The pull-up is one of the quintessential exercises that you should have in your workout regimen. In other words, just do it!I think the pull-up is one of the best single upper body exercises that you can do. Why? Because you're working out a variety of muscle groups at the same time. We're talking fingers, hand, wrists, forearms, biceps, triceps, shoulders, delts, lats, chest, etc. If you're not doing these as part of your regular exercise sets, throw them in!
So what can you do to try to increase your pull-up count? I always seem to talk about the idea that if you add 1 pull-up a week to your set, you'll be doing 52 reps in a year. Ha! Easier said than done. I've actually tried this and got up to about 17. Then the winter holidays hit and pow, you're trying to recover for the next month to get back to that level. Reality is that exercises that are performed with increasing repetition goals will be subject to the plateau effect. That is, it will take longer and longer to increase additional reps.
The idea is pretty motivating though, so if you've done something similar, do share your experiences! The concept is that slow and steady progression will allow your body to adapt. It makes sense and applies to most workouts. In order for it to work, you'll also need to steadily progress the rest of your lifestyle to accompany your progress. The more you work out, the more recovery time you'll need, the more calories you might need to intake, etc.So go at it! Get up there on that pull-up bar and see how far you can go! Good luck!
What if i do not have enough power to perform pull ups? Should i still be doing it? Wouldn't it hurt my muscles?
ReplyDeleteAfter any exercise, i like a good tasty meal. Like the Pan-Seared Tilapia i had the other day.
ReplyDeleteGood question, Mian.
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who are not ready to do full self-supported pull-ups, you can still do them with assistance.
There are a variety of ways to do assisted pull-ups. If you have access to a gym, look for an assisted pull up machine. Most gyms have them and it allows you to add or remove the amount of assistance you need.
A more basic way of getting assistance in your pull-ups is to simply use a chair! Place the chair (or other study object) under the bar and hang on the bar with your feet on the chair, letting your lower body go limp a little bit to provide the resistance. Then perform your pull up with the assistance of your legs. The more you use your legs, the more assistance your upper body is getting.
Start slow and with low reps and your muscles should not be injured. Be safe, and good luck!