Girls, put pull-ups at the forefront of your training!
Girls, bring pull-ups to the forefront of your training!
Many women use all the pull-up and assistance tricks for years and still fail to perform pull-ups with strict form. Achieve your big breakthrough with this foolproof bodyweight progression!
One of the biggest fitness breakthroughs in my life was my first pull-up. It was only one, but after my chin moved over the bar for the first time, I was over the moon! Before that time, I had been fully dedicated to my yoga training. Then one day I bought a pull-up door bar and that changed everything. I thought I was already in good shape, so I was surprised to find out that I couldn't even do one repetition. That day I decided to conquer the bar!
Soon after, I enrolled in a cross-training class where they had me work out on rings and pull-ups with resistance bands. Unfortunately, even after a year of this training, I still couldn't do a clean pull-up. I could have given up at this point, but I didn't want to. I knew I could do a pull-up - and that it was a goal worth working towards.
After injuring my back, I turned to training with bodyweight exercises and strength-based calisthenics as a way to rehab and supplement my yoga training. A few months later my back was healed and I was finally able to do a full pull-up!
It was a journey, but looking back I can say that the journey from no pull-ups to one repetition is much longer than the journey from one to multiple repetitions. I can now do 10 pull-ups in a row with good form and I'm working on more advanced variations.
I want to save you all the unnecessary extra time and struggle I went through. Embark on the journey to your first pull-up today!
There is no substitute for pull-ups
Why should you focus on pull-ups?
- Because you can't fake a proper pull-up
- Because the journey requires dedication and training
- Because real strength starts with mastering your body
- Because "Hey, I've never noticed this muscle before."
- Because strength in pull-ups can be transferred to other sports, yoga and life
- Because no machines are needed
- Because pull-ups are simply awesome
- Because you can do it!
For most women - even women who train hard - pull-ups are a fringe exercise. Why? An easy answer is that women usually have a stronger lower body than upper body compared to men. But that's no excuse to neglect your upper body pull-up exercises! On the contrary, it's a reason to focus on these exercises.
"But I do push-ups and lat pulldowns", you might say. Push-ups are great, of course. But those lat pull-ups on the machine don't hold a candle to pull-ups - or all the progressions that will help you eventually be able to do pull-ups. Even just hanging from a bar can have great benefits for your posture. Pull-up workouts develop your latissimus, upper back, shoulders and arms, but they also work your abs to a surprising degree. These are all great benefits for men and women, but having a strong upper back is especially important for women as it helps them support the weight of their breasts.
Want to talk about visual body development? Let's talk about it. A well-developed latissimus has just as much to do with emphasizing the hourglass body shape that most women strive for as oblique abs. Focus on pull-ups and you'll eventually see the thing you wished would give you side bends.
Of course, training with your own bodyweight means you're using your body as weight, so you may well be reluctant to carry around more weight than you'd like. I understand that. But don't avoid resistance training just because you're carrying around extra weight. Balance your pull-up training with a healthy diet and you'll get to where you want to be faster than if you do either alone.
Are you on board now? Here's a series of progressions that will help you get ready to do your first pull-up. There's nothing more uplifting than disproving the stereotypical view that women aren't strong enough to do pull-ups. Let's get started!
Step 1: Australian pull-ups
This is basically a horizontal pull-up where your feet remain on the floor or an elevated surface. This exercise is less difficult than a full pull-up as the lever arm and angle are more advantageous, but that doesn't mean it's easy.
Find a bar that is around hip height and position yourself underneath the bar with your hands slightly more than shoulder width apart. If you go to a gym, you can use a multi press or a barbell bar that is at the right height on a rack. Use either an underhand or overhand grip depending on what feels more natural. If necessary, alternate between two variations: one with your knees bent and a second with your legs straight. Bending your knees will make the exercise easier as you can easily push with your feet if you need support.
Try to pull your chest almost to the bar with each repetition and then slowly lower your body again. Avoid any momentum here. Keep your back completely straight as you move up and down and resist the temptation to simply drop as the set becomes more strenuous.
I would recommend starting with 2 to 3 sets of 10 clean repetitions as part of your regular training program. When you can easily perform 3 sets of 10 reps, then perform a few sets with your feet elevated on another bar or a box or platform. This will change the lever arm and make the exercise more challenging.
Step 2: Hanging from a bar
When you're just starting out, it can be hard just hanging from a bar. Don't give up if you feel this way. If necessary, start with a few seconds and try to increase slowly.
The more you resist swinging and learn to engage your whole body, the better you will be able to use your nervous system to recruit more muscles when it comes to your first pull-up. While Australian pull-ups are a good addition to your regular workouts, you can do hang on a bar any time you have access to a door bar or something similar. This exercise can also be part of your pre-workout warm-up.
Play around with gripping the bar harder or relaxing your grip, which will help you strengthen the muscles in your arms and hands. Feel free to experiment with different grip variations: Overhand grip, underhand grip or mixed grip. Know your bar! Even if it doesn't look as impressive as pull-ups, this exercise is a powerful exercise in its own right.
Once you can hang comfortably for 15 to 30 seconds, you can begin reverse shoulder raises (reverse shrugs). These will teach you to move your shoulders properly, which will help you learn to use the larger muscles of the back such as the latissimus and trapezius. Using these muscles is essential for performing pull-ups.
To perform reverse shoulder raises, grip the bar firmly and pull your shoulder blades down by lifting your chest slightly and pushing your shoulders away from your ears. Work on performing several repetitions of this movement and eventually this can become an excellent mobility exercise to include in your warm-up. Alternate between different grip variations just as you would with the straight-arm hang.
Step 3: Hanging with bent arms
Once you're used to hanging under the bar, the next step is to start hanging from the bar with your arms bent and your chin above the bar (which is the top position of a pull-up). This is also known as 'hanging with bent arms'.
On your first attempt, I recommend using a step or bench to help you get into the position with your chin above the bar. It is also helpful to start by using an underhand grip (hands pointing towards the body).
Jump - or climb - to the top position of a pull-up, grip the bar firmly and hold this position for as long as you can. Your whole body may well start to shake as you try to hold yourself in this position. That's good! Try not to hold your breath.
Time your attempts and try to hold yourself in this position for longer and longer until you finally manage 30 seconds at a time. Then increase the target to one minute.
Step 4: Slow negative repetitions
The concept behind slow negative repetitions is to train the eccentric (lowering) phase of the movement to build strength for the concentric part of the repetition. It's as if you're performing a reverse pull-up - and many women will find that this is the magic ingredient that will eventually make the first pull-up possible.
Start in the hanging position with your arms bent. Tense your whole body and lower yourself slowly without momentum. Aim for the negative repetition to last at least 10 seconds. At the lowest point of the movement, your arms should be fully extended. Start with one negative repetition at a time and pause for a minute or two between each negative repetition.
Once you are comfortable with slow negative repetitions, you are very close to performing a pull-up. But I still want to add a final intermediate step consisting of pull-ups over a partial range of motion - also known as partial repetitions - to really focus on the difficult upper half of the movement. For these partial reps, you can use a kick or bench or jump into the position halfway up and then pull yourself the rest of the way up.
Eventually you will need to rely less and less on the momentum you get from the jump. You then perform a slow negative repetition.
You're almost there!
When you are finally ready to start your first pull-up attempt, I recommend using an underhand grip with your palms facing your body. Pull-ups performed with this grip tend to be easier for beginners as the biceps are heavily engaged in addition to the back and latissimus, making the movement easier.
Pull-ups
Start from a hanging position with your arms straight. Tense your body and pull the bar towards your chin. You may be able to do one repetition the first time. If this is the case, congratulate yourself! That's one more pull-up than you could do before and it's a great achievement. Take a well-deserved break afterwards.
In traditional training, this would be considered the maximum weight for one repetition and should be followed by a long rest of about 2 minutes before you start the next attempt. Try to do 3 to 5 sets of one repetition to start with, but don't be disappointed if one pull-up is all you can manage at this stage.
Don't worry if your attempt doesn't result in a full pull-up! You may not quite be there yet, but you are very close. Give yourself another week with a training plan like the one below.
Let's put it all together
If you don't have an extensive strength training background, training pull-ups every day might be too much for you. Remember that your joints may take time to catch up to your muscle growth and adjust the load on the joints accordingly.
For this reason, I recommend training towards a pull-up every other day or only training when you feel fresh and no longer feel muscle soreness. This will help you to avoid overloading your joints and can prevent injuries such as tendinitis. Supplementing your workout with other bodyweight upper body strength exercises such as push-ups can help you accelerate your progress.
Once you can safely perform Australian pull-ups, you can use the following progression to eventually move your head over the bar. Add these exercises to your training program on the following days and you'll be well on your way.
Week 1
Monday
- Australian pull-ups: 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Wednesday
- Hanging from the bar with straight arms/reverse shoulder raises: 3 sets of 1 minute, or as long as you can
Friday
- Australian pull-ups: 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Week 2
Monday
- Hang on the bar with straight arms/reverse shoulder lift: 3 sets of 1 minute, or as long as you can
Wednesday
- Australian pull-ups: 3 sets of 10 repetitions
Friday
- Hanging with bent arms: 3 sets of 1 minute, or as long as you can
Week 3
Monday
- Australian pull-ups: 3 sets of 10 repetitions
- Hang on the bar with straight arms/reverse shoulder lift: 3 sets of 1 minute, or as long as you can
- Hanging with bent arms: 1 set for as long as you can
- Pull-ups - Slow negative repetitions: 10 sets of 1 repetition, at least one minute rest between repetitions
- Australian pull-ups: 3 sets of 10 repetitions
- Hanging from the bar with straight arms/reverse shoulder raises: 3 sets of 1 minute, or as long as you can
Wednesday
- -
Friday - Friday
- -
Week 4
Monday
- Pull-ups - partial repetitions with jump: 10 sets of 1 repetition, slow negative repetition after each repetition
Wednesday
- Hanging with bent arms: 1 set for as long as you can
Friday
- Pull-ups - partial repetitions with jump: 3 attempts of 1 repetition with at least 2 minutes rest between attempts.
What's next?
Remind yourself to be patient as you work towards increasing your reps on pull-ups. If it were easy, you would see many women in gyms doing as many pull-ups as you are doing movements on the elliptical. Don't give up. It's just as important not to give up on what got you to your first pull-up!
Consistency in your pull-up training is what will help you increase the number of repetitions. If you are strong enough to perform each of the above steps and complete your first pull-up, then continue training with the basic movements that got you this far. Each of these has unique benefits beyond helping you get to where you are now.
Once you can perform a few repetitions of pull-ups, you can start experimenting with different grip variations such as overhand grip, mixed grip, parallel grip or using rings.
The world of bodyweight exercises is vast. Explore your body's capabilities and don't limit yourself!
Source: https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ladies-bring-pull-ups-to-the-forefront-of-your-training.html