help with pull-ups!

nehptune
nehptune Posts: 138
edited September 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
i really want to be able to do a pull-up, but my upper body strength is not there yet.

anyone got any good advice on what exercises to do to work up to being able to do pull-ups?
i already do yoga once or twice a week to help with core strength, as well as an abs class... but maybe i need to get back into doing more weights?

any advice much appreciated!

Replies

  • khskr1
    khskr1 Posts: 392
    Best thing to do...get a pull up bar at home and put a step stool under it. Use the stool to help you up. It helped me tremendously when I first started P90X.
  • auntbliz
    auntbliz Posts: 173 Member
    :laugh: I have a 2 year old, so when I started reading this, I was totally confused. (I was totally thinking training pants pull-ups) Anyway, I've never been good at those, but maybe doing pushups would be helpful, do them on your knees if your back is a problem. What else, a Total gym, that uses body weight to do the stuff. (I think it's the total gym anyway, the one Chuck Norris infomercials)
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    You can go to the gym and use a lat pull down machine and grab the bar as if you were doing a chin up. The diference is the bar comes down to you, you don't go up to the bar.

    If you start with this at a low weight and gradualy increase the weight you will eventually be able to do a pull up. The machine I am talking abour is: http://www.bodydesigner.net/equipos/graficos/pro-dual-lat-mid-row675l.jpg , or a variation of this machine.
  • sandy429
    sandy429 Posts: 2,779 Member
    The only way to get better at them is to do them. Work the negatives. Use a chair to help you get up over the bar. Take your foot off the chair, and slowly lower yourself back down unassisted. You'll be able to ditch the chair before you know it.
  • horndave
    horndave Posts: 565
    See Sandy above.
  • iplayoutside19
    iplayoutside19 Posts: 2,304 Member
    Doing a pull-up is one of new fitness goals. I can bench press 200 lbs, but I won't consider myself exceptionally strong unless I can do pull-ups..repeatadly.

    So, I'm starting from scratch. I started this two days ago. But I'm proud to say I can hold by self up on the floor joist in my basement for 10 seconds!!:bigsmile:

    I'm just going to do what was suggested to accomplish this.
  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
    The only way to get better at them is to do them. Work the negatives. Use a chair to help you get up over the bar. Take your foot off the chair, and slowly lower yourself back down unassisted. You'll be able to ditch the chair before you know it.

    Yeah, what Sandy said. Negatives are AWESOME. That is how I built the strength from doing P90X to do them. It's hard but so worth it. Now I LOVE pullups! :bigsmile:
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,549 Member
    I'm pretty proud of my pullups - I'm up to 7 of them (narrow grip) and try to do 1-2 wide grips also. I also like doing dips, can do 2 dozen of them, full body weight.

    A lot of people have trouble with them but they're really good exercise, I've found.
  • jessmomof3
    jessmomof3 Posts: 4,590 Member
    I'm pretty proud of my pullups - I'm up to 7 of them (narrow grip) and try to do 1-2 wide grips also. I also like doing dips, can do 2 dozen of them, full body weight.

    A lot of people have trouble with them but they're really good exercise, I've found.

    That is great!! They are tough but it's such a great feeling once you have conquered it!! :drinker:
  • dcherry88
    dcherry88 Posts: 15 Member
    I'm still too heavy for a pull-up myself. In my P90X I was doing the whole chair or stool bit. My problem is that i push out on my leg which pushes the stool/chair out and doesn't help me effectively do any kind of pull-up, assisted or otherwise. I bought the resistance bands from beachbody and got the "door jam" strap for the bands. This works awesome for me. I take the 50lb band and put it in door jam with the strap and just pull it back. Get in a lung position with my back knee on the floor, tilt your rib cage toward your front knee and it does an amazing job for a "pull-up". With this the resistance not only comes from how heavy a band you use,but how far back you get. I may not be able to pull my weight up yet, but doing those feels more like a pull-up than the assisted ones did. Constant resistance on my arms, like holding up my body weight, and it helps work those little stabilizing muscles at the same time!

    Only one word of advice, if your going to try the bands, get some good quality ones, I started out with the "wal-mart" brand ones and snapped them only a few weeks after using them. Definitely need some good quality ones. ****s sporting goods has some i think, and I can personally attest to the ones off of beachbody as being VERY sturdy.
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