Pullups

[Chief Fox]

right now I've got tendonitis in my right shoulder and a tweaked back so I just went out to the garage and was able to do three. Man I suck at pullups.

Thanks for calling me out on this one. I need more practice.

[viper]

On the whole taking the rest thing I found that when im training like 25 hours a week inc gym etc that I wouldn see hude gains but what i did is stop training for like two weeks at such a intense rate and drop back to 15 10 hours my body would just change it becomes more defined faster stonger etc it just leaps ahead as if it catches up with the training id been doing just thought id put it out there. With pullups I think reps till failure is the best way to see improvement just have good rest time. And slade sounds like a lil way to good to be tru im more prove it then say it. Also there is no mention on whether there is any counter balance equip for his pullup or someone holding his feet to help him up lol. Not saying his a liar but im skeptical.

[Chief Fox]

On the whole taking the rest thing I found that when im training like 25 hours a week inc gym etc that I wouldn see hude gains but what i did is stop training for like two weeks at such a intense rate and drop back to 15 10 hours my body would just change it becomes more defined faster stonger etc it just leaps ahead as if it catches up with the training id been doing just thought id put it out there. With pullups I think reps till failure is the best way to see improvement just have good rest time. And slade sounds like a lil way to good to be tru im more prove it then say it. Also there is no mention on whether there is any counter balance equip for his pullup or someone holding his feet to help him up lol. Not saying his a liar but im skeptical.

I'm not lying, I honestly did 3 unassisted pullups last night. What, do you want video so i can prove that I did 3 pullups?

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

i do pullups the same days i do back and shoulders. i did 10 last night just to warm up before lifting without too much effort so i think my max is currently around 15. give or take a little.

im also 5'4'' and weigh 138lbs though hehe.

[edit] oh and the reason why i posted to begin with ... do you guys think i could start doing pullups 3 times a week in addition to lifting 3 - 5 times. im sure it wouldnt hurt to do them on the day or two of lower body work, but i also want to make sure my upper half is getting propper healing time.

[Scott R. Brown]

You should be ok with 3 days a week. I was doing pullups 4 days a week when I got up to 40 "perfect form", legs in an "L" (actually closer to a lazy V!) pullups! I weighed 165# at the time.

I did Tues. Thurs, Sat, Sun. Each day was 10 sets to failure of two different pullup exercsies. I wouldn't recommend the 4 days though. You will really need the extra day of rest!

[viper]

cheif fox please include a running commentary of ur 3 pullups i would very much like to hear ur journey from pullup mino to pullup superhero. U inspire us all the keep reaching for the stars ahahahaha. (when i first read ur post i was like wat i didnt say nething bout ur pullup then i saw the smily face.)

[TaiChiStorm]

Hey guys,
very interesting thread !!! I really love Pull-Ups, because it's a very good excercise you can do without any equipment or studio...
I will definitly start a new training routine. Until now, I did pull-ups just once a week within my back-training. (always in the beginning, 3 sets) I can do about 12 clean pull-ups with overhand. But the problem is still, that after my first set of 12 reps, I am not able to do even 6 reps.
So I hope this problem will be solved by doing them more often per week !!
Greets
TaiChiStorm

[Scott R. Brown]

Hi TaiChiStorm,

How long are you resting between your sets? You should rest a minimum of 1 minute, but not more that 4 or 5 minutes. There are many ways to improve. If numbers per set are important to you then rest longer, otherwise 1-2 minutes will be fine. It is good that you are doing your pull-ups first. Be sure you haven’t done biceps the day before too.

You could also try doing just 2 sets instead of 3. Do your first set of 12 then rest 2-4 minutes then do your second set for as many as you can. Then rest 15 seconds and do as many as you can, then rest 15 seconds and keep going like that until you get up to 12 again. Be sure you have your two days off in a row at least once a week. If this is too much for you then only do pull-ups two days a week with the second day lighter. That means about ½ to 3/4 the number of pull-ups on the hard day. Or you can do your pull-ups then rest 2 days, do pull-ups, rest 2 days etc. or rest 3 days. As I said there are many ways to do them. Learn to listen to your muscles, with experience you will know when you can go hard again or if you need an extra day of rest.

Everyone’s body reacts differently to exercise because of their genetics and basic conditioning. So 3 per week may be too much for you right now.

[Chief Fox]

So I've started this new pullup program. It's called Recon Ron's.

It's designed to train marines to reach the max on the physical fitness test.

Here it is:

Step 1: 1,1,1,1,1 Step 16: 9,7,6,5,5
Step 2: 2,2,1,1,1 Step 17: 10,7,6,6,5
Step 3: 3,2,2,1,1 Step 18: 10,8,6,6,6
Step 4: 3,2,2,2,1 Step 19: 10,8,7,6,6
Step 5: 4,2,2,2,2 Step 20: 11,8,7,7,6
Step 6: 4,3,2,2,2 Step 21: 12,9,7,7,7
Step 7: 4,4,2,2,2 Step 22: 13,9,8,7,7
Step 8: 5,4,3,2,2 Step 23: 14,9,8,8,7
Step 9: 5,4,3,3,3 Step 24: 14,10,8,8,8
Step 10: 6,4,4,3,3 Step 25: 15,10,9,8,8
Step 11: 6,5,4,4,3 Step 26: 16,10,9,9,8
Step 12: 7,5,4,4,4 Step 27: 16,11,9,9,9
Step 13: 7,6,5,4,4 Step 28: 17,11,10,9,9
Step 14: 8,6,5,5,4 Step 29: 18,11,10,10,9
Step 15: 8,7,5,5,5 Step 30: 18,12,10,10,10


Each step is done two weeks before advancing. You do 5 sets of pullups everyday starting at step 1 you do 5 sets of 1 pullup. You then move up through the steps.

I'm just finishing up step one this week and will be moving on to step 2 in a couple of days. I can already feel my grip getting stronger and I can pull higher. More to my chest than just my chin.

30 steps at two weeks a step is 60 weeks. That puts me completing this routine sometime next fall. I hope I can keep it going for that long.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

should you start at a slightly higher step if your ready for it or no?

[Chief Fox]

I've seen another version of the same program but it started at about Step 10 of this program. So I think if you can do more then start higher.

I think the idea is that you are not maxing out on any of the sets but taking a slow steady approach.

I've also heard of a variation where you add in a pullup max day once a week where you just go for your max in one set and no more.

[Ford Prefect]

That program is a good one. I had my best results when only doing sets of 5 pull-ups. I went from being about to 10-12 pull-ups to being able to do nearly 40. It was part of a larger workout where you do:

Pyramid push-ups 10-20 by 2's (10-12-14...20)
Do a set of 20 squats in between each set of push-ups

Pyramid sprint (total distance back and forth) 20 yards, 30 yards, 40 yards, 50 yards, 60 yards, 70, 75 yards
Do a set of 5 pull-ups in between each sprint and rest 20 seconds

Reverse the push-up pyramid 20-10
20 Squats in between...

Reverse the Sprint pyramid 75-20 yards
5 pull-ups in between w/20 seconds rest...

This workout would only last about 15-20 minutes, so in that time you do 180 push-ups, 240 squats, 70 pull-ups, and boat load of sprinting in that time. Not bad at all. Don't be ashamed to pace yourself on the sprints. I've had a few people lose their lunches on that portion.

If you don't have a place to do the sprinting, I'd do either (a) Canadian Wind Sprints from escalating time (b) Jump Rope Sprints for escalating time (c) KB/DB swings (although this can fry your grip for the pull-ups)

I've also seen good results pyramiding pull-ups with a weighted vest.

[IronFist]

Shouldn't there by some volume reduction in there? I didn't think you could make progress for 60 straight weeks.

[cheesedog]

Hey Ford, what are Canadian wind sprints?

[Chief Fox]

I just moved on to step 2 of Recon Ron's pullup program.

Things I've noticed so far:
1. I can pull higher.
2. My grip is better.
3. I need less rest between sets.

After I complete Step 2 I think I'll try a max pullup day to see where I'm at.