The 200 Transformation
THERE ARE 3 THINGS YOU’RE GOING TO NEED TO LIVE A GREAT LIFE.
1. PLAN FROM THE HEART
A plan, be it short or long, all great people have a plan, dream or vision that they spent their days creating. If this plan comes from the heart then it’s much more likely to serve you and the greater good. If it comes from the mind or the ego then not so likely but still you’ll believe in yourself more for bigger and better plans later in life.
2. MULTIPLY ENERGIES
Your energy for the plan must be cultivated and broadcast frequently for it to gain the energy it needs to become reality.
If you can make your biggest dreams happen on your own, your dreams aren’t big enough. None of the great moments in history came from 1 persons work in isolation.
3. MAKE IT DAILY
Like any living being, your plan will need constant attention and nurturing for it to grow.
This is where the 200 Repetition Transformation becomes a life transforming tool.
The plan is very simple. Build a better body and a much deeper belief in who you are so that you can execute your biggest plans with full power.
As stated in Napoleon Hill’s classic “Think And Grow Rich,” our ability to persist is at the centre of our success.
So here’s the deal. You prove to yourself that you can persist. You transform your body and mind while hitting personal bests on your upper body movements and feel more physically capable than at any time previously in your life.
Deal?
The plan is too simple and it doesn’t bow to the overlords of modern science, yet it works. So much so that people are going to be asking you everywhere what are you doing. Not just because you’re changing physically but because they sense a new confidence. A growing internal power.
You complete 100 Push Reps and 100 Pull Reps everyday for as long as possible. The ultimate goal being 100 days.
Now, you might not need 100 days to recreate yourself and realise that you have more energy and strength of will than you imagined. Still most days I receive messages from those looking for a kick of motivation to get moving after time away from life (movement is life).
This plan will prepare you mentally for any program you’d like to conquer in the future. My plan is that the bigger your battles become in the world of movement the further you will be required to delve into the rabbit holes of your internal chemistry and spiritual evolution to unlock new levels of performance.
100 push + 100 pull, is that it?
Think twice before you take this on lightly. Completing any one day’s training is a walk in the park for most that are investing in their performance BUT to return to the bar consecutively, no days off, no sickness, no injury, no loss of mental drive / clarity. Avoiding these traps will take all you’ve got and the more that you will become.
LESSONS OF THE 200 TRANSFORMATION.
RESPONSIBILITY.
Aren’t injuries and sickness bad luck / bad programming?
No. No. No. Taking responsibility for life is where it starts. Sure you might blunt your immune system in the first week of this, have a night out drinking and mid-way through the next week you can’t get out of bed. Is it luck? No. Even doing all you think you should do, early to bed, greens daily, lots of healthy immune supporting fats etc. you might still get sick. Surely that means you had bad luck, right? No.
Nobody is doing everything right. Therefore we all have areas where we could have done things better. More meditation, an infra-red sauna each week, a float tank with its big magnesium hit.
What would have happened if we all nailed that? Who knows!
But we know that these things do contribute to health and performance and therefore could have prevented your “bad luck.”
If you do get sick or injured, it’s not failure unless you don’t learn from it. Analyse the situation, go through your human optimisation checklists and see what you can improve.
Pierre was the first frenchman to complete 100 days of the 200 Transformation (In the middle between me and Fred after our seminar in France in 2015.
WHAT COUNTS AS A PUSH / PULL?
RealMOVEMENT Standards
PULL – ANY UNASSISTED VARIATION OF A CHIN-UP OR PULL-UP WHERE MOMENTUM FROM THE LOWER BODY CONTRIBUTES MINIMALLY TO YOUR REPS. NO KIPPING OR BUTTERFLIES.
Basics: Chin-ups / Pull-ups (overhand or underhand grip)
Options: Ring chins, Rope Chins, Any Grip on a straight bar.
Advanced:
NOTE: Don’t start with these regardless of how prepared you are, use them for 10-25 of your 100 reps 2-3 times per week after 21 days).
Slow tempo – 4 second eccentrics, 3 Pause (pauses at the top, middle and bottom), Chest to bar pull-ups, Weighted chin-ups and pull-ups, Bodyweight barbell bent over row, Bodyweight pendlay rows.
Regressions: Ring Rows, Hinge Rows, 10-50 repetition target for the day.
Build up until you’re ready to take on the 100.
PUSH – THE PUSH IS INTENDED TO COMPLEMENT THE PULLS. MOST PEOPLE HAVE DONE A LOT MORE PUSH-UPS AND BENCH PRESS IN THEIR LIFETIMES SO EVEN THOUGH IN THEORY IF 100 CHIN-UPS IS A LOT HARDER THAN 100 PUSH-UPS THE IDEA IS TO WORK MORE ON THE PULLS.
Basics: Push-ups, Feet Elevated, Close hand / diamond push-ups / wide hand push-ups.
Options: Push-ups, Dips, Headstand Push-ups, 66% bodyweight military press, bodyweight bench press.
Advanced: Headstand Push-ups, handstand push-ups (deficit handstand push-ups), weighted dips, greater than bodyweight bench press, greater than 2/3 bodyweight military press.
Regressions: Normal push-ups should be fine but if 100 push-ups is going to destroy you then incline push-ups can be used or lowering your daily target to 10-50 reps.
HOW MANY DAYS?
Every Day Is A Win! Half the battle is starting on any new project and if you start you’re winning.
If you make a week you’ve gained some belief. You’ve probably had some dark days, you’ve still got on with it and as a result you’re #BetterThanYesterday and that’s a win!
Two weeks in and you’re sure to see some positive changes in the mirror and in life. If the time comes where it’s not serving you or you just can’t keep on, that’s ok. You’ve had an experience. Maybe next time you’ll see it a little differently.
50 Days – The day of enlightenment. Actually it will feel like any other, but by this stage daily training and self development is so in-grained in who you are that you’re among the rare few who can execute what matters in life.
Maybe be the 200 repetitions don’t matter that much but seeing and feeling yourself doing them everyday has built a new you.
WHAT IF I MISS A DAY?
Just like that one bad meal you had, don’t turn it into more than it is. In saying that if you don’t do the work in life you can’t expect the rewards. The next day is a double day.
If you get your 200 repetitions the next day you’re still in the game. If you don’t, you can always start again or shift focus and come back to it next time your shirt sleeves are feeling a bit loose.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT?
At first it will seem almost too easy. However, very few people will make it beyond 2 weeks. The rare focussed individual will complete an entire month. 50 days is out of reach for 99% of the population but every attempt you make at it you will grow.
EXPERIENCES
It doesn’t get any simpler than this! 2 weeks in and I knew that my body had changed. 1 month in and self-belief in my ability to persist were at all-time HIGH levels.
WHO’S IT FOR?
If you can’t do a set of 10-15 pull-ups this challenge probably isn’t for you or at least it will take everything you’ve got to stay in the game for more than a few days. You can scale the movements but ultimately you’re going to need a bigger base to grow from.
TECHNIQUE GUIDELINES
If you do 100 crap reps for lots of days you’re going to get really good at doing really bad reps.
You’re more chance of getting injured and less chance of seeing your training transfer over to anything else if you don’t keep quality control high.
What is a good rep?
1. Reach the dead-hang position at the bottom of each rep. You don’t need to always pause there but pass through the position.
2. Lead with the chest to avoid shrugging your way through the movement. You need to build more scapular straight arm strength before you start this challenge if you are shrugging.
3. Get contact with the bar at the top of the rep. Collar bones, chest, neck, I don’t really mind, each have their place depending on the rep type. You’re not likely to do 100 strict chest to bars for 7 weeks!
4. Keep control. I encourage you to use varied rep speeds. Ballistic movements are only for those who are highly skilled and have no doubts about the ability of their structures to deal with high rates of force development. Some fast reps are great but most of the time you should be smooth and controlled.
WHAT ABOUT SETS AND REPS?
Try to get off the bar with a few reps in the tank at least 90% of the time. Going to failure or anywhere close to it on this challenge makes your chances of lasting it out very low. You can do it for 1-2 sets or 1-2 days per week but habits are magnified with this volume and consistency.
Best methods for dividing the work:
1. DenseSTRENGTH60-5+5 x 4 blocks. You could choose anywhere from 3-6 push / pull reps each minute, 5 is a good number for most.
2. 5-3-2 Cluster
3. 5-4-3-2-1
4. DenseSTRENGTH30/2+2 x5 blocks, 2 reps of push and pull completed every 30 seconds, (8 total reps per 60 seconds).
5. 10-5-3-2 Cluster
6. 20 reps in 5 different blocks throughout the day.
7. 10 reps every time you go past a bar in the house or in the gym. Finish what’s left at 5pm.
Ultimately just get them done.
The challenge isn’t the intensity or that you won’t have the strength to continue, the challenge is that you won’t be able to maintain the motivation and persistence.
Make it as easy as possible most days. Intensity won’t help you on this challenge. Patience and control is the key!
SEND ME SOME THOUGHTS ON YOUR EXPERIENCE WHEN YOU COMPLETE 50 DAYS OR MORE AND I WILL SHARE THEM WITH THE COMMUNITY.
The infectious nature of the challenge has been interesting in the gym. From seeing our coaching team do it each day a handful of members have taking up the challenge. I have managed to hit it each day consistently think Im around day 40ish would need to check original post for date. It has been heaps easier with the others people jumping in with the challenge – has kept it fun.
Leigh Stalker
By far the biggest benefit so far has been pursuing one task consistently for 40 days. Mentally I feel stronger to know that even on days where physically I am feeling less than optimal you can still accomplish the task with a stronger will and discipline than I once possessed.
It is also allowing me to build a base and focus on staples of those movements through lesser repetition or frequency that I would not have considered otherwise.
Keegan Pond
The hundreds have been awesome so far. Mixing it up a couple times a week has been key, it also feels like its working all areas of my pull. As Keegan Pond said, the discipline it builds is awesome, and I feel that is where the true progression lies. The big goals, when broken down into daily chunks, become habits. How cool would it be to habitually do 100 pushes and pulls everyday. Good work everyone!