Traditional Training Part 4-- The Almighty Pull up
The pull up or chin up is one of the most difficult, effective, underused and easiest to perform (in that no equipment is needed) exercises there is.... it is also one of the hardest exercises there is.
Bodybuilders like Arnold used to base their whole back routine around the pull up. Rowers do them till they drop. The marines do them till they puke. Male models do them till they get that nice "V" taper in their back.... Stallone, Pitt, the Rock, you name them and they do pull ups for a great back . Unfortunately most people.... even gym rats... don't do them... and are missing out on a great exercise for their back, biceps, shoulders, forearms, grip strength and even abs.
Why don't most people do them... cause they are fuckin HARD! Let's tell you how hard.... the world record for consecutive push-ups is over 10,000, in comparison, the world record for consecutive pull-ups is only 135! BIG DIFFERENCE! There are guys who can bench 300lbs but can't do a single pull up. The average # of pull ups the American male can do is--- ONE! (All that being said, I did see a video a couple of days ago where a guy did pull ups with over 100lbs strapped to his waist!!!)
There are basically 2 types which are only different in the way the hands are held. Pull ups are with the palms of the hands facing away from the face and chin ups are with the palms of the hands facing you. Palms away (pull ups) focuses more on your back in isolation hitting the lat muscles hard, whist, palms in (chins) brings quite a bit more biceps into the exercise. Shoulder width should be used as any wider and you are just hitting the same muscles but putting extra stress on your shoulders.
There are a couple of ways to really get started if you can't perform any reps yet...
1- Jump pull ups- Just what they sound like, you jump up to get the momentum going and then lower your self slowly. Stallone loves these.
2- Set a bar quite low, low enough that you can touch your feet on the ground and try to use as much back and as little leg as you can doing them.
3- Pull downs on gym equipment- Just work up to your body weight on the machine and then never use that machine again!
Once you get doing them there are a few ways to work up to more strength-
1- Straight sets- Just several sets of 8-12 reps with a break in between
2- Arnold sets- He used to do his pull ups in rough sets, basically as many sets as it took to do a total number of 50
3- Weighted pull ups- Yes, when they get to easy and you are doing more than 15 a set it's time to think about adding weight. You can hold a dumbbell between your feet or use a dip belt and add weight plates
Give them a try... and if you fail.... try again... your body, your back and your biceps will love you for it! A true secret to big arms...shhhh
Bodybuilders like Arnold used to base their whole back routine around the pull up. Rowers do them till they drop. The marines do them till they puke. Male models do them till they get that nice "V" taper in their back.... Stallone, Pitt, the Rock, you name them and they do pull ups for a great back . Unfortunately most people.... even gym rats... don't do them... and are missing out on a great exercise for their back, biceps, shoulders, forearms, grip strength and even abs.
Why don't most people do them... cause they are fuckin HARD! Let's tell you how hard.... the world record for consecutive push-ups is over 10,000, in comparison, the world record for consecutive pull-ups is only 135! BIG DIFFERENCE! There are guys who can bench 300lbs but can't do a single pull up. The average # of pull ups the American male can do is--- ONE! (All that being said, I did see a video a couple of days ago where a guy did pull ups with over 100lbs strapped to his waist!!!)
There are basically 2 types which are only different in the way the hands are held. Pull ups are with the palms of the hands facing away from the face and chin ups are with the palms of the hands facing you. Palms away (pull ups) focuses more on your back in isolation hitting the lat muscles hard, whist, palms in (chins) brings quite a bit more biceps into the exercise. Shoulder width should be used as any wider and you are just hitting the same muscles but putting extra stress on your shoulders.
There are a couple of ways to really get started if you can't perform any reps yet...
1- Jump pull ups- Just what they sound like, you jump up to get the momentum going and then lower your self slowly. Stallone loves these.
2- Set a bar quite low, low enough that you can touch your feet on the ground and try to use as much back and as little leg as you can doing them.
3- Pull downs on gym equipment- Just work up to your body weight on the machine and then never use that machine again!
Once you get doing them there are a few ways to work up to more strength-
1- Straight sets- Just several sets of 8-12 reps with a break in between
2- Arnold sets- He used to do his pull ups in rough sets, basically as many sets as it took to do a total number of 50
3- Weighted pull ups- Yes, when they get to easy and you are doing more than 15 a set it's time to think about adding weight. You can hold a dumbbell between your feet or use a dip belt and add weight plates
Give them a try... and if you fail.... try again... your body, your back and your biceps will love you for it! A true secret to big arms...shhhh
Gratuitous hot chick
posted by Geeper at 8:30 p.m.
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