Pull-ups?
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6550mom
Posts: 206 Member
Pull ups, chin ups or whatever...
Can you do them? If so
1) how many and how did you get there
2) did you train/practice specifically for them or did the strength come from other lifts?
If not, do you care or try to get them?
I have always wanted to be able, but never quite get all the way there. I used to rock-climb and would do movements that required a lot of pulling of the body-weight, but on a bar- never quite got there.
I think that should be a 6 month or year goal. Not sure I'll ever make it though.
PS: I love this group. You all are smart, strong, friendly, helpful... Thanks for letting me hang.
Can you do them? If so
1) how many and how did you get there
2) did you train/practice specifically for them or did the strength come from other lifts?
If not, do you care or try to get them?
I have always wanted to be able, but never quite get all the way there. I used to rock-climb and would do movements that required a lot of pulling of the body-weight, but on a bar- never quite got there.
I think that should be a 6 month or year goal. Not sure I'll ever make it though.
PS: I love this group. You all are smart, strong, friendly, helpful... Thanks for letting me hang.
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Replies
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Pull ups, chin ups or whatever...
Can you do them? If so
1) how many and how did you get there
2) did you train/practice specifically for them or did the strength come from other lifts?
If not, do you care or try to get them?
I have always wanted to be able, but never quite get all the way there. I used to rock-climb and would do movements that required a lot of pulling of the body-weight, but on a bar- never quite got there.
I think that should be a 6 month or year goal. Not sure I'll ever make it though.
PS: I love this group. You all are smart, strong, friendly, helpful... Thanks for letting me hang.
Ooooooooooooh, I SO cannot do any kind of pull-up. They are kind of like my nemesis. One more thing I HATED about the physical fitness testing in school as a kid.
I would LIKE to be able to do one, but right now it's more of a wishful thinking kind of thing. I'm not really working towards them, so...not likely gonna' happen unless I actually set it as a goal and come up with a plan to work towards it.
Right now I am focusing on improving my push-ups. I want to get really good at the regular, full-body push-ups. Maybe after I reach that goal I *might* think about pull-ups. Right now it feels like something I could never do, but then I thought I could never do other things and I've done them.0 -
Yes, I can do them.
I am currently up to 5-6 pull-ups and can usually do a second set -1 or 2 reps.
I started at 1 pull-up in January. I do as many as I can when I do them (usually on workout B days). If that means 4 and getting half way, then I do 4 and a half. I don't stop until I can't make upward progress.
To train for pull-ups, I do pull-ups. The increased strength does come from the other lifts, but I feel that you have to train the muscles for the movement most of the time to get the best results.
6 months to a year is a good goal timeframe. If your gym has one of the assisted pull-up gravitrons then you can start there. If not, just start by trying to get up once. If you really want to get to the point where you can do at least one, work on it every chance you get.0 -
Yes, I can do them.
I am currently up to 5-6 pull-ups and can usually do a second set -1 or 2 reps.
I started at 1 pull-up in January. I do as many as I can when I do them (usually on workout B days). If that means 4 and getting half way, then I do 4 and a half. I don't stop until I can't make upward progress.
To train for pull-ups, I do pull-ups. The increased strength does come from the other lifts, but I feel that you have to train the muscles for the movement most of the time to get the best results.
6 months to a year is a good goal timeframe. If your gym has one of the assisted pull-up gravitrons then you can start there. If not, just start by trying to get up once. If you really want to get to the point where you can do at least one, work on it every chance you get.
***bows down in awe***
That is fantastic!! I sooooo want to do these. I don't even know why- maybe because they have been oh-so-elusive for me.... I think I will add some assisted pull ups after one of my workout days or maybe after cardio as I have a pull up bar at home.0 -
I can do both, but will reply in detail (not that there is much to tell) when I get home from work...and by the way chins and pull ups RULE!
: )0 -
I usually do about four sets of five on squat/deadlift days, but right now my elbow is injured so I'm doing dips instead.
Good ways to get your first pull up include the following:
progressively heavier lat pull downs
pull ups on bands
jumping pull ups
negatives (jump up and lower yourself as slowly as possible)
pull ups on the graviton (many people do not think these are useful but they did help me)
I would chose a few of these methods and mix it up. Definitely include negatives, though.
Once you can do one pull up or chin up, do as many singles as you can, then add some of the variants above for extra volume.
Once you can do 10 singles, try a double. Do as many doubles as you can, then add volume as per above.
Once you can do a triple, just start adding sets, even if they look like 3, 2, 1, 1, 1 etc. Decide on how many you want and use as many sets as you need to get there. For instance, you want to do 12, so you do a set of 3, 2 sets of 2, then five singles.0 -
I can't do any, but have been working towards them for a long time! I started off trying to negatives. I then went on the "Body By You" bodyweight training, which gave a gentler progression. I managed to do push-ups for the first time, but I'm still a LONG way off pull-ups. I have given up on the negatives after breaking my pull-up bar (oops!) and am doing inverted rows to try to strengthen the muscles. I have been doing these exercises for about a year (which is scary now that I think of how little progression I've had).
I have high body fat, and I really think it's virtually impossible for a woman with high body fat to do them. They are also using much smaller muscles than squats, deadlifts, etc. I think they are hard! I'm always really impressed to see women doing them at any size.
There's an article here http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/25/why-women-cant-do-pull-ups/ (ignore the title) about a small study on women of normal-weight who were trained over three months - 4 out of 17 could do pull-ups by the end. Would have been interesting to see how they got on over 6 months or more.0 -
I *want* to do pullups and chins. I started adding them in just last week. I am just going to use the assistance machine for a while and see how it goes. At 200 pounds, I'm not going to be able to do them now, but as I train and my weight comes down, eventually I will be able to!0
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I am back...I am trying to think how or what helped me to do them....I have always been able to do at least one of each even when heavier (used to swim lots) than I am now and also at body weight now (about 72 kg or 158 lbs) When I was lighter (140 lbs or so) I could pound out several sets of 10...at the moment I can do 5 sets of 5 chins and 5 sets of 3 pull ups. My back has always been strong. The barbell lifts will help with this as does any weighted row. I think lat pull downs as heavy as you can go also help. Assisted chins and pull ups too, just have the least amount of weight you can on there and see how many you can do. Just doing one unassisted is great going for most people. Keep at it, try doing one more or half of one more each time you try. I never did the negative pulls or chins, so I cannot comment on this method.0
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Pull ups, chin ups or whatever...
Can you do them? If so
1) how many and how did you get there
2) did you train/practice specifically for them or did the strength come from other lifts?
If not, do you care or try to get them?
Yes
1) I can do 3 pullups or 4 reverse-grip chin-ups on a good day. I've always had above average upper-body strength (naturally wide shoulders and lats don't hurt). I could always do one or two, except when I'm over a certain weight/BF%
2) I did P90x from November to February this year. There are LOTS of pullups in that. When I started, I was at one of my higher weights and BF%, so I couldn't do one. Knowing my history with being able to them, I knew I'd get back there eventually. I did most of them assisted with putting one foot on a chair. After about a month, I could do 2 or 3, which is close to where I am now.
I should start doing them as part of my regular workout more often. I'd like to be able to get up to 6 unassisted by the end of the summer.
PS: I love this group. You all are smart, strong, friendly, helpful... Thanks for letting me hang.0 -
I'd like to add that I progressed to full pull-ups/chin-ups at a bodyweight of 175.0
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Thanks for this- some great training ideas in there.
And thanks everyone for your input. And, another WOW to all of you who can do these. I hope to get there!0 -
I usually do about four sets of five on squat/deadlift days, but right now my elbow is injured so I'm doing dips instead.
Good ways to get your first pull up include the following:
progressively heavier lat pull downs
pull ups on bands
jumping pull ups
negatives (jump up and lower yourself as slowly as possible)
pull ups on the graviton (many people do not think these are useful but they did help me)
I would chose a few of these methods and mix it up. Definitely include negatives, though.
Once you can do one pull up or chin up, do as many singles as you can, then add some of the variants above for extra volume.
Once you can do 10 singles, try a double. Do as many doubles as you can, then add volume as per above.
Once you can do a triple, just start adding sets, even if they look like 3, 2, 1, 1, 1 etc. Decide on how many you want and use as many sets as you need to get there. For instance, you want to do 12, so you do a set of 3, 2 sets of 2, then five singles.
Thank you for taking the time to explain this. Some good things for me to try. 0 -
At 200 pounds, I'm not going to be able to do them now, but as I train and my weight comes down, eventually I will be able to!
I just love your CAN-DO attitude!!! YEAH!!!!!0 -
Totally my dream. My goal is to do one chin up by the end of the year.
A few days ago I tried a negative at the gym. Picture a deflating balloon. I am still laughing at myself.0 -
5 full pull-ups is my birthday present to myself next year. And a handstand. So thank you, everyone, for including all these great resources to check out!0
