The Elusive Pull-Up
- Thread starter twinmama
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- female fitness
markinsydney
New member
@lissy87 my pull-up training basically consisted of doing lots of resistance band pull-ups, negatives, and scalp pulls. at the beginning of each workout I’d try to do a pull-up and then one day I just managed to do it haha! i think the resistance bands helped me “measure” my progress as i moved to thinner ones which was encouraging
pastormoazzam
New member
@pastormoazzam So glad to hear that! I want everyone to see them as realistic and achievable
awakeningekklesia
New member
feelslikebrick
New member
@twinmama To give my 2 cents, I made pullups a goal when the pandemic started and gyms were closed. Losing some weight helped, and doing hangs also trained my muscle for that movement. Jumping up to the bar and holding yourself there for as long as you can also helps. Changing your grips help too. I did this just about every day because I was so determined (yes you get sore, but you just go until you fail). After about 3-4 months I could crank out 10 at a time and I never thought I’d be able to do one. Good luck to you guys 
@azazel420 Noob question that have been bugging me for so long: I am trying to do negatives but I find that when I jump to the top of the bar, my body will be swinging uncontrollably during the actual negative. Is this right?
I sometimes use a short step/stool but most of the time I'm too lazy as I have the bar on my bedroom door frame so I just try to do a negative whenever I walk past it.
Also, say that I am able to do a 5s negative when I stepped out of my room, I'll go to the kitchen, tidy up a bit, drink some water, make myself a snack, etc. Easily 10-15+ minutes later I'll go back in to my room and see the bar and do another negative. This time however, I'll only be able to do like, a 2s negative. Is this normal? It's just been such a long break between 'sets' that I am sure my body will have recovered.
Another issue is with my negatives, I find that the 5s negative I do doesn't really evenly spread out? I try to hold it and go as slow as possible the entire time but I always end up doing like 1s on the top third, 3s on the middle third and 1s on the bottom third of the ROM.
I sometimes use a short step/stool but most of the time I'm too lazy as I have the bar on my bedroom door frame so I just try to do a negative whenever I walk past it.
Also, say that I am able to do a 5s negative when I stepped out of my room, I'll go to the kitchen, tidy up a bit, drink some water, make myself a snack, etc. Easily 10-15+ minutes later I'll go back in to my room and see the bar and do another negative. This time however, I'll only be able to do like, a 2s negative. Is this normal? It's just been such a long break between 'sets' that I am sure my body will have recovered.
Another issue is with my negatives, I find that the 5s negative I do doesn't really evenly spread out? I try to hold it and go as slow as possible the entire time but I always end up doing like 1s on the top third, 3s on the middle third and 1s on the bottom third of the ROM.
markinsydney
New member
@azazel420 Whaaat?! You got to 10?! I’ve been stuck around 4 forever. Did you keep doing the holds once you were able to do a couple?
@markinsydney Yes I did 
if I failed on a rep I would hang until I couldn’t anymore. Then jump up again, repeat.
Your body will continually train those muscles and movements. Sometimes all you need though is a fresh day and fresh muscles to push forward!
I also incorporated strength training for my back 2/week (part of my program) to build the support strength.
if I failed on a rep I would hang until I couldn’t anymore. Then jump up again, repeat.Your body will continually train those muscles and movements. Sometimes all you need though is a fresh day and fresh muscles to push forward!
I also incorporated strength training for my back 2/week (part of my program) to build the support strength.
markinsydney
New member
@azazel420 That’s a smart idea! I saw a gal do that once and was like wow why have I never thought of that but then I never did it 
Thanks for getting back to me! I climb a lot and have been trying to ease off doing extra back exercises until I balance out my chest muscles because I hurt my shoulder, BUT I really wanna break out of this plateau.... and work on wide grip
Thanks for getting back to me! I climb a lot and have been trying to ease off doing extra back exercises until I balance out my chest muscles because I hurt my shoulder, BUT I really wanna break out of this plateau.... and work on wide grip
@azazel420 dead hangs are FANTASTIC. Especially for building the grip strength. Great job!
d3vilman90
New member
@twinmama Wow this is some great information thank you! I love seeing pull ups talked about on here because I feel like I constantly hear that “women just can’t do pull-ups” but we can!! It just takes a bit more effort for us than for men since men are able to build upper body strength easier than we are.
One thing I wanted to add from my own experience - I trained to get my first pull-up for about two years (it wasn’t my primary focus). I struggled and struggled and one day, after taking about a two week break from working out entirely, I tired for a pull-up at a park after a run and was able to pump out three in a row! It was insane.
So I just wanted to add that it can help to really take a break from training and go in with fresh arms. Rest days (and weeks sometimes lol) are so important!
One thing I wanted to add from my own experience - I trained to get my first pull-up for about two years (it wasn’t my primary focus). I struggled and struggled and one day, after taking about a two week break from working out entirely, I tired for a pull-up at a park after a run and was able to pump out three in a row! It was insane.
So I just wanted to add that it can help to really take a break from training and go in with fresh arms. Rest days (and weeks sometimes lol) are so important!
@twinmama I don't have access to a pull-up bar (my apartment's doorways are non-standard and don't fit a over-the-door bar). The closest thing is an aerial hoop (lyra) for a class I take which is good practice but is only once a week and I'm making very little pull-up progress. I already do bent-over rows at home, like one of the links recommends.
Has anyone here had any luck with conditioning exercises that would help pull-ups eventually, or am I out of luck without an actual bar?
Has anyone here had any luck with conditioning exercises that would help pull-ups eventually, or am I out of luck without an actual bar?
@staxx If you don't already - follow the_artist_athlete on Instagram! She posts a lot of great drills that help with aerial. These 3 posts (one, two, three) cover 3 variations of floor-based exercises you can do to work the muscles you need for pull-ups. If they don't feel like they're doing much, push harder into the floor.