Ideas for Pull Ups

I've decided that Mom Body has to go, and have been working on my fitness and weight.

I'm a women. I'm in my late 30s. I'm 5'4". I have desk job. I clearly spend too much time on my computer. I put muscle on pretty easy for a woman. There isn't a fast twitch muscle in my entire body, but even out of shape I can still run forever and be faster than people who train. Body type is mesomorphic. Think whiter version of Mariah Carey, but I have a smaller waist. I'm about what she looks like when she bigger right now.

I've been concentrating on getting my general endurance back, and core.

But secretly, I really want to be able to do some pull ups. I've NEVER been good at them, even when I was fit. I could hold dry wall over my head by myself, lift office furniture over my head, haul 27" CRTs up flights of stairs in a mill....but no pull ups.

I get bored easy. Really easy. Super duper really easy.

So if you've got some awesome ideas on how to get there, lay them on me!

have you tried eating spinach?

Dips and diamond pushups work well for improving pullups.

Lat pulldowns with lighter weight

Back when I wrestled, people who couldn't do pull-ups we'd help.. so if you have someone to help you, cross your leg and have them grab them (your shoes...)

then when you are going up have them push up with you, so it is not as hard.

I hope that makes sense. I use to do pullups a lot.. you can work a good variety of upper body muscles by altering your hand position, and the length of your arms. it will tone you good

if you can't find somebody to help you... try this: jump up-grab the bar- and pull yourself up, using your momentum. your first goal: do 1: then 2: then 3: and so on.

Originally posted by watchitburn
Dips and diamond pushups work well for improving pullups.

Please explain this...

reply to post by Aeons


Following a shoulder injury I had to redevelop my pull up strength, I followed a program that progressed weekly and it worked well for me. It went like this:
Chin ups
Week 1:
1 rep for 10 sets with 30-60 sec rest between (4x a week)
Week 2:
2 rep for 10 sets with 30-60 sec rest between (4x a week)
Week 3:
etc
Until I got to 10 sets of 5

Then switched to Pull ups and repeated the same from 1 until I got to 10 sets of 10.

reply to post by Aeons

Very simple Aeons. First off, you need a place to do pullups, whether it be at a gym or somewhere around the house.

I'm assuming that, right now, you can't do one, correct? No problem.

Let's say you have no one to help you do them, this is how you start.

1)Get a chair or something to use to get yourself to the top position.(chin at the bar or slightly below it)

2) Then take your feet off the chair by bending your legs

3)Slowly as you can, lower yourself from the pullup bar til you touch whatever you used to boost yourself up.

4)Repeat as many times as you can

5)Do this 3 times a week

Within a few weeks, you should be able to do a regular pullup and continue to get stronger.

Good luck and feel free to U2U me with any other questions about working out or diet.

reply to post by swimmer15


That sounds great.

I can't do a chin up either.

I've been doing some of the modified ones where you put the bar down low and pull yourself up from an angled position. That's about where I'm at.

reply to post by v1rtu0s0

Dips are lowering yourself from two bars down between them. They are a tricep and chest exercise.

Diamond pushups are pushups with your hands together with your first finger and thumbs connecting to from a diamond. These also work your triceps and chest.

Both these exercises will help make you stronger, but not necessarily help you do pullups as the OP asked.

Originally posted by freedom12
reply to post by v1rtu0s0

 

Dips are lowing yourself from two bars down between them They are a tricep and chest exercise.

Diamond pushups are pushups with your hands together with your first finger and thumbs connecting to from a diamond. These also work your triceps and chest.

Both these exercises will help make you stronger, but not necessarily help you do pullups as the OP asked.

Oh, I know, I was just asking that person how a diamond pushup would help with pullups, because it was disinfo....

reply to post by v1rtu0s0


What would ATS be without a little disinfo?


Freedom12 - thanks.

Exersizes that will help.

Latpull down (this one especially.)
dips
bicep curls

Its not that your not good at pull ups its that your not motivated to do them. Pull ups work out allot of different muscle groups, one of the best exercise you can do if you do them properly (not using your legs to pull you up). Just set a limit, start with something small like 3 sets of 3. I was once able to do 50 now I can hardly do 5. Its mostly all in your head. The hardest thing to get over is your mind and the next is the energy it takes to do a pull up. It takes allot of energy. So get amped, put on some fight music and make a shake. Creatine helps give you energy during a work out, it all so help make your muscles cut.

No use in doing a work out if your going to half ass it, its a waist of time.
www.youtube.com...
Watch a couple videos on how to get perfect form. I know what your thinking, "I know how to do a pull up". But their is a lot your high school gym teacher did not teach you. Dont compromise with your self, go in with the mind set that YOU ARE GOING TO beat and go beyond the goals you have set.


I know what its like to step up to a pull up bar do one and think its your limit. The only reason you fell that way is because of the energy it takes to do them. If you are some what fit you should be able to do 3. Most people do not know this but you can have a spotter on pull ups. Fold your legs behind you and have some one push up on your legs WHEN YOU NEED A LITTLE BIT EXTRA.

reply to post by Aeons


That's a good place to start nearly all pulling exercises will help but there's no shortcut to pullups, even lat pull downs are very different...you have to mount the bar! ! Throw in: use a chair to get into the top position and try to hold for a few seconds followed by a controlled negative. Work up to ten 5-10 sec sets of one and you should be able to get a good chin up with really good form.

One more thought: Freedom described negatives well above but I disagree with stopping at the chair or whatever you boosted from. Since you will be trying to start your chin ups from a dead hang (I assume) I recommend going as slow as possible all the way down until your arms are fully extended.

reply to post by Infi8nity


I literally can't do one. At all. I can barely keep myself up on the bar when doing the one where you start at the top and let yourself down. It is tragic. Seriously. Most other strength things I can easily outdo most women, even the ones that work out by working at a higher weight.

Tragic man. Truly sad.

Can you install something in a doorway where you can put a resistance band through? All you got to do is angle your back to be parallel with the band and pull them like you're doing a pull up. If you can install a bar, you can pull up on the bar, but use the back of a chair to put your feet on. It's like doing a push up with your knees on the ground.

reply to post by satron


I do have a bar. Is what you are suggesting with the band kind of like a lat pull down with resistance bands? Or am I not seeing that right in my head?

I don't like when he doesn't put his back at an angle to the bands, it kind of works but not like bending over and putting your back at the same angle. I guess a lat pull down is more like what I said not to do, but it's what you think you need.

Negatives!

The best way to build pull-up strength is to use a chair to get to the bar and let yourself down as slowly as possible. Do as many as you can. Then rest. Do this for 3-5 sets for 3-5 days the first week. The second week. Do as many pull-ups as you can on the firs reps of each set until you can't then use the chair to let your self up to the bar and repeat the Negatives (letting yourself down as slowly as possible). Each week, strive to do as many pull-ups unaided.

reply to post by v1rtu0s0


They seem to be working just fine for me.

Maybe you're doing it wrong.