For many people, the thought of doing even one pull up may seem like an unreachable goal. There is no doubt about it, pull ups are a tough exercise. However, they are definitely not an unreachable goal. Today, I'm going to mention some of the benefits of pull-ups and a few techniques that you can use to achieve first pull-up status.
Bodyweight Benefit
One of the great things about pull ups is that they are a bodyweight movement. Sometimes, bodyweight exercises are looked down upon as lesser exercises. Recently, there has been a resurgence in the popularity of bodyweight exercises. The truth is, bodyweight training is actually very beneficial.
The problem is that most people tend to stick with one or two variations of basic exercises. For example, your progress will go great with regular push ups, but it will quickly stall if your main goal is strength. However, if you do handstand push ups instead, then your progress in strength training will climb dramatically. Like I’ve said before, it’s all about progression.
A Better Way
The best way to build the strength for doing a pull up is to do modified variations of pull-ups. In the workout video, “Pull up Training,” I outline a simple yet very effective workout that uses 4 modified versions of pull ups. One of the exercises even works other parts of the muscles to give you a complete upper back workout. The exercises in this home workout are:
- Flexed Arm Hang
- Assisted Pull ups
- Inverted Rows, and
- Pike Pull ups
The Importance of Form
The last pull up challenge that I’m going to address is that of form. Pull ups are possibly one of the most controversial exercises when it comes to form. Many lifters believe that the torso and legs should remain as still as possible as the arms pull the body up.
Once you've done as many reps as possible with good form, you can swing your hips and feet to get a few more reps. As long as you do it in a controlled manner, and your doing your pull-ups on a bar that is sturdy enough.
Both exercises are beneficial however, I think the former is the better way to go. In addition to that, here are a few tips to use when performing pull ups or modified versions of pull ups:
- Keep your chin slightly tucked
- eyes looking straight ahead
- Keep your chest out, and shoulders down, and
- Pull from your elbows
Pulling from your elbows will activate your Latissimus Dorsi muscles. These are the large muscles of your upper back. Once you can activate them, your pull up progress will start to increase dramatically.
Ladder Workouts
Ladder Workouts are another method of increasing your pull up strength. If you can’t do pull ups yet, you can do ladder workouts with the modified versions of pull ups. If you can already do a few pull ups, than ladder workouts are perfect for increasing those numbers.
Take the time and effort to build your Pull up strength. Once you can do one Pull up you will not only have a great feeling of satisfaction, you’ll also have a thirst for more and more progress.
If you currently don't have a pull-up bar to use for these exercises, check out the excellent selection of quality pull-up bars at Powder Keg Co.
