Pullups

Legendw84it
Legendw84it Posts: 2
in Fitness and Exercise
So I want to be able to do at least one pull up. Any women out there who can provide exercises that will get me??

Replies

  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
    Pull downs and / or assisted weight pull ups.
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    So I want to be able to do at least one pull up. Any women out there who can provide exercises that will get me??

    I'm not a woman, but I think I can help nonetheless.

    In addition to what Jeff said, do some "negatives," jump up to the top position and lower yourself down as slow as you can.
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    There are also jumping pullups, almost like the negatives suggested already. I don't know if I can describe them well, but you basically use a stool or box so that you can hold the bars, bend your knees a bit with your feet on the stool/box. Swing forward, as you swing back push off with your feet and do your pullup. Come back down and repeat quickly. One of the personal trainers at my gym always gets the ladies to do these because of the struggle they have with regular pullups.

    Another option are to use bands. They act like assisted pullups and allow you to add more bands to increase resistance as you get stronger.
  • tangal88
    tangal88 Posts: 689
    I can now do three good, full range, unassisted pullups. Took forever to get here. Been working on them for a year probably.

    What helped:

    -Losing weight, even 5 lbs extra can make them impossible, depending on your current strength level. I kept working on them, but as my weight steadily dropped, I was getting closer and closer to my goal.

    -Negative pullups, and assisted pull ups w chair - These helped a lot, I started doing them, along with a chair assist also. But adding in the negatives really made a big improvement for me overall.


    -Pull Up assist bands (I like better then a chair assist) - helped me get correct form, and work "correct" muscles better , then using chair. But I started with a chair. I personally am a fan of the Beachbody pull up assist band, as thats the one I have. After using it, I could tell immediately it was working my muscles differently/better. Other may be as good, just never used them.

    After about 6 weeks, I was able to do one good complete pullup unassisted. Now after about 11 weeks, I can do three pullups unassisted.

    I will add , I also do many other strength moves working my entire upper body, and back (as well as rest of body) so that all helped as well in overall performance. (low reps, heavy weights)

    I am also close to my goal size now.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    I'm still working towards the goal, but I started doing pullups with 70# of assistance (about half my body weight at the time) and worked down from there. I'm now able to do them with just 10# of assistance, but can't quite make it without any assistance. Soooo close!!!!

    I figure if I cut off my head, I'll be able to do them just fine. :tongue:
  • Beeps2011
    Beeps2011 Posts: 12,141 Member
    New Rules of Lifting For Women, by Lou Schuler. (That is Stage 6 of the program!)

    There's a NROL4W group here on mfp!!
  • kunibob
    kunibob Posts: 608 Member
    I'm 3 weeks into training for 1 unassisted. Been doing assisted (with a chair), jumping and negatives, and I'm noticing huge improvement already...I can't do a full one yet, but I'm getting very close. There's just a tiny range of motion (about halfway between straight-armed and elbows at 90 degrees) that I can't get through unassisted...yet. So close that I can taste it!!

    As a "before" comparison, here is my facebook status update from the day I bought the bar:

    Step 1: pull out toolbox.
    Step 2: unpackage and assemble very own pull-up bar! Feel empowered.
    Step 3: Dangle helplessly from it and weep.


    :wink:
  • mcbrika
    mcbrika Posts: 12
    Negatives, concentrate on lowering your self at the slowest rate you can possibly muster, count of 10. I started at 3/4 of one pull up and now do 3 sets of 10. Still doing negatives after each set and still getting stronger.
  • grapenutSF
    grapenutSF Posts: 648 Member
    I second the negatives, though I can't personally attest to their ultimate success.... I can't wait to do a real pull-up!
  • SteveHunt113
    SteveHunt113 Posts: 648 Member
    I forget that most women struggle with pullups. I'm doing a workout where, for 3 Fridays in a row, you perform a fitness test that includes pullups. The routine calls for 6 pullups followed by one legged squats followed by pike pushups followed by split jump squats. The goal is to do as many rounds of this as possible in 20 minutes.

    I managed to do 9 rounds, which would be 54 pullups in 20 minutes. But apparently this workout won't work for most women. :( That's too bad, cause it's a really good workout!
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
    Try underhand grip. It engages more of the biceps but it's easier to do a pull up this way.

    Also setting a few women eating sharks below your feet helps you pull up a little harder.
  • JNick77
    JNick77 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Also setting a few women eating sharks below your feet helps you pull up a little harder.

    Or the creepy guy with a foot-fetish.

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