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Why Don’t I Have My Pull Up Yet??
For many that have athletic pursuits or general fitness goals, pull ups are normally among them. As kids we made this bodyweight movement look like a breeze. Somewhere along the way we lost it. Men and women alike want to be able to perform pull ups. It’s an accomplishment and a merit of fitness.
For weeks, months, or even years, people have been scaling pull ups. Using the assisted machine at general gym, big thick bands and other typical pull ups modifications. The most effective way to get ever so closer to the goal of unassited pull ups is to perform strict pulls. Even for those who have pull ups, strict is king! Performing strict upper body pulls creates the biggest demand on all the muslces involved in the pull up.
There are a lot of muscles involved in pull ups. Whether its chins up or over hand pull ups, the same muslces are being used. A study published by the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research shows that all same muscles are used in the intitation of the pull and even throughout the whole movement but at different intensities. If you struggle with pull ups or are just looking to get better, than strength every aspect of the movement. That means doing exercises that involve the biceps, trapzeius, rhomboid, rear delts, the shoulder girdle as a whole and even the pecs. Eliminate all weak muscles by hitting it from every angle. From typical pull ups to barbell rows, muscle ups, rope climbs, dumbbells rows, band pull aparts, dumbbell pull overs and the list can go on. By doing this you can unlock the weak link that’s been holding you back from crushing that next gymnastic workout, kipping and strict alike it.
OK, lets say you’ve been doing what Coach says. You’re performing strict movements, pull and pushing from every angle and you’re just inches away from clearing that chin over the bar. Now what? You’re major muscles like the latissimus dorsi and trapezious are getting strong, but we need to now fill in the cracks. Small muscles that can be neglected like the rhomboids and rear delts still need work inorder to complete the puzzle. How we can ensure those don’t get missed are routines like “Bullett Proof Shoulders” (made famous by CF New England coach and owner Ben Bergeron) as well as the much hyped (rightly so) Crossover Symmerty. Both of these applications focus on scapular stabilization and the rotator cuff. It’s great for warm ups and even better for strength work.
What’s not helping you is a ton of bands, espcially kipping with bands. Resistance band’s intended purpose is in the name. Resistance. They are strength tools for things such as banded squats or pull aparts. The concept with using bands for pull ups is it completes the range of motion requirements. Starting with extended arms to chin over the bar. The band helps you the most in movement initiation (where athletes are typically stronger) and helps the least at the top (where athletes are typically weakest). In my time of coaching and training people, few people progress only following the banded pull up routine. Kipping with bands will leave you more vulenerable to injuries like SLAP tears. It helps you to get up but then doesn’t aid in slowing down your bodyweight at the bottom which is more force then you went up with. Ditch the band, grabs some rings or set up a scaleable strict station!
Pull ups are a very sought after accomplishment but much more acheiveable then most people think. Will it happen over night? No, but everyone is in a different place in their journey. As long as you stay the course and keep pushing forward it’ll happen! Now just put in the work!
Nick Carignan
CrossFit 8 Mile
Reference:
- Youdas, JW, et. al. “Surface Electromyographic Activation Patterns and Elbow Joint Motion During a Pull-Up, Chin-Up, or Perfect Pull-Up™ Rotational Exercise.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (2010): 3404-14, accessed August 26, 2014, doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181f1598c
- Ronai, Peter. “The Pull-Up.” The Strength and Conditioning Journal (2014)” 88-90, accessed August 26, 2014, doi: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000052
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