18. Do Something that BLOWS Your Mind

I checked with the two people who submitted this challenge...they agreed that this totally counts.  It may not blow YOUR mind, but it definitely blows my mind.
This is not pretty, but here it is.

                         

Okay, some acknowledgements...yes, it is a kipping pull  -up which is notably easier than a strict pull-up.  The army wouldn't accept my kipping pull-up. I am still working on the strict pull-up...but for now, I am basking in the glory of having my chin above the bar.

Secondly, it's not a pretty kipping pull-up.  We are working on that. 

Some of you are saying, "So it's a pull-up. What's the big deal?"  For those of you who have worked out with me, you know this is a big deal!  But let's review the journey of the past two years:

These are resistance bands. They give you a nice boost over the bar. The thicker the band, the more help it gives you.

**Not pictured above is the black band I started with, which is thicker and wider than the green band. (My current gym doesn't even use them.)

When I first started working on pull-ups, using the black band was a struggle.  I probably used a black band for close to a year, before I progressed to 2 green bands. I used 2 greens for about 6 months, before I backed down to 1 green band.  Finally, I used a red and blue band together for about 3 months before tackling kipping pull-ups without bands.  

For work-outs with lots of pull-ups in succession, I am still using a blue band or red-blue combo. Hopefully, the day will come when I can commit to an entire workout of pull-ups without the aid of a band.   

So yes, I still have work to do, but it's been awesome to see the fruits of my labor (with a LOT of help from some pretty awesome coaches, such as: John Champney, Tessa and Steven Waldrep, Gray Tedder, Lindsey Burnette, Ryan Bauer, Cheatham, and Jen Brumfield just to name a few).

Now if I could just master double unders...