Pullups... WOW these kick butt!

[Mystic79]

I haven't done pull ups in years. When I tried them briefly I was not strong enough to do one bodyweight pull up and i needed the aid of the assist thing.

Well today instead of doing barbell rows I decided to make use of the pullup bars which are integrated on my power cage...


WOW, these are an amazing exercise. I was able to do 3 sets of 6-7 reps. Pretty good considering I hadn't done them in forever and I didn't need any assist. It worked the hell out of my lats and my BICEPS, wow they were on fire after these 3 sets.

I did the first set wide grip, second set close grip (palms facing each other) and last set wide again.

Now I just need to invest in a weight belt. Until then what's a good way to progress on these? Just keep increase the reps to like 15? Or how about doing negatives?

[Hoopie]

for me i just had to keep doing them and trying for more reps each time. With the weight training and the pull-ups i noticed that my reps were starting to increase nicely. just have to keep at them

[mrbeefy]

More reps are cool....so is alternating like your doing.

If you don't have a weight belt, you could put a weighted medicne ball between your legs and squeeze.

Or have a partner place a light DB between your feet.

SOunds like your making some new progress! COOL!

[gti steve]

i did back on saturday and i tried something new with pullups (pronated). i tried to get 40 in as fewest sets as possible with a little bit wider than shoulder grip. and next week ill add 10 more and try to get 50 and keep adding. my back is STILL sore! i havent gotten my back this sore in a long time. i might have finally achieved the mind-muscle/connection in the back that i've been needing!

pullups rock.

[cuts280]

Any of you guys ever tried Rack Chins by Dante. They are brutal.

[Tim Wescott]

cuts280 said:

Any of you guys ever tried Rack Chins by Dante. They are brutal.

I`m doing DC`s Rack Chins tomorrow......great exercise!!

I like Steve`s version and have used it in the past....set a rep goal of 30-50, and do as many sets as it takes to reach the goal,then set a new nuber for next time.

[Mystic79]

I like that idea of doing as many as possible, or make a target range like 30-40 reps. I only did about 20 yesterday, so next time I will go for 25 or 30.

One problem is my body swings too much when I do pullups, I wish there was a way to be steady and straight during the exercise. Maybe over time I will get more control.

[Tim Wescott]

You should be able to stop the swinging over time Jay.

[mrbeefy]

Mind muscle connection again Bro!

You're engaging other muscles besides your arms/shoulders, etc, that's what's causing the swing. Your throwing your WHOLE body into the pull.

Try to focus on the pull, perhaps less reps until you can control the swing,,,,then slowly increase your reps.

my 2 cents

mrbeefy

[youngblood]

You can also vary your grip in numerous ways. Instead of pull-ups (palms forward), you can do chin-ups (palms towards you, but they're the easiest of all). Also try one palm towards you and one away, these are hard. Next step, would be to hold your wrist with one arm gripping the bar. Then you can do one arm pull-ups. I can't do these, never even tried. But I do knock out quite a few with a "mixed grip." including weight.
From there, you can vary your body position. One where you put your legs straight out similar to a hanging leg raise.
The all time most evil pull-up however, more so than a one-arm pull-up, is this: pull yourself up to the bar. Holding for a split second, then actually push body away from the bar keeping yourself on the same plane. Then, lower yourself and repeat.
Many people don't think outside of the box enough. See how many variations you can come up with on a simple pull-up/chin-up?

[gti steve]

if you are swinging, try rack chins!!!!

[Maximum6]

Its disappointing..i can't do bw pullups.

I should of done them in the very begining of my training career when i was still "Light".

Now I have to work hard in building strength by using rack pullups, assisted machine pullups.

[RUBICON19]

Love wide chins. My back is torched from them on Tues

[Rich]

Pull ups are GREAT for overall back development. I remember when I could only do 1 or 2, then slowly worked my way up to 50.

An idea I got from Max-OT is to start back day by doing do 50 reps in as many sets as it takes (go to failure each time). Gradually you get it down to one set. It's the greatest day ever when that finally happens.

I also love rack chins. They kick back.