450 pounds but trains with lighter weights and many reps. The second guy has done 15 reps of 400 before. The first guy (who maxes at 600 pounds) has greater potential to do more reps at 400 pounds because he has a much higher one rep max. He may initially not have the endurance but endurance is easy to gain if you already have the strength foundation.

“The lighter any given resistance (compared to your maximum ability), the easier it will be to improve your endurance with that resistance.”

What does this mean for you pump and runners? Train for strength gains! If your target weight is 160 lbs. and your max bench is 220, then your target weight is 72% of your max. This means you’re going to have a hard time getting many reps of that target weight. Boost your max bench to 320 and now your target weight is 50% of your max (I suspect that when you can get your target weight to 50% of your max that you will approach the 30 rep mark). Now it’s starting to sound more likely that you can get many reps of your target weight as it is only half of your one rep max.

I know that you’re not going to significantly raise your one rep max in a few weeks but you may be able to raise it 10-20 pounds. Doing so may get you that extra rep or two of your target weight that means 30-60 seconds off your net time.

Stay tuned for more pump and run training tips!

Here’s some more Arnold Pump and Run inspiration. Watch Bernard Lagat become the President of the Boards.

Needing inspiration – How about “Gonna Fly Now!” – theme song to Rocky.

I’m feeling good and training hard. Just moved a mountain of snow and ran 5+ miles. Bring it on!

latest interval workout

1.25 mile @ 6:03 per mile pace
1.0 mile @ 5:52 per mile pace
1.0 mile @ 5:54 per mile pace
0.25 mile @ 77

all with 1.4 mile jog/walk in between

Hope you are well on your way to a successful Arnold Pump and Run for 2010. We got a month left til the big day.

If you are searching for inspiration in your training, how about this great story on former Michigan football star, Antonio Bass.

Need a little music for more inspiration – how about one of my faves – The O’Jays – Love Train, baby!

You might recognize Fred “Re-Run” Berry from the show, “What’s Happening?”, at about the middle of this. Brilliant Stuff!

photo credit: Madrigal Photography
I’ve been working pretty hard for the 2010 Arnold Pump and Run. In fact, I’ve worked all they way up to doing mile repeats with a 1/4 mile jog in between each one. I did my first set on January 15 of 3×1 mile and then 1 x 1/2 mile, all at 6 minute pace for one mile.

Today, I did 3×1 mile at 6 minute pace per mile and then a 1/4 mile at 85. I do a 1/4 mile jog/walk between each repeat. It felt easier than last time although I probably had a heavy lunch beforehand which slowed me down. I look to do another mile repeat workout in 10 days or so and hope to do 3×1 mile at 5:50 pace followed by a slightly quicker 1/2 or 1/4 mile repeat. I’ve been doing all this on the treadmill given the lousy Columbus winter weather. I’d like to get out on the track soon.

If you do train on a treadmill from time to time, set the incline up a notch to create the equivalent difficulty of running on the road.

I was looking through some of the search terms used to find this site and came across some interesting questions.

1. How many two handed chin-ups must I do before I can do a one handed chin-up?

During the times that I’ve done one handed chin-ups, I could do about 20 or so two-handers. But I could do 20 or so two-handers for years. I think my best ever was 27 two handers. I weighed close to 185 lbs. as well during my one hand chin-up training. It’s hard to say if there is even an equivalent, and I imagine it would vary from person to person given the various body types out there. I’m sure there are plenty of people who can do 20 chin-ups but who will never do a true one-handed chin-up. But if forced to answer, I would say that if I could do 50 two-handers at once then I should be able to get a true one-handed chin-up. In other words, if you can make child’s play out of two-handed chin-ups, you can either do a one-hander or get very close. Anyhow, a nice goal for me would be to get 30 two handers in a row.

2. How much weight would I have to add to a two handed chin-up before I could do a one hander?

Again, I don’t think there’s is any real equivalent between the two. I added 125 lbs. to my 185 lb. frame and despite getting 1 two hander, I still couldn’t do a one hander. Warning - I’m surprised I didn’t have a stroke or hernia trying to do this. I’ve never pulled so hard in my life. Using a dip belt to strap 125 lbs. around your waist just doesn’t seem too brilliant either. A weight vest might be a better option. Do this at your own risk! It could lead to DEATH or serious injury.

In looking back at this experience however, the extreme pull required to do the 125 lb. weighted chin-up very closely resembled the extreme pull required to get my first one-handed chin-up.

3. What other risks are involved in training for a one hand chin-up?
One arm negative chins/come-downs can really strain your elbows especially if you don’t maintain a slow and steady descent all the way to the bottom. Weighted chins can also strain the elbows, wrists, lower back in addition to the other obvious dangers of being above the ground with a lot of weight strapped around your waist.

4. Will training with the Gravitron 2000 help me achieve a one handed chin-up?
It’s a good starting point but the Gravitron 2000 provides a lot of support and eliminates any twisting of the body. It’s also easy to cheat using the Gravitron 2000 or similar machine. Nevertheless, if you get to the point where you can do 5-6 with one plate and one hand then you’re getting pretty close.

I’m getting ready for my third 5k of 2009. I’m running in Hilliard on August 14. I’m happy to still be training at this point in time. In the past, I’ve quit running after the Arnold event and usually don’t start up again until the following November. I’m well ahead of previous years. I hope to run near 19 minutes for 5k this week.

I just ordered the book, “Daniels’ Running Formula”. I’m interested to use it to benefit my training and race times.

Today ran 4.8 miles in 35:41 – 556 calories, 161 peak hr, 143 avg hr
9:35
8:55
8:40
8:30

Here’s Scott on the bench at the 2009 Arnold Pump and Run. He got 18, but for some reason they didn’t count two of his reps. I think he just got a stickler. Scott ran right around 17 minutes for the 5k and is ready for the Flying Pig in May.

Here’s me on the bench at the 2009 Pump and Run. I got to 10 reps no problem. In fact, it was almost too easy. I got to 15 and re-evaluated my condition – still seemed too easy. Got to 20 and knew I could surpass my goal of 23. Did 25 reps and almost 26. I guess the minute sets really helped. The bench coupled with a 19:30ish 5k got me to a net time of 7 minutes+. We’ll see how that places. Maybe top 40 overall – perhaps top 30. I was happy. My best overall time by far. On to the Flying Pig in May.

The rivalry renewed - Scott and Andy tangle again 21 years later.

Start of the 5k

Other thoughts – I think the minute sets really helped out quite a bit. That was a great suggestion that I got from a weightlifting forum. If you’ve never done a pump and run, it is basically 3 stages of stress. Stage 1 is the weigh-in which doesn’t sound stressful but if you come in overweight you are going to be benching more than you planned on. Imagine going in thinking you will be benching 175 and find out that you have to do 180. Most people will scoff to themselves having read this and think – no big deal, only 5 more pounds. I’ve been training for 4-5 months with the thought of benching 175. Moving up 5 pounds is something I hadn’t planned on for those 4-5 months. A curveball on the day of the event is not something you want to face. Plus, I’m trying to do 175 for as many reps as possible. Now, I’ve got to do 180 for as many as possible? I’m probably going to lose 2-3 reps which translates to 60-90 seconds difference in overall time.

Stage 2 is the bench press. With the time change, we were basically benching at 7:00 in the morning. You’re never sure how your body is going to react. Your only warm up is push ups unless you bench at home beforehand. Scott was unlucky to have two of his reps disqualified. Imagine getting through several reps and then having the spotter tell you that the last rep didn’t count. That will really throw you off your game if you are not ready for it. If that doesn’t do it, imagine having a second rep disqualified. I was happy they moved the bench press out of the corner of the Expo hall. There was a lot more room to move around and it seemed much less cramped.

Stage 3 is the run which takes place almost 3 hours after the weigh in. You’re tired and you’ve already gone through a couple stages. You’ve been up since before 6 am with the time change. It’s tough to keep your mental focus for that long. I kind of lost mine during the run this year. Not that I would’ve gone much faster but I definitely felt like I was resting on the laurels of having exceeded my bench press goals. It would’ve helped to have run a 5k in February as a tune up. That also shows you how important the bench press is. You can make up a lot of time with just a couple more reps. I got two extra than I had dreamed of getting and kind of figured that busting my ass on the run wasn’t going to make as much difference.

I was jokingly telling Scott that they should add chin-ups as well to the event. Maybe if they added a 5 minute deduction for each one arm chin up, I’d win hands down.

photo credit: Madrigal Photography

2009 – 19:35 25 bench presses of 175 = 7:05
2007 – 20:44 18 bench presses of 180 = 11:44
2005 – 20:22 16 bench presses of 180? = 12:22
2003 – 19:26 18 bench presses of 175? = 10:26

Went for an hour run today and did minute sets of 175. Got 7 sets of 6 and then 5,3,3 – average heart rate on the run was 144.

I should be in my best shape ever for this year’s pump and run. I’m looking to run sub 19 and do 23 bench presses. That would put me in the 7:30 range. Let’s make it happen.