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Using the armstrong pull up program/ Should I start something else to change it up?

JEP

New Member
I have found on the Chicago marine officer program there are a couple of different training programs. Which one has worked best for all of you guys? I have been on the Armstrong but feel like progress is extremely slow.
 

scarfus

FS SNA, March 25th OCS
Trust me. Armstrong works. Stick with it.

The nice thing about it is that it's quick,and you can still do your other workouts the same day without overtraining.

How long have you been at it?
 

navyterp67

Well-Known Member
pilot
I had good results by using some of Stew Smith's workouts. I've never seen the Armstrong program, but it seems to have a lot of the same principles, such as using max sets, changing the grip on different sets, and using the pyramid.

IMO, you may not want to do some of those workouts every day, especially if you are just starting. However, listen to your own body. If you can do it, go on ahead. If you need a rest, then pull back a bit. Sometimes taking the day off is much better for you than working out.

Also, it takes time to improve pullups, so don't get discouraged. I swear, one day you will just magically find that you can do more. It's not like pushups or situps where you have light resistance; pullups are a full bodyweight exercise. It's more like trying to improve your reps on benchpress with your bodyweight on it.
 

usmarinemike

Solidly part of the 42%.
pilot
Contributor
I'll throw my vote in for sticking with Armstrong as well. When I went to bootcamp I could do 2 whole pullups. When I left bootcamp I still could only do 8-11. At my MOS school I did the Armstrong program and was doing 20 pullups within 3 or 4 months. It works.
 

UCbearcat

Lawn Dart
pilot
Though I've never done the Armstrong program, I hear great things about it. A few people talked about it at OCS and said it worked well.

That being said, when I was working my way up to 20 I bought a pull up bar for my door frame. Every time I would leave or enter my room I would do 10 or however many pullups I could manage. It added up to a lot of pullups per day as I was constantly leaving to go to class and things like that. 20 pullups came very quickly this way.
 

Green11

Living the dream
Definitely stick with it. Aside from the fact that it's extremely easy, it's effective. I'm not sure how long you've been doing it, but I'll give you my results so you can get an idea of what you can expect. It took about a 4-5 weeks to see that first big jump, then in another 2-3 weeks you will see a smaller jump than the first. After that, you may gain one or two every couple weeks and it will feel like you've plateaued. Just stay with it and you will eventually see another big jump that should put you right around 20. If you're still not there, another month or so and you'll be able to consistently do 20. Good luck.
 

Swanee

Cereal Killer
pilot
None
Contributor
I wasn't a fan of Armstrong. I stalled at 15 for more than a month. I had a couple of people tell me that Armstrong can be a bit aggressive and that some people need more recovery time for their muscles.

However, after 30 days of P90X I started hitting 20+ max sets. YMMV
 

LFDtoUSMC

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
I was not an Armstrong fan either. However I did find a program that has worked wonders.

Scroll to the second post - "drillinstructor".

http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28822

It takes me about an hour to an hour and twenty minutes to complete and it is a tough workout. However, in the first two weeks I jumped from 12 to 17. Plateaued there for the time being.

For crunches I do this exercise in the mornings.

http://www.lamarineofficerprograms.com/Killer_Crunches.pdf

And for running, well, I run.
 
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revan1013

Death by Snoo Snoo
pilot
I used Armstrong. Within a few months I was maxing out at 17 or so. Got me from negatives (not the best upper body here), to 17, so I consider that a success.
 

JEP

New Member
What happens when you miss one day on the Armstrong? Say for instance I miss Thursday; do make up your 4th day Friday and then 5th Saturday. I try not to miss any days, but today was totally out of my control and ridiculous. Thanks guys let me know.
 

Biles

Member
Recon Ron worked best for me. I used Armstrong to go from 8-13 and then Recon Ron until 23. Now I just do a set of 20 every couple weeks to make sure I'm still good to go. I found the specific numbers of Recon Ron worked best for me over Armstrong's vague "max set."


--
Sent from my Droid Bionic.
 

JEP

New Member
Recon Ron worked best for me. I used Armstrong to go from 8-13 and then Recon Ron until 23. Now I just do a set of 20 every couple weeks to make sure I'm still good to go. I found the specific numbers of Recon Ron worked best for me over Armstrong's vague "max set."

--
Sent from my Droid Bionic.
Biles can you send me a link to Recon Ron? Thank man.
 
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