Get me to 1 standard pull up. [33/F 5'8 177lbs]

[lightangel]

Female here. I want to do a pull up. The standard kind where your palms face out.

I've been working on it since January, lots of different rows and pulling exercises, and I've got some progress. I can now do about 3/4 of one reversed pull-up (palms facing me), and that's from a dead hang. I'm pretty excited about it, I just need to get that last bit of lat strength to get my chin above the bar.

The problem is if I turn my palms around, I literally have nothing to show for it, it's like I can't engage the right muscles to lift myself up. I can feel it on the lat pull down machine, I have to deload a lot to make it happen.

Yes, drop the other 30lbs of fat will help a lot (I'm down 37 since January, so more than half way to goal.) but in the mean time, are there any specific exercises that will help me achieve this?

 

[sorry101]

@lightangel You could try doing negatives where you lower yourself down, or you could loop a resistance band through the bar, to give you some extra help.

 

[lightangel]

@sorry101 I fear the resistance band when flying solo;-)

Negatives are...when you start at the top?

 

[dawn16]

@lightangel either jump up and grab the bar in pull up position and lower yourself down as slowly as possible, (edit: may be a bad idea) or get a chair/step stool to step up into pullup position and lower yourself down as slowly as possible. after a few weeks of doing this, you'll be able to do several.

there is videos of this method all over youtube, its pretty damn effective.

edit: pullup finishing position...with your chin above the bar, i mean

 

[ibelievenheaven]

@dawn16 Since we're in Fitness30Plus I would not recommend jumping to upper pullup position, when you're not absolutely comfortable with doing pullups. You only risk shoulder joint injuries. I'd advise to take a chair/stool, put one leg on it and let the leg on it while doing your negative pullups, so you can still decrease weight/intensity to avoid injury. I'm sure you don't want to take a break of 2 months, just because you did your first full pullup to early.

 

[dawn16]

@ibelievenheaven your right, didnt even think about that. original post edited!

 

[sorry101]

@lightangel Yes, start from the top and lower yourself as slowly as you can, this will build strength.

You can loop the band around the bar, and then you just kinda kneel into it. They'll help you at the bottom of the rep, but help you less towards the top. I'm probably describing what to do very poorly. It has to be one of those bands that's like a giant rubber band, so you toss it over the bar, and pull it through itself so it sorta knots.

Working on chin-ups (palms facing you) will make pullups easier eventually too, there's a bit of carry over.

 

[lightangel]

@sorry101 Oh I know the rubber band you speak of, I would just fear getting stuck in it without assistance.

 

[sorry101]

@lightangel Just put a knee or two on it.

 

[lightangel]

@sorry101 Yeah I just saw a wiki how on it... Let me just say people at my gym are dumb.

 

[gideon123]

@lightangel Go on...

 

[lightangel]

@gideon123 I have seen people put their foot in, which makes it really hard to get out of even when someone helps you. So, I couldn't imagine using it alone....but the knee, duh, comes right out.

 

[smr30]

@lightangel People at my gym put both feet in all the time. Never seen anyone having trouble getting out.

 

[dawn16]

@sorry101 Negative reps are great for this. Lower yourself as slowly as you can and put up a bar in a doorway and do them to exhaustion or do x amount of them every time you go through that door.

 

[imaniabigailwilliams]

@lightangel 31 year old female here, just did my first real pull up recently! It took a long time. Like 2 years. My advice is to do everything. EVERYTHING. Pull up machine, lat pulldowns, negatives, jumping pull ups, band, inverted rows. Install a pull up bar in a doorway in your house that you walk through often and commit to attempting pull ups every day. Eat plenty of protein so you can build those upper body muscles. Be persistent.

 

[jmkellum504]

@lightangel This guy is ridiculous and awesome. Just follow directions and ping me back when you get to 8 pull ups. Worked for me, I started at zero.

How To Do Your First Pullup! (Then 8 more!):

 

[theshadow25]

@jmkellum504 This video has gotten me from 0 to 8 reps! Much respect for scooby, very beginner oriented.

 

[oanhsct]

@lightangel reversed pull-ups = chinups

Since you almost get 1 chinup, keep training that until you can do perhaps 3 (when you do 1, do sets of 1 rep until you can do 2 in a row, etc...). When you can do 3 or 4 chinups, I bet you can do at least 1 standard pullup.

There is also an intermediate thing between the two, neutral grip pullups, with parallel handles (palms facing each other). Training those might help you as well.

 

[carlitg]

@oanhsct My experience has been that neutral grip is easier than either conventional chin-ups or pull-ups.