Pull-ups are king when it comes to upper body lifts. They give you the biggest bang for your buck for what muscles they work. If you can’t do a single pull-up, you are lacking upper-body strength and need to add them into your program. No matter where you are in your pull-up progression, I want to go over five things to remember to be successful when doing them.
1. Do more pull-ups!
This sounds pretty straightforward but there are some rules to follow. Doing pull-ups everyday will get results. The key is doing perfect form and not burning out. Perfect from means full extension at the bottom and chest to the bar at the top. Do your warm up and then complete 50 pull-ups in any format. I like to find a number that I can maintain consistently without any skipping. For example 10×5 should be fairly easy and considered a warm up. If you can’t do pull-ups, do bodyweight rows as a substitute until you build up your pulling muscles.
2. Do many variations
People always ask what grip to use when doing pull-ups and the answer is always change it. Don’t get caught up only doing one way. Have your hands facing towards you, away from you, each other and even opposite. Grip on to ropes, different size bars, rings and any surface that you can hold onto. If you have shoulder problems I recommend using rings. You will have some natural rotation rather than staying in a fixed place on the bar.
3. Engage your back
Your back is one of the least sensitive areas of your body and needs to be activated. Most people have forward rotation from sitting at a desk or computer, so retraction will help your posture. When doing a pull-up, try and pinch your scapulas together and contract your back muscles throughout the movement. Not only are pull-ups functional but they are aesthetically appealing. Rock climbers have amazing backs to look at and it is attributed to all of the pulling they do.
4. Ways to get better at pull ups
Use bands to assist yourself from going through full range of motion. Bands help you from the bottom position the most and will give you confidence to pull yourself up.
Use negative eccentric pull-ups. Find a box so you can jump your chest to the bar. Lower yourself as slow as possible until you are at a dead hang. These can make you super sore so take plenty of rest between your sets because they will fatigue you quickly. Add more pulling to your program. It doesn’t have to be just pull-ups. Add in bodyweight rows, bat wings, bent over rows, rope pulls and pullovers. The main thing to focus on is getting your elbows past your midline and always doing a full range of motion.
5. Make then convenient
Pull-up bars are cheap and anyone can set them up at their house in a doorway. Every time you walk by the bar do a pull-up. If you do 20 pull-ups a day, that is 140 a week and 50,400 a year. The little things add up and make a difference.
There are several benefits of doing pull-ups and they need to be added to everyone’s program. If you never do pull-ups chances are you suck at them. The only way to get better is to do them using the guidelines above to help.
