Pull up Question

S

ssnxp

0
Hi guys, new member here. I have a quick question on pull ups..

I can ALMOST do a complete pull up. I'm currently 5'5" and weigh 220lbs. I go to the gym 5 to 6 times a week, and do about 45 minutes of weight training and an hour or so of cardio.

I can do a pull up if my arms are already bent a bit (for example, if I jump up to grab the bar), but I cannot do a full rep if I'm in the starting position with my arms straight.

So my question is.. if I'm using the assisted pull up machine, should I add more "assistance" weight and do 10 reps, or add as little assistance weight as possible and do 1-3 reps?
 
Follow the Men's Health method to improve your pullups:



Your Best Effort: 0 to 1

The problem: You're not strong enough to lift your body weight.



The fix: Turn your weakness into an advantage with heavy "negatives." Doing only the lowering portion of an exercise with a heavier weight than you can lift is a fast way to build strength.



How to do it: First, a couple of definitions.



- Chinup: This is the same movement as a pullup, but you'll use a shoulder-width, underhand grip. Because your biceps are more involved, it's a little easier than the pullup.



- Neutral-grip pullup: Again, it's the same basic movement, but you'll grip the parallel bars of the pullup station so your palms are facing each other. This is harder than a chinup, but not as hard as a pullup.



Now follow the workout schedule below, using this method of performing negatives: Place a bench under a pullup bar and use it to boost your body so your chin is above the bar. Then take the prescribed amount of time -- either 5 to 6 seconds or 8 to 10 seconds -- to lower your body. Once your arms are straight, jump back up to the top position and repeat. Rest for 60 seconds after each set.



Week 1: Chinup : 3 sets : 5–6 reps : 5–6 seconds

Week 2: Neutral- grip pullup : 3 sets : 5–6 reps : 5–6 seconds

Week 3: Neutral- grip pullup : 2 sets : 5–6 reps : 8–10 seconds

Week 4: Pullup : 2 sets : 5–6 reps : 8–10 seconds
 
I started off with the chin ups tonight, I like the idea of negative training. It makes sense. Only problem I'm having is keeping my arms at the top of the motion, I drop down to 90 degrees at the elbows in under two seconds.. I can slowly lower myself for the rest of the motion, though. Is this normal for a beginner?

I also felt some burn in my triceps, I guess I need to get working on that too.
 
In training pull ups, and anything else, you need to train your weakness... and by reading what others have posted they touch on it. What I would do is a superset consisting of the following:

Do you actual pullup... followed up immediately by lat pulldowns using the same grip as your pullup. With the lat pulldown, use about 2/3 of your body weight. Also with the lat pull down, train the area where you are weakest... so if you are weak when your arms are at a full extension... make certain you begin every lat pulldown with your arms extended and your shoulders relaxed. I would do about 5 sets of them.

As far as the negative training by what you said... I would only do 1 set of them... it seems that if you can only 'hang' there for about two seconds and then you almost fall... you may actually get injured.
 
Pullup

Hi, I'm a new member too. Age 58.

I've been working out at 24hr. Fitness twice per week for about 5 years now. I started adding pullups to my regular routine about 3 yrs. ago. Originally I could only do maybe 2 sets of 5 reps, but unassisted. Now I do 3 sets. First set, 12 reps. Second set, 8 reps. Third set 6 reps behind the neck. One advantage I have is I'm only 140 lbs. so if weight loss is one of your objects in working out, your success in doing pullups will be enhanced with your success in losing weight.

Start slow, whether using assist or unassist methods. Pullups are one of the more strenuous exercises and its pretty easy to injure yourself. Patience and consistency are key.

Good luck
 
g8r80 is 100% correct. Negatives use the same muscles, so doing negs rather than assistance is much more effective IMO.
 
Man i know how you feel, pull ups are hard, i struggled to do 3 a month ago, now my best is 25, youll be doing them easily soon :)
 
Miltz308 said:
Man i know how you feel, pull ups are hard, i struggled to do 3 a month ago, now my best is 25, youll be doing them easily soon :)
Click to expand...

Hmmm you added another 22 pullups in just 4 weeks. So thats like gaining an extra 5.5 pullups a week.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm interesting...
 
Hey guys, so I've been doing the negatives for a few days now and I see an improvement. Before I could barely hang at the top of the movement, and now I can consistently hold myself there before slowly lowering myself. It's not much, but it feels good to see an improvement in such little time!
 
moanawai said:
Hi, I'm a new member too. Age 58.

I've been working out at 24hr. Fitness twice per week for about 5 years now. I started adding pullups to my regular routine about 3 yrs. ago. Originally I could only do maybe 2 sets of 5 reps, but unassisted. Now I do 3 sets. First set, 12 reps. Second set, 8 reps. Third set 6 reps behind the neck. One advantage I have is I'm only 140 lbs. so if weight loss is one of your objects in working out, your success in doing pullups will be enhanced with your success in losing weight.

Start slow, whether using assist or unassist methods. Pullups are one of the more strenuous exercises and its pretty easy to injure yourself. Patience and consistency are key.

Good luck
Click to expand...

Those are great numbers for anyone, and especially for 58!
 
Hey,

So I've run into a small snag. In the middle of every set, my right elbow (inner elbow?) starts to ache. My biceps and back feel fine, but for some reason the chin ups are killing my right elbowish area. Anyone have experience with this?
 
Pull Up Pointers

When I started doing pull ups I could get out 3 poor form pull ups. I can do 15 perfect ones now.

How I did it...I went an indoor climbing place near where I live and they had a practice climbing board made out of the same material the holds they use on the wall are made from. I like the board so much I ordered one. I came with a workout routine that incorporate various holds, fingers, jugs, etc. After a while I was really seeing results. Now my usual workout is doing a pull-up chin-up routine with a weighted vest, 1 pull up, 1 chin up, 2/2, 3/3 up through 5 reps each then back down to 1 rep. Great workout. Anyway if you're interested the board it's made by Metolius Climbing gear, look under "Training boards."

Also using the weighted vest is an eye opener about how much losing just 10-20 pounds increases your power doing body weight workouts, push ups, dips, pull ups etc. Keep at it everyone!

MG
 
Thanks Sugarloaf, I've been keeping at it lately and I'm progressing slowly. I've concentrated more on cardio lately, but I'm still working on the pull ups.

Thanks again!
 
ss,

3 months ago, I could barely manage 4 chinups. Now I do 9 and am ready to take a shot at 10. Keep at it. Follow that men's health article I posted - I do.

I am 49 and had open heart surgery 8 months ago.
 
Wow. I have been trying to build on my pull up strength and have not been able to master a straight arm full body weight ONE yet!

I can do 10 chin ups, and can do partial pull ups but not ONE yet from a dead hang. MAybe I am doing something wrong. I guess it is just a matter of keeping at it but it is disappointing.

I like the idea of adding a weighted vest or maybe ankle weights in my effort and perhaps I could then try without. I will report back my progress but I do attempts every day.
 
I'm very impressed that a woman can do 10 chinups - most cannot do 1. Chinups use different muscle groups than pullups and most people, myself included, can do about 2x as many chinups as pullups. Sounds like your pullups musculature is not nearly as well developed as your chinup musculature. But since there is a lot of overlap, you should be able to increase your pullups quickly.
 
Last edited:
g8r80 said:
I'm very impressed that a woman can do 10 chinups - most cannot do 1. Chinups use different muscle groups than pullups and most people, myself included, can do about 2x as many chinups as pullups. Sounds like your pullups musculature is not nearly as well developed as your chinup musculature. But since there is a lot of overlap, you should be able to increase your pullups quickly.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the encouraging words. My lateral developement is still lagging for sure. I also seem to aggravate my tendonitis on the pull up so there is that. Sticking with it is the key I know. Good to have this site for the encouragement of others trying to reach these sort of goals!

I am going to add in the weights because I haven't tried that and it seems a good idea.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top