Can't do pullups

[Mtal]

Hello, I cannot do a pullup. What is the best way I can get strong enough to do some. Thanks.

[Shaolin Wookie]

How much do you weigh, and how much do you work out? You gotta be strong enough to do one in order to practice them. Do Lat-pulldowns at a gym, or something. You can get doorhandle pull things from Sports Authority for real cheap, but I've never used them. Also, do pushups, and tricep pushups (don't know official name for them).

[Mtal]

Well i weight about 205 and am 5 9. I could probably pull myself up pretty far but just not able to clear the bar. I have not tried it in a while. I do go to the gym about twice a week these days, and do a full body workout.

Push ups helps your pull ups?

[Pk_StyLeZ]

Well i weight about 205 and am 5 9. I could probably pull myself up pretty far but just not able to clear the bar. I have not tried it in a while. I do go to the gym about twice a week these days, and do a full body workout.

Push ups helps your pull ups?

well if you can pull ur self up pretty far but cant clear it
keep doing it daily
and sooner or later u will clear it

yeah push up does help, cause obviously i was never able to do pull up before. then i started training kung fu and we did mad push up, then one day i was able to do like 5 pull up like nothing

[Shaolin Wookie]

Depending on the type of pushup, some will help more than others. However, you're targeting the same muscle groups you use in pullups. I can currently do 18 marine style pullups....not that impressive, I know. But I haven't done them in a while with any regularity. I have a doorframe pullup bar that I started working out with again just last week, and 18's what I'm at.....15 with regularity. Also, you don't just have to do 'em marine style. Do them at 90 degrees if you must, and do them quick. Or, go from 45 degrees at height to 120 degrees low, and work that. There are at least 10-12 ways I do my pullups, with different grips.

I do them the same way I lift weights. Do as many as you can (if weights, I do heavy ones I can only rep 10 times max), then wait 30 seconds, and hop back on the bar and rep out as many as you can (might be only 5 or less......), and that works out well. Do that several times.

[Toby]

Get a weight vest, or hang weights around your waist with a rope (what I do). Then, jump to the high position of the pullup and lower yourself with as much control as possible. You can lift 130-140% of your concentric strength during the eccentric phase (a built-in protection mechanism your body has - if you can lift something you can lower it). So maybe hang 10lb off your waist and lower that for 5 reps or so. As you get more comfortable with 10lb, progress to 15, 20lb. After a month or so try it without the weights and you should be able to do a full pullup with ease.

[bodhitree]

Pull ups aren't easy, don't be discouraged.

Without a weighted vest you can still jump to the top of the pull up position and slowly lower yourself down.


Find a bar thats low enough for you to get under at an angle with your feet still on the ground. Keep you feet on the ground and pull bodyweight up at that angle.

Do 1/2 pullups.


They are a great exercise once you can do them. I know one really good athlete who can't do them.

I sometimes suck, but I used to be able to do 10 reps with a 45lb plate on my waist.

[MasterKiller]

I do them the same way I lift weights. Do as many as you can (if weights, I do heavy ones I can only rep 10 times max), then wait 30 seconds, and hop back on the bar and rep out as many as you can (might be only 5 or less......), and that works out well. Do that several times.

That's not exactly the best advice in the world.

[bodhitree]

That's not exactly the best advice in the world.

if you want to use the glycolitic energy system it may be. If you want to use immediate energy system, then you are correct.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Well i weight about 205 and am 5 9. I could probably pull myself up pretty far but just not able to clear the bar. I have not tried it in a while. I do go to the gym about twice a week these days, and do a full body workout.

Push ups helps your pull ups?

Losing weight will help.
Strengthening the muscles that are involved in doing pull-ups will help.
Doing Pull-ups will help.
In short, stick to it and you will get there.

[PangQuan]

well if you can pull ur self up pretty far but cant clear it
keep doing it daily
and sooner or later u will clear it


I agree with this. If you can pull yourself up even an inch. THAT is your pull up. Keep doing your pull ups and they will gradually build themselves up.

Edit: Jogging will help

[WoodenYummy]

I went through bootcamp with like 60 guys that all wanted to be NAVY SEALS/divers, pull ups were a pain for most. The gymnastic body type seemed to do best, all of the big guys struggled though. Pull ups are one of those things where once you reach your limit, you can NOT do another, no matter how bad you want it. The best thing for pull ups is more pull ups, just my opinion... Push ups can't hurt, but it seemed like doing pullups as often as you can/as many as you can was the best route. We were actually "rewarded" with a pull-up bar, the idea being the only way we were gonna get better at them was by doing more of them, and considering you had to pass the PT test to get into BUDS these guys were pretty motivated! Persistence is key;)

[ironfenix]

don't pushups help your pushing muscles? And pull-ups help your pulling ones?

[sanjuro_ronin]

Pull-ups are a strength to bodyweight ratio exercise, and a very natural one at that.
Where as more often than not, push-ups are about muscular endurance ( since most can do at least 20), pull-ups are more about strength on average.

[Chosen-frozen]

The idea of doing negatives (Begining at the top and lowering yourself under as much control as you can muster) is great.

You could also try doing isometric contractions. Stand on something under your bar so that you can place yourself at various heights and pull from there. Even if you`re not moving you`re strengthening those muscles in specific positions.

You could attach a rubber exersise band to the bar and stand on it while you practice your chins so that the band assists by taking some of your weight.

Lots of weighted puldowns until you can chin.

And like the others said, DON`T GIVE UP. PERSISTANCE IS THE KEY.
Once you can do a couple the best thing to help you do more is to do them as often as you can. Do a search for some articles on "Greasing the groove", a concept Pavel Tsatsouline wrote alot about for increasing your ability to do any exercise. He used chin up as an example in the article so it matches your question perfectly.

[masherdong]

The idea of doing negatives (Begining at the top and lowering yourself under as much control as you can muster) is great.

Yeah, I actually like these more than the pull ups. I always feel them the next day.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

You could attach a rubber exersise band to the bar and stand on it while you practice your chins so that the band assists by taking some of your weight

i was almost proud of myself for being the first one to mention that. good advice. obviously negatives are also good advice. my buddy recently started training with me and couldnt do a single pullup. i started him on the negatives, then doubles, then tripples and within 2 months or so hes doing 25 or so total reps in sets of 6 to 8.

... also barbell rows if no one else has mentione them. might be some decent cary over there if youre into weight training anyway.