NSV: Women, Can You Do A Pullup?

anonymouse37
anonymouse37 Posts: 14 Member
edited December 18 in Success Stories
I have a goal to be able to do an unassisted pull-up. I am over 50 and female. I would like to hear from women that can do this. What do you weigh? How old are you? Do you have advice for how to train?

I currently am working though the P90X weight routines (not Kenpo, yoga, etc.) and do aerobics at least three times a week. Will transition to a more traditional weightlifting routine after the P90X.
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Replies

  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    YES! you can.
    Absolutely. Just takes time and training.

    I'm 165 (ish)
    I'm 30

    Advice? PRACTICE. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE. If you're doing p90X- there are pull ups in there (he has you use the chair- which is wise and do-able)

    A great technique for training is "grease the groove" put your pull up bar somewhere you go regularly- bathroom or near the bathroom is my favorite... every time you go in- jump up there.

    Negatives (get to the top- then lower yourself slowly down)- can also be done with a chair so you don't drop rip your shoulders out.

    And just repetition.

    Good luck!!! :D
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I can do 2 chin-ups (uses the arms more so it's easier). I got there by lifting (Pendlay and barbell rows) and negatives. Chin-ups are easier than pull-ups. A lot of people recommend starting with those.
  • rainbow198
    rainbow198 Posts: 2,245 Member
    edited January 2015
    Hi! I can do 4 unassisted pull-ups in a row...the 4th one is a struggle however.

    I'm in my late 30's, 5'11 and I maintain between 170 - 175lbs.

    My workout routine is balanced. M-W-F I focus on my upper body and T-Th-Sat I focus on my lower body. For cardio I power walk everyday, for strength I do bodyweight workouts, Pilates, and I lift heavy weights 2 - 3 times a week. I really don't do any hardcore workouts.

    Regarding advice I did 3 (progressive) rounds of Chalean Extreme over a course of a year and a half and that really helped to build up my strength. Also I found that bodyweight work like basic on the toes push ups helped me as well. I started doing pushups on the wall and the kitchen counter so I had to take baby steps.
  • ellisboyd1
    ellisboyd1 Posts: 67 Member
    JoRocka nailed it. Only thing I'd add is that weight loss is obviously helpful, as it means you have less of you to lift. I lost 47lbs, and was flying up & down on that bar.

    I know three women who are 50+ and can do this, so yes it's do-able.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I'd also say- if you have access to a gym- lat pull downs- cable rows - dumbbell rows- bar bell rows- all will help you out.
  • JoKnowsJo
    JoKnowsJo Posts: 257 Member
    I too hope to do pull - ups and also pushups /\ totally agree with this... I like wall pushups I do feel like it's getting there.... :)
  • AlMonkey
    AlMonkey Posts: 258 Member
    BusyRaeNOTBusty wrote: »
    I can do 2 chin-ups (uses the arms more so it's easier). I got there by lifting (Pendlay and barbell rows) and negatives. Chin-ups are easier than pull-ups. A lot of people recommend starting with those.

    hey, just wondering, what is the difference between a chin up and a pull up? i always thought it was two words for the same thing?

  • anonymouse37
    anonymouse37 Posts: 14 Member
    Thanks so much for the responses. I am so happy to hear that this is doable! Its just one of those things I always had in the back of my mind and never got around to getting fit enough. I was hoping it isn't too late. I weigh 145ish now, hoping to get down to 130-135.

    I like the idea of the bar in the bathroom door. Will try this one.

    Chin-up is palms facing you. Pull up is palms facing away, like you are pushing a shopping cart.
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,473 Member
    I'm in my 50s and have been trying for almost three years to do one chin-up. I'm still not there yet! However, I have made progress, and can now jump up and "hang" with bent arms for up to 10 seconds.

    I've used negatives, barbell rows (haven't done those for a while), assisted pull-up machine and inverted rows (lying under a table and pulling yourself up). Of those, I've found that the negatives were the most helpful, and where I could really see the progress (at first I dropped like a stone, but then it gradually slowed). I installed a bar in one of my doorways (it's a nightmare for tall visitors!), so I can practice whenever I feel like it. I actually broke the first bar I had! I don't know how much the inverted rows helped, but I felt they were a useful exercise in themselves (and allow for progression - you can bend your knees if they're too hard to start).

    I don't know for sure, but I do think body type is maybe an issue, and I don't think my body type (heavy-hipped, relatively weak upper body, despite lots of work) lends itself to it. I've also been happily maintaining in the "overweight" BMI range, and I think I'm going to have to drop down in weight now if I want to make much more progress. I think this is one exercise where your own body weight relative to strength is a huge factor.

    LCloops, pushups was a previous goal of mine as I'd never managed to do a single one even when I was young and very fit! Those came quicker, and I was first able to do them while still in the obese range. Like you, I did incline pushups on various surfaces, but every so often I would try to do a proper one, and suddenly one day, I could! I still find them hard, but it feels like a huge achievement to be able to do them at all!
  • fagefan
    fagefan Posts: 49 Member
    Well, that's a great goal. I am still trying to do the perfect man push up but can only manage to get about half-way down. But these are very inspirational, knowing that a woman my size can, indeed, do man push ups and pull ups. :) Thanks everyone!
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    not quite yet.

    doesnt mean im not hanging from the smith machine bar doing inverted bodyweight rows like a crack head every week
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
    There's lots of halfway points (progressions) on the path to the pullup. For example, the progressions from Convict Conditioning:

    Vertical pulls:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brA8BYaj7YQ

    Horizontal pulls:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-LH0LR1KW8

    Jackknife pulls:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cRfTqUz6Po

    Half pullups:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHctvXJJ-r4

    Full pullups:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2tNzbRIcx0

    Once you get there, there's another set of progressions to get you to one-arm pullups :D
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
    edited January 2015
    Not yet. At my weight and height, I think that's going to be unlikely until I'm below about 180 or so. But when I get there, yes, that's going to be on my list of Physical Things to Accomplish!
  • HeySwoleSister
    HeySwoleSister Posts: 1,938 Member
    I want to do this, too. My kids' playset has monkey bars and my goal is to get a pull up (in a pinch a chin up, which, pp, is like a pull up but with an underhand grip, unless I'm mistaken) by the time the thing is thawed out. (Usually some time in early March.)

    I'm currently about 132, aiming to lose another 10 pounds of fat. I have hypertonic elbows so I'm most planning on being careful of getting stuck in a free hang and causing injury that might hold me back on my beloved deadlifts. (seriously, it's absurd how much I love doing those things. I feel like such a badass when I do them, and my weight is still pathetically low. But, I already notice that I can pick up heavier stuff in my day-to-day life!)
  • jesiann2014
    jesiann2014 Posts: 521 Member
    Yes! I can complete 2 chin-ups!!! Never thought I'd ever EVER be able to accomplish this. Can also now complete 7 real dude push-ups. :) SEVEN! Yeah, go me! And go you! It took me around 8 months of everyday practice to get that first chin-up. Just keep at it.
  • Boobietrap1337
    Boobietrap1337 Posts: 195 Member
    This is my goal for the end of this year. I'm going to use all these videos. I've been focusing on losing the extra weight to make it a little easier to pull my whole body up! I'm 30 years old and I started at 230, now I'm down to 190. I've been lifting weights the entire time, so I already feel tons stronger. Some of it is also mental. I felt so crappy about not being able to do it after working on it for 6 months. I told a friend about it, and she came to the gym with me and held my legs/back when I attempted a pull up and gently pushed me up. That helped me so much mentally. I didn't do it completely by myself, but I know I'm almost there.
  • thismamarox
    thismamarox Posts: 105 Member
    I can do guy push-ups, but I still cant do an unassisted pull-up, or Chin up. One thing I see people at the gym doing, is instead of the assisted pull-up machine, they are standing on resistance bands looped to the top of the bar. I want to try this, but I might need help getting my fat little leg up there :)
  • Timby1
    Timby1 Posts: 294 Member
    I'm almost 53 (next month) and doing a Tough Mudder next year is my goal, so yep, I'm working on being able to do pullups, pushups and all sorts of other tough things. :) I've started the Body By You book by Mark Lauren. It is progressive calisthenics and works up to doing these kind of things.

    Good for you for this goal. We may be getting older but let's do it with style and strength!
  • JoKnowsJo
    JoKnowsJo Posts: 257 Member
    /\ You go girl... I have heard the Tough Mudder and Muddy Buddies are fun but incredibly grueling... lots of walls to climb... just makes me tired thinking about it and yes pull-ups and chin-ups would be required :)
  • Clawsal
    Clawsal Posts: 255 Member
    Well, I can't do a pullup. But my mum, who is turning 54, can. So age doesn't seem to be much of a factor.
  • ScientificExplorerGirl
    ScientificExplorerGirl Posts: 535 Member
    This is one of my goals for the year too! I am 50 (soon to be 51). It's great to hear everyone's comments. I am using Scooby's progression and it is going very slowly. I'll be happy with one by the end of the year but hopefully it will take less time!

    Good on you OP! We can all be the over 50 pull-up team!!
  • aylajane
    aylajane Posts: 979 Member
    edited January 2015
    I can do almost 10 unassisted pullups for almost a year now (when I was 42... now 43). I was about 145 lbs when I built up to 5. Now I weigh 130 and can do almost ten (would be more but had a shoulder injury and had to start over after rehabbing). Instead of trying to do more of them now, I am playing with a 12 pound weighted vest and building back up to 10 while wearing it.

    Go for it! Best advice I have it get a pullup bar for your house, start by jumping up as high as you can and pull the rest and lower slowly (or start with a chair at the top and just lower). But the main thing is to do it OFTEN - every time you go through that doorway, try one or two! Within a few weeks you will be surprised how far you have come.

    They also make a strap called the "perfect pullup" that "assists" you on the doorway pullup bar at home, with a few different resistance bands you can progressive get less assistance. I used for 2 weeks and returned, as that is all it took to do one on my own :)

    Also what really helped - someone told me not to think of it as pulling yourself up, but driving your elbows down. Just a mind game, but helps you isolate the right muscles (instead of your biceps, use your back).
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    No, cannot do it. I'm arthritic. I think my elbows would pop right out of my arms lol.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    LCloops wrote: »
    /\ You go girl... I have heard the Tough Mudder and Muddy Buddies are fun but incredibly grueling... lots of walls to climb... just makes me tired thinking about it and yes pull-ups and chin-ups would be required :)


    lolol trust me, the walls are pretty much a rest area compared to the rest of the course.

    ever climbed 40 feet of rope covered in bog mud to be shot through fire?
  • aylajane
    aylajane Posts: 979 Member
    yoovie wrote: »
    ever climbed 40 feet of rope covered in bog mud to be shot through fire?

    Oh Oh Oh! Pick me! I want to do that!!!!!!

  • mebohan
    mebohan Posts: 46 Member
    bump
  • JoKnowsJo
    JoKnowsJo Posts: 257 Member
    yoovie wrote: »
    LCloops wrote: »
    /\ You go girl... I have heard the Tough Mudder and Muddy Buddies are fun but incredibly grueling... lots of walls to climb... just makes me tired thinking about it and yes pull-ups and chin-ups would be required :)


    lolol trust me, the walls are pretty much a rest area compared to the rest of the course.

    ever climbed 40 feet of rope covered in bog mud to be shot through fire?

    No and I so want to... but the whiner in me keeps arguing with the tough girl in me, whiner wins most of the time Ha.. ...the Spartan keeps emailing me so I may just have to let the tough girl win... but not until I can do a few pull ups seriously ;)

  • JoKnowsJo
    JoKnowsJo Posts: 257 Member
    aylajane wrote: »
    yoovie wrote: »
    ever climbed 40 feet of rope covered in bog mud to be shot through fire?

    Oh Oh Oh! Pick me! I want to do that!!!!!!
    You are too cute...:) Here in the office we were all to do a Muddy buddy a few years back, here in Denver, I bowed out as I wanted to be able to complete it... one of my co workers broke her leg fell from the wall ouch... so do be careful...it's fun...it's rough but like Clint says "A man's (or woman's) got to know their limitations." :)
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Chin up, yes, pull up, no. But I am determined to get there.
  • husseycd
    husseycd Posts: 814 Member
    I can do several. I'm 5'5" and currently 133 lbs (at the end of my bulk). I think negatives are the most effective for pull-up training. I never trained pull-ups, but I do aerial circus arts, and in silks you are doing holds constantly. There's also a lot of pulling needed (like the vertical pulls or half pulls demonstrated in the videos above). After a while of this type of training, I was suddenly able to knock out some pull-ups. Depending on the hand grip, I can also do them weighted.
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