Stuck on 7 pull-ups forever

[clalrama]

@childofgod49 Gonna sound weird but I was struggling to get to ten, then I took time off to heal up my shoulder that I messed up. Next try I did 12, and I can do 10 consistently in one set now. The catch is I only do this twice a week or so now, that’s it. I think I was overtraining and not resting enough. Also not getting enough protein, possibly. Not enough recovery. I’m learning a lot about this concept of deloading in these comments, so thanks for asking this question. But maybe you need a break to recover and get stronger.

 

[childofgod49]

@clalrama Tnx, I'm gonna start doing it only twice a week hereon and let's see how it goes

 

[clalrama]

@childofgod49 I think maybe everyone is a little different in how their body responds. I always feel like a slacker not doing more and more reps or whatever. But sometimes it’s good to just take a break, listen to your body, and rest. Kind of a mental game too isn’t it? I’m just here to learn and try stuff like you. Seems like a reasonable recovery period isn’t a bad idea, then come back stronger.

 

[childofgod49]

Hey guys what do u think about this program:

2x a week

Pull-ups / Chinups: 5x5 bw ( Add weight if I complete 5x5)

Cable rows- 3x10-12

Db curls- 3 x 10-12

Hammer curls- 2x 10-12

 

[franklampard14]

@childofgod49 "grease the groove" bro

 

[mistert]

@childofgod49 I'm going to say this... put on a backpack with some weight in it(or a dumbbell between your feet, or a belt with a 5lb plate), and do less reps. 3-5. If you can do 5 reps, add a little weight for the next workout. Do this for 4 weeks. Then..take the backpack off and see what you can do.

 

[walkhiccup]

@childofgod49 Easiest way for me to break through a pullup plateau was to switch to weighted pull ups. If you don't have equipment for it, just use a backpack with heavy stuff in it (fill up water bottles and put them inside, etc.).

For me, progressive overload via weight/load increases seems more effective than trying to just increase the number of reps.

 

[kg1963]

@childofgod49 Try doing smaller sets where you don’t go anywhere near failure to increase your volume.

Like if you’re doing 3 sets of 7, try doing 10 sets of 3.

 

[dawn16]

@childofgod49 Do weighted calisthenics and you’ll be doing so many reps that it’ll feel like a waste of time to do bodyweight sets

 

[miac94]

@childofgod49 Negatives and extremely slow reps. Both will have you doing 10 in a matter of weeks since you're already at 7. Sounds silly, but too many people don't have strength through the full range and cheat with speed through their weak spots, putting more fatigue on the few muscles you actually engage.

 

[whatismypath]

@childofgod49 It sounds like you are arm dominant in your pull ups when you need to get your lats involved more. So take a wider grip, and focus on pulling your elbows down to your sides. When you do narrower grip chin ups, again focus on pulling your elbows in toward your body. Look up frontal plane and sagittal plane, and work on moving your arms through these planes, here's a link where the 2 types of planes are demonstrated, albeit using gym equipment.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

however you can still do these motions with pull ups. Do a ton of submax sets too, 4 or 5 reps for 7-10 sets 2-3 times a week, however many training days you can recover from.

 

[prince231986]

@childofgod49 Try increasing the weight by 2.5 or 5 kilograms and aim to complete 3 sets of 5 reps. After that, return to normal bodyweight pull-ups. You'll likely feel lighter and may be able to do more.

 

[krestina]

@childofgod49 Do negatives at least one day a week. Sets of 3, start wide as possible for 5 sets, then shoulder width for 5 sets, then 5 sets chin up style.

I can do 20 pull ups fresh but still do negatives one day every week.

Or lose like 10 lbs quick, you'll do way more pull ups.

 

[barbarajane57nb]

@childofgod49 Pull up bar for a door in the house + resistance band good ones not skinny shit. Start with a band that holds 90-70% of your weight and do pull ups. Then move to a band that holds 65-45% of your body weight continue. Make sure form is good. And continue down till no more band needed. You’ll be banging out 30-40 pull up in no time. Be consistent every day, don’t miss. It’s great if you work from home have it close by bang out the pull-ups during meetings.

 

[jeffland]

@childofgod49 Try to count every two as one, and go to 7 (14) it helps

 

[marialavender]

@childofgod49 Might get downvoted because Athlean-X, but I followed this

a while back not expecting much but just to have something to follow in order to slowly get myself more active again after a longer slump.

Now, probably lots of noob gains / regaining strength, but I went from 1 to 5 at the end of the 22 days.

Might be worth it if you want to mix it up and try something new.

 

[jermyn]

@childofgod49 Try using a harder variation for a time like Mixed Grip Chin-Ups. As you get stronger, your capacity for endurance will increase.