Pull-ups and Science

[halleluyah]

@this_dot Free access to the pdf:

https://www.researchgate.net/public...f_muscle_activation_during_pull-up_variations

 

[this_dot]

@halleluyah Thanks, I'll change the link in my reply!

 

[patrick8]

@this_dot i don't know if it's nit picking but towel pullups (and probably rope pullups depending on the rope) build a lot more grip strength which these studies didn't measure. It never carried over to more reps on bar pullups for me but it definitely did for hangs or grippers.

 

[this_dot]

@patrick8 Yes, you are right. No forearm muscle activity was measured.

 

[thatdave]

@this_dot I bought a cage thing off gumtree, all its good for is the occasional pull up. I started at almost one, I’m at almost four. Positive read, thanks.

 

[betaninja]

@thatdave

I started at almost one, I’m at almost four.

Awesome work mate! I started at none and worked my way to three-ish, but took the last two weeks off. Will see where I'm at today.

 

[thatdave]

@betaninja They are bloody hard, I was proud till my brother told me I wasn't even doing pull ups, chin ups and pull ups are a different thing according to him

 

[dawn16]

@thatdave Isn't that according to everyone or is that not the case anymore?

Also that doesn't mean you shouldn't be proud...if you can now do something that you couldn't before that's progress and something to be proud of whether you're doing pull-ups or chinups

 

[claireevans]

@dawn16 Agreed! Don't get hung up on perfect or comparing yourself to others. Just showing up and improving is more than most people are doing. Go out there and get it!

 

[twinmama]

@this_dot This is so cool. Now to decide if I want to buy the articles haha

 

[betaninja]

@twinmama

buy the articles

As a scientist, please don't. The publishers have already been paid by me and my employer.

sci-hub.tw, /r/scholar or ResearchGate should have the article.

 

[adoramae]

@twinmama Scihub is Ur Friend when you want to read scientific articles.
sci-hub.tw, copy paste the doi and enjoy ur pdf.

 

[twinmama]

@adoramae THANKS!

 

[rj786]

@this_dot I have anecdotally noticed first rep velocity vs max reps correlation. However, I wonder if excessive velocity on early reps takes more or less energy than slower reps. The Russian guy who does 100 reps does them all with moderate velocity. In other words: are high velocity reps efficient or inefficient?

 

[lifeword]

@rj786 In my experience it's the average: If you go boom the first pull up - it takes more time to do your e.g. 5th. But if you equally, your total time is lower, resulting in less fatigue (time spent hanging on bar) which in my experience can give you more strength.

 

[danmeacham]

@this_dot This man deserves gold.

Oh, wait.

 

[depeche_mode]

@this_dot What exactly is the takeaway from the velocity studies? For training as opposed to testing that is.

 

[this_dot]

@depeche_mode In the conclusion of the paper, the authors focus almost only on testing. For example:

A practitioner may use the MCV of a single repetition as an indirect measure of progress in a population interested in improving maximum pull-up count.

It's known that there's a relation between velocity and maximal load. So, you can assess both your progression towards a heavier pull-up and towards more reps, only by measuring the velocity of first rep (how to do it? - honestly, I hope someone here has a brilliant idea to do it easily). It's a nice way to see progress, without going to failure on multiple reps or needing a whole lot of weight.

It's also an indicator that there's overlap between endurance and strength training, i.e. you'll increase max reps by increasing load. This probably becomes less true for a higher number of reps (the max number from the individuals in the study was 25 reps).

 

[andraeforpeace]

@this_dot There's a free sports analysis software called kinovea that allows you to upload video of a movement and analyze components of the movement such as velocity, total distance, joint angles, etc.

https://www.kinovea.org/

 

[crismate88]

@this_dot The easiest way would be some sort of small accelerometer around your neck or on your forehead.