Weakness at the end of pull-ups - ideas?

Am I reading this right? It's basically chin up vs pull ups?

Most people can do more chinups than pullups because you get to use your biceps in a straighter line.

I can easily do 20 chin ups, but only say 12 pull ups.

So bottomline: You are normal.

Kudos for doing them...both are great exercises

THIS. Not to mention that chin ups keep your arms closer to your body increase power. The further your hands get from your center, the less power and strength you have.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Start with a narrow grip at shoulder length apart (as you progress you can widen your legnth a bit at a time). This is the easiest positioning for for beginners. Place your thumbs OVER the bar as well and not under as you would normally do. This will prevent over grasping the bar and this will reduce stress at the wrist/forearm. Try boosting yourself up on the bar and use the same momentum to thrust you into the top position. as you slowly lower yourself, the negative tension from the descent will prep you as you've just awakened them. The contraction you're looking for is when your elbows go down and back, you want to imagine you could hold and squeeze a key lime in the center of your back betweek you shoulder blades. get thoes blades back squeeze real tight and release'

Remember to try to imagine your arms strictly as meat hooks. take your mind of the biceps, and just drive your elbows down to your sides.keep your head up and puff out your chest a bit as your pulling up. Many of times we go to failure because of bicep failure, and overly strained/pumped forearms. leaving us wondering if we had an effect impact on the back with all thoes failures set after set. That is part of the reason many use wraps but you need not worry about this unless your pulling more than you're own weight. or a significant weight for that matter.

Don't worry about grip stregnth that will eventually come, or you can work it on the side. At this point the main focus is that back.

Well yeah I guess I could have phrased that a lot more simply - but I hadn't heard "chin-ups" in about 30 years for whatever reason.

I'm not so concerned about less reps with pull-ups, I'm concerned about having so much less height on the work. My understanding is that this means I'm not working the entire length of the muscle tissue / fibers and building the muscle incorrectly with deficient end ranges.

I paid closer attention tonight, and on my first rep, when rested, I can easily get my chin an inch to two above the bar, whereas with pull ups on a first, fresh rep I get my top lip over the bar and my muscles don't feel weak or burnt, there's just nothing there, like no range of motion, like I hit a wall and stopped short.

Is this similar for y'all?

Thanks again, and thanks for the support and feedback above.

Matthew

Lack of flexibility, lack of ROM, lack of strength to pull up that high. Continuous training on it will help you to eventually get higher.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I guess I'm not the norm. Lol. I can do regular pull ups and would think the chin up would be easier cause biceps are involved but can only do about three.

Same for me. Chin ups are harder. I do both with bands since i'm still working on it, but my forearms just give out.

Negative pull - ups/chin-ups, ring rows and push ups have helped.