Pull up recommendations?
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Replies
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I started by looping a full set of resistance bands off the pullup bar and doing five sets to failure then my plan is to take the easiest band off the bar when I can do 5x8 and work up to 5 x8 again, take the next easiest band off and so on until I am pulling up unassisted.
edit: I'm using the resistance bands by dropping one knee into the loops like a sling.0 -
I started by looping a full set of resistance bands off the pullup bar and doing five sets to failure then my plan is to take the easiest band off the bar when I can do 5x8 and work up to 5 x8 again, take the next easiest band off and so on until I am pulling up unassisted.
edit: I'm using the resistance bands by dropping one knee into the loops like a sling.
I'm doing it the same way, with the knee in the band. Good luck!0 -
I have a toddler granddaughter going through potty training, so I was thinking of a different kind of pull up!0
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If you are still looking for help, one of the posters here on MFP turned me onto this website.
Al Kavadlo - We're working out.
It is great, he has a lot of step by step tutorials on how to do body weight exercises, that work up to being able to do some really amazing things (human flag and whatnot).0 -
If you are still looking for help, one of the posters here on MFP turned me onto this website.
Al Kavadlo - We're working out.
It is great, he has a lot of step by step tutorials on how to do body weight exercises, that work up to being able to do some really amazing things (human flag and whatnot).
Shiny! I'll have to play there.0 -
checking out the Al Kavadlo - We're working out thing as well - good luck with your pullups!0
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There is no skill to a proper pull up - no technique. You jump up, grab the bar, hang in an extended position, and then overcome gravity with your Lats. Nothing more. Nothing less. No kicking, no squirming, no gyrations. You pull yourself up smoothly in a demonstration of your power over gravity. You release the bar, and then you give the "stink eye" to everyone who doubted you. Victory!
Key #1. Pull less weight. Get lean. Women over 20% body fat, or even in the high teens are going to have difficulty.
Key #2. Develop strong Lats. Find a Lat pull-down machine and go hard on it. By "hard" I mean, use the most weight you can while still getting 8 good SLOW reps. A good rep has perfect form (no squirming, as mentioned above). It is slow and controlled. The negative portion of the rep is slower than the positive portion. Up and down should take around 8-10 seconds. Your set "to failure" should take ~ 90 seconds.
There are 3 types of Muscle "failure" (or more accurately, "temporary muscle exhaustion") - positive, neutral, and negative.
Positive: You can no longer raise the weight.
Neutral: You can no longer keep the weight from lowering.
Negative: You can no longer slow the descent of the weight.
You should have a close, intimate relationship with each of these on the last rep of every set you perform. If you cheat, you're just cheating yourself. I have no tips on this other than to just learn to love the discomfort. Go Medieval on it!
If you do these with proper intensity, you should not do them more than twice a week. Every time you do them your goal is to do one more rep (with perfect form) until you get to 12 reps, then you increase the weight 5 pounds. When the weight on your lat machine equals your body weight you are ready to make your statement!
Key #3. We want pictures of your success.0 -
Thanks Hadabetter - I prefer to do it without the Lat machine, but thanks.0
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just bumping for later.....I am also working towards pull ups and this is great info.0
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When I was in the military the women had to do flexed arm hangs,
basically holding themselves at the top of the bar for as long as they could.
Not sure if that would help.
If you do try to do that, make sure you have someone around to help you
get off the bar (some people's muscles would lock)
0 -
I weigh 170 and can do several sets of 3 to 4 reps. I got there by a combination of jumping chins/pulls, band-assisted chins/pulls, and mixing up higher assist/more reps with lower assist/fewer reps. It took a while to get my first pull up, but once I did I retained the ability, even though I've suffered through several bouts of both lateral and medial epicondylitis that prevented me from doing any for months at a time. I think the bands were the most helpful, followed by the combination of jumping pulls and slow negatives. I found that once my negative took about 15 seconds, I do easily do a pull up. Just hang in there (no pun intended), you will get your first pull/chin up soon! Also a great resource is stumptuous.com. There's an article called "mistressing the pull up" with lots of good ideas.0
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Key #1. Pull less weight. Get lean. Women over 20% body fat, or even in the high teens are going to have difficulty.
I am 25.7 % bf and 70 kg and I can do full sets of five three times...I have a strong back...always have had...
As this guy said previously, there is no skill...you just need a strong back. Just keep trying and practising until you pull your first one all the way, it gets better from there!
p.s. barbell rows and even heavy dumbell one arm rows help the lats and back.0 -
1) Be getting enough calories and protein to support muscle growth.
2) If you are stuck on phase 3 of a program, go back and dominate phase 1 and 2. ; More reps, more sets, more frequent, one, two or all of these (but rest when you need to)
Pullups aren't heavy squats, so if you aren't sore sore sore, you can do them more often than every other day.
You can 'grease the groove' ; perform multiple 'easy' (i.e. low rep version) sets (your phase 2 work?) many times throughout a day,
feeling good after each time. The cumulative effecting on your control over your existing muscles will help, not
least with your confidence to just get up there and have fun with it.0 -
There is no skill to a proper pull up - no technique. You jump up, grab the bar, hang in an extended position, and then overcome gravity with your Lats. Nothing more. Nothing less. No kicking, no squirming, no gyrations. You pull yourself up smoothly in a demonstration of your power over gravity. You release the bar, and then you give the "stink eye" to everyone who doubted you. Victory!
Key #1. Pull less weight. Get lean. Women over 20% body fat, or even in the high teens are going to have difficulty.
Key #2. Develop strong Lats. Find a Lat pull-down machine and go hard on it. By "hard" I mean, use the most weight you can while still getting 8 good SLOW reps. A good rep has perfect form (no squirming, as mentioned above). It is slow and controlled. The negative portion of the rep is slower than the positive portion. Up and down should take around 8-10 seconds. Your set "to failure" should take ~ 90 seconds.
There are 3 types of Muscle "failure" (or more accurately, "temporary muscle exhaustion") - positive, neutral, and negative.
Positive: You can no longer raise the weight.
Neutral: You can no longer keep the weight from lowering.
Negative: You can no longer slow the descent of the weight.
You should have a close, intimate relationship with each of these on the last rep of every set you perform. If you cheat, you're just cheating yourself. I have no tips on this other than to just learn to love the discomfort. Go Medieval on it!
If you do these with proper intensity, you should not do them more than twice a week. Every time you do them your goal is to do one more rep (with perfect form) until you get to 12 reps, then you increase the weight 5 pounds. When the weight on your lat machine equals your body weight you are ready to make your statement!
Key #3. We want pictures of your success.
0 -
There is no skill to a proper pull up - no technique. You jump up, grab the bar, hang in an extended position, and then overcome gravity with your Lats. Nothing more. Nothing less. No kicking, no squirming, no gyrations. You pull yourself up smoothly in a demonstration of your power over gravity. You release the bar, and then you give the "stink eye" to everyone who doubted you. Victory!
Key #1. Pull less weight. Get lean. Women over 20% body fat, or even in the high teens are going to have difficulty.
Key #2. Develop strong Lats. Find a Lat pull-down machine and go hard on it. By "hard" I mean, use the most weight you can while still getting 8 good SLOW reps. A good rep has perfect form (no squirming, as mentioned above). It is slow and controlled. The negative portion of the rep is slower than the positive portion. Up and down should take around 8-10 seconds. Your set "to failure" should take ~ 90 seconds.
There are 3 types of Muscle "failure" (or more accurately, "temporary muscle exhaustion") - positive, neutral, and negative.
Positive: You can no longer raise the weight.
Neutral: You can no longer keep the weight from lowering.
Negative: You can no longer slow the descent of the weight.
You should have a close, intimate relationship with each of these on the last rep of every set you perform. If you cheat, you're just cheating yourself. I have no tips on this other than to just learn to love the discomfort. Go Medieval on it!
If you do these with proper intensity, you should not do them more than twice a week. Every time you do them your goal is to do one more rep (with perfect form) until you get to 12 reps, then you increase the weight 5 pounds. When the weight on your lat machine equals your body weight you are ready to make your statement!
Key #3. We want pictures of your success.
Well I appreciate the reply, I refuse to accept that at 33% BF I have no hope of doing a pull up. Less weight is easier to pull, yes, but I have faith that my muscles will get strong enough to drag my bloated bag of skin up. So devil with that! Also, I have a full weight set up in my garage and lift heavy four times a week. I'm a heck of a lot stronger than I used to be and I WILL GET THERE.0 -
When I was in the military the women had to do flexed arm hangs,
basically holding themselves at the top of the bar for as long as they could.
Not sure if that would help.
If you do try to do that, make sure you have someone around to help you
get off the bar (some people's muscles would lock)
Oh, goodness. I remember those from High School Phys Ed. Not sure how they'd help with actually getting up there, though, but something else to look into. Thanks!
0 -
I weigh 170 and can do several sets of 3 to 4 reps. I got there by a combination of jumping chins/pulls, band-assisted chins/pulls, and mixing up higher assist/more reps with lower assist/fewer reps. It took a while to get my first pull up, but once I did I retained the ability, even though I've suffered through several bouts of both lateral and medial epicondylitis that prevented me from doing any for months at a time. I think the bands were the most helpful, followed by the combination of jumping pulls and slow negatives. I found that once my negative took about 15 seconds, I do easily do a pull up. Just hang in there (no pun intended), you will get your first pull/chin up soon! Also a great resource is stumptuous.com. There's an article called "mistressing the pull up" with lots of good ideas.
Good points! I'm nowhere near a 15 second lowering on my negatives, so something else to shoot for. I'll check out the site, too. Thanks!0 -
Key #1. Pull less weight. Get lean. Women over 20% body fat, or even in the high teens are going to have difficulty.
I am 25.7 % bf and 70 kg and I can do full sets of five three times...I have a strong back...always have had...
As this guy said previously, there is no skill...you just need a strong back. Just keep trying and practising until you pull your first one all the way, it gets better from there!
p.s. barbell rows and even heavy dumbell one arm rows help the lats and back.
Yup. I was just getting frustrated doing negatives and Austrians and feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere. I do barbell rows and lat pull downs as part of my (new) regular routine (4 weeks in), so I'll just keep working with those and with my new shiny resistance bands.0 -
Do it the cheap way, pull up a chair/bench under your pull up bar and assist yourself with your legs slightly to give you more resistance and work towards less and less assistance until you are finally able to do one pull up without assistance. As you keep working out your muscles will get stronger and your body will become lighter (if you are overweight).0
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1) Be getting enough calories and protein to support muscle growth.
2) If you are stuck on phase 3 of a program, go back and dominate phase 1 and 2. ; More reps, more sets, more frequent, one, two or all of these (but rest when you need to)
Pullups aren't heavy squats, so if you aren't sore sore sore, you can do them more often than every other day.
You can 'grease the groove' ; perform multiple 'easy' (i.e. low rep version) sets (your phase 2 work?) many times throughout a day,
feeling good after each time. The cumulative effecting on your control over your existing muscles will help, not
least with your confidence to just get up there and have fun with it.
Problem was I wasn't feeling good. I was doing the same thing over and over without getting anywhere. I'm pretty sure that's the definition of insanity. Sometimes it's better to try a new way than to just keep banging your head against the wall.0
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