by Kerry Taylor
Being able to pull your body up is a feat that many want to achieve but aren’t quite sure how to get there. I have had many conversations with people who want to climb this Mount Everest of accomplishments. In order to get there, it takes a lot of commitment and dedication in your training. Two challenges that you will face before you even start this journey are your limb length and your body weight. Challenge number one, the longer your arms, the longer your weight has to travel to get to the top. Challenge number two, a heavier body makes this difficult for obvious reasons. Also make note, doing a chin up is a little easier than doing a pull up, even though we use pulls ups to describe the action of pulling our bodies up to the bar, there is a slight difference. Palms facing you is a chin up, palms facing away is a pull up. We can work to get good at both.
What needs to be strong first is the connection to the bar, your hands and your grip. We need to make sure we build that strength as well as build up our core stability to help keep us rigid and able to create tension throughout our body from head to toe, which will make the act of doing a pull-up easier.
I have mentioned in a previous blog how important pulling and rowing is for shoulder health. Hopefully you have incorporated many different types of pulls and rows into your training already. That is very crucial to building up our pull up/chin up strength. If you have that already incorporated into your training, then we need to add the following drills into your training program to help you achieve your first pull up/chin up.
1) Reclined Rows/Suspension Rows
Start learning how to pull your own body weight. In this drill, the closer you body gets to being parallel to the floor, the more challenging it is. Also, try to use all hand positions when rowing. If using the bar, use both palms up and palms down positions. When using a suspension tool, use palms up, palms down and palms facing in positions.
2) Assisted Pull Ups/Chin Ups
Have a band hanging with your leg in or with your knee in. The knee is more challenging. Make sure you have a variety of bands to use so as you progress, use a thinner band so you get less assistance.
Using a partner as assistance, have them give you just enough to complete the prescribed reps.
Using a box, bench or barbell for assistance, make sure to only use your lower body as much as you need to assist you to complete the full rep.
3) Hangs
Hanging at the bottom will help build the grip strength needed to pull your body up. Strive to eventually be able to hang there for at least 1 minute. You may have to break that up into multiple sets of less time, but with each set over time, try to hang longer until you reach that 1 minute straight through.
Hanging from the top is a lot more challenging, but should also be practiced to help create tension and stability you will need at the top of the pull to complete 1 full rep. Strive to get at least 5-15s here over time.
4) Retractions
This needs to be practiced because this is how we start the movement. Learn how to start creating tension throughout your back before you start the rest of the pull.
5) Eccentric Pull Ups
This is the act of slowly lowering yourself from the bar. You don’t want to work in both directions, just on the way down. So, use a box to get you at a height that your chest is right at the bar and then slowly lower yourself down until your arms are fully extended. Once your arms are fully extended, release the bar and start back at the top.
6) Hollow Body Hold/Low Plank
Both of these are similar positions you will be in as you move through your pull up. When doing this, we are not just laying there holding these positions, as we stress all the time. You want to flex everything from the tips of your finger all the way through your body to the tips of your toes. Creating this amount of tension throughout will only make doing a pull up easier.
Use all of these pieces to the puzzle in your training sessions to complete your first Pull Up/Chin Up. Spread them out over the course of your program, and we guarantee you’ll be pulling yourself up like a champ soon enough. Just be patient and consistent.
Sample:
Day 1
Top Hang (Palms facing you) 3-4 x 5-15s *Do in the beginning of your workout as this is most challenging*
Asst’d Variation 3-4 x 6-10 reps
Bottom Hang (Palms facing away) 1-3 x 20s-1m
Day 2
Retractions 3 x 5-15 reps
Eccentrics 3 x 2-4 reps
Hollow Body Hold/Low Plank 3 x 10-20s
Day 3
Top Hang (Palms Away) 3-4 x 5-15s
Asst’d Variation 3-4 x 6-10 reps
Bottom Hang (Palms facing you) 1-3 x 20s-1m
Day 4
Retractions 3 x 5-15 reps
Eccentrics 3 x 2-4 reps
Hollow Body Hold/Low Plank 3 x 10-20s
The previous can be adjusted depending on the individual, how much time you can dedicate to this feat, and where you are on your training journey altogether. Whatever you do, don’t get discouraged, stay patient, it will take time, but once you get your first one, multiples are just around the corner. This is just one way to approach this journey, there are many different ways to get there and also many other drills we can add to help you get there. Just pick something and get going!
Until next time, continue to live life one degree above the rest and continue to pull away!