How to build up to pull-ups

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thursdaystgiles
thursdaystgiles Posts: 98 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
After taking about 2 months off between holidays and sickness, I'm starting back into my routine. I was on week 8 of P90X, but I've started from scratch with some basic full body strength workouts. Even when doing P90X I was nowhere NEAR being able to do a pull-up. I work out at home (can't afford gym +childcare) so I was using a medium resistance band, then a high resistance, but didn't really notice a difference between them and even after 8 months of strength training (mostly beach body Pump, various Tony Horton exercises, Attack) plus the 2 months of P90X, the idea of being able to do a pull-up is a joke. I can barely hang from my arms for a few seconds.
I'd love any advice--my goal is to be able to do at least 1 by July. My friend and I do all kinds of 5k races. Two years ago I did mud ninja on a sprained ankle and it was one of the most difficult, horrible, and somehow rewarding experiences, even though I had to skip essentially ALL of the ones that required a lot of upper body strength (not for not trying, though). She wants to do it again this year, and I said I won't try unless I can do at least one full pull-up.
Is this a realistic goal for someone in my current position?

Replies

  • loulamb7
    loulamb7 Posts: 801 Member
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    Give this a shot, 10 step process for pull ups from convict conditioning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brA8BYaj7YQ
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    This might sound bizarre, but....

    try doing pull ups.

    There are so many exercises that work the same muscles, there are even machines for assisted pullups. It's my opinion that unless you force yourself to try and lift your own body weight and do a real pull up you won't progress as far as you'd like. It's much easier to slack off and not push yourself when you know you're going to be supported by a machine's counter weight!

    Get a pull up bar or use something at the gym. Work your way up. You can start by placing a foot or two on a chair or stand to help you.

    Just what worked for me after a long time wasted trying other methods.
  • thursdaystgiles
    thursdaystgiles Posts: 98 Member
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    loulamb7-- thank you, this is interesting and helpful--I think I'll start adding it to my routine right away. I'm really excited.

    rainbowbow--as I mentioned, I don't have a gym membership, so I can't use the equipment there. I would like to eventually get a bar, but we don't have a lot of extra cash. I do get what you're saying, about not progressing until you put the effort in, but I'm also realistic. I have a lot of extra weight I still need to get rid of, on top of needing to build the muscle to be able to do this exercise. Just trying fruitlessly to pull myself up is an exercise in frustration :/ Believe me, I've tried. I do plan on trying the chair assisted method in a few months, but I do think I need to build up to it, first.
  • keldarobinson7
    keldarobinson7 Posts: 1
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    Start by hanging. Then move into using the muscles between your shoulder blades. Try looking on you tube?
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
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    a pull up bar is like 20$ on Amazon.
    when you're in the cash, snag it and use the bands to assist you
  • DonnellHensley567
    DonnellHensley567 Posts: 7
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    keldarobinson7 wrote: »
    Start by hanging. Then move into using the muscles between your shoulder blades. Try looking on you tube?

    Thanks for your valuable response, I want to know is there some different ways to do pull ups and how it is beneficial for getting strong shoulders?
  • apple173
    apple173 Posts: 140 Member
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    rainbowbow wrote: »
    This might sound bizarre, but....

    try doing pull ups.

    There are so many exercises that work the same muscles, there are even machines for assisted pullups. It's my opinion that unless you force yourself to try and lift your own body weight and do a real pull up you won't progress as far as you'd like. It's much easier to slack off and not push yourself when you know you're going to be supported by a machine's counter weight!

    Get a pull up bar or use something at the gym. Work your way up. You can start by placing a foot or two on a chair or stand to help you.

    Just what worked for me after a long time wasted trying other methods.

    That's how I did it. Just did pull up as part of my program. I can now do 3 clean pull ups 3 times a week. It kills me but the buzz of achieving it is too good to pass up. Will try for 4 in a couple of weeks. Oh I started pull ups in November 2014.
  • MrCoolGrim
    MrCoolGrim Posts: 351 Member
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    You need to incorporate strength training in your routine and build the muscles that will assist you in completing the pull ups. You can do this by doing body weight exercises especially push ups and focus on your core. A pull up bar would be a good idea as well. If you don't have a finished basement you can use the ibeams for now to do pull ups and write down your progression as you go along. You can find alot of at home routines on youtube to assist you.
  • bfergusonii
    bfergusonii Posts: 208 Member
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    When I started P90X3 I could barely do one pull-up. I used the pull-up assist band until I could do two without any assistance. Since then I have worked my way up to being able to do 12 in a row and, during The Challenge, I can do 6 sets of 6. You can do it.
  • ephiemarie
    ephiemarie Posts: 264 Member
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    I just did my first ever pull-up this past week :smile: I was convinced I wouldn't be able to do one, but I gave it a shot anyhow and surprised myself. I'd recommend starting with flexed arm hangs and progressively lowering/lifting your body a little further each time you try. In absence of a gym or pull-up bar at home, playgrounds usually have bars you could use. I've been practicing on our monkey bars at home while the kids play outside.
  • Lofteren
    Lofteren Posts: 960 Member
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    I worked up to them by using resistance bands. I would toss one over the bar and loop my feet through it. I started with 4 bands and eventually got rid of all of them.
  • PikaKnight
    PikaKnight Posts: 34,971 Member
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    Here's a link with one method/plan to go about being able to do them.

    http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2011/04/25/do-a-pull-up/
  • Lofteren
    Lofteren Posts: 960 Member
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    I worked up to them by using resistance bands. I would toss one over the bar and loop my feet through it. I started with 4 bands and eventually got rid of all of them.
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
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    i started by jumping up from a bench and hanging. then i would go do very slowly. i still have to jump up to start but i can bust out 4 mini pullups (not going all the way down) for three sets. I am also doing full pushups 3x a week
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
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    almost its important which bars you hold onto. I hold on to the bars closest together- not the far apart bars bc i dont want huge lats
    -
  • h7463
    h7463 Posts: 626 Member
    edited January 2015
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    This might seem funny, but I trained for my first pullup/chinup by coincidence, 3 years ago, at the age of 48. I had started doing lat pulldowns just few weeks before, and after a heavy set of underhand pulldowns, a friend asked if I had ever done pullups or chinups. I said 'no, never in my life'. I had hooked up the bar on top of my cable station after my set. Just for fun, I reached up, grabbed the bar, pulled myself up, and before I knew it, I looked over top of the cable station.... Been doing them ever since... =)
  • dougpconnell219
    dougpconnell219 Posts: 566 Member
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    I still have flashbacks of the humiliation of failing gym class test because I couldn't do a single pullup. Never have in my whole life.

    I tried to use the assisted machine today... Couldn't even do one with max assistance.

    Just sad.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    dougpconnell219 wrote: »
    I still have flashbacks of the humiliation of failing gym class test because I couldn't do a single pullup. Never have in my whole life.

    I tried to use the assisted machine today... Couldn't even do one with max assistance.

    Just sad.


    it takes time- lots of work. lots of time.

    keep at it- use the machine- do inverted rows on the smith machine- do barbell rows- do single arm rows- do late pull downs and lose weight. The heavier you are the more weight you have to hoist up.

    Keep at it.
  • bkerr30
    bkerr30 Posts: 131 Member
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    Not sure if it's winter where you are (it is here, I'm in Canada), but in warmer weather I do pull ups at the park on the monkey bars while there with my kiddo. It started as a joke, just playing with him and making bets on whether or not we could do them...when he banged out 5 in a row I was sufficiently humbled and started doing them every day. At first all I could struggle out was one, but over time I got up to seven in a row. I agree with other posters that sometimes the best thing is just to throw yourself into it, even if it means failure at the beginning :D best of luck!

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