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2005/12/15, 02:01 PM
It's been coming up a lot lately, so I thought I would post this article. While the most effective way to learn the pull up is unassisted negatives, these other variations will add variety and balance to your training... Variety is a key.
Anyone guess who she means when she talks ab her husband?
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Pullup Training for Women
Samantha Mendelson
It always seemed strange to me that women weren’t interested in upper body strength. Sure, great legs are a must, girls, but who wouldn’t also like to have shapely arms, shoulders and backs? Forget those silly curls that you see the spandex-clad gym bunnies doing. The best way to get the whole upper body package is with pullups.
The question is how. Most women cannot do even one pullup. How can you progress to doing enough pullups to build the body you want if you can’t even do one? I’ll give you a hint. It does not involve doing ANY of those outlandish variations on the curl that so many of the gym bunnies are so fond of. Nope. My husband found the answer for me on the www.Hard-Style.com discussion board.
Jump Stretch
The first thing you’re going to need (aside from a pullup bar) is a couple of Jump Stretch bands. You will need them to assist you in doing pullups. I started out using the “light” and the “mini” bands, but you can pick a combination that works well for you.
The question you have to ask yourself is how far are you from actually achieving the pullup? The further you are, the more assistance you will need. No matter how pathetic you may be, www.JumpStretch.com has a band that can get you over the bar. After all they have bands ranging from the ‘mini’ to the ‘monster’ providing a whopping 200 lbs. of assistance. Get your bands and start pulling!
Density Training
When I started on Coach Reeve’s Density training protocol I was able to do but three pullups assisted by Jump Stretch’s 50 lb. “light” band. To develop the strength and endurance for the more advanced training, I started by doing a modest 2 pullups per minute for five minutes using the “light” band. When I was able to do 2 a minute for 10 minutes, I started on sets of 3. I worked at this until I could get out three per minute for seven minutes. For more details on DT see Coach Reeve’s post on the www.Hard-Style.com forum.
Rest Pause Training
When I was able to get a rep or two using a Jump Stretch’s 25lb. “mini” band, I switched from DT which is more strength-endurance oriented to ‘rest-pause’ training that emphasizes pure strength. Rest pause training is about lifting a near maximal load at progressively shorter intervals. Instead of increasing the number of reps as you do Density Training, decrease the time you rest between the one-rep-sets. When I started with this protocol, I was able to do one rep every ninety seconds for about five cycles. I increased the cycles until I was able to get ten out. Shorten the rest periods by fifteen seconds each time you can complete your current level. Once you can do it with ninety second breaks, do them with seventy five second intervals, and so forth until you are resting for a mere fifteen seconds. I was able to do my first unassisted pullup after I was able to get out ten sets of one pullup with ninety seconds of rest.
Gravitron Assisted Pullups—PTP style training
The big disadvantage to doing assisted pullups with the Gravitron machine is that you’ll have to find one at your local gym. If the thought of being ogled by ogres doing curls in the squat rack is enough to make you lose your lunch, this style of training may not be for you. Not because it doesn’t work, but because of logistics. I was making pretty good progress using this method until I quit the gym. I gave up on my pullup quest for several years until we got the bands.
The gist of this method is to do pullups using Power to the People! cycles (wave cycles work best) as detailed in Pavel’s book. If progress is slow, try the Bear method. Keep this up, and you WILL succeed.
Negatives
There are other methods besides assisted pullups which can be used to achieve the goal of doing a real pullup. One of these is negatives. Essentially, you start at the top of the pullup and lower yourself slowly. Should you not be able to do even this, you can use your handy Jump Stretch bands for assistance in the negatives as well. Many people have had success with negative only training, but I believe you should get your body used to pulling up, so some assisted pullups are in order, even if you choose the negative route.
Grease the Groove
Now that I’m a pullup kind of girl, I am striving to increase the number of pullups I can do. To do this, I do a pullup or an assisted pullup every time I pass the bar. Being a workout fanatic, my husband put our pullup stand in our living room (watch for my upcoming article on how I put up with that). This means I do a bunch of pullups every day.
Watch out on the greasing the groove in the beginning. When you first do pullups, it will take a maximal effort to accomplish your rep. So you can easily burn yourself out and regress by doing too many.
Once the pullups become fairly easy, you can start GTG training in earnest. You can find out all about GTG training on this site by reading Pavel’s article.
Best of luck with your pullup training. When you can do these you will be, pound for pound, stronger than most women you meet. Impress your friends by whipping them all (and maybe a couple of guys) in arm-wrestling!
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Pain is only temporary, it is in your mind. If you can still walk, then you can still run.
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Quoting from 7707mutt:
The squat cage is holy ground.
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2005/12/16, 12:10 PM
Nice post wrestler. You are right, tons of posts seeemingly about pullups. I am going to make this a sticky.
Pullups are indeed the king of back exercises.
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If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything....
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2005/12/20, 01:29 PM
Great info wrester...I think I will make it a 2006 goal to do 1 unassisted pullup-maybe even 2 :big_smile: Right now I'm only pulling about 80lbs using a Gravitron, so I've got a long way to go-but you've given me some motivation! I'll have to try some of the other techniques.
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Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.
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2005/12/20, 03:03 PM
Thanks Ron. I'm glad you approve.
Flyonthewall... I think that would be an excellent new years resolution. Good luck, and if there's anything I can do to help, you know how to find me...
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Pain is only temporary, it is in your mind. If you can still walk, then you can still run.
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Quoting from 7707mutt:
The squat cage is holy ground.
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2005/12/20, 03:13 PM
Thanks wrestler....I could probably use a spot:big_smile:
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2006/01/10, 01:52 PM
For those of you that have achieved a full pull up, CONGRATULATIONS!
After a while, you will be able to do more reps, and then, it comes time for a few other progressions...
After you can do 10 pull ups unassisted with perfect form, it is time to move on:
Wide grip and close grip: Two of the easiest ways to build pull up strength.
Towel/thick bar pull ups: Either drape a tool over your pull up bar, or do pull ups from a thick bar. This will work your grip more, and increase your level of body tension. It's more of a change than you may think if you have never tried it.
Also, try doing a pull up, but leaning back as far as possible and bringing the bar to your stomach, almost as though you are completely horizontal. This will make it more difficult, as well as hitting more muscle groups with different levels of intensity.
Weighted pull up- using a dip belt, begin to add resistance to your pull ups.
Another variation is to hold a heavy barbell between your legs. If you need a good abdominal exercise, try this.
Frenchies: One pull up, 5 second hold @ bottom portion, one pull up, 5 second hold @ middle, one pull up, 5 second hold @ top portion = 1 frenchy.
Olympic gymnast training routine:
1. Wide grip Pull-ups , as many reps as possible
2. 10 seconds rest pause
3. Medium grip Pull-ups , as many reps as possible
4. 10 seconds rest pause
5. Medium grip Chin-ups , as many reps as possible
6. 10 seconds rest pause
7. Narrow grip Chin-ups
8. Rest 3 minutes
9. Repeat steps 1 to 8 twice, cry and curse me.
Offset pull up: This begins building our one arm power. Drape a towel over a pull up bar. Grasp the bar with one arm, and the towel with the other. Gradually bring one hand lower on the towel. This works up to doing the ultimate test of pull up strength:
1 armed pull up. Self explanatory. This is my goal for 2006, to be able to do 1 1-armed chin up.
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Pain is only temporary, it is in your mind. If you can still walk, then you can still run.
============
Quoting from 7707mutt:
The squat cage is holy ground.
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2006/01/10, 02:41 PM
As always, more great info wrestler. I think I'll just start with the last half of #9 while still working on my first chinup:)
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Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there.
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2006/01/23, 07:01 PM
Just thought I would post my progress. The other day, during strongman training, I attempted to see how far I could get with a one armed pull up. I am happy to say I got half way up, my bicep breaking 90 degrees. I'll let you know when I get there.
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Pain is only temporary, it is in your mind. If you can still walk, then you can still run.
============
Quoting from 7707mutt:
The squat cage is holy ground.
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2006/01/31, 01:22 PM
Why not add pullups while raising your legs, don't know if this has a name but I do these. Great for adding more core tension to my pullups, also helps to prevent that little swing to get momentum. Get on the bar and slowly raise your legs to a 90 degree angle and hold them there while you do as many pullups and possible.
Not really sure how beneficial they are...so feel free to tell me if I'm wasting my energy that could be focused on something else.
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2006/02/02, 06:48 PM
wrestler during 1 arm pull up/chin up can u hold on with your free arm to the one grasping the bar?
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2006/02/03, 10:48 AM
Well now that wouldn't be a true one armed pull up, would it?
Free arm is hanging at the side.
Although that might make a good progression for a one armed chin.
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Iron and chalk.
Pain is only temporary, it is in your mind. If you can still walk, then you can still run.
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2006/02/14, 12:46 PM
I was thinking that I could do pullups on the smith machine with my feet on a bench (similar to bench dips) to help make it easier and still get the benifits of pullups. I can do three underhanded close grip pullups and one overhand close grip pullup.
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2006/02/14, 11:40 PM
If you are capable of doing regular pull ups, I would recommend them over any form of assisted pull up. You lose some of the benefits of an open chain exercise when you turn it into a closed chain exercise.
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Iron and chalk.
Pain is only temporary, it is in your mind. If you can still walk, then you can still run.
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2006/03/01, 12:54 AM
Ohhhh, I almost forgot. The rafter pull up. Another personal goal. I want to be able to do a pull up by the rafters by 2007.
And since no one got it, her husband is Scot Mendelson, my favorite American powerlifter in the WPO. Last I checked, he held a WR at 713lbs in the bench press (though I think he may have surpassed that. BTW, thats raw.
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Iron and chalk.
Pain is only temporary, it is in your mind. If you can still walk, then you can still run.
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2006/08/22, 07:30 AM
Not to be bragging my father is a retired log cutter and probably haven't been to the gym in 30 years. I remember about 15 years ago he could do 10 one armed pull ups with the free arm behind his back. In High School I could do 1. I weighed 156lbs. benched 260lbs. 6ft tall. now I bench 310lbs weight 195lbs. The bad thing about it is I'm 25 now.
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2006/11/29, 02:23 PM
http://www128.pair.com/r3d4k7/Chinups.html
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2006/12/11, 08:58 PM
Under hand (supinated) is a chin.
Over hand (pronated) is a pull up.
Anything where you are pulling your head over a bar is a chin, pull ups and nuetral grip (semi-supinated) are all just variations of chins.
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Iron and chalk.
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2006/12/08, 09:39 AM
btw, is there any difference between a chin-up and a pull-up?
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2006/12/08, 09:58 AM
The grip.
One uses an under hand and the other an over hand.
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Beyond Training, Beyond Experience, Nutrition Wins
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2006/12/15, 04:56 PM
For the offset pullup, how close should the draped towel be to the hand that's gripping the bar?
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2006/12/15, 08:03 PM
Close grip. Otherwise its hard to balance.
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Iron and chalk.
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2007/11/18, 12:16 PM
It sounds like you were making great progress, Wrestler, a lot of good information here. My question is about the bands. Because they look circular on the Jumpstretch website, how do you actually use them? They don't look long enough (42" around) to be useful unless you cut them and tie them off at the bar. And how many did you have to use at once?
Also, I have a door-bar that is only about 6 feet off the ground, so I have to bend my knees. Would you recommend looping the bands around my knees, or finding a higher place for the bar?
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2007/11/18, 02:42 PM
if you loop the band around the chin up bar, you can then put your feet in it, and the band will push up against your feet. The amount of band assistance you will use will depend on your ability. If you need to, you can put your knees in the band, but it will apply less assistance.
As for attaching them, just place one end over the bar and pass the other end through the loop. Don't cut them to do this.
Another progression is to put a db on the ground, wrap the band around the dumbbell, and put the other end on around your neck. This adds tension at the top. My buddy Jared was doing this and can now do a strict neutral grip chin with 115lbs extra weight added, at 190lbs bodyweight. I'm trying to catch up to that, doing 105lbs added at 175lbs bodyweight, but I don't know if I'll go back to doing them with bands. I might try it for this next cycle and see if I progress.
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SQUAT MORE ~Jesse Marunde
Mortal by birth.
Strongman by the grace of god.
Blood Guts Sweat Chalk
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2007/11/18, 02:46 PM
if you loop the band around the chin up bar, you can then put your feet in it, and the band will push up against your feet. The amount of band assistance you will use will depend on your ability. If you need to, you can put your knees in the band, but it will apply less assistance.
As for attaching them, just place one end over the bar and pass the other end through the loop. Don't cut them to do this.
Another progression is to put a db on the ground, wrap the band around the dumbbell, and put the other end on around your neck. This adds tension at the top. My buddy Jared was doing this and can now do a strict neutral grip chin with 115lbs extra weight added, at 190lbs bodyweight. I'm trying to catch up to that, doing 105lbs added at 175lbs bodyweight, but I don't know if I'll go back to doing them with bands. I might try it for this next cycle and see if I progress.
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SQUAT MORE ~Jesse Marunde
Mortal by birth.
Strongman by the grace of god.
Blood Guts Sweat Chalk
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