pathetically weak on bodyweight movements

Ok I admit I am a iron-head, typical strong in the weightroom, weak as hell in functional movements. with that being said, I need a good routine to build some pullup, handstand and l-sit strength/endurance.

 

right now my undergrip chin max is ughhhhh, 6, maybe 7 if I pushed it.  I can hold a handstand with feet against door for about 1 min, when i try to take feet off door, I go down. My balance sucks.  Lastly, my max knees-to-chest hold on parallettes is 30 seconds.  My problem is a hip flexor weakness/endurance.  Planche hold is 30 secs. again problem is holding legs up.

 

I am 6'0, 200 lbs with about 10% bodyfat. Not bad for a 45 yr old, but I want to get my abs more ripped WITHOUT direct ab work b/c whenever i do direct ab work(on a machine), I get intestinal upset. go figure.

 

I am not willing to give up weights but want to incorporate bodyweight stuff into routine. Can you guys help an old man out?

 

M.B.

right now as I type this my right hip flexor is throbbing. I can feel the weakness. any suggestions on improving hlp flexor strength?  I do not squat due to 2 hernia operations.

For pullups and chinups: just doing these as part of your upper body/pull workout is the best way to get better at them. Note that chinups target the biceps more strongly, whereas pullups are more in the back. 3-5 sets at about 50-80% of your max reps is a good target. 2-3 times a week is sufficient.

 

For the L-sit: I would incorporate these holds into your workout, also 2-3 times a week, and also 3-5 sets (each set is one hold). Gradually build up your tucked L-sit until you can hold it for 5 sets of 60 second holds. Then start back at the beginning and work up your full-L-sit to 5 sets of 30s holds. This develop both the hip flexors and the core quite substantially. Don't be surprised if it takes quite a long time to work up to 5x30s on the full L-sit. 

 

 

Also, it's important to make sure to be stretching these muscles as you're working them. Your goal with the stretching isn't necessarily to build up to the splits, just to make sure the muscles stay loose and mobile. 

 

 

For handstands: the only way to get good at these is to put in hundreds of hours of practice. If you'd like to develop really good balance and a good-looking handstand, that will take a lot of mobility work, and it will be a longer-term effort. In my opinion, it is well worth the effort. Handstand 1 is a fantastic course that guides you by hand through all the mobility, strength and balance work needed to achieve a picture-perfect handstand. If you have the money it's well worth it in my opinion. But if you're strapped for cash there are plenty of tutorials and other materials floating around the internet for free. 

I say you should think twice about giving up the heavy weights . There is no need for them .

You said you already strong ....are you trying to be a power lifter?

You can still use them for mobility movements

 Umm, I guess you like your bodybuilding. Especially since you aren't apparently squatting.

 

 For the hip flexor since you aren't squatting, go back to tuck and L work in sit or hang besides the seated hip flexor lifts in straddle or pike for reps or holds.

 

 As for abs, I guess you could focus more on hollow holds, ab wheel work. Generally I'd say leglifts and such but dunno if those would cause abdominal discomfort.

 

 As for ripped abs, that's diet and cutting down body fat levels.

I highly recommend using a grease the groove style approach while working weighted calisthenics to build up basic strength. If you can only do 6-7 chin ups, getting that up to 20, with a 150% BW 1RM, should be the priority. Same with dips/ring dips. If your not strong in those two movements your progress in the static exercises will be poor, in my experience.

What I would do is every day, do 5 sets of 3-4 reps to start, spread out over the day, and once that starts to feel easy add a rep or two. At the same time, once a week do 5 sets of 3 reps of weighted pull ups (rather than chin up) and weighted dips. Start with 5 pounds if you have to, it doesn't matter, what matters is that you're working your strength and not just your strength endurance. That alone should do wonders for your L sit and planche strength.

Best of luck!

Your method can work and its good to have a strong base in basic strength, but it's not really necessary to use weighted dips or pull-ups to build strength for the statics. Doing the static progressions and stuff like FL rows or planche push-ups is sufficient to build a lot of strength and they are specific to the skills.