NSV: Women, Can You Do A Pullup?

husseycd · January 2015

ETA: I'm 38, but I'll be 39 in less than a month.

ColoradoBringItOn · January 2015

That is my goal by the end of the year!

Boobietrap1337 · January 2015

ColoradoBringItOn wrote: »

That is my goal by the end of the year!

Mine too!! We can do it! Work hard, eyes on the prize! I love having this goal instead of a weight goal. It feels like I have more control over it. Weight is just a number, but a pull up means you're strong!

erojoy · January 2015

I've been doing negatives. My goal is to be able to do one by my next birthday. That is 5 months from now. Hopefully you reach your goal!

xcalygrl · January 2015

AlMonkey wrote: »

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?

The pic on the left is a pull-up. Notice the hands are wider and palms are facing away from you. The pic on the right is a chin-up. The hands are closer and palms are facing you.

ETA: To answer the original question: not yet. I can do a couple of chin-ups, but I'm not to pull-ups yet. I'm working on them.

emalethmoon · January 2015

I've never done one in my entire life. I hope to be able to before I turn 36.

Right now I'm 34, I'm down 80lbs (started at 275ish) and I've got at least 45 to go.

maoribadger · January 2015

I can only do banded ones atm. But Im still 220lb so plenty time yet. Working on negatives too

anonymouse37 · May 2020

It's been 5 years but I finally made it!

I didn't work on this over the entire five years. I've been focusing on strength for about a year, with about 8 weeks off in the middle because of an injury.

I honestly thought I would never achieve this. I am pushing 60. Thrilled!!

Anna022119 · May 2020

Fantastic news!

ExistingFish · May 2020

I can. The most I've had in a row were 7 chin ups, which are slightly easier for me than pull ups. I think I've done 4 pull ups at once, I prefer chins though as they give me those killer biceps without a single curl.

I haven't been training regularly on them or practicing though, I think I could do 4 chins now.

It takes time and practice, and you really need to be at a healthy weight for your size or it will be hard. DH can't do them, and he's got far more upper body strength than me - but he's still got weight to lose. I wasn't able to do it until I'd lost my weight.

I can also do 20+ real pushups. I don't find pushups hard anymore, I look for ways to make them more challenging. That has come from both doing pushups, and benching heavy.

I'm 32, and it took me a good 5 months of work to get to the FIRST chin up. I would say another 7 months or so to get up to 7. The best way to get good at pullups, is to do pullups. I did negatives for a long time, I preferred to jump up and then negative instead of the band method. I'm too short to use the assisted pull up machine. I bought a bar for my house and when I was working on it hardcore I'd just walk by and do a couple.

NeahF · May 2020

I'm 17 and weigh about 122 lbs on the average. I remember my first pull up took SO MUCH EFFORT. The first one hurts, for me it did. I think that if you build up the overall strength in your arms, you should be able to struggle through that first un assisted rep. You cannot give up once you have pulled yourself up a little bit, just know that you can finish it... And then you may need to rest before trying again. After you've gotten this down, keep doing them. Eventually you will get two in a row, then three, and so on... It's a build up of strength (over months of build up). Even if it seems impossible just hanging there, you may already be strong enough, but may need to persist with a great amount of effort at first. Then, after that, your arms might get sore... Even from one pull up! Then If you keep it up, they will stop getting sore and you will be able to do them over and over again without as much rest or soreness.

Some training ideas? Not that I'm a professional, but this might help.

- banded pull ups
- kipping pull ups
- reverse pull ups (slowly let yourself down from the pull up position, using your strength to make it as slow as possible until you are back to a dead hang position)
- Try and stay at the top of a pull up using your strength to stay up there as long as you can... Then reverse

Hope this helps! 💪

NSV: Women, Can You Do A Pullup?

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