Pullups

[Barefoot Gentile]

Let's get right to point, pullups are the ultimate upper body workout. Continuing on my path of trying to live a minimal lifestyle, I have neglected the metal bar hanging from the garage rafters far too long. I was highly dissappointed in myself when I could only do 5 pullups! Amazing how out of shape I got, pullups used to be my specialty. I used to be able to do 12 in a row with ease.

So after a week of doing 3 sets of 5 with different hand positions, it's amazing the difference I feel.



Put away the weights, throw out the workout dvd's, forget the gimmicks. Get a bar, that is all you need.

 

[saypay45]

I've maintained most of my

I've maintained most of my strength from when I lifted weights every day by doing some version of pullups, pushups, situps, squats for some time.

My favorite is doing a 5-10-15-20 and repeat for 20 minutes. I haven't touched my weight set in months.

 

[jschwab]

I like pullups but I am weak

I like pullups but I am weak and need spotting - used to get that in my trapeze class, but no way now. It sucks.

 

[Abide]

I hate pull-ups! Well hate is

I hate pull-ups! Well hate is a pretty strong word. I suck at em, so I despise them. But I do them every day.

 

[NakedSoleNate]

 I love all types of body

I love all types of body weight excersises! no need for weights ....although I do use them because they're fun too :-D.



If you can't do pull-ups (yet)...the easiest way to develop them is to jump up so your chin is over the bar, hold it as long as you can (which might be less than a second) and try to control the negative (the part when you come down)...soon, you'll be doing a full pull-up, eventually maybe even 10 :-D.

 

[LavaRunner]

 Pull ups are EVIL!I am

Pull ups are EVIL!

I am slowly getting better at them. SLOWLY

I am up to 100 pushups per day. 2 months ago 15 about killed me

 

[Barefoot TJ]

I love planks.  I love side

I love planks. I love side planks too. I love every kind of plank. Can't tell it to look at it, but I have some seriously strong abs.

 

[Dirty Toes Joe]

Pull-ups were invented by the

Pull-ups were invented by the same guy that invented treadmills. I hate both. And in my case, hate is *not* too strong of a word. In fact, I'm not sure that "hate" adequately describes the feelings I have for them.

I also suck at them, which is essentially why I feel this way. I need to be working on them. But wait - I think there's grass growing in my lawn that needs watching......

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Ha!

Ha!

 

[NakedSoleNate]

 if pull ups bore you (or you

if pull ups bore you (or you hate them)...climb trees...it's fun, and you are bound to do the same sort of work....trees are fun to climb!! Actually, anytime I have a chance to do a pull up on a tree, banister, door, railing, etc. I do....but then again, I love doing them LOL.



You want a strong ab workout...do dragon flags...they are the BOMB, and it will feel like one went off in your gut the next day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjCMq2zkbOo

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Yes, those are killer.  It's

Yes, those are killer. It's good for your back too, but you really need to work your back up to that kind of strength first before you attempt them. (Well, not you Nate, but you know what I mean...)

 

[Abide]

My problem is the bulk of my

My problem is the bulk of my weight is in my ass and legs so pull-ups always hurt even after six months of working them.

Trees are much more fun to climb and they work your grip better than pull-ups. Ropes are fun too. And swinging out of the tree on your rope is the best of all!

 

[NakedSoleNate]

 LOL...yeah TJ...best way to

LOL...yeah TJ...best way to work them, is once again, work the negative ....control the descent....until you can do them :-D

I LOVE dragon flags though!!

 

[capmikee]

Can you do dragon flags with

Can you do dragon flags with an IronGym? That's the only piece of exercise equipment that I own.

Okay, I lied, I'm sitting on a yoga ball right now.

Oh, and I forgot, I set up a trapeze in the hallway, but there's really not enough space to use it.

I find pullups frustrating. Depending on how things are going I can usually do between 8 and 11, but no matter what I do, I can't seem to get higher than that. I tried a "how many pullups can you do in 3 minutes?" challenge in Men's health and I think I got up to 14 or so. They said 19 or less is "below average"

The other weird thing about pullups is they don't seem to help much for circus aerials. I know people who can only do 1 or 2 pullups unassisted, but they can whip out a 3-minute performance routine on silks or corde lisse. After 1 or 2 tricks on the rope, I'm shaking and losing my grip and have to come down. I've found pushups to be more helpful at targeting whatever it is you need for aerials - I'm guessing the core is most important.

 

[FNG-OscarMike]

20 Pull Up

20 Pull Up Challenge



http://twentypullups.com/

 

[NakedSoleNate]

 core is paramount...even in

core is paramount...even in pullups...think of "lifting" from your center, instead of lugging your body up....

yes, you can do dragon flags by holding on to anything "fixed" like a pole support or wall beam...they are great for training the human flag too ;-). With your iron gym, you can be on the floor and hold onto one of the support legs....

I like to do pullups/chin ups, then bring my legs vertical to the sky, and lift my feet high, then control back down...this is all core stuff...

I've been trying to get the static muscle-up (the version NOT using a kip-up)...I'm pretty confident I am strong enough to do it, I just haven't figured out the technique yet.

 

[Abide]

NakedSoleNate wrote:version

version NOT using a kip-up)...I'm pretty confident I am strong enough to do it, I just haven't figured out the technique yet.

I can get the static MU on a bar but I have to cheat and get one side up over before the other, so it is pretty ugly. They are a little easier on rings though, have you ever tried them?

 

[capmikee]

NakedSoleNate wrote:yes, you

yes, you can do dragon flags by holding on to anything "fixed" like a pole support or wall beam...

I tried it with the iron gym this morning and had no luck. I don't think it was "fixed" enough.

Or maybe I'm just a total weakling...

edit -

I tried it again with the iron gym wedged against the door a little better. I can see how it might work, but I don't think I'm quite up to it.

I was intimidated by watching this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjCMq2zkbOo

but then I watched another video and that guy didn't keep his body straight the whole way up - I guess you work up to that? I think I could work up to it if I could start out by bending my waist to get up.

 

[Last Place Jason]

I like pullups a lot.  I'm in

I like pullups a lot. I'm in Nate's camp... I love doing body weight exercises. However, a human flag is still a bit out of reach...

 

[NakedSoleNate]

capmikee wrote:but then

but then I watched another video and that guy didn't keep his body straight the whole way up - I guess you work up to that? I think I could work up to it if I could start out by bending my waist to get up.

Best way to work up to them is to control the negative, once again....curl yourself all the way up, and try to lower all the way back down as slow as you can....keep doing this, until you can bring yourself up too :-D.

If you are not able to actively control the decent, just go down as far as you have control, and work coming back up from there...