If there is no struggle, then there’s never progress.
When I first started training, I remember that the one goal I wanted to achieve was to be able to do a bodyweight pullup. In all honesty, even after one year of weight training consistently I never believed it would ever happen because so much time had already gone by and it still hadn’t happened, yet I craved it so much. Why? Partly because I never really saw women do them, (it was always the men) and I remember time standing still when I would watch them mid set, me looking like a goofball staring in complete admiration wondering if I could ever feel as strong as they looked. The truth: it took me 2 whole years of weight training consistently (and properly with Anton as my Coach) for me to finally be able to do a bodyweight pullup - with really bad form looking at videos now! On reflection, I understand that although 2 years seemed a very long time, they were necessary in order to build up my upper body strength first. I think many make the mistake of thinking you just need to keep practising them-yes-but ask yourself whether you are training your upper body enough to build those lats, traps, bis, tris and forearms to be able to get there. These foundations are vital for you to prepare your upper body to lift your whole bodyweight.
HOW DID I PROGRESS?
I think after a year or so since I began, I had increased my training sessions from x2 to x4 a week, therefore my training split was x2 lower body and x2 upper body. Before I even went on to banded pullups, I was doing a variety of these exercises in my 2 upper body sessions, ensuring to progressively overload over time:
· Lat pulldowns- neutral, supinated and wide grip
· Cable rows-neutral and wide
· Single arm Dumbbell rows
· Lat raises
· Seated shoulder presses
· Big compounds that strengthen the back and other parts of upper body eg barbell bench presses and deadlifts
· Banded dips
· Facepulls
· Barbell military press
· Other bodyweight strengthening exercises eg plank toe taps, elevated pressups, hanging knee raises
Only overtime when my coach was satisfied I had built up enough strength, did he put me into the bands. Obviously, we started off with the thickest bands and then gradually overtime progressed to the thinnest band which was near enough bodyweight. Some people after using the thinnest band practise negative pullups (jumping up to the bar and lowering yourself down very slowly and gradually so more tension and stress is on the muscle to recruit more muscle fibres in order for them to work much harder.) Videos by my Coach were also taken at the time so I could really focus on things I needed to improve on.
TIPS FOR THE PERFECT PULLUP:
1. Ensure you have set time aside to work on your upper body (x2 sessions a week is good enough) and incorporate as many of the exercises listed above, aiming for progressive overload.
2. Start with neutral or supinated pullups (wide grip is more for people who are more experienced with doing bodyweight pullups)
3. Start from the bottom (hang first!)
4. Before you pull yourself up (even if still on banded) push your shoulders down and take a deep breath in
5. Ensure to get your chin past the bar and exhale at that point, keeping your shoulders down and your chest out, squeezing the shoulder blades together if possible
6. Your core should be tight and engaged during the whole process.
7. When you come down FULLY EXTEND YOUR ARMS. You have no idea how many bad pullups I have seen by people in the gym whereby they aren’t managing to get their chin past the bar and their arms are still bent when they come down-THIS IS CHEATING.
8. Video your pullups week by week, reflecting on all of the above in order to perfect the technique.
9. Be patient-remember, it took me 2 years to be able to do one, but I got there in the end.
I can tell you now: you will never forget your first pullup and you will feel like a super badass afterwards. Take it from me.
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