Stupid question... how to do a pull up?

horseryder77
horseryder77 Posts: 224 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So... my boyfriend moved in with me a couple months ago- and he's got an iron gym that he hangs from the top of a door and he can do pull ups in three different ways, and it does wonders for his arms/body in general.

Now- I have almost zero upper body strength.
I do workout, and recently I've been getting back into running.. and I horseback ride. I have pretty decent leg muscles, and I do push ups and stuff...

But I can't even do ONE pull up.

I really want to!

How do I go about doing this, correctly?
Recently, I've just been hanging from the bar, and pathetically failing to pull myself up.
I try jumping and catching myself- but I'm not sure if that's just doing more harm than good.

Any suggestions?

My goal is just to be able to accomplish ONE before the end of the year haha.
Even in middle school, I could never do one.

but even hanging I felt it in my abs! It'd be a great workout if I could somehow figure it out!

Any advice is appreciated :)

Replies

  • MrGonzo05
    MrGonzo05 Posts: 1,120 Member
    Try this:

    http://youtu.be/mRznU6pzez0
  • _stephanie0
    _stephanie0 Posts: 708 Member
    practice. practice. PRACTICE.

    keep working out. it takes time. pull ups are hard. ive been working out for a LONG time and cant do a strict pull up yet....

    keep working your upper body. when you have the strength to do it, you will. :)
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    There is a really good thread on here - will find it and post
  • charelg
    charelg Posts: 599 Member
    You pull up on the bar, lol. I used to not be able to come close to one, I can do two now. It takes a lot of practice and strength training. I would go on you tube and search pull ups, there are a wide variety of them, wide arm, underhand...etc...etc...It taka time, you will get there :)
  • timmyb057
    timmyb057 Posts: 15 Member
    lat pull-downs will help with those muscles. but if you only have the bar, you can use a chair to start at the top, then let yourself down as slow as possible (use negative resistance). Or turn your grip facing you and start with chin-ups (works more biceps, but it helps with those back muscles also).

    Hope that helps! Good luck!
  • Remo_Williams
    Remo_Williams Posts: 73
    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/04/25/do-a-pull-up/

    It will take time to build up to it.
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
    Try a band assisted pull up. Look it up on Youtube.
  • triggsta
    triggsta Posts: 140
    Try this:

    http://youtu.be/mRznU6pzez0

    Thank you! Gonna try this. My gym at school has an assisted pull-up machine but the other gym I go to does not, so hopefully I can find a way to modify this there :) I really want to be able to do a few pull-ups myself! The chair method that p90x shows was never really helpful to me, so hopefully this will be.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Read an article in the the New York Times (?) two days ago on a study showing that pullups are hard even for women who've worked at them. Look up assisted pull up exercises and try the assisted pull up machine at the gym.
  • likemeinvisible
    likemeinvisible Posts: 309
    Put a chair under the bar and take some of the weight with your legs in the up movement, then take all the weight going down. Going down is easier so repeat this to build your strength.
  • horseryder77
    horseryder77 Posts: 224 Member
    Wow these are all fantastic- thanks!! :)
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    This is an excellent thread, check it out:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/646798-the-cornerstone-of-upper-body-strength-the-pullup
  • shinkalork
    shinkalork Posts: 815 Member
    I put a chair in front of me...not straight under....and I do as much as i can without and I put one foot (tippy toes) on it and help me do some more with the help of the chair...IT'S STILL HARD..... just make you work at least more than 1-2 reps... the burn's there!
  • rolal
    rolal Posts: 7
    I used to be able to do 12, then didn't even try for years and suddenly couldn't do even one. I'm back up to 3-4 and started again by doing the jump-up and slowly lower down trick.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    I'm going to be able to do a pull up one of these days!!! I think I'm going to try the negative pull ups .... never thought of doing that.
  • Barbellerella
    Barbellerella Posts: 1,838 Member
    I could never do one before my whole life, even when I was a gymnast. But by the end of doing the New Rules of Lifting for Women program, I can bust out 8. :smile:
  • Lady_Bane
    Lady_Bane Posts: 720 Member
    Get pull up bands.....they assist you by reducing your weight you have to pull up, once you build the muscle...you can eventually do it on your own! :P
  • horseryder77
    horseryder77 Posts: 224 Member
    oooo all really excellent ideas! I'm excited to try them all! Thanks guys!! :)
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    Try this:

    http://twentypullups.com/node/10

    I am totally sold on bodyweight exercises now - loving it!

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