THE FOUR-MOVE, 20-MINUTE PULLUP BAR WORKOUT ROUTINE

Test your bodyweight strength with this workout designed by Don Saladino.

Dear,

In the age of Covid-19, most of us are learning how to get by with a limited amount of gym equipment — some may just have a pair of dumbbells, a single kettlebell, or some random resistance bands. Still others may be stuck with a pull-up bar, or the jungle gym bars at the local playground.

Pullups and chinups are two of the greatest bodyweight moves, and are guaranteed to help tone your back muscles and biceps. But those two moves alone can get repetitive.

Luckily, celebrity trainer Don Saladino has designed a routine that centers around the two moves but also incorporates different movements to target different muscles.

In this ladder workout, in which the number of reps will keep increasing, you’ll need nothing more than a bar sturdy enough to hold your weight, a towel, and yourself. And the choice between pullups and chinups is yours to make — Saladino urges you to go with whichever is more comfortable.

You’ll start with three reps of chinups or pullups, before doing five towel-assisted pistol squats per leg (10 in total); then you’ll do four chinups/pullups, and then five more pistol squats per leg. Continue that until you hit 6 chinups/pullups.

After that, you’ll start adding in ice cream makers and pushups. For those who don’t know how to do an ice cream maker, here’s a quick tutorial (you can also watch Saladino execute one in the video below). Start with a regular pullup or chinup, then once your chin is above the bar get your body parallel with the ground. Go back to the pullup/chinup position and repeat.

Watch the video to get some tips from Saladino on the moves, taking breaks during your workout, and more on the sets/rep scheme for this workout.