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

[dollfaceme23]

@iamtheman Special ops - funnily enough, idk if this is normal but all my scores (push ups, sit ups, run and ruck) are all at standard or higher but my pull ups are at zero still lmao

 

[minh]

@dollfaceme23 No offense, but how is the standard for special ops only 5 pull ups? What are the other requirements? I assume things that are a little more difficult...I hope?

 

[dollfaceme23]

@minh The minimum for special ops is 5 - the others are 49 push-ups (I can do 77 max) 59 sit ups (82 max) and 14:52 2 mile run (I can do it in 12:00-12:30 consistently - my goal is to get minimum by boot camp so when I’m in boot camp i have time to get them above regular standards

 

[minh]

@iamtheman Marines only need to be able to do 5 pull-ups? Wtf?? That's not really much of a challenge.

 

[iamtheman]

@minh It's a little more. Around 7 for passing. Keep in mind that's just PASSING. In order to get a higher "grade" you'll need to do more.

 

[jscivias]

@dollfaceme23 Negatives, holds, hangs...there are so many awesome programs out there.

Here is one a friend swears by! (Scooby)

 

[rsdar]

@jscivias ugh the ads and pics on that site are terrifying

 

[jscivias]

@rsdar Yeah, sorry. Okay. He does step-off a chair and do a slow-drop negative. Once it is taking you like 20 seconds to get to extension, then you can do jump-up ones and then lower.

And then you can hopefully do a full!

 

[js040506]

@rsdar Get adblocker

 

[rsdar]

@js040506 already got it. Hate to see what it looks like WITHOUT adblock

 

[jessicarobertso07]

@jscivias Here's the video alone: How To Do Your First Pullup! (Then 8 more!)
Also as pointed out elsewhere in the comments: The #1 way to make pullups easier is to weigh less!

 

[dawn16]

@dollfaceme23 I'm 5'9 220. Always sucked at pull ups and I'm a fatass. So I started super setting slow negatives between my big lifts. Basically I would do negatives as slow as possible. Each day I was doing about 20. Within a month I was able to do 4. If you want to get better at pull ups do more pull ups. If you can't do pull ups than do negatives until you can.

 

[dollfaceme23]

@dawn16 How slow were those negatives?

 

[dawn16]

@dollfaceme23 I do about 5 to 7 seconds. The longer the better.

 

[slamoutte]

@dawn16 Yeah I'm also overweight and out of shape but for some reason can work up to pullups. For most of quarantine I was around 200 and an inch or two shorter than you.

Negatives were the biggest thing for me too.

 

[kcsoldier]

@dollfaceme23 Hey mate I'm a bit late to the party but I'd thought I'd add my two cents.

For reference, I also struggled to learn pullups but was desperate to get them too, this video helped me so much fitness faqs !
A lot of people are saying use bands, I'd avoid that for the same reasons as on the video.

I personally used a mix of things but the jist has always been as follows;

Warm up, 10-30s passive hang, 10-30s active hang, 10 scap pull ups x 2 sets, 1 set of 15 assisted pull ups using both feet on a stool, 1 set of 10 using just one foot.

Working, 3-5 sets of 5-7 negatives, tempo is 1s hold at the top and as close to 6s down as you can.

Back off sets, repeat the warm up but in reverse order.

Every now and then mix in some hangs at the top in the warmup/back off, keep doing the kneeling lat pull downs, but on a different day, make sure you're really feeling those abs when you doing them by flexing the glutes and tilting your pelvis (tucking your tail bone)

Be patient and good luck.

 

[alitlite]

@kcsoldier just watched the video, but must have missed the part where he says to avoid bands, what's the reason?

 

[kcsoldier]

@alitlite I may have mistaken that video for another, he has several. Sorry about that.

The reason is that the bands resistance run reverse to the strength curve of the movement, basically it gives you the most help at the bottom when it's stretched out. But the bottom is the easiest part of the movement anyway.

So to make any real difference you have to use a band powerful enough to help you out at the top, which means now the entire bottom half to way too easy. It WILL help, but hardly at all, and no where near as much as doing negatives will.

In saying that though, if you have too much trouble holding yourself at the top, bands can be helpful for that, as it's just helping you perform a static hold

 

[odigboe]

@kcsoldier And in addition I remember from any FitnessFaq-Video that bands tend to give much more support than people usually expect and therefore the gap to a real pull-up ist quite big.

 

[pastor1955]

@dollfaceme23 you may find this as helpful as I did!