SS 156 – Master Pull Ups with Robby Boyd

Grant and Heavey are joined by Robby Boyd as they discuss calisthenics and mastering pull ups. More importantly, they discuss how having the right mindset can help you achieve your goals. Robby is just 19 years old and is now in the 68-C U.S. Army, training to become a nurse.

 

Plus, listen to this story of a surrogate mother giving birth to twins – one was her biological child.

 

[04:40] A Surrogate Woman Giving Birth to Twins with Different DNAs

 

Grant found this article about a lady who got pregnant while she was already pregnant. The doctors thought she had twins coming along the way. Fast-forward to the C-section, they took out two kids – one Asian and the other one was Black.

 

It’s a common perception that when you get pregnant, your body shuts off all the mechanisms to release more eggs because your body is growing that one. This was a very rare occurrence that occurred in a woman was a surrogate mother. Essentially, she was paid to carry someone else’s fertilized embryo.

 

This Chinese couple had paid her $30,000 to carry their baby to term. She continued to have sexual intercourse with her husband, thinking there wouldn’t be a problem. It was suspected that because it was a surrogate situation and not a natural birth, her body continued to release eggs without having periods.

 

Apparently, this phenomenon is known as superfetation, which is extremely rare.

 

The reason this was so controversial was because of the legal battle as to who gets the baby. Since she was paid to carry the term, the other lady thought she got twins so she took both kids. The mom had to fight for her biological son.

 

[07:56] Why Robby Enlisted with the Military

 

The reason Robby enlisted with the army was to rise above poverty which he has been in for the majority of his life. The last straw was when his house got foreclosed on, and he ended up living with his friends for a few months. This ultimately helped him make his decision to enlist.

 

Alongside, he has always been interested in physical therapy, sports medicine, and physical training. He thought doing something that would broaden his knowledge and experience would allow him to have something more to bring to the table when it comes to future jobs.

 

[09:09] An Overview of Combat Medics

 

Combat medics are trained to deal with soldiers getting wounded on the battlefield. They will cast them up, tourniquet them and rush them over to a mobile hospital. Robby would be in that mobile hospital where he takes care of them until they’re ready to go back out and fight. Robby may also take care of the family members that follow them.

 

[09:50] What Military Training’s Like

 

Robby explains that every single soldier that enlists goes through the same basic training bootcamp. They have the same requirements they all need to meet.

 

Afterwards, they go through Advanced Individual Training (AIT) where each one gets specifically trained for each job you enlisted for. Robby chose 68-C practical nursing that involves 53 weeks of AIT.

 

[10:37] More than Just the Physical Training

 

When he went through basic training, he had two years of training under his belt. He was accustomed with most kinds of physical activity. He didn’t find the physical training too difficult. What was difficult for him was adjusting to the military lifestyle as well as to the amount of discipline you need.

 

[11:22] Why the Leap to Fitness?

 

Robby basically reached out to Grant and Heavey not only because he listens to the show but also because he’s very involved in athletics, particularly in calisthenics. On Instagram, he’s @warrior_calisthenics, and he also hosts a YouTube channel.

 

Over three years ago, Robby was almost qualified as obese. He weighed 185 pounds at 5 foot 6 inches. So he he had to shed off that fat and build some sort of basic strength. And this is the reason he came on body weight training and calisthenics.

 

When he was in Santa Monica with some friends, he saw a few athletes doing crazy tricks on the bars. He was just amazed by it that he walked to them and asked about their training. They taught him the basics and encouraged him to work hard and eventually, he will get the fundamentals and strength to be able to do the tricks.

 

Right then and there, he swore to himself that he’d do it.

 

[13:13] The Basics of Freestyle Calisthenics

 

Robby cites some tricks they do in calisthenics. Muscle up is a staple thing, which is the basic stuff you need to get into any sort of position to do any one of those tricks like muscle up 360, back swing 360, and fly away’s. These are just the “basics” of freestyle calisthenics since there is a lot of technique and grinding involved.

 

[13:55] What is Calisthenics?

 

Robby personally defines calisthenics as bodyweight training to give you fundamental strength, functional strength, and overall calisthenic awareness.

 

Robby went out of his way to only do bodyweight training for two years when he made his initial transformation and lost the weight and gained strength. The reason is so that when anyone in the future asks him for advice, he could tell them he’s been in their shoes and it’s possible. Additionally, he couldn’t afford to go to a gym and all he had was a pull up bar, so that’s what he did every single day.

 

[15:10] How Robby Did His Training

 

Robby says a lot of it is self-research. He hints that usually the really boring articles are the ones that have the good information. While the catchy ones only try to attract the masses and don’t necessarily give you the right knowledge and information.

 

Robby adds that YouTube videos are great since they’re great visuals and you’d have a better picture of how to do the proper technique. Eventually, he started critiquing himself. He was able to record himself and it just molded into him that he wanted to deliver the message and what he has learned from all the practice of his own trials and error. Therefore, his knowledge stems from a mixture of lots of research, experimenting, and just not being afraid.

 

[16:22] Setting Small Goals to Get to the Big Goal

 

From the start, Robby’s end goal was to be one of those guys he saw on the beach, impressing people with the strength he built up from the use of discipline. He knew he had to set small goals in the meantime.

 

He started by aiming to do 50 push ups a day when he started and then run one mile a day just to get himself accustomed to waking up early, working out, eating right.

 

It’s all those small goals that you set for yourself in order to accomplish the big goal. By the time you get to the big goal, you’re hungry for more.

 

[17:40] Progressive Overload + Fundamentals + Consistency

 

Robby remembers having this door frame pull-up bar. Every time he walked by it, he’d do a pull-up. Initially, he couldn’t do one at all. He did that for two weeks and then he was able to do one. He kept doing it and then one week, he was able to do five. Right there, he started seeing progress. It clicked until it became an addiction for him.

 

So he added doing those pull-ups into his workouts. He’d do push ups, pull ups, dips, and then he would run. He says it’s just all the basics. And eventually, you will do a progressive overload. For instance, you did five reps last time, try to see if you can do six this time. Then see if you can do one more set with the same amount of reps.

 

[20:25] Finding the Time to Workout: Cut Out Social Media Time (Can You?)

 

Robby’s current situation involves juggling training, soldiering, working out, YouTube editing, and networking. Back then, he lived on a ranch with no internet so he had summers all to himself where he would work on the ranch, and had tons of time.

 

Now that he’s doing a ton of things, he cuts out a lot of the crap that he doesn’t need. He describes how each person, on average, would surf on social media for three hours. You just have to cut that out.

 

Make sure you’re on time to things and that you get a good workout. Make sure you got yourself warmed up and that you stretch. Cutting out all the unnecessary things and not checking your phone incessantly all day can allow you to get more things done.

 

Heavey mentions the statistics on watching television is something like four plus hours a night on average. Then add phone usage on top of that. So what are you doing in the day besides being on your phone or watching television?

 

[22:24] Setting Priorities

 

Robby also cites how setting priorities as much as possible is very important to get things done. It’s not easy though. It’s a struggle to find the time to study or workout. He thinks you can just give up the other things, which is easier for him. In fact, he would even give up sleep which may not be the best option. But if he had to, he would. He’s already going to bed at ten and waking up at four in order to do a morning report at the hospital or go to class and study, or whatever. It’s a matter of doing those sacrifices and setting priorities.

 

What is it you’re trying to accomplish. Robby shares that the only difference between a dream and a goal is that a goal has a plan. You just have to make that plan and execute.

 

[23:30] Inspiring Other People – It’s All About Hard Work

 

From the physical training standpoint, Robby has inspired his friends to stay more fit and for the most part, they stick to it. He believes it’s a great outlet for stress relief and just to be healthier and happier. Sometimes they listen, other times they don’t. He doesn’t have control over that.

 

When he first started with his Instagram and YouTube, he knew he could almost have his own niche when it comes to his channel or his message of what he wanted to do. Growing up in poverty for the most part of his life, he has dealt with hardships. He would bike twelve miles a day in order to work at a minimum-wage job for a three-hour shift just to have money in his pocket.

 

Simply, hard work is something he prides himself on. A lot of times, we think we can’t do something but we have no idea how much we’re capable of. We have no idea how much limitation we set on ourselves.

 

People say they don’t have enough money to get a gym membership. Well, you don’t need weights to build muscle. You just need the ground, maybe a pull up bar, and some hard work. Now, you can build muscle.

 

You want to lose weight but you don’t want to give up food. Robby says you just need to work a little bit harder. Get that discipline on point. Drink a little bit more water so you don’t get hungry. You’ll eventually be able to lose that weight.

 

When it comes to studies cut out the bulk of what you’re doing like watching Netflix on weekends when you know you should be studying or checking your phone when you’re at work. Focus on work and just do it.

 

Ultimately, Robby’s core message is just to work hard and be consistent.

 

[26:48] Robby’s Current Goals

 

Robby has found YouTube as a good source of income. Being paid to make videos and being able to work in a way that other people can’t. Being a videographer is a huge dream of his. He seeks to work with different athletic companies in order to help their product and get his name more recognized.

 

He also would love to be a coach like Heavey, so he could help people and coach athletes in order to better their performance. On the other hand, he also wants to help people who are just trying to reach their physique goals.

 

[29:10] Let’s Get Technical: Mastering Your Pull Ups

 

Robby couldn’t do even a single pull up when he was starting and if he did, it was just half a rep. After doing research, he realized jumping into it is not the way to go. He recommends that you just have to try and eventually you will get it. There’s a whole lot of ways you can develop the muscles involved.

 

One of his favorite exercises would be an Australian pull or a row using body weight. If you can’t do body weight, you can supplement it with weights to complement that movement. So you will be inverted and just try to pull yourself up. You’re still going to be using the same muscles as a pull up. And this is how he first started when he tried to gain the strength.

 

Then do this more and more. Apply progressive overload and consistency. But a lot of the mistakes he sees with pull ups are the half reps or a lot of momentum. When you first start out, there’s going to be a lot of things to correct. But over time, try to eliminate as much of them and try to get the highest quality reps as you can.

 

[30:55] The Mind and Body Connection

 

One thing he has always done is the mental cue to augment the muscle connection. He imagines his hands as being hooks. He doesn’t use his hands or arms for pulling. What he does is imagine his elbows are the only point of contact. He pulls with his elbows and tries to tuck them into his back pocket. Robby admits this is how he gets the most bang for the buck out of his pull ups.

 

[32:12] Heavey’s Advice to His 19-Year-Old Self: A Learning Mindset

 

Heavey had no concept of this when he was Robby’s age whatsoever. He was basically in college, not really caring about his grades. But going back and thinking about what he learned as a coach now, is to continue to be open-minded. Have a learning mindset for everything that you do.

 

You’ll see these people on YouTube and social media where it seems like they know the answer to everything but that’s crap. That’s hiding insecurities. They key thing you should keep in mind is just go into it with a learning mindset and know that you don’t know 1% of the information that’s out there. So always be learning.

 

[33:38] The Dichotomy of Things

 

Grant has made a point in seeing the dichotomy where on one hand, your client wants you to know everything. You have to be confident in your knowledge and act like you’re giving them the right instructions.

 

But at the same time, you have to be aware that maybe things change. There’s always something that comes out. Some people know more than you and you have to accept that.

 

Heavey adds the challenge that takes time to develop is to be confident in what you’re saying but not be a dickhead about it. Although, he admits he’s getting better on this part.

 

Links:

 

Link to article: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/surrogate-mother-pregnant-twins-own-baby-jessica-allen-omega-family-global-san-diego-a8034901.html

Follow Robby on Instagram @warrior_calisthenics and check out his

YouTube channel