Building the strength to do pull-ups

**Zaphod** · 01-26-2014, 08:02 PM

I'm sure this has been covered to death in a few threads but I just can't find them. I suck at searches.

I'd like to be able to do pull-ups but lack the strength to overcome gravity to do more than one rep on a good day. Most days I can get maybe half-way up. Any suggestions/advice?

I've tried doing pull-downs but they translate poorly to pull-ups, at least for me. I've done the machine assisted pull-ups but when I get past a certain point of decreasing assistance everything falls apart for me. It's something I've never been able to do and would like to be able to do several solid pull-ups.

**PAiN** · 01-26-2014, 10:47 PM

Lat pull downs and push ups is what helped me get more pull ups.

**stiphy** · 01-26-2014, 11:03 PM

I could never do pullups, not even when I was 140 in high school. What helped me was having a bench underneath the pullup bar and bending my legs (at the knees) at 90 degree angle so that the top of my feet are on the bench. that way if I need some help, I can use my legs to push me up. after awhile you will be able to do it with out the bench. Now I can do pull ups like a champ, and im 6'4 230.

Hopefully I explained that well enough that you could understand it.

**telmon1** · 01-26-2014, 11:06 PM

Try doing weighted inverted rows for a while.

**beanlicker** · 01-26-2014, 11:37 PM

Same for me in HS. I could not do one pull up. Like Stiphy, I improved by having someone spot me at the ankles while I bent my knees as Stiphy explained. The only difference is he used the bench to spot himself. I like his idea better because you don't have to rely on a workout partner. I've been a pull up machine ever since. Sometimes, I will also hang on the bar and do a negative on my last rep of each set.

To do traditional pull ups, you should turn your hands so that your palms face away from you as they grip the bar, also called an overhand or pronated grip. To do chin ups, turn your hands around so your palms face you. This grip is called an underhand or supinated grip.

I would start with chin ups which are easier, then move to pull ups when you're ready.

When you're ready for pull ups, I recommend starting with close grip pull ups, your hands should only be about 6 to 8 inches apart. Close grip pull ups focus specifically on the lower lats, the lower back region just above your ass.

When you can do 2-3 sets of 8 close grip pull ups without a spot then you can move to a wide grip.

The wider your hand position, the greater the emphasis on your outer lats. This will give you that V shape all BB seek. Wide grip pull ups also take some strain off of the shoulders, a secondary muscle group used during pull ups.

Pull ups are my favorite exercise and they are a staple for building wide lats.

**Zaphod** · 01-27-2014, 02:01 AM

Thank you!

**Dont wanna be old** · 01-27-2014, 02:29 AM

Use a smith machine.
Set bar at chin level & hold onto bar , slide feet forward the bar about 1 foot . This is 5% of a pull up .
Keep notching down the smith machine putting feet further forward each time .
Eventually you will be on your back with feet extended length of height at your chin .
This is closest thing to unassisted pull up .
This way you can find resistance needed to improve to next height
Not sure if I explained good enough as difficult to say as to show someone .
Good luck and don't stop trying
DWBO

**zdudezdud** · 02-10-2014, 03:28 AM

do bent over rows and close grip T-bars you'll be doing pull-ups in no time. Oh and eat like a monster eat clean but eat.

**telmon1** · 02-10-2014, 01:20 PM

Originally Posted by Dont wanna be old

Use a smith machine.
Set bar at chin level & hold onto bar , slide feet forward the bar about 1 foot . This is 5% of a pull up .
Keep notching down the smith machine putting feet further forward each time .
Eventually you will be on your back with feet extended length of height at your chin .
This is closest thing to unassisted pull up .
This way you can find resistance needed to improve to next height
Not sure if I explained good enough as difficult to say as to show someone .
Good luck and don't stop trying
DWBO

Yes, the inverted row.

**skyrim** · 02-13-2014, 03:19 AM

When I first started, I could only do two pullups consecutively. I had a problems because that whole area was not used to the stretch of an overhand pullup. After reading Arnold's encyclopedia, I picked 50 pullups as my target number and did stes of one and two until I reached 50. It sucked the first few times but the strength slowly came until I could knock out sets of ten with ease.