@greg67 Try doing 4 or 5 sets of pull ups at the beginning of your workout, stopping 1 or 2 reps short of failure, and resting for a whole 2 minutes in between. Work those scapular pull ups into the same workout (try for 12-15) a little later in the routine, and finish the routine by gripping the bar to failure.
I have used a similar method to increase my own pull ups, and modified it to increase my handstand pushups. Hope this helps.
Edit: I would approach your pull ups like a skill training, don't superset them with something else until you're happy with the number you can do. It's like the old saying, you can half ass two things or you can whole ass one.
@greg67 There are 3 main variables in training: volume (quantity), intensity (difficulty) and frequency (number of days per week). You can only have 2 of them at a high level. So if you have a hard workout that entails many sets, you won't be able to do it for many days on a given week (for example). You don't have to always train for volume. In fact, the best is to switch it up from time to time. I don't know if I have explained myself well !
@greg67 Might be an unpopular opinion on here, but you are doing too much stuff in your workout. If you want to get better at pullups (which are the best exercise in your routine) drop some of the stuff and do more pullups. The rows aren't completely necessary and pullups are a way more efficient exercise bc they are harder. Rear delt flies are good for shoulder health so I would keep those as a finisher at the end of the workout AFTER you've done all the pullups you can do.
Supersets are great for cardio but they don't leave you a ton of energy to do real work.
Here is my recommendation. Do pullups 3x a week. Block off the first 30 mins of the workout and do a lot of submaximal sets with a few mins rest in between. If you can do 8 reps max, do 3 or 4, multiple sets and try to hit volume PRs every week. Slowly increase your volume over time and your pullups WILL go up.
@greg67 The volume is different for everybody. What is important is that you build slowly over time and progress.
If you can comfortably do 15 pullups a workout, 3x a week, 45 is your base. Every week try to do 2 or 3 more total. Rome wasn't built overnight, just build slowly and steadily so you don't get injured. Progress is more important than the number you start with. If you added 1 pullup a month to your total for a year you would be at 20 pullups which is insanely good.
I always tell my athletes - you get good at what you do. If you want to get better at an exercise, prioritize it and do more of it. Its really that simple.
Yes, it is simple but not easy. I‘m a perfectionist and dropping exercises feels as if I‘d drop the optimal thing (even if it isn‘t actually optimal). Just hard to break the habit, you know? But I‘ll do it. I wanna progress.
