Can’t progress pull ups - need some help with strategizing

[dollfaceme23]

@pastor1955 How long did it take you to get the pull ups with this and how many reps? Also Hybrid Hampton is awesome, I wanted to try this but I don’t have the rings, although I’m saving up for em now

 

[emullins]

@dollfaceme23 Honestly start working out your back/arms outside of trying to do pull ups/chin ups. Get strong and also do calisthenics. I train chin ups about 3-4 times a week, I can do 21 now but at first only 11 and that was after only training regular weights. Once you get to 10+, used weighted pull ups and you’ll be hitting 15-20 in no time.

 

[beverend]

@emullins This exactly, basically it'd be much more efficient to firstly gain strength to be able to do pull ups. Maybe op could train push ups and dips to build a better foundation.

 

[dawn16]

@beverend dips and pushups don’t translate well into pull ups

 

[ibaneztony]

@dollfaceme23 There's an athlean video on stretching for pull ups. I usually can't do full pull ups because I don't stretch.
I do the video's stretches and exercises and suddenly I can do pull ups.

 

[orthodoxcrusaderuk]

@ibaneztony Stretching? can you link it?

 

[ibaneztony]

@orthodoxcrusaderuk I sit corrected, it wasn't just stretches, it was this video.

And the posture, rounded shoulders, slouch and such, stretches and exercises videos.

I started doing these and in a few days I could do full pull ups.

There's another video I'm looking for, I'll see if I can find it.

 

[orthodoxcrusaderuk]

@ibaneztony ty

 

[trethsparr]

@dollfaceme23 I started with alternating grip pull-ups (video), moved onto chin-ups, then got to pull-ups. When I was starting out, I didn't use any resistance bands or negatives, I just kicked off the ground and used that momentum to get through one rep. Eventually, I figured out how to engage the proper muscles and it just clicked. Once you can get one pull-up (w/o using momentum), it's significantly easier to build those muscles thru repetition. Best of luck to you!

 

[zagnar]

@dollfaceme23 Not a fun answer, but have you tried dropping body weight?

Much easier to lose fat than gain muscle. Losing a few lb might make the difference between 0 and 1 or 2.

 

[shaneshaune]

@zagnar He’s 5’9 @150 I don’t think there is much to loose...

 

[zagnar]

@shaneshaune He’s 20% body fat

 

[shaneshaune]

@zagnar 150 is not a lot of weight at all. “20ish percent body fat give or take.” Is what op said. Not trying to be mean or anything but that’s coming from someone who can’t do a pull up. So I wouldn’t trust his BMI calculations.

 

[zagnar]

@shaneshaune It’s true, it’s not much weight... but fundamentally these are the options to do more pull-ups:

• add muscle
• improve form
• recruit more existing muscle
• drop weight

Given the time frame, it would be impressive if he gained even 2 lb of lean body mass in 4 months.
So, he needs to do all of the other things.

I’m not suggesting to lose a ton of weight. Even 5 lb lost might make the difference to do one pull-up at that body weight. Once he can do one, it will be easier to improve form and recruit more existing muscle.

If OP had different goals, I would tell him to lean bulk at that size, regardless of fat%.

 

[dawn16]

@shaneshaune Lose*

 

[rtmonline]

@dollfaceme23 I’m at ~15 pullups at once. I started off doing pull downs, just the usual 4 sets of 10 as heavy as I could go (good form, no momentum).

Once I was able to do pullups I’d start the sets with pullups and once I’d fail I’d make up the difference in pull down. (ie 2 pullups + 8 pull downs = 1 set of 10)

 

[farmerbruce]

@dollfaceme23 Used to be in a similar shoes as you in the beginning of this year. I struggled so dam hard with pull ups and the known given tips such as using bands, doing negatives, or even inverted rows just weren't helping me at all much I got impatient and was about to call it quits until I forgot there was still another grip variation. I was actually able to do supinated grip (aka chin ups). I've decided to change my grip and do underhand grip for chin ups instead as it still works your back muscles very well as standard overhand grip pull ups with the only different with it is having some bicep work for chins. After weeks/months of practicing only with chin ups for awhile, slowly my reps were increasing. I was able to do 3, then about 6, and now I can do 8 in a row! I always focused on executing full range of motion and sometimes pausing on top to get a good mind muscle connection to have more back muscle focus and less bicep work. In the beginning I do about 6 sets of 3, then 6 sets of 6, and now I do 4-5 sets of 8. I was also doing inverted rows otw to strengthen my back more to focus on my scapula movement. After progressing perfectly well with doing chin ups, I tested myself out to do pull ups, and I was actually able to do proper full range of motion form of pull ups by 4 reps! Not alot, but better than nothing?

So, from my take here, if supinated grip/underhand are an easier grip variation for you to execute than pronated/overhand, stick with doing CHIN UPS instead in the beginning so you can strengthen your back to progress for standard pull ups. Also you should still continue doing inverted rows for support too! Importantly when you do your reps, make sure you're depressing your scapula as you go up and don't try to round your back. Instead try to arch instead as it's an ideal form that will work your back very well, though it's still okay to do them in a hollow form. Another tip to get you have good mind muscle connection, pause at the top for some seconds gripping the bar hard and focus most of the tension contracting the back muscles more than the biceps so you don't just get a bicep focus only chin up. Lastly be sure to squeeze your glutes and tighten your core muscles along with point your feet down that way you wont be swinging so much during reps.

Hope this gives you some ideas and helps for your progress. Best of Luck!

 

[dollfaceme23]

@farmerbruce I can’t do a chin up either unfortunately

 

[patrickwhitmore]

@dollfaceme23 Consider two things before attempting any of the suggestions that the others gave you.

1) Check if you have an actual "weakness" in the pullup motion. For example if the hard part for you is the beginning (you spend a lot of energy to engage the shoulders) or the end (you almost get to the bar, but the head cannot quite go higher). If so, instead of training like crazy you might consider to work 3 times per week on something that strengthens that part of the movement.

2) Maybe you are just overtraining or repeating too much of the same movement. If you do not progress for weeks, but still train regularly, it's a very likely possibility. It's much subtler than what you might expect, people often take a week off and they have one or two more reps in the bag.

If you make sure to take into account these two points then feel free to try anything that they suggest you.

 

[jermyn]

@dollfaceme23 Try Assisted Chin-Ups. I think it's one of the most effective tools in the box here because you'll get to work on your strength on the way up AND the way down. You can even lift your feet into the air as you get stronger on the negative and lower down with extra resistance. I also think it will be more effective than banded Chin-Ups.