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Here’s The 12 Step PYOW Program In A Nutshell

1. Read the Johnny and Jamal story (see the page called Setting the Stage) to your child in order to set the stage and give ‘em a context in which to understand the Pull Your Own Weight program.

2. Introduce the Height Adjustable Pull Up Bar/Leg Assisted, Jump Pull Up Technique by demonstrating it, and allowing the kids to try it. They’ll all quickly discover that the strategy is to show all participants how to succeed right from the get go, and to give them a way to progress regularly, and feel good about what they are accomplishing…in public.

3. Determine/Record The Participant’s Correct Starting Point by adjusting the bar level to a point where they can perform at least eight pull ups, but not more than twelve. The idea here is to do eight repetitions in the first work out, nine in the second, ten in the third, eleven in the fourth, and twelve in the fifth. When the participant performs twelve pull ups at this height, the bar is moved up one inch and the entire eight to twelve routine is performed all over again.

4. Determine/Record the level at which the child will eventually run out of leg assistance, the point at which he or she is doing regular pull-ups, and designate that level as the participant’s END GOAL. Then Count the number of links from their starting point to their end goal, and multiply that number by five in order to determine approximately how many workouts it will take to achieve the end goal. Depending on how many workouts per week you do (maximum of three) you should also determine how many weeks it will take to reach the end goal, mark that date of their projected final work out on the calendar and aim to finish up by that date.

5. Do workout number one with the child performing eight pull-ups at their designated starting point. When they’re done, make sure and give the child a high five, a smile, and a pat on the back so they know, and all their peers know that you’re proud of them.

6. On the PYOW chart, record each workout date, the level at which the workout was done, along with the number of pull-ups (between eight and twelve) the child did on that day. Then set a date for workout number two.

7. If you have multiple children participating, make sure that they are all rooting for each other, giving each other high fives, and patting each other on the back. This strategy effectively promotes self competition, winning almost performances every time, children experiencing joy in other’s success, and teamwork.

8. If possible, find five or ten minutes to talk with the kids about their feelings and the various lessons that can be learned from this project (i.e. getting stronger through regular workouts over a period of time, eating right, getting sufficient rest, the fact that nobody else can do the work for them, you have to do it for yourself, how avoiding tobacco, alcohol, and drugs makes you strong, not weak, and lots more that’s discussed in detail in a later chapter.)

9. Follow the inch by inch strategy all the way to the END GOAL. When the child has accomplished the goal they should receive a material reward of some sort (a “Wall A” T-Shirt or baseball hat, etc). From this point forward they are allowed to do as many pull-ups in each workout as they can do. We called this achievement…PASSING YOUR BAR EXAM.

10. From this point forward, one workout a week will probably allow them to maintain their ability to perform pull-ups, and to remain on Wall-A. But if their performance begins to slip, say from twelve pull-ups one week down to ten the next week, that’s a WARNING SIGN that they need to adjust something. It could be their diet if they’re picking up weight, or it could be the amount of rest they’re getting at night. It could be they’ll have to increase their workouts per week back up to two or even three in some cases. But quick and easy adjustments will allow them to maintain the level of performance they’ve cultivated and to stay firmly on Wall-A for as long as they choose to do so.

11. Now if a child can perform a certain number of regular pull-ups but still wants to be more lean, all they have to do is to increase the number of pull-ups they can do and the leanness will follow as a matter of course, naturally. In other words, more pull-ups means more strength (muscle mass), or less body weight, or a combination of both…any one of which indicates an improvement in body composition, the fact that the child is becoming leaner.

12. Understand that the Golden Rule of PYOW (those who can do pull-ups can’t be obese, or those who are obese, can’t do pull-ups) is just as true for teenagers and adults as it is for elementary school kids. So, Mom and Dad, or big brother or sister, if you want to be a model for your elementary age participant then have at it. There’s nothing better for your child than to see you walking the walk right along with them.

Recognize That You’re Building More Than Strength

Understand at the initial stages you’re building much more than upper body strength. You’re also building in the expectation of success. So it’s critical at the initial stages that regular progress is achieved, and recognized with high fives, etc. The child should feel good about doing his pull ups, and even look forward to the opportunity to do them, because (s)he is not allowed to do more than three workouts a week. Actually progress will occur with only two workouts a week if you want to restrict it that much. But again the restriction makes it special, and not something they can do any old time.

So in the big picture, as you raise the bar, and increase the workload, along with the child’s sense of “I can do this,” the bar will eventually become high enough that they run out of leg assistance and they’ll achieve the goal of pulling their own weight in a conventional sense. But again, there’s still more going on here than meets the eye.

Self Confidence And Motivation Is Built Into This Program

Now that sense of “I can do this,” the sense that “I can try something a little bit harder than I did last time and still expect to succeed,” is called confidence, self esteem, self worth, etc., and it’s crucial to anyone’s growth potential in any endeavor whether it’s pull ups, a high school degree, or succeeding in business. If you’re scared to try, you’re doomed to fail.

The possibility of success is often stopped in its tracks by a person’s own inability to take a chance, by a person’s own fear of failure. The fact of the matter is, anyone who is psychologically intimidated by failure has effectively doomed himself, stunted his own growth, and guaranteed his own failure. In order to grow and to succeed in anything you have to have confidence enough to try something a little new, something a little bit harder than last time…and you must “expect to be able to do this.” Failing to try, guarantees failure!

What Happens When Progress Stalls?

And if you reach a plateau where progress has stalled, you must be able to step back and figure out a way to start it moving again. Using pull ups as an example, you may have to adjust the amount of rest you’re getting in between workouts, add some calorie burning aerobics to your routine, or modify the quantity or quality of the food you’re eating to drop a little weight, and just watch as progress kicks back into gear as the result of your adjustment.

Now let me ask, how valuable is it to learn these kinds of lessons in a hands on kind of way, at an early age? If you say “it’s real important,” you see what I mean when I say the lessons you’ll learn from a pull-up bar go well beyond eliminating obesity.

A Natural Antidote To Peer Pressure

This self confidence thing by the way is that inner sense of strength and self worth that allows a child to think for himself and to avoid caving into peer pressure in situations where that needs to occur. A child who lacks that genuine sense of self confidence, is the child who is swayed by the group into doing things that he knows down deep, he should be avoiding. But psychologically they can’t afford to buck the crowd and to be called un-cool, etc. Inner strength weathers the peer pressure storm, and allows a child to stick with doing things that make him strong, and to actively avoid things that make him weak.

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