For reference i’m 17 (f) and in my 8th month of CrossFit. I out started very weak and lanky (I was 5’7 and 105 lbs to start) I’ve tried to bulk up (now 5’8 and 115.. still working on it). I have very long arms so upper body/rig work has always been hard. I couldn’t do any sort of pull-up when I started, could barely do a negative, and needed the biggest band for WODs. I decided that I wanted to get a pull-up so I worked on many negatives and banded pull-ups, aswell as lat pull-downs and scap-pull-ups. At this point I can do extremely controlled negatives, I could pause at any point and go down veryyyyyy slowly and controlled (not flopping at any point) Despite that, I cannot do a pull-up. I don’t know how to translate my strength from negatives into pull-ups. I have a hard time starting the pull-up, but once I can get my shoulders back, I’m fine. I can easily Rep out controlled kipping pull-ups, but would really like to be able to do strict. Does anyone have any ideas as to what exercises could improve this or any tips of form? All advice is appreciated!
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teamatwork
New member
@karebrown I’ve been doing CrossFit for almost 3 years and I got my first pull up 1.5 years in. You even said it yourself in the post that you’re progressing and that’s what matters. You’ll get there in time.
Have you tried hanging from the bar with your chin above the bar? Try using thinner bands and as it get easier grab thinner bands. You can also try it from a height that gets you just a couple of inches from the floor and do a pull up. That helps you get full range of motion. As it gets easier increase your distance between your feet and the floor
Have you tried hanging from the bar with your chin above the bar? Try using thinner bands and as it get easier grab thinner bands. You can also try it from a height that gets you just a couple of inches from the floor and do a pull up. That helps you get full range of motion. As it gets easier increase your distance between your feet and the floor
@karebrown Add postives to your negatives. Put a bench under a bar so that it’s about at your chin or forehead height. Grab the bar then Bend your knees and lower yourself down until your arms are straight. Do an assisted pull up with the help of your legs. Be honest with yourself and only use your legs as absolutely necessary. Each rep should feel like a 1 rm. Then do a tough negative.
I have my athletes do 4x4 for 4 days a week and have had a 100% success rate in getting at least 1 strict pull up.
I have my athletes do 4x4 for 4 days a week and have had a 100% success rate in getting at least 1 strict pull up.
@farmerdex This!! Doing assisted positives also got me my first pullups. And I still do them now for extra volume.
@farmerdex How long does it take on average of doing the 4x4?
@tfesler99 Average for a relatively fit individual of normal weight about 6 weeks. I train a lot of police/fire/paramedics so they have all passed at least some kind of fitness test to get on (7 on the beep test and bit of an obstacle course).
briiiyonce
New member
@karebrown I'm 6'1, and it took me the better part of 5 years to get strict pullups. I'm older than you (by a lot), but it eventually happened. You'll get there.
maggiesaya
New member
@briiiyonce This is inspiring- im 6’1 240, 3 yrs in, still trying
justine108
New member
@karebrown Honestly you probably still need to put on more muscle. 115 at 5’8” is pretty lean.
unforgiven1
New member
@justine108 This is likely correct
@karebrown You’re doing great! Negatives are a big piece of the puzzle but it sounds like you still need to get stronger.
The problem with pull-ups is that until you can do them, you can’t use them to increase pulling strength.
Start adding in some heavy barbell rows. You can target the lats and get them stronger for the pull-up.
Stay away from bands.
The problem with pull-ups is that until you can do them, you can’t use them to increase pulling strength.
Start adding in some heavy barbell rows. You can target the lats and get them stronger for the pull-up.
Stay away from bands.
be_a_light
New member
@karebrown It sounds like you are really close to getting your first pull up! Maybe you are even strong enough but your technique/line of action is a bit off. I have seen this a couple of times with female clients. From a dead hang you are not trying to pull towards the top of your head, you are trying to pull towards a point more in line with your shoulders. So you need to arch your back and tilt your head back a bit so that your arms are slightly in front of your body, does that make sense?
Another idea is to try chin ups with your palms facing you first, this is often a slightly easier pull up variation that can be used to bridge the gap between negatives and pronated grip pull ups.
Another idea is to try chin ups with your palms facing you first, this is often a slightly easier pull up variation that can be used to bridge the gap between negatives and pronated grip pull ups.
@karebrown Lol. Ignore all of the other comments on this thread.
Get a resistance band (banded pull-ups) that allows you to complete 5 pull-ups, not easily but one that offers you enough to get through the reps. Ideally you should really struggle on the last rep.
Now you’re going to do the Russian Fighter Pull-up Program. You can look it up for more details but I’ll offer you the gist + the modifications that I took:
You’re going to do pull-ups basically everyday. There’s technically rest days throughout the program, but again you can look that up.
Each day you’ll complete 5 sets of pull-ups. The number of reps per set will be separated by commas below.
Day 1: 5,4,3,2,1
Day 2: 5,4,3,2,2
Day 3: 5,4,3,3,2
Day 4:5,4,4,3,2
Day 5: 5,5,4,3,2
Day 6: 6,5,4,3,2
Day 7: 6,5,4,3,3
Day 8: 6,5,4,4,3
Day 9: 6,5,5,4,3
Day 10: 6,6,5,4,3
Day 11: 7,6,5,4,3
And so on.
Technically the program is supposed to work up to 10 pull-ups, and I’d recommend completing it.
Test your pull-up (without a band) after each week- so whenever the number of pull-ups in the 1st set increases.
My guess is that you’ll have a strict pull-up within 2-3 weeks and if not then, then by the end of the program.
Another (optional) tip: while the number of pull-ups in the last set of each day was smaller, I switched to a lighter resistance band. So when the last set contained 1-3ish pull-ups, I did them with less assistance than the bigger sets 4-5+.
Negatives are an awful scale IMO if you’re trying to get your FIRST pull-up, especially as a girl. I would guess that a lot of your issue is getting out of the dead hang, and doing negatives & jumping pull-ups does absolutely nothing to help with that.
ETA: I hope I’m being downvoted due to the tone of my opening. For that, I apologize- there is just so much misinformation with scales for pull-ups and push-ups. Otherwise, I am a female in my mid 20s, about 10 lbs heavier than OP.
Get a resistance band (banded pull-ups) that allows you to complete 5 pull-ups, not easily but one that offers you enough to get through the reps. Ideally you should really struggle on the last rep.
Now you’re going to do the Russian Fighter Pull-up Program. You can look it up for more details but I’ll offer you the gist + the modifications that I took:
You’re going to do pull-ups basically everyday. There’s technically rest days throughout the program, but again you can look that up.
Each day you’ll complete 5 sets of pull-ups. The number of reps per set will be separated by commas below.
Day 1: 5,4,3,2,1
Day 2: 5,4,3,2,2
Day 3: 5,4,3,3,2
Day 4:5,4,4,3,2
Day 5: 5,5,4,3,2
Day 6: 6,5,4,3,2
Day 7: 6,5,4,3,3
Day 8: 6,5,4,4,3
Day 9: 6,5,5,4,3
Day 10: 6,6,5,4,3
Day 11: 7,6,5,4,3
And so on.
Technically the program is supposed to work up to 10 pull-ups, and I’d recommend completing it.
Test your pull-up (without a band) after each week- so whenever the number of pull-ups in the 1st set increases.
My guess is that you’ll have a strict pull-up within 2-3 weeks and if not then, then by the end of the program.
Another (optional) tip: while the number of pull-ups in the last set of each day was smaller, I switched to a lighter resistance band. So when the last set contained 1-3ish pull-ups, I did them with less assistance than the bigger sets 4-5+.
Negatives are an awful scale IMO if you’re trying to get your FIRST pull-up, especially as a girl. I would guess that a lot of your issue is getting out of the dead hang, and doing negatives & jumping pull-ups does absolutely nothing to help with that.
ETA: I hope I’m being downvoted due to the tone of my opening. For that, I apologize- there is just so much misinformation with scales for pull-ups and push-ups. Otherwise, I am a female in my mid 20s, about 10 lbs heavier than OP.
@chrissy34 lol… it could be the opening line but nothing wrong with having an opinion
Most coaches (myself included) try to keep people away from bands because once an athlete gets on a band, they basically never come off.
Bands are not a great scale typically because they give inconsistent assistance and don’t do a good enough job allowing athletes to develop strength initiating the pull up, which is the hardest part. So a bent over row or bodyweight inverted row are usually my recommendation to allow them to strengthen their lats in a more controlled way.
But a pull-up program like the one you listed may overcome the flaws with banded pull-ups simply through sheer volume and consistency.
Most coaches (myself included) try to keep people away from bands because once an athlete gets on a band, they basically never come off.
Bands are not a great scale typically because they give inconsistent assistance and don’t do a good enough job allowing athletes to develop strength initiating the pull up, which is the hardest part. So a bent over row or bodyweight inverted row are usually my recommendation to allow them to strengthen their lats in a more controlled way.
But a pull-up program like the one you listed may overcome the flaws with banded pull-ups simply through sheer volume and consistency.
@eligp1240 Yes, I can see that- where people never get off the band. I would think that would be because they don’t work to reduce the band (going from thick and lots of assistance, to the 10 lb assistance band).
Bands are usually supposed to be used to assist someone in the most difficult part of a movement. In a pull-up, that is frequently considered to be the getting the chin over the bar part. If that is the case, then a band is not the best scale for a pull-up. But for most people (especially women), especially if they’ve been working out regularly, they likely have the most trouble getting out of the dead hang, even if they have the strength for the rest of the movement. Using a band is the only scale that allows an athlete to work on this component of the movement. Obviously if they are lacking the strength for the other components (getting chin over bar) then other scales can help them work to get that strength. But in the case of OP, I would guess she has the strength, just again needs to learn to get out of the dead hang.
I’m a big fan of bands, if you couldn’t tell.
I know it’s not a CrossFit approved scale, but you should also try using a band for assisting pull-ups, as opposed to other scales. Put it on a lower rig the same way you would for a pull-up, pull it all the way down and put it around your hips (sits where my c-section scar is) and complete push-ups as normal. Can use with knee-push-ups as well if needed.
Bands should only be used to help with the most difficult part of a movement. In push-ups, that’s the pushing up. In pull-ups, I would argue that for newbies or those who have never had strict pull-ups, that’s getting out of the dead hang.
Bands are usually supposed to be used to assist someone in the most difficult part of a movement. In a pull-up, that is frequently considered to be the getting the chin over the bar part. If that is the case, then a band is not the best scale for a pull-up. But for most people (especially women), especially if they’ve been working out regularly, they likely have the most trouble getting out of the dead hang, even if they have the strength for the rest of the movement. Using a band is the only scale that allows an athlete to work on this component of the movement. Obviously if they are lacking the strength for the other components (getting chin over bar) then other scales can help them work to get that strength. But in the case of OP, I would guess she has the strength, just again needs to learn to get out of the dead hang.
I’m a big fan of bands, if you couldn’t tell.
I know it’s not a CrossFit approved scale, but you should also try using a band for assisting pull-ups, as opposed to other scales. Put it on a lower rig the same way you would for a pull-up, pull it all the way down and put it around your hips (sits where my c-section scar is) and complete push-ups as normal. Can use with knee-push-ups as well if needed.
Bands should only be used to help with the most difficult part of a movement. In push-ups, that’s the pushing up. In pull-ups, I would argue that for newbies or those who have never had strict pull-ups, that’s getting out of the dead hang.
@karebrown Hmm. Not sure which level of band you've used, but I would approach this like any "heavy weight" movement. You don't just start squatting 135#, right? You start at a low weight with higher reps, and linearly progressively work your way up. How to do that with pull-ups? For my example, let's consider green (thick), blue (medium), and red (thin) bands. Also, disclaimer, be careful with your shoulders, as they will also be heavily worked during this. You may want to take the following day COMPLETELY off of exercise to ensure at least 48 hours to repair your muscles.
Start by picking bands that allow you to do 8 strict pull-ups + 4 kipping pull-ups. Muscles tear most when you go to failure and then rest for 2-4 minutes between sets, so go to failure. Probably 3-5 sets to failure is more than enough, one time per week. Stick with the same bands that whole workout (you will do less reps each set as your muscles tear and fatigue). Then ensure you drink a protein shake before, during, or immediately after you finish to give your body amino acids to produce cells to repair your torn muscles. Let's say you are able to do this with a green band and a blue band.
The 2nd week, use a green band and a red band, and again, go to failure with strict + kipping (the kipping at the end of each set allows you to maximize muscle failure by adding some momentum).
The 3rd week, use just a green band, and expect to hit about 60% of the reps you did the 1st week (5 strict + 3 kipping). But then stick with that green band for another 2 weeks until your sets get back up to 12-16 reps.
On your 6th week, do ring rows instead, but same strategy of going to failure, resting, consuming enough protein.
On your 7th week, drop to a blue band only, but ensure you're doing 12-16 reps per set.
Depending on how quickly your muscles will develope, you may need to add an extra week here and there at the same resistance, but ensure you always increase your reps by at least 1 per set. The key is going to failure each set for several sets, and maximizing protein (amino acid) saturation in the body.
The importance of going to failure is that muscles only grow by getting torn and then your body sending new muscle cells to repair those tears. It's not good to go to failure during a metcon because there's little rest between sets, so your muscles never get a break and don't actually tear as much as if you rest for a few minutes then go at them again.
Many people think they are tearing and repairing muscle during exercise, when in fact they are not actually. Just because you are working a muscle and feeling a burn, does not mean the muscle is getting torn. Muscles tear from fatigue, which translates to doing sets to failure with rest in between. But then you need to REST and let your body repair the damage. If your muscles are constantly in a state of damage, they will never repair and you will not improve in strength.
Start by picking bands that allow you to do 8 strict pull-ups + 4 kipping pull-ups. Muscles tear most when you go to failure and then rest for 2-4 minutes between sets, so go to failure. Probably 3-5 sets to failure is more than enough, one time per week. Stick with the same bands that whole workout (you will do less reps each set as your muscles tear and fatigue). Then ensure you drink a protein shake before, during, or immediately after you finish to give your body amino acids to produce cells to repair your torn muscles. Let's say you are able to do this with a green band and a blue band.
The 2nd week, use a green band and a red band, and again, go to failure with strict + kipping (the kipping at the end of each set allows you to maximize muscle failure by adding some momentum).
The 3rd week, use just a green band, and expect to hit about 60% of the reps you did the 1st week (5 strict + 3 kipping). But then stick with that green band for another 2 weeks until your sets get back up to 12-16 reps.
On your 6th week, do ring rows instead, but same strategy of going to failure, resting, consuming enough protein.
On your 7th week, drop to a blue band only, but ensure you're doing 12-16 reps per set.
Depending on how quickly your muscles will develope, you may need to add an extra week here and there at the same resistance, but ensure you always increase your reps by at least 1 per set. The key is going to failure each set for several sets, and maximizing protein (amino acid) saturation in the body.
The importance of going to failure is that muscles only grow by getting torn and then your body sending new muscle cells to repair those tears. It's not good to go to failure during a metcon because there's little rest between sets, so your muscles never get a break and don't actually tear as much as if you rest for a few minutes then go at them again.
Many people think they are tearing and repairing muscle during exercise, when in fact they are not actually. Just because you are working a muscle and feeling a burn, does not mean the muscle is getting torn. Muscles tear from fatigue, which translates to doing sets to failure with rest in between. But then you need to REST and let your body repair the damage. If your muscles are constantly in a state of damage, they will never repair and you will not improve in strength.
@karebrown Have you tried flex arm hangs / hangs for time with your chin at the bar?
kenhensley
New member
@karebrown My experience... in 2013 i wasnt' able to do 1 strict pullup, so what i did is 3 times a week I did 50 negatives, after a month i tried to do pull-ups and magic... i did 7
@karebrown Theres a guy on youtube who shows how to progress to pull ups by working with TRXs or rings.
Here it is:
Title: You CAN do pull ups , my friend!
Here it is:
Title: You CAN do pull ups , my friend!
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