Dead hangs

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emmab0902
emmab0902 Posts: 2,337 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I am a competitive swimmer with ridiculously poor upper body strength. I have never ever been able to do even one pull up! Have started doing dead hangs as a starting point, and wondered what a respectable duration is to work up to and what the next stage would be.

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  • kickassbarbie
    kickassbarbie Posts: 286 Member
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    Not too sure what a respectable length of time to hold these would be but the next stage would be negative pull ups (or at least it was in my program.) Starting at the top and slowly lowering yourself over 5 seconds to dead hang. Then taking 10 seconds to lower yourself once you've got that.



  • terricherry2
    terricherry2 Posts: 222 Member
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    Inverted rows are good as well. Hurts like a b***h.
  • AllanMisner
    AllanMisner Posts: 4,140 Member
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    Once you get to one minute on a two handed dead hang, you can either add weight (vest, hip harness, or dumbbell held with the feet) or work on one handed dead hangs. But this exercise is really just focusing on grip strength and some shoulder engagement.

    To work on pull ups you have to do pull ups. You can use a band to give some assistance (the band connected to the bar and with your foot in the other side, as you lower yourself, the band stretches and gives assistance up). You can do rows to get more of a full pull of bodyweight. As you get closer to being able to do a pull up, you can work in some negatives (start in the up position and slowly lower yourself).

    Enjoy!
  • syrenbaran
    syrenbaran Posts: 4 Member
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    terricherry2 wrote: »
    Inverted rows are good as well. Hurts like a b***h.
    +1
    Inverted rows are a good way to train for pull ups. Doesnt even require any equipment, two tables and a broom will do.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    edited May 2015
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    You need to work your lats too and do negative pull-ups (eg drop down under control)

    took me about 4-5 months to achieve my first chin-up

    the_carlton.gif
  • IMaintain
    IMaintain Posts: 13 Member
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    Why not try this instead of hangs: do normal, maximum effort pulls, and when you reach the top of your effort, then do full negatives (lower yourself under control). Don't strain or use your legs or recruit other muscles--i.e. don't do anything weird--to get your chin to the bar, just controlled, maximal exertions. Do three sets of at least 4 and up to 8, even if the pulls end up really, really short. 1-3 minutes rest between sets. I would think you'd gradually build up the relevant muscles without neglecting related muscles (which is why you do the negatives). Even if you don't any full pulls, the partial ones will be a good "best effort" to work your lats, though without the glory of getting your chin over the bar.
  • DvlDwnInGA
    DvlDwnInGA Posts: 368 Member
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    Scooby has a pretty good video on youtube on pull up progression. It is basically a step by step guide to getting your first pullup. Google it, give it a watch.

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