[JoeClothing]

I work out 3/4 days a week. I lift weights, run miles upon miles and am extremely healthy. (5'11 165)

Why the hell can't I do more than 1 pull up Call me a pussy (I sometimes call myself that) but really, how the hell do I train myself to be able to do at the very least sets of 8. I see guys with freak'n weights tied to their ankles doing sets of 15.

Please help, otherwise I'm liable to grow a vagina.

[jimmy330xi]

The best way to get good at something is by doing it. Just get to the pull up bars and go at it. Start with push ups, dips, and abs workouts to get some strenght on your upper body, or if all fails join the Army and go AIRBORNE.

[Alpine]

Let me just make sure. Pull ups are when your hands are spread out kind of wide and are over the bar... Chin ups are when your hands are closer together and under the bar.

So assuming you've correctly labeled your exercise here's the deal. Pull ups are not easy, especially if you have your hands really wide. What its really working is your back. When you pull up, you squeeze your traps, lats, and delts.... upper back, muscles under your armpits, and shoulders (respectively). If you want to be able to do a ton of pull ups, spend some time on your upper back and shoulders. I would suggest working on lats the most. Lats (latissimus dorsi) are commonly overlooked by the regular guy in the weight room, but they really are important for overall strength.

Also, if you've been working out in the gym for a while, don't try to do pull ups unless you're just making sure you're completely exhausted and you've got nothing left. If I'm going to do pull ups, I usually do them towards the beginning because they take a lot of energy.

Chin ups, on the other hand, straight up biceps. If you can curl weights, you can do chin ups. The key is core stabilization- so you look like you know what you're doing.

Hope this helps!

[JoeClothing]

^thanks....nice advice

[Bobby_Light]

Pull ups and chin ups are mass builders. Do them at the beginning of workouts as the above poster stated. People at the gym get over zealous when it comes to doing bench press and getting a large chest. That is fine if you want to do pressing exercises just make sure that you even yourself out by doing pulling exercises as well (row variations, pullups, pull down, chin ups, etc) so you don't develop a weak back and rounded/slumped shoulders which unfortunately is very common. Even some of the larger guys at the gym are simply not strong enough to walk around with their shoulders back due to a weak upper back. Try to always follow pressing exercises with pulling exercises to avoid this imbalance.

Doing assisted pullup/chinups is certainly an option to help develop the muscles need to complete an unassisted pullup. Machines exist that allow you to take a portion of your bodyweight away to lessen the load during the movement. You can also do an assisted pullup by having a partner hold your feet while you are bent at the knees. You can then apply pressure into your partner's hand with your feet to provide additional upward thrust to help you complete the movement.

Your second option would be to only do the downward portion of the pullup (negative or eccentric portion). Literally just jump to the top of pullup bar and then just lower yourself slowly until arms are extended fully and repeat. Go down on a 4-6 count. Do 3 sets for a max of 10 reps. Finally, you can do isometric pullup holds. Hold yourself up as high as you can in one place for a set amount of time. Try 10 secs and progress as needed. Try two sets to begin with.

Summary: 1. Assisted Pullups 2. Negative Pullups 3. Isometric Pullups

Good luck.

[The_Blob]

Are you kidding me? You can't do even one? You need to eat more, like more protein, lift heavier weights, and lose some weight dude. I can do 15 pull ups in a row without any problems.

Soon, you'll be doing stuff like this...

[just4kickz]

the majority of people in the world... i believe my trainer friend said 75% of people can't do one pull up. you need to build your upper back... lats.

when i was in middle school i remember i could only do like one... then puberty hit and i could do 8... now i can probably keep going for a while until my lats just die.

just do a bunch of row variations, rear delt exercises, and lat pull downs... you'll be doing pull ups in no time.

for everyone saying do different pull ups--i would not recommend this. as you just stated you cannot pull up ur own weight...which means trying to do so with high reps and a few sets is gonna be very difficult.... do excercises with lower weight and then build up... and like i said... you'll be doing pull ups in no time.


lol only gym noobs forget about the back... the lower and upperback will give you better shoulder support and chest support... so u can bench more and military press more... 190lb military press ^^

[JoeClothing]

Bobby Light thanks for the good post. I also have realized I have been doing them at the end of my workout which apparently is wrong.
I'll keep all that info in my mental rolodex and use it in good health.

[The_Blob]

I've never seen anyone do this at my gym.

The one arm pull-up.



Any one armers here?

[Alpine]

Yeah I can do it... but seriously, if you do that in the gym, you're just showing off. Keep it humble and do db curls.

[jaiman]

If you want to work up to pullups fast, start doing negatives. Jump up to the top position and lower yourself slowly. Repeat.

Be careful though as negatives can cause a fair amount of soreness over the next couple of days.

Oh and this will be much easier on a pullup station.

[Taittinger]

Originally Posted by The_Blob

I've never seen anyone do this at my gym.

The one arm pull-up.



Any one armers here?

Lots of kicking motion there. Pullups are meant to be done without assistance from the legs; that would be cheating.

To the OP, as the first response stated, if you want to be able to do pullups, you have to do pullups, even if it is just one. Try assisted or just decrease the duration of rest between your set of one. Lat pulldown machines will also help but eventually you just have to do them and eventually you will.

[Taittinger]

Originally Posted by just4kickz

190lb military press ^^

Nice

[txusa03]

So i must be in the 25% special group?

[superman]

What type of lifting fo you do. You are 5 foot 11 and 165 pounds. You honestly do not wiegh that much for your hieght. Im 5 foot 9 and 171, maybe 9-10 percent bf and can do pull ups no problem. Are you trying to put size on, strength? If you are really concerned, I would start with a machine that assists you with wieght, do like 10 reps. Than each week use less and less wieght for assistance from the machine. Basically at your gym they should have a machine that you can kneel or stand on. You decide how much of your own wieght you want the machine to help you with. So say you want 25 pounds off of you for the machine to help. You would choose that weight. The idea is that you would slowly work to being able to do it on your own. It is like benching, and each week putting on more weight. Im guessing from what you say, you don't work out like a powerlifter or a bodybuilder, but more to stay in shape. I find alot of people do their running, which is good, but don't hit the weights the way they should. The more muscle you have, the faster metabolism you will have. Also never mind the other benefits. Would you say that you don't strength train like you should?

Chris

[BayAreaE92]

The Pull-up is mostly upper back & Bicep Strength where your lower back will act to stabilize you. Do extensive back workouts and you should be able to do more pull-ups. Don't be ashamed to use the pull-up assist at the gym chances are half the people at a commercial gym like 24 Hr Fitness can't do a pull-up. At 20 yrs I'm 6'0" @ 208 lbs w/10% Body Fat. I can do ~50 pull-ups pretty easily...I can do one-armers, however I never do them because I like not having tendonitis and/or a torn rotator cuff.

[ksfrogman]

Originally Posted by The_Blob

I've never seen anyone do this at my gym.

The one arm pull-up.



Any one armers here?

Jet Li did that in Fists of Legend.

[achien]

Start taking martial art classes and you will understand the word "balance", instead of "bulk" or "beefy"...

Originally Posted by JoeClothing

I work out 3/4 days a week. I lift weights, run miles upon miles and am extremely healthy. (5'11 165)

Why the hell can't I do more than 1 pull up Call me a pussy (I sometimes call myself that) but really, how the hell do I train myself to be able to do at the very least sets of 8. I see guys with freak'n weights tied to their ankles doing sets of 15.

Please help, otherwise I'm liable to grow a vagina.

[Neurorad]

A few months of lat pull-downs should do the trick, then move over to the bar. If it's a priority, do it at the beginning of your workout.

Personally, I think most people lift weights to inflate the ego, unless you need to do it for your occupation (policeman, soldier, firefighter, construction), for your sport (softball, soccer, rugby, javelin, etc.), or to help recover from an injury.

I stick to aerobic exercise to keep my heart, lungs, and muscles strong. I feel it's more 'contemplative' as well, chilling out for 30-60 minutes. Lifting weights will not keep me healthy. I have no chip on my shoulder - it would only weigh me down.

[E(@M#]

back

[theslik1]

Originally Posted by The_Blob

I've never seen anyone do this at my gym.

The one arm pull-up.

Old guy here. I was able to do "stabilized" one-armers back in my navy days (my left hand resting on my elbow to keep me from twisting while I pulled up with my right arm). Yeah it's cheating but nobody I knew personally could do them. I wasn't muscular either like the video guy...5'11" 155 at the time...but I did buttloads of pull-ups and deep dips. You can definitely work up to it.

I'm returning to a pull-up regimen because with my bad lower back it's a great way to build and maintain functional strength. However, I doubt I'll ever be able to match my prior ability.

[Couch]

Originally Posted by Bobby_Light

Pull ups and chin ups are mass builders. Do them at the beginning of workouts as the above poster stated. People at the gym get over zealous when it comes to doing bench press and getting a large chest. That is fine if you want to do pressing exercises just make sure that you even yourself out by doing pulling exercises as well (row variations, pullups, pull down, chin ups, etc) so you don't develop a weak back and rounded/slumped shoulders which unfortunately is very common. Even some of the larger guys at the gym are simply not strong enough to walk around with their shoulders back due to a weak upper back. Try to always follow pressing exercises with pulling exercises to avoid this imbalance.

Doing assisted pullup/chinups is certainly an option to help develop the muscles need to complete an unassisted pullup. Machines exist that allow you to take a portion of your bodyweight away to lessen the load during the movement. You can also do an assisted pullup by having a partner hold your feet while you are bent at the knees. You can then apply pressure into your partner's hand with your feet to provide additional upward thrust to help you complete the movement.

Your second option would be to only do the downward portion of the pullup (negative or eccentric portion). Literally just jump to the top of pullup bar and then just lower yourself slowly until arms are extended fully and repeat. Go down on a 4-6 count. Do 3 sets for a max of 10 reps. Finally, you can do isometric pullup holds. Hold yourself up as high as you can in one place for a set amount of time. Try 10 secs and progress as needed. Try two sets to begin with.

Summary: 1. Assisted Pullups 2. Negative Pullups 3. Isometric Pullups

Good luck.

+1

First I have to comment, Damn you and your avatar and name. I'm Bobby Light! Just kidding, gonna be my halloween costume this year. Rob & Big FTFW!!

I just started doing pullups again. I love them. They're a great challenge for people who want to talk shit about how much they can bench. They sing a different tone real quick.