Stronglifts and chin up/ pull up

LazyFoodie

I just started the Stronglifts program this week (did my first workout B today) and my plan is to do Stronglifts and half my normal cardio work out on lifting days and normal cardio workout on non-lifting days with a day of rest on the weekend where I just do something outdoors like tennis or Frisbee in the park. If I get too tired and feel like I need more recovery time when the weights get heavier then I'll adjust the amount of cardio.

However, I have a question regarding chin ups/ pull ups. It is recent goal of mine to be able to do one chin up after seeing my husband power through 10 pull ups at the park over the weekend. Will just doing Stronglifts give me the strength I need to eventually do at least a chin up (I've been told it is easier than a pull up) or do I need to specifically train for it in addition to Stronglifts?

I am very far from being able to do any right now. I used the machine with the counterweights to do a few this week (I tried for 5x5) and ended up not even being able to complete 5 reps each time when only lifting about 45 lbs. I don't remember if I did chin up or pull up style though. Should I keep doing this machine or will Stronglifts be enough to get me to my goal? If I should keep doing the machine assisted chin ups then when should I do it? Every time I lift, on workout A days only, workout B days, or cardio days? How many sets and reps each time? How much should and frequently I increase weights by? Thanks!

canadianlbs

nancy274 wrote: »

Will just doing Stronglifts give me the strength I need to eventually do at least a chin up (I've been told it is easier than a pull up) or do I need to specifically train for it in addition to Stronglifts?

i know other members already do them and i hope some of them respond with something more useful than this. i'm not one of them, but fwiw i am 'working towards' them myself. trouble is i have very little idea of what my 'before' was since i didn't even think of them seriously until after a few months of sl.

fwiw, i did see some improvement in my assisted-pullup strength after a few weeks or months of sl (sorry so vague; i really don't remember the time frames but i know i didn't even start sl until near the end of june). however, at that point i also didn't know the first thing about how to do a pullup. i.e. i had no idea whatever about form.

in early september i went to a workshop on actual pullup tips and form. and at around the same time started doing shoulder-specific accessory exercises with the pulldown machines at the gym. i think the tips definitely made an immediate difference, but i also feel like i'm making faster progress as far as the amount of assist that i need now that i've been working on strengthening my shoulders in general.

sorry so vague. fwiw the trainer who ran the workshop is a 'throw heavy *kitten* around' kind of woman herself, and without knowing anything about me doing sl, she mentioned 'rows of any kind' as 'especially' useful for anyoen who wants to do pullups.

krokador

Yup. The pendlay rows will help, but you might want to throw in pulldowns or a vertical rowing motion onto workout B as well. Leaning down will definitely help with pull-ups as you'll be dragging less weight around. Using the assist machine, while not bad in itself, has the drawback of not "requiring" you to brace your core and "allowing" you to bounce at the bottom. If you go against these 2 facilitators though it is a good way to work on that pull-up strength. But IMO band assisted pull-ups are where it's at (if your gym doesn't have them, you can find them on amazon for a decent price.)

I'm still working on getting mine (gaining weight does not help! lol). As far as the grip you choose it really doesn't matter - mix it up! Chins are typically a bit easier because the biceps can assist more in the pull. Parallel close grip is where I'm stronger at. Wide grip is the hardest.

It's a long process - and it can be frustrating - but the sooner you start the quicker you'll get there!

LazyFoodie

Thanks candianlbs and krokador! I find the pendlay rows to be the hardest for me to do so lots of work ahead.

bvontur

My wife and I are on the pursuit as well. Pendlay rows with negative pull-ups really helped us get there. I'd recommend these articles to help motivate and give you a strategy:

http://blogs.militarytimes.com/pt365/2014/04/03/zero-to-max-how-these-women-are-acing-pullups-practical-advice-for-anyone/
http://www.12minuteathlete.com/how-to-finally-do-a-pull-up/

Two things I thought I'd share from my research:

1. Getting the first pull-up is the biggest challenge. Getting from 0 to 1 is much harder than 1 to 5.
2. Obvious but...The more overweight you are, the harder it is. Your pull-up-ability goes up both while losing weight and while gaining strength - the pull-up is basically unique in that regard.

LazyFoodie

Thanks bvontur! Very helpful links. I am losing weight but at my current abilities, I will have to get down to 40 or 50lbs haha.