Pull Up debate

DeniseB0711

I am doing P90X and being an overweight female I cannot do pull ups. Realistically I'll probably need to drop 30lbs to do them unassisted.
I am curious though which would be the most effective way to develop the back muscles targeted during pulls....Assisted Pulls Ups, Jumping Pull ups, or using a Heavy Resistance band.

Thanks.

seekingstrengthX2

I would do weight training; shoulder presses, seated rows, bent over rows, lat pulldowns, etc. Losing weight alone wont accomplish this, you have to b STRONG. My long term goal is to be able to do pull-ups.

blairh10

I like the band method personally. Just make sure you are not using a band that is too heavy or you'll just be bouncing not actually doing a pull up.

DeniseB0711

I would do weight training; shoulder presses, seated rows, bent over rows, lat pulldowns, etc. Losing weight alone wont accomplish this, you have to b STRONG. My long term goal is to be able to do pull-ups.

This is true. but I don't care how strong I am. I am not goign to hoist 170lbs of dead weight vertically to reach the top of that bar...aint gonna happen. It woudl be far easier to build my muscles and have less dead weight to pull verticaly...just sayin LOL.

DaveRCF

For me, pull-ups were the holy grail of getting fit. They can be a goal but for somebody starting out, just not realistic. I'm up to 10 from not being able to do one 6 months ago but I lost 25lbs in the interim. Pull-ups are all about power to weight ratio.

contingencyplan

The Lifeline USA Pullup Revolution. It attaches to a pullup bar and allows you to do them assisted. Worked for me.

Also doing workouts on a suspension trainer.

DeniseB0711

The Lifeline USA Pullup Revolution. It attaches to a pullup bar and allows you to do them assisted. Worked for me.

Also doing workouts on a suspension trainer.

I will be looking more deeply into this product. It reminds me of those Giant Rubber bands found in crossfit gyms.

kdiamond

I don't think assisted pullups using the machine help at all.

I like jumping pullups or using a thin band.

It takes time though! After 2 years I can only do 2 unassisted pullups on a good day. Once a week I'll do 5 sets of 5 and I will use the jumping method for most of them.

DocGu

The pullup assist is a great tool, but pullups are HARD!!!!! The are even hard to do with the assist, the resistance bands may be what you need, especially at the beginning. Just keep trying and working on it and with hard work and dedication you will eventually be able to do a pull-up unassisted. This is a huge milestone on your journey to fitness. I almost cried when I did my first unassisted pullup.

contingencyplan

The Lifeline USA Pullup Revolution. It attaches to a pullup bar and allows you to do them assisted. Worked for me.

Also doing workouts on a suspension trainer.

I will be looking more deeply into this product. It reminds me of those Giant Rubber bands found in crossfit gyms.

When I first bought it I couldn't do a single pullup OR chinup. Now I can bang out chinups (palms facing you) and I can do a few pullups (palms facing away from you)

jamie1888

Start doing negatives! Use a chair or bench to get up to the top of the pull-up position, then let your self down as slow as you can.
Then get back up to the top and do it again. You can also just try to hold yourself up on the top position as long as you can.

I agree with KDiamond; using the assist machine doesn't really help. You have to get used to supporting your own body weight.

Edit to add: And yes, it's going to be easier to do them when you drop some excess weight!

Sean_The_IT_Guy

Start doing negatives! Use a chair or bench to get up to the top of the pull-up position, then let your self down as slow as you can.
Then get back up to the top and do it again. You can also just try to hold yourself up on the top position as long as you can.

This

iWaffle

For me, pull-ups were the holy grail of getting fit. They can be a goal but for somebody starting out, just not realistic. I'm up to 10 from not being able to do one 6 months ago but I lost 25lbs in the interim. Pull-ups are all about power to weight ratio.

I agree. I would be in heaven if I could do 10 unassisted pull ups. Honestly I haven't tried at all this year but now that I'm down about 20 lbs I should seriously start working on these again. I've been doing lat pull downs a lot of course but I think I'm going to switch to doing negatives on the pull up bar and see how that goes.

Sidesteal

If you have access to an assisted pullup machine with a weight-stack I'd use this as my primary tool and I'd probably supplement with another vertical pull like lat pulldowns.

The advantage of using an assisted pullup machine (aside from the mechanics of the lift) is that you can apply progressive resistance by gradually decreasing the assist over time.

Doesn't mean other methods won't help, the above is just my opinion.

iWaffle

I was really working on shoulders last night but after the first super-set I tried doing a single pull up and was able to get just that one. Success! Couldn't manage any others but that was a real improvement from last year. I'm sure the work I've done dropping body fat was a big factor in the improvement. I did a few sets of negatives on the pull up bar between shoulder sets and I've added a new goal for this year. I want to be able to do 10 unassisted pull ups before summer is over. I'm going to make these a priority when I do back and add some in between sets on shoulder day too. It's going to happen.

My pull up bar is the Smith machine with the bar parked at the top notch. If you think that's funny you should see what I use for tricep dips. It's a dual cable cross machine with adjustable arms. You have to be creative in small gyms.