Pull Up Options AKA Do I Need A Pull Up Bar

The next P90X3 workout is The Challenge.  This one’s a good one!  Or a bad one, depending on your take, I guess.

The Challenge combines push ups and pull ups for a super 30 minute workout.  That’s it…push ups and pull ups.  You choose a number for each, and the challenge is to hit that each set.  You do different types of each, twice each.

So let’s talk about those pull ups!  There are a few different ways shown to do these.  We’ll start with the obvious – using a pull up bar. You can get one of those, or if all of your doorways are next to a wall and you can’t fit those (like me) an in door pull up bar.  But those are a pretty hard option, right?  I know a lot of people have difficulty with pull ups!  So, there are ways to make that easier.  First, a chin up max can make it a bit easier, helping you a bit and adjustable to an extent (you can take one of the bands out to make it harder).  If that’s still too hard, you can use a foot on a chair and really focus on pulling.  It’s pretty easy to cheat yourself here,  so while it’s a great option, make sure you’re trying to use your arms!

A resistance band option is also given for the exercises.  You will need a door attachment to anchor the resistance band, but this is a good option for both beginners and those who don’t have a pull up bar.  I think the workout is easier to follow with the pull up bar, but all that really means is that you may want to preview the workout first so you know what the modified moves are.

Back to the workout…it’s tough!  There are a lot of pull ups and a lot of push ups.  If you can’t hit your target numbers (or if you go over), write it down for next time and don’t worry too much about it.  Do what you can.