🏋️‍♂️ hate pull-ups? try these 15 variations instead

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Here’s what we’ve got to end your week with:

• Variations to add to your pull-up routine.

• The greatness that is kettlebell training.

• Top tips on how to burn fat.

Exercise Tips

Chest To Bar

The pull-up has long been referred to as the upper-body squat due to its effectiveness in building both muscle and raw strength. Much like the squat, pull-ups can be incredibly daunting for beginners — but unlike the squat, you can’t do hundreds of reps with an empty bar.

In this case, your body’s own weight provides the resistance, and whether you are new to the gym or a bearded veteran, moving your body can be a bit of a hassle. Luckily for everyone, there are several pull-up variations inscribed in the article below to allow lifters of all experience levels to reap the rewards of this vaunted move while also adding a new wrinkle to their routine.

Things like horizontal rows and dead hangs can build newbies up to doing full-range pull-ups, and ridiculous options like archer pull-ups allow advanced pullers to test their mettle. Read on for even more options.

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Workouts

Put the Kettle On

Arguably the most versatile piece of resistance training equipment in the greater gym-sphere, kettlebells, both large and small, can be used by a large swathe of fitness-based humanity.

You can infuse some kettlebell training into any part of your workout, whether you are creating a kettlebell-focused circuit or simply using swings as a finisher after a heavy squat day.

Use the comprehensive guide below to mix and match kettlebell exercises and routines to fit into your workout. Whether you go heavy or light, long or short, fast or slow, there is no bad way to work hard.

Weight Loss

Burn, Baby, Burn

The topic of weight loss has had more ink spilled over it than any other subject in the 21st century. Consistently among the top searches on Google, weight loss is a societal obsession. But understanding the nature of weight loss, or even (shock, horror) the actual science behind it, is much less well-researched.

Instead of obsessing about where you think you need to be, start focusing on the actions you can slowly take to burn fat today (hint: science agrees that slow weight loss is more effective than rapid cutting).

Fat loss isn’t as mysterious or magical as late-night infomercials want you to believe, and you don't need a high priestess to hold your hand throughout the entire process. Learn, adapt, and succeed. (Learning comes first, though.)

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Everything Else

Core Carver

• Ab training goes far beyond sticking your feet under a bench and doing sit-ups until you get bored. Try the kneeling cable crunch to get all the core strength and stability you need.

• We reviewed the Barenaked Powerlifting Bar 2.0, brought to you by Canadian strength equipment company Bells of Steel. Is this the next bar you need for your home gym?

• The beautiful city of Budapest is hosting the 2023 European Classic Powerlifting Championships. If a trip to Hungary isn’t on the schedule for this fall, check out this article for the best ways to tune in and see the best in junior powerlifting.