Quinn the Mighty

Pull-ups are one of the oldest resistance exercises known to the human race.  The pull-up is a great upper body exercise, but it is also one of the more difficult exercises for beginners.  In fact, many novices cannot do a single pull-up.  This raises the question: how can you get better at pull-ups when you cannot do any?  In order to answer this question, I will present two methods to improve your pull-ups.

Pull-up overview. The pull-up is an upper body exercise that involves the lattissimus dorsi muscles (the “lats”), the rhombodius, the teres major, the serratus group, and the rotator cuff muscles as well as your forearms and grip.  In order to do a pull-up, you will need a pull-up bar set to the correct height.  Many gyms have them on the crossbars at the top of the power racks.  You can also purchase a pull-up bar to install in a doorway for a home gym.

Pull-ups and chin-ups.  There are two versions of the pull-up.  The first is simply referred to as the “pull-up” and refers to the version when your palms are facing away from you.  The term “chin-up” refers to the version when your palms are facing towards you.  The chin-up has more bicep involvement and hence is easier to do.

Getting started.  The first thing you need to do is stop using the lat pull-down machine and the pull-up assistance machine.  The former is not as efficient as the methods I present below and the later changes the exercise completely.  Since the chin-up is easier to do than the pull-up, you should start with it.

Jumping chin-ups.  The first method is known as a jumping chin-up.  You should lower the bar or use a high enough stool so you can reach the bar with your feet still in contact with the ground/stool.  You will use a jump to get the movement started.  Only use as little jump as necessary to do the movement.  You should lower yourself slowly and under control to get the most out of the negative portion of the exercise.  Repeat the exercise for as many reps as you can properly lower yourself under control.

Band assisted chin-ups.  The second method will use elastic fitness bands to help you complete a chin-up.  Some gyms carry these, but you may need to purchase some at your local sports store or online.  You attach one side of the band to yourself or your belt and the other side to the chin-up bar.  The band will be stretched and you will feel it pulling you up.  Now grab the bar with your palms facing toward you and complete a chin-up.  If you are still not able to complete a chin-up, you will need to use a stronger band.

I prefer the jumping chin-up method for most people, but if you feel you are cheating too much with the jump, the band assisted method can be useful.  Use these methods until you are able to complete a single chin-up on your own.

Moving away from assisted chin-ups.  Once you reach the level where you can do at least one complete chin-up without any assistance or jumping, you should modify the workout.  Start with as many unassisted chin-ups as you can do and then use the jumping or band assisted methods to complete the remaining reps you are aiming to complete.

Once you can do five complete chin-ups without any assistance or jumping, you no longer need to use these methods for chin-ups.  You should focus on doing more chin-ups, doing weighted chin-ups, and start improving your pull-ups.  However, you may need to use the methods listed above when you first start doing pull-ups.

Tags: Build Muscle, Strength Training