I‘m tired of not getting better at pull-ups

[greg67]

@esdra Included it now in my original post. Sorry, I somehow didn‘t think of it.
2x/week is upper body (so pull ups included)

 

[beastnate123]

@greg67 Look up the Armstrong program. Its basically MAGIC!

Do it for six weeks and watch your pull ups skyrocket.

 

[greg67]

@beastnate123 I guess it‘ll focus on pull ups only which is problematic because I don‘t want to neglect other stuff. I‘ll look it up nonetheless, thanks

 

[beastnate123]

@greg67 Yeah it necessitates you putting other things, besides pull ups and push ups, aside for 6 weeks. But with the Armstrong program you know it's going to be worth it.

 

[greg67]

@beastnate123 Just out of curiosity: did you complete it and what were your results?

 

[beastnate123]

@greg67 I could do 3 pull ups, and wanted to fast track it. 6 weeks later I could do 12.

 

[greg67]

@beastnate123 Wow, that‘s quite impressive!

 

[beastnate123]

@greg67 I'm telling you, it's magic. The Mondays are amazing!

 

[waheetha]

@greg67 Add weight for less reps, then do unweighted after failure, and/or add reps with a band removing weight after you hit failure.

Those are the two best ways. Once you are consistently at 8-10, mix up to variations like archers etc.

 

[greg67]

@waheetha That‘s what I thought of doing. But does it actually make sense to add weight when I only can do 3 or so reps with it?

I always wanted to add drop sets but it‘s so annoying with adding/changing bands quickly etc. Maybe it‘s finally time to try, though.

 

[waheetha]

@greg67 Yes. 3 sets of 3 weighted pullups, then do 3 sets of 3ish bodyweight pullups. It won't be long before you are doing 3x3 weighted and 3x5 bodyweight, then 3x4 weighted etc. When you hit a plateau on your weighted pullups, add more weight, drop down the 3x3.

 

[greg67]

@waheetha Thanks! And should I go to failure in every one of those sets?

 

[hosticon]

@greg67 My physio just gave me an upper body strength and conditioning program, which includes pull ups. She said 3x a week minimum if i really want to build strength in a resonable time.

 

[greg67]

@hosticon I mean…yes, probably. But times isn‘t that important to me, I‘m quite enduring.

 

[jermyn]

@greg67 You might benefit from having a little more rest in between. Such as U,L,R,U,L,R,R. Also, what are you doing on Lower and Core day?

 

[greg67]

@jermyn Maybe but then the core/whatever day is missing and I don‘t like that. I also take rest days inbetween id needed.

Lower is like
Squats 3x12
Hip thrusts 4x12
Kettle bell scale (single leg RDL) 3x10
Leg extension 3x12 (very slow and controlled, so quite low in weight bc I have knee issues).
Also I‘m not as free here in terms of exercise selection since I have three herniated discs in my lumbar spine.

Core is difficult. I don‘t have a program here yet because I went to a facility specializing on back issues bc of my herniated discs for the past five months. I have my final examination next Friday and hope they‘ll give me an exercise plan I can then follow on my own. I basically did stuff on machines there - rotation, flexion, extension, bending of the core, so everything was hit quite evenly.

 

[tiffaz]

@greg67 Two things:

What's failing? Grip? Forearms/arms? Shoulders? Back?

Sounds to me like two things: either too low volume and effort, or too high volume and intensity.

Get back to two sets twice a week, get your reps way lower at first. Build reps back up slowly. Once you reach a plateau, increase the number of sets. Let's say you hit the same plateau and can only do 8 reps on your first set. Add a third set while staying at 8 on the first. Then a fourth, then a fifth, then add an exercise like horizontal rows for a couple sets and build back from that. This is a good 2 months progression. Hopefully you break that plateau from there, but if you don't, you take a week or two off, and you start again, two sets, low reps, etc... Out of 6 months of this, you should have an idea of how much volume your back can take and recover in 2 days. You can then focus on repeating the same loading/deloading cycles with a volume that feels more comfortable (let's say you like 2 to 3 sets and 2 exercises, you do that)

Obviously, prioritisation should be reflecting what your objective is. Pullups right at the start of your workout. Also, you should put slightly less effort on the rest, at least when pullups are in the heavy part of the cycle.

Progress is made when you rest (sleep, eat) after a strong stimulus. Sometimes too much effort also kills gains. You need to learn when to try hard and when to enjoy your training without pushing your limits.

Last note, isometrics and negatives do help. They are just super painful and don't really help to grow muscle so people ignore them, but they are key to increasing relative strength.

 

[greg67]

@tiffaz Thank you! I‘m a bit confused why I should decrease volume tbh. I‘ve been working out regularly for the past three or so years, so my body is somewhat adapted to that kind of stress. Pull ups have also always been part of my life since I started to work out. So are you saying I should completely restart so to speak?

 

[tiffaz]

@greg67 Yes. You decrease volume so that you give your body a rest. Not everything builds at the same time. Bone density and tendon toughness take longer than muscle adaptation, for instance. You bring volume down so you can learn what amount of exercise is really necessary and so that other parts of performance have a chance to catch up. Ask marathon athletes how they are preparing to run for a marathon. They cycle: first 10k, then 15, etc... They only run a marathon on the day of the marathon. Right now you are trying to run a marathon every week, so to speak. You need to deload, and build back up. Trust your body to adapt.

 

[greg67]

@tiffaz I get what you‘re saying but how do you know I need a deload?