Shruti, this one is for your reference, though anyone else who reads this should find it useful also.
All right! The pull up is my favorite upper body exercise. No person can be considered strong unless he is strong at pull ups. First of all, what are the benefits of pull ups?
1. It is the ultimate lat exercise around, period. Nothing comes close. The lats are the biggest muscles in the upper body and are key contributors in most movements.
2. It is also great for the upper back and the posterior deltoids (not as good as a row, but very close). A person who does a proper pull up with a full Range Of Motion, will hit all areas of the upper back very powerfully, and will build enormous lats.
3. When the proper variation is used (close grip, supinated- i.e palms facing you) it is also the ultimate bicep exercise around too.
4. It is a terrific grip exercise.
5. It provides fullness to the pecs, much like a pullover.
6. It builds proportional strength.
Now what constitutes a proper pull up?
1. Full Range of Motion- Begin with the arms almost fully extended (only a slight, almost unnoticeable bend at the elbows should be present) and pull with your back and biceps, until the bar touches your collar bone. The humerus should be in line with the body.
2. There should be a full second pause at the top of the movement.
3. The shoulders should always be pulled down and back. The scapula should be retracted and lowered.
Pretty much anything that fulfills the above is a pull up. Wide grip, under hand, over hand, narrow grip, medium grip- They are all variations of the pull up.
So what does it mean to be good at pull ups. I would say, anyone who can 'pull off' at least 12 pull ups in a row in perfect form, of each variety of the two handed pull up (not in the same workout, but separately), is good at pull ups. The five varieties are-
1. Medium Grip Over hand Pull Ups
2. Wide Grip Over Hand Pull Ups
3. Close (fingers touching) Grip Over Hand Pull Ups
4. Medium Grip Under Hand Chin Ups
5. Close Grip Under Hand Chin Ups
You must be able to do at least 12 consecutive reps of each variation.
Now lets get started. For those of you out there who can't yet do pull ups, here is my preferred progression.
1. Bodyweight Rows- This is an important variation as it teaches you to use your back to pull instead of the biceps. Find a stable object about waist high, under which there is space. Get under it and hold it with a overhand or neutral grip (not an underhand grip), and make your body straight. Only your heels should be on the floor, your body straight, and your hands grasping the object. Now row your body till your chest touches the object. Your humerus should be well behind your body. This will ensure you are pulling with your back, not your biceps.
If you cant do this variation properly, use a higher object 3. and reduce the height every workout.
Master for a set of 25.
Prep. Stage- (these exercises are preparation for the next stage)
Top and bottom isometric holds- Get to the top position of a medium grip overhand pull up (jump, use a stool). Just hold it.
Similarly, get to the bottom position of a pull up- elbow slightly bend, shoulders and scapula tight, and hold it.
You must be capable of holding both these holds for at least 15 seconds each before moving on.
Both holds are equally important to ensure perfect form and muscle firing later on. They may feel easy after bodyweight rows, but they are important.
2. Top half Medium grip Underhand Chin Ups- Master for a set of 10.
Prep. Stage-
Pull Up Negatives- Medium Grip Overhand. Just get into the top of a pull up and lower yourself as slowly as you can. Get to the point where you can drag it out for 15 seconds. In order to do this, you will have to focus on fully engaging your back.
3. Full Range Medium Grip Underhand Chin Ups- If You can't quite handle these yet, use a shorter ROM (reduce the ROM by reducing how low you go).
Master For a Set of 8
4. Top Half Medium Grip Overhand Pull Ups- Master for a set of 10.
5. Medium Grip Overhand Pull Ups- Master for a set of 8.
Now get down to mastering these two variations for 10 reps each (medium width- under and over hand).
Then start adding other variations and slowly work up to 12 reps each variation.
A lot of people will boast huge numbers in the pull up. Don't believe them. Most people will either use some kind of leg kipping (raising the legs to provide momentum), or not go all the way up, or go all the way down, or not pause at the bottom. If you do even 2 of the before mentioned, you will rep out a good 70% more repetitions. There are very few people who can do 12 genuinely perfect pull ups in any variation. But most of the benefits of this exercise can be obtained only by using perfect form, so don't attach your ego to numbers. If you can only do 2 top partial under hand chin ups, but do them well, do only two.
Once you master all these varieties, you must master them on a significantly thicker bar (wrap a towel around it) before beginning work on the one arm chin up. This will prepare your grip for the one handed work to come, and induces significant growth in all the elbow flexors.
There are a lot of people who can do a lot more under hand pull ups than over hand. This is ass backwards. First of all, there is not that much of a difference between the two. If you are using the same width, they use pretty much the same muscles, except that under hand uses the biceps as the primary elbow flexors, while an over hand uses the branchialis and the other elbow flexors that originate in the forearms. There is no additional contribution of the back in an over hand grip.
The two reasons people are unable to do as many over hand as under hand pull ups is because their elbow flexors are weak and they don't know how to engage their back. So they depend on the biceps when ever they can. Once you get used to fully engaging your back and create a mind-body link, you will find wide overhand grip pull ups to be the easiest variation. This is because in even a moderately trained person, the biceps and elbow flexors can never be close to as strong as the lats. Once you stop depending on your elbow flexors and engage the back, you almost always will have to end a set because your elbow flexors give out, not your back. In a wide overhand variation, the elbow flexors contribute minimally, so they last longer, allowing you to use the full potential of your back. That is why i can do 14 wide grip overhand pull ups but 10 medium grip under hand chin ups.
How do you develop this ability? Follow my progression honestly, and it will happen. The emphasis on top range partials, humerus movement and rows will ensure you get there.
A lot of people will boast huge numbers in the pull up. Don't believe them. Most people will either use some kind of leg kipping (raising the legs to provide momentum), or not go all the way up, or go all the way down, or not pause at the bottom. If you do even 2 of the before mentioned, you will rep out a good 70% more repetitions. There are very few people who can do 12 genuinely perfect pull ups in any variation. But most of the benefits of this exercise can be obtained only by using perfect form, so don't attach your ego to numbers. If you can only do 2 top partial under hand chin ups, but do them well, do only two.
Once you master all these varieties, you must master them on a significantly thicker bar (wrap a towel around it) before beginning work on the one arm chin up. This will prepare your grip for the one handed work to come, and induces significant growth in all the elbow flexors.
There are a lot of people who can do a lot more under hand pull ups than over hand. This is ass backwards. First of all, there is not that much of a difference between the two. If you are using the same width, they use pretty much the same muscles, except that under hand uses the biceps as the primary elbow flexors, while an over hand uses the branchialis and the other elbow flexors that originate in the forearms. There is no additional contribution of the back in an over hand grip.
The two reasons people are unable to do as many over hand as under hand pull ups is because their elbow flexors are weak and they don't know how to engage their back. So they depend on the biceps when ever they can. Once you get used to fully engaging your back and create a mind-body link, you will find wide overhand grip pull ups to be the easiest variation. This is because in even a moderately trained person, the biceps and elbow flexors can never be close to as strong as the lats. Once you stop depending on your elbow flexors and engage the back, you almost always will have to end a set because your elbow flexors give out, not your back. In a wide overhand variation, the elbow flexors contribute minimally, so they last longer, allowing you to use the full potential of your back. That is why i can do 14 wide grip overhand pull ups but 10 medium grip under hand chin ups.
How do you develop this ability? Follow my progression honestly, and it will happen. The emphasis on top range partials, humerus movement and rows will ensure you get there.
In my next post I will talk about going beyond the pull up and achieving the one arm chin up.
Hi Teja,
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of your blog. Its just a disgrace that your blog have no comments. I wish more people read your blog. The information here are so unique, full of valuable knowledge and priceless advices.
I can do 7-9 pull ups (always little wider than shoulder width) but when I try a wider grip overhand pull ups, I always feel a sharp pain in my right shoulder when I revert back to more narrow grip the pain disappears. I was wondering, as the pull ups most of us know is a wide pull ups. The question I want to ask you is this:
1. Is wide grip (overhand grip) is the normal pull ups? or its just the misunderstood pull ups that puts too much strain on ones shoulders/
2. Or Am I not strong enough to do a wide grip pull ups? ( as my shoulders says dont do it your gonna hurt yourself)
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThanks for your comment, I am glad you enjoy my blog.
DeleteNormal pull ups are overhand grip chin ups with a medium grip, which is the grip your mention you use.
There is no inherently harmful variation of pull ups, other than behind the neck pull ups.
If you can do 6-7 ordinary pull ups, you are strong enough to do wide pull ups. The thing is that any extra wide grip, on pulling or pushing exercises, will be painful on your shoulders, if your anatomy is restrictive. What I mean by this is that if you are born with a shoulder joint with a type B or C acromin, any wide grip will hurt your shoulders.
There are basically 3 types of shoulder capsules, determined by the shape of the acromin- A, B and C. Type a can perform almost any motion without pain. Type B and C will find extra wide grips painful, and if you persist in using wide grips, permanent damage to the shoulders can occur.
The other thing is, if you use a ultra wide grip, your rotator cuffs are disadvantaged, which puts the shoulder in a dangerous position. This could also be the reason for your pain, though this is more common among people with short arms. This is very easily correctable, by simpily pulling in a fashion that allows the rotator cuff to apply force. Basically, dont let your elbows splay outwards when using a wide grip, think of twisting the bar while pulling yourself up. Twist the bar such that you are trying to break it, by trying to rotate your left hand anti clockwise, and your right clockwise.
If its a rotator cuff problem, that should solve it.
It could also be that you are hyper extending your shoulders in the bottom. Try not going all the way down, stop a couple of inches before the dead hanging position. If this removes the pain, then you are simply allowing the shoulder to get loose during your pull ups. The solution to this is simple, keep looking up at the bar and stick your chest out at all times. This will force your to keep your shoulders down and back and tight.
Another possibility could be that your have poor spinal posture. Lie down on your back and bring your arms over head and relax them. When you relax them, does your entire arm rest on the ground, or do only the forearms touch the ground? 90% people have this problem. It is imperative for pain free wide grip work, that you be able to achieve a perfect overhead position. If you find your overhead flexibility to be the problem, the solution is to do a set of shoulder dislocates (you can google it) before and after every set of pull ups, and during every rep of every pull up, make an active effort to stick the chest out and pull your shoulder blades back. Over a few sessions itself, your shoulders will feel better.
You may have one of these problems or you may have all of them too. Just apply the remedies I have given and your pain should disappear. However, if nothing is helping, chances are you have a Type C acromin and it is simply anatomically impossible for you to do wide grip work without pain. In that case just drop it, there are a lot of other variations out there to chase, you are not losing out on something big.
Just dont assume you have bad anatomy right off the bat. Apply all the remedies and see if they help.
Thanks for your reply. I am 5 feet 6 1/2 inches so my arms are short. I got a rotator cuff sprain two years ago in my left arm while doing inclined bench press, so I stopped doing bench press altogether switched to free weights, dumbell flys never gave me a problem but if I do dumbell press even a 50 lbs will give me a discomfort in my shoulders. From this summer I didnt try weight training instead I concerntrated on bodyweight excercises. I got my first muscle-ups. I am trying to increase my pull up efficiency so that I can eventually try for one arm chin ups. I Normal pull ups never gives me a problem but if I increase the grip wider (a little) I start getting discomfort signals in my right arm, so I never even think abt ultra wide grips.
ReplyDeleteI am all excited after seeing you very detailed advice, so I started replying even before trying your advice. I will try your remedies and see if stops, but still I am scared to bet on my shoulders. I am sure that my shoulder joint should be B or C and with short arms, I guess I am flirting with my shoulder capabilites. One again I thank you for your advice, I am glad that your expertise will be very helpful for lot of people like me.
I've been mixing in overhand pullups and bodyweight rows with my one arm chin work in an attempt to learn to fully engage my back. So far I find I have trouble getting my collarbone to touch the bar during overhands. This is not a problem during underhands and I'm beginning to think this is a flexibility issue rather than strength. Is this a common problem and do you have any insight as to whether it's something I have to fix to maximize lat utility? Thanks!
ReplyDelete