In all childhood obesity prevention interventions the goal is body composition improvement* which generally can be expressed in terms of “percentage of body fat.” And since body composition changes are directly reflected in functional performance, it’s easy and logical to monitor changes in body composition by monitoring functional performance of some kind.
So for example, let’s say a person could do 12 bar dips on January 1 and through regular work and proper diet they added one more repetition each month for an entire year – they can now do 24 dips, effectively doubling their functional performance. At this point you could accurately predict that this person had gained strength (muscle mass), lost body fat, or they’d done a little of each. In other words, in order for this person to improve their functional performance from 12 to 24 dips they’d have to improve their body composition/reduce their percentage of body fat.
All Body Weight Exercises
This claim can be made for all exercises in with the participant’s own body weight is the primary resistance factor. So for example, rope jumping, rope climbing, vertical jumping, sprinting, distance running, hand stand push ups, single legged squats, and rock climbing all directly reflect body composition changes for the better or worse.
Why We Choose Pull Ups
In Operation Pull Your Own Weight we use pull ups (either the conventional unassisted or the unconventional leg assisted variety) for several reasons. The first is their low cost and affordability. The second is that they require very little space. The third is that kids understand pull ups and inevitably associate them with being strong/cool.
Igniting a Motivational Flame
The fourth and most important reason is that, when the stage is set right with leg assisted pull ups, kids experience very frequent (at least weekly) progress towards the goal of being able to physically pull their own weight. Frequent progress like this in turn ignites their enthusiasm and their desire to learn to become stronger on the pull up bar in front of their friends because strong is always cool.
When kids get excited and motivated over getting strong on the pull up bar it becomes easy to talk about the seven habits that help make kids strong on the pull up bar. These habits include regular work (twice a week), eating right, getting sufficient rest at night, avoiding tobacco, alcohol, and drugs (they make you weak), and taking responsibility for these things yourself because nobody else can do them for you.
Excruciatingly Accurate and Inexpensive
Pull ups, bar dips, and all the other exercises mentioned on the previous list all provide an excellent vehicle for monitoring body composition changes for better or worse. They’re simple, inexpensive, easily monitored by oneself, and dramatically more accurate then their conventional counterparts. But more importantly, the opportunity to grow strong motivates kids to do the things they must do in order to continue growing strong. And like any fitness/wellness strategy, the three most important factors are always motivation, motivation, and motivation.
*If you’re working preventatively the goal would be to maintain (instead of improve) a good, healthy percentage of body fat.
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