One of the sad facts of life is that I've never really been able to do pull-ups. I think I've maybe squeezed one out a handful of times in my life, and they were probably pathetic in form, i.e., took some squirming to get my chin up there. Although I've never been particularly muscular---I've always been a much more of a cardio than a weight room guy, my biceps have always been weaker than my triceps, and my legs have always been stronger than my arms. While I'm not looking to be especially bulked up, it would be a huge victory for me if I could get to the point where I could do pull-ups, like, at least five in a row. However, what is the best training program to be able to do this? I don't belong to a gym, and don't plan to. I'm already doing hammer curls with dumbbells. What exercises should I be doing to build up enough strength to be able to get there? BTW, I don't have a pull-up bar yet. Once I would be close to being able to do them, I will install one. Then I could do pull-ups as a way to being able to do more. But I wouldn't see much point having one now, only able to wrap my hands around the bar and dangle there. Thanks.
The path to pull-ups
- Thread starter subdude
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Pullups are primarily a Lat exercise. You should focus on those & biceps. Ideally, I'd recommend lat pull downs and weight-assisted pullups, but since you said you won't have access to a gym, here's what you should do instead:
1. Keep doing those hammer curls
2. As BigTomW said above, do some bent over rows
3. Get that pull up bar NOW
You can do assisted pull ups at home too. Either have a partner hold your legs to help you out, or use a chair. That way you get used to the motion, and target the correct muscles. Do these at the beginning of your workout, before you get tired.
Remember, the more specific you can get, the better, so exercises that emulate pull-ups will benefit you more then ones that don't.
1. Keep doing those hammer curls
2. As BigTomW said above, do some bent over rows
3. Get that pull up bar NOW
You can do assisted pull ups at home too. Either have a partner hold your legs to help you out, or use a chair. That way you get used to the motion, and target the correct muscles. Do these at the beginning of your workout, before you get tired. Remember, the more specific you can get, the better, so exercises that emulate pull-ups will benefit you more then ones that don't.
In addition to assisted pull-ups, you can do negatives - stand on a chair so you start in the up position of a pull-up, then slowly let yourself down to the normal starting position.
Once you can do a few pullups, start doing them in sets, even sets of 1 to begin with. Then move on to sets of 2, then 3, etc... You'll see how your body will increase in strength.
Also, depending on what grip you use, the movement can be made easier - pullups (palms facing away from you) are the hardest, especially with a wide grip, if you narrow the grip to shoulder width, they'll be easier. If you do chinups (palms facing toward you), they'll be the easiest.
Its good that you want to master pullups, they're the best exercise for your upper back and unfortunately, many people avoid them.
Negative pull ups are going to help a lot. It's the reverse of a pull up: you start from the top, then slowly go down. I recommend jumping up and hanging over the bar to do this rather than using a chair. Just don't injure yourself.
Try chin ups and pull ups. Chin ups are putting your hands in reverse (towards you) while pull ups are where you hands point outward. Both work a different set of muscles. Chin ups are much easier to do that pull ups. Chin ups are typically named "girly pull ups" since some people can do hundreds of them. It's a great start though.
If you don't have a pull up bar, run over to the park and use the swing set. I do whenever I'm coming back from a run. It's quite fun, but you might get a few stares.
Try chin ups and pull ups. Chin ups are putting your hands in reverse (towards you) while pull ups are where you hands point outward. Both work a different set of muscles. Chin ups are much easier to do that pull ups. Chin ups are typically named "girly pull ups" since some people can do hundreds of them. It's a great start though.
If you don't have a pull up bar, run over to the park and use the swing set. I do whenever I'm coming back from a run. It's quite fun, but you might get a few stares.
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Doh! I can't even do those.
I'm sort of embarrassed to admit how weak I am the pulling muscles in my arms/shoulders/back are, but just to let you all know where I'm starting from, I am only curling about 30 pound dumbbells. So, I think I have pretty far to go.
Doh! I can't even do those.
I'm sort of embarrassed to admit how weak I am the pulling muscles in my arms/shoulders/back are, but just to let you all know where I'm starting from, I am only curling about 30 pound dumbbells. So, I think I have pretty far to go.
Don't worry about how much you can lift, it's not a contest. What matters is the effort you put forth.
Just out of curiosity, how tall are you and how much do you weigh?
You might be surprised at what you can do. Some people are like, "I can't do it!" Then they go right around and start doing it. So just give it a shot. No one is going to think otherwise if you are having trouble.
There's only one way to actually do pull ups.... and that's to actually try to do them instead of talking about it. So go buy a pull up bar, and a case of beer, and spend some quality time getting those pull ups!
ps.. kidding about the beer while working out, in case you didn't notice.
There's only one way to actually do pull ups.... and that's to actually try to do them instead of talking about it. So go buy a pull up bar, and a case of beer, and spend some quality time getting those pull ups!
ps.. kidding about the beer while working out, in case you didn't notice.
Three is actually a very good amount, I think. Now if you can do three at once, then you can do three 10 minutes from now, and so fort.
The fact is, the more you do it, the easier it is. Just don't overtrain and don't put too much stress if you have a hard time doing just one.
What other exercises do people do with their pull up bars? I'd like to be able to do a front lever, but don't have the strength to do so yet, but I'm working on it. I do put my legs out in front of me which kills the abs and also just do bent arm hangs which is harder then it sounds.
Do people use anything other then bars? I've got a set of rock rings I'm training on a lot, but am going to try and install a piece of inch think wood on a beam in my flat to do them on my fingertips. Think I'll struggle with one, but does seem to work out the forearms better!
Do people use anything other then bars? I've got a set of rock rings I'm training on a lot, but am going to try and install a piece of inch think wood on a beam in my flat to do them on my fingertips. Think I'll struggle with one, but does seem to work out the forearms better!
4. Basically, just keep trying pullups.
Agreed, back in the 6th grade I could only do a couple of pullups but wanted to be able to do 10 so I could get that presidential physical fitness award thingy in school...
I just went to the gym with my mom (hehe) and just practiced doing pullups. Could do ten in no time.
Ehhh, and she showed me some machines too.
But yeah, basically just workout and keep trying brotha.
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Hi all. Well, good news. Last night, after an ultimate frisbee game, I went over to the pull-up bar and did two chin-ups of pretty decent form. Two might not be that impressive, but I don't think I've ever done two at once in my life, even when I weighed forty pounds less. So, I'm pretty happy to have achieved this milestone; I thought it would take longer. I'm hoping by the end of the summer, I'll be able to do like 10 or so. I still have to install a pull-up bar although with an exam I'm studying for I haven't had time. I hope to do that within the next few weeks.
Nice. Now you've gotta increase that number. Try and see how many you can do when you are rested, not right after a game. I bet you could do more.
Try doing them in sets. Start with 2 sets of 2, then 2 sets of 3, and so on... It probably won't take you that long to work up to 3 sets of 10. Also, as you get stronger, switch to pullups.
Thanks. Anyway, now that I am becoming able to perform chin-ups (and pull-ups too, but not as well), I am planning to install a pull-up bar in our house. I'm wondering though what the best way to go is. I have a door frame bar installed in the basement, which I have currently set at the height for fat-man pull-ups (or reverse push-ups). But I'm not sure if I should be hanging my whole body weight on the bar and door frame. Plus, the ceiling height in the basement is less than eight feet, so I can't position it to allow for a full range of motion, where my feet wouldn't touch the ground with me hanging. So, I'm thinking I'll need to install one in the garage. We have a 3-car garage and only two cars, so we've got plenty of room. I'm wondering though what I should get. It seems like there are basically two options (and please let me know if there are others I should consider). Either I can buy some tower unit that bases itself on the garage floor (like the Linex X-615, which is about $120) or maybe I can fix a bar from the ceiling joists. Is that possible? The advantage with a tower unit, it would seem, is that it would be pretty straightforward to got out and buy one, and I could also do dips and that sort of thing. The disadvantage though would be that maybe the bar wouldn't be as high as I would like it to be, so that I'd have to keep my feet up to keep them from hitting the floor, and maybe the tower structure would get in the way of doing other exercises I might do in the future, like levers. Plus, a bar coming down from the ceiling wouldn't waste floor space, which I'd rather not waste even if I've got plenty right now. So anyway, thoughts on what I should get for a pull-up bar?
When doing pullups, bend you knees. That way you can use a door-mount without your feet hitting the ground. However, if you were to build a bar or get a tower, you can use a wider grip as you progress. I imagine that you could get the materials you need at a hardware store to build a decent pullup bar.
Just as an update...I constructed and installed a pull-up bar in my basement. I'm quite excited. I cut a 2 by 6 into two 24 inch long pieces and drilled holes in them for a 1 inch black steel pipe that's 36 inches long. They are securely screwed into my ceiling joists.
I'm still stuck at 1-2 pull-ups or chin-ups at a time, but now that I've got the pull-up bar there for me to use whenever I want, I expect to improve fairly quickly.
In other pull-up news, I found out my friend's 68-yr old dad still does sets of 10 pull-ups at a time. Pretty cool, I thought.
I'm still stuck at 1-2 pull-ups or chin-ups at a time, but now that I've got the pull-up bar there for me to use whenever I want, I expect to improve fairly quickly.
In other pull-up news, I found out my friend's 68-yr old dad still does sets of 10 pull-ups at a time. Pretty cool, I thought.