Comments on: The Holy Trinity of Fitness

By: MikaelL

MikaelL — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:54:04 +0000

I agree with Nimbette2. Maybe substituting the squat for a burpee seeing as a burpee includes a squat and works almost every major muscle group in the body.

By: Nimbette2

Nimbette2 — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:42:55 +0000

I say the holy trinity should be:
- Pull-ups
-Push-ups
-Squats

Abs are worked when doing anything, really. Push-ups work abs already…

By: Buh

Buh — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:31:35 +0000

Those 3 exercises offer good results for the upper body in high enough repetitions, but neglect leg development.

As bipedal organisms, our success in the natural environment depends on our legs. The legs contain the largest muscles in our bodies, and constitute 60% of our total muscle mass. The typical upper body contains only 40% of our musculature. To produce growth hormone, an exercise must tax the most possible muscles. Therefore, I would nominate the bodyweight squat as an apostle to the holy trinity. Squatting enough to release lactic acid will aid the development of upper and lower body development by eliciting more growth hormone than upper body exercise alone.

I have used Tabata interval squats to great effect in leg development. When followed by Tabata pushups, pullups, and situps, the whole body gets worked to exhaustion. Under a Tabata protocol, this typically takes 16 minutes to achieve.

For those who believe that running alone can develop legs, keep in mind that squats can help runners sprint faster, but running has never helped anyone squat better. The difference is in the full range of motion used by the bodyweight squat, which balances the anterior and posterior leg muscles while increasing flexibility in the hips.

By: hillmatt

hillmatt — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:35:55 +0000

I’ve recently lost around 90 pounds in order to get into the army, that isn’t really related to what I wanted to post I just enjoy telling people. Anyway one of the recruiting Sgts. gave me a workout to knock out the last 3-4% off my BMI so I can get in
run 1/4 mile
21 pull-ups
21 pus-hups
21 sit-ups
1/4 mile
18 pull-ups
18 sit-ups
18 push-ups
and on until you hit three, best workout I’ve ever done I highly recommend it.

By: Cameron Schaefer

Cameron Schaefer — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:13:46 +0000

@Josh,

Good question – 3 sets of max

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:11:57 +0000

When you guys say do max in terms of push ups, do I do one set of max push ups or do I do 3 sets of max push ups

By: Jamie

Jamie — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:39:53 +0000

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that anchoring the feet during a sit-up is very bad for your back. The best thing to do is leave them un-anchored and try a more ‘crunch’ like sit-up.

Also, like some of the guys above I’d really recommend including squats to get some lower body muscles working too

PS. Burpee’s are evil but will get you super fit!

By: david

david — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:13:54 +0000

I could not agree more. I run 50 – 55 miles a week and I don’t have any extra time to go to the gym. These 3 exercises, along with some one legged squats, are all that I need to maintain a strong core. I avoid machines like the plague – they are completely unecessary. The only thing that I vary are sit-ups – my favorite is doing sit-ups while throwing a 12lb medicine ball against a wall, catching, going down, coming up, throwing, and repeat. 3 sets of 30 will have whip your core into shape in no time.

By: buh

buh — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:37:22 +0000

oh, and work up to 1 armed pushups with dips on rings or parallel bars. work up to 1 armed hanging rows with uneven pullups, where one hand grasps a towel to assist the other.

By: buh

buh — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:22:36 +0000

if you haven’t tried ring dips yet, they accomplish everything the pushup does and more. i doubt the majority of 50 rep pushup enthusiasts would survive 5 reps of ring dips. for abdominals, i usually use hanging leg raises over situps, as they allow more weight to be lifted, require fewer reps to be effective, and keep strain off the lower back. the pullup is a nonnegotiable. everyone and their next of kin should do them. alternatively, rope climbing builds an impressive back and grip.

lately, i’ve also tooled around with a workout comprised of 1 armed pushups, 1 armed bodyweight rows with straight legs (the opposite of a 1 armed pushup), and pistols. i hypothesize that this one limbed workout offers better results than simple pushups, pullups, squats, or situps alone. if you’re pushing or pulling just 60% of your bodyweight with one arm, you can potentially handle 120% with both. just watch form carefully on all three. if i might offer a more elite trinity of physical fitness, one armed pushups and rows followed by pistols might offer excellent results for those who grow tired of their usual pullup, pushup, situp, and squat routine.