Want to be strong? Ditch the paraphernalia for your body-weight

The pinnacle of body-weight training is far beyond the reach of your average gym meathead. The immense feats of strength you will learn about now come with a disclaimer: do not send an angry letter to the editor if you get your foot stuck somewhere untoward.

If done correctly, lifting heavy weights at the gym is a good thing. It’s been a while since the commercial catwalks called gyms have been bustling at rush hour, but at the water cooler we generally observe two things: most people are doing something with weights, but certainly not what they should be doing, and the only place visited less frequently than the squat rack is the pull-up bar.

A few bros hang around on them, to be sure, and even “kip” out a few reps of something, but generally speaking, witnessing good, clean pull-ups is as rare as leaving Twitter feeling good about life. It happens, but not often...