Is hanging from a wall as good as pull ups or at least enough to prepare your shoulders for pull ups?

C

cloture

New member
So I don't have a pull up bar. I went to a nearby park to try out some pull ups, but failed to lift myself. I could barely hang for a few seconds before letting go. So instead I tried hanging from a wall with my fingers. Somewhat like this, but the wall is made in a way so that my legs are free and I do pull ups.

Is it a good enough replacement for pullups? I can hang myself for a few seconds before my fingers and shoulders start feeling strained. And I can also pull off a single rep if I try hard enough.
 
@cloture Yes I believe so. I read somewhere that only suspending yourself works your muscles as well, and that you can train to suspend for dozens of minutes per set as an alternative way to gain muscle. Not sure where I read that or what's it called but I think there are guys on youtube who do this thing.
 
@cloture It'll help build your grip strength, and maybe a little muscle from the isometric hold. Probably more in your forearms than your lats though. It's your lats that provide most of the power in a pull up. Really we need to train all the muscles worked in a pull up in a full range of motion until we can do unassisted pull ups.

You can do this in a couple of ways:

Buy a pull up bar/and or some gymnastic rings, and also some resistance bands to help you do assisted pull ups while you build your strength.

If you have access to a gym, do lat pull downs and/or use the assisted pull up machine if there is one.
 
@cloture For me it's way to harder to hang from a wall, compared to a bar (you can wrap your fingers around the bar but it differs depending how slippery the bar)
A think it's a good starting point, first get comfortable with hanging and get some grip strength and then move your way slowly to pull ups
 
@cloture
Is it a good enough replacement for pullups? I can hang myself for a few seconds before my fingers and shoulders start feeling strained. And I can also pull off a single rep if I try hard enough.
Click to expand...

It's good enough to start. You can always do some negatives/eccentrics from the pullup bar or on the wall as well to start building up strength.
 
@cloture No. Not at all.

Hanging is not bad, it's good for you, but pull ups are about biceps and lats, and require full range of motion to train.

First of all make sure you are doing Chin Ups, and not pull ups. Chin ups are with the fingers in, towards you. Pull ups are done with fingers out, and are harder as they require more lats and less biceps.

If you can't do a single chin up, which is normal, start with eccentrics.

Jump up, and go slowly down, do those until you can barely do another. Take a 2 minute break and repeat for at least 3 sets.

Another option is to use rubber bands.
 
@cloture Isometrics (hanging) are great for developing your joints and tendons which will reduce injury- you’ll also work your core and grip. But it’s always advised to follow up an isometric with a full range movement- you could do body weight inverted rows for example.
Source: HybridCalisthenics on YouTube.
 
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