Why can I all of a sudden do a strict pull-up?

[jbhoneyangel]

@alien444 Aah is that the secret? Adapt or die is my motto.

 

[esatinay]

@jbhoneyangel Stress / recovery / adaptation

 

[realsavior]

@jbhoneyangel I feel like more info is needed.

And congrats!!

 

[jbhoneyangel]

@realsavior Haha thanks! It’s a nice personal achievement.

I’ve been training a lot like 4-5 times a week if not 6 if I feel my body can handle it. I can see I’m lifting heavier than 6 months ago with for instance a clean & jerk at 42.5k now compared to an empty 15kg bb at the beginning.

But it just surprised me so much when I could pull myself up without a band that I’m still wondering what physically happened between that time and my last banded pull-ups.

 

[jnorthey]

@jbhoneyangel The technical term is “gains”

 

[jetmom]

@jbhoneyangel Your muscles rested and got stronger.

 

[aldweik]

@jbhoneyangel You finally learned how to use your lats

 

[thkujsus]

@jbhoneyangel Did you try to do it strict ever before or not? Perhaps you thought for months you couldn't do it but already could but didn't know.

 

[jbhoneyangel]

@thkujsus Yes I did try to do strict ones before but couldn’t lift my old bag of bones up to the bar without a band.

One thing I noticed though, it’s easier when I do them with grips. It almost feels like I’m cheating when I use my grips haha.

 

[forgivenkali]

@jbhoneyangel Grips really are magic. It's much easier to get back on the horse when your hands don't hurt.

 

[ladyoftrinity]

@jbhoneyangel My guess would be your grip strength has been your limiter and has since increased, both without you realizing it.

 

[jbhoneyangel]

@ladyoftrinity Oh yes, thanks for making me realise that. It definitely has increased a lot recently.

 

[luey]

@jbhoneyangel It’s the principle of progressive overload paying off. Just like someone might struggle with a weight on deadlift for a while, one day you have accumulated the requisite strength and - boom! So it wasn’t all of a sudden, it’s all the work manifesting in your success.

“Years of work went into being an athlete overnight success.”

 

[jbhoneyangel]

@luey Super clear, thanks!

 

[godisgreat100]

@jbhoneyangel The pull-up is comprised of three distinct parts; the scap pull, lat pull, and bicep pull. If you aren’t engaged each one in order you’ll have a really hard time getting a strict pull-up. My guess is you unknowingly did this in the correct way and increased your efficiency.

 

[dawn16]

@jbhoneyangel Newbie adaptation. Welcome to the first 18 months of CrossFit!!!

 

[jtm7770]

@jbhoneyangel You have obviously gotten stronger and developed technique using the band assist. But you maybe also learned how to perform the movement with some aggression. A lot of people who are trying to get their first pull up will hang there and then start to "pull" but they don't really know what they're pulling with so the technique part really helps with that. But then you've also got the people who try to pull and it's not explosive so the appropriate muscles don't really fire.

 

[lealyn]

@jbhoneyangel Probably technique but maybe also a bit in your head? I get in my head about the things I think I can't do... I had a similar experience with wall walks. They were so hard for me and I was like... I'm never gonna get it, I'm only gonna do half wall walks and just get through the WOD. But then one day I just fucking DID IT... not quite nose to the wall but pretty damn close and it felt kind of EASY even (my first rep), like something just clicked. I was also like... what changed!?? For me it's part building strength and technique, but it's also about confidence! Just something to consider.

Congrats! I'm not there with pull ups yet... wish me luck!

 

[afirstbornson]

@jbhoneyangel It's such a great feeling isn't it?

"Huh. I wonder if I can do a real pullup now..."

Well would you look at that.

 

[jbhoneyangel]

@afirstbornson Yes, it made me feel super proud of myself for the hard work I put in. Going from the thick blue band to the green then the purple and finally to no band.

It’s exactly what happened haha. “Let’s try with no band this time” and poof I pulled my old bag of bones up.