Am I doing this right?

[agoodlysize]

I've been doing SimpleFit for a while now. I started out subbing body-rows for pull-ups at Level Four. I soon stepped up to level five, but found that when I finally got a pull-up bar that I could not do the minimum pull-ups for level five. I could complete the sets only with the aid of an exercise band. Now I'm almost there, but my pull-ups lack proper form. So here's my question: should I take myself down to a level where I can do all my pull-ups with good form and work from there? Subquestion: On day three, are the pull-ups/pushups/squats each meant to be performed in solid blocks, or can I break them up into subsets (as I have been doing)?

Thanks for your help, folks.

[splint]

should I take myself down to a level where I can do all my pull-ups with good form and work from there?

That's what I would do but it's really up to you. You should be taking time off and de-loading anyway, that is dropping to a lower level and doing that for a week. I got injured at Level 7, took two weeks off and dropped to Level 4 and then increased the level every until I got to Level 7 and my times were much better.

On day three, are the pull-ups/pushups/squats each meant to be performed in solid blocks, or can I break them up into subsets (as I have been doing)?

You should be staying 1-2 reps below failure when doing them. Like on Level 7, there's no way I can do 40 straight pull-ups. So I do maybe 15 straight off, rest a few seconds, hit 10 more, then maybe sets of 5 until I get 40. You basically do as many as you can until your 1-2 reps away from missing, rest, then do more reps in that manner. So yeah, you can break them up into sets but don't be so rigid about the numbers, try and push yourself to increase the number you can do before failure. So if one week you try 26 pull-ups and do 5-5-5-5-3-3, next week try 7-6-5-5-3, then 8-7-6-3-2, or whatever, as long as you don't reach the failure point.

[volleyball_man]

What splint said.

I find that focusing on reducing the rest times (both length and frequency) is also a good way to get you numbers up and time down.

So if one week you try 26 pull-ups and do 5-5-5-5-3-3, next week try 7-6-5-5-3, then 8-7-6-3-2, or whatever, as long as you don't reach the failure point.

On the 5-5-5-5-3-3, measure the rest time in between the reps. I actually "bought" reps from later rounds - like this:

5 rest 1 min 5 rest 1 minute .....
became 5 rest 30 sec 5 rest 1 minute....
then 5 rest 10 sec 5 rest one minute....
until I could go 6 rest 1 minute 5 rest 1 minute and dropping the last round by one rep.
Repeat - buying another rep in a few weeks. Sometimes you might feel you can buy more than one - so do!

I was a purest when I started and did not move up until I did the D3 workout as prescribed with real pullups.

[agoodlysize]

Thanks guys. I love this workout optimization stuff. One more question. I've been going round robin on the sets to try to increase workout density. I'll hit 5 pull-ups, then do twenty push-ups and twenty squats, then five more pull-ups, then ten and ten push-ups and squats until I finish. Is this optimal, or even correct? Should I wait till I'm done with one exercise to move on to the next?

[volleyball_man]

According to the original design, you should do all of the pullups and then the pushups and then the squats for D3.

[splint]

yeah, what vbm said, doing it round-robin style is more of a re-do of Day 1. Doing all the pull-ups before moving onto the push-ups, then squats is a different type of workout.

[agoodlysize]

Cool. That's all the convincing I need. As always, you guys come through.

[volleyball_man]

Just send me the check - I'll forward splint's portion to him...

[agoodlysize]

Tell you what, next time I'm around, I'll buy you a drink.

Starting at level three- did 32 rounds. Not bad, but I had to pause now and again because I kept hitting the fail point; first after about ten rounds and then every three to five after that. I'll stay here for awhile.

[volleyball_man]

good job on level three!

[agoodlysize]

Thank you, sir! Love these forums, so supportive!