Do you want to FINALLY do a PULL-UP?
Do you want to do a bunch more than 1? Have you been struggling to get your chin up over the bar for years? Here’s the thing, pull-ups are HARD. This is especially true for beginners. But don’t be fooled, they’re hard for everyone. And at our gym they are especially hard because we teach you how to do a strict pull-up. This gives us the opportunity to educate you so you can ingrain good mechanics in a low-risk environment. Which then allows us to progress to more dynamic movements such as a kipping pull-up (high-risk). We want to establish competency in a stable, dead hang position while working through a full ROM before we ever want to implement speed.
Once our athletes are able to maintain the rigidity required through their spine and stability through their shoulders it is only a matter of overall strength for them to be able to complete a pull-up. That’s where the program from below comes into play. For those that can’t initiate the movement while maintaining good form we have other methods to utilize to help them. Most often we will use a band to scale the movement or perform eccentric (negative) pull-ups. The band reduces the amount of body weight an individual is pulling so we can train in a full-range of motion, and everyone is stronger eccentrically then they are concentrically. Picture the person who can lower themselves into the bottom of a push-up but can’t push their chest off the ground. The eccentric is the lowering portion of both movements.
Below I created a program to show you how to do a pull-up, and designed it to help you do your first pull-up, or develop the strength to go from doing 1 pull-up to 5+! The plan is laid out for you, all you have to do is dedicate yourself, swallow your pride, and a have willingness to get sweaty hanging from a pull-up bar…A LOT. But first let’s define what a strict pull-up actually is.
WHAT IS A STRICT PULL-UP:
Hanging from a bar, with an overhand grip (palms facing away) and your hands more than shoulder width apart.
From here, brace your core, squeeze your butt, pull your shoulder blades down and back to engage a stable position. Pull through your elbows and armpits to aid your lat engagement and begin to pull-up.
Maintaining a rigid core complete the movement by pulling yourself upward until your chin is over the bar. (At no point should you lose stability or get sloppy. No wet noodling on the bar.) Then stay tight, and control your descent back to the bottom.
*At no point was Lisa’s foot in the band, that was a strict pull-up. Oh, and guess what. She followed this program too!
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
Pull-Up Bar
Patience & Persistence
*Box/Bench
*Rings/TRX
*Jump/Stretch Bands
*Not required to complete program
THE TEST:
Start with chin over pull-up bar and slowly lower yourself to full elbow extension. Goal time is 3 seconds. We want to hit a perfect eccentric pull-up for 0:03 with full control (These are actual seconds, not a kid playing hide & seek counting like the Micro-Machine guy, 1 M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I…)
THE RULES:
If unable to lower yourself slowly under control for 0:03, start at Preparatory Phase Week 1 and Re-Test following Week 2. If successful move on to week 3, if unsuccessful try the test with a band (instructions below) to find a band that allows you to control your descent for 3 seconds and move to week 3. If you start the program with a band, at the end of every phase try to retest with a skinnier band or with body weight. If able start back at week 3 without a band, guess whose getting stronger!?!
HOW TO USE A BAND:
Standing on a bench or box, attach band over bar. Pull down on band as you place your foot into the loop. Ensure that you have the band rest through your arch, not just over your toes.
Reach up and grab the bar with an overhand grip. Then push your foot down to extend your leg, and let gravity lower you until your arms are extended. Be sure to wrap your free foot over top of banded foot to secure band from flying off.
From the dead hang position follow all of the previous steps from above. Stay tight, pull through your elbows, pull chin up over bar, control your descent, then repeat.
6 to 8 WEEK PROGRAM:
Preparatory Phase
Control the lowering of every rep, rest 2:00 between sets.
Week 1: Day 1 – 3×10 Ring Rows (RR) with pause at top, Day 2 – 3×15 RR, Day 3 – 3×20 RR
Week 2: Day 1 – 4×10 RR, Day 2 – 4×15 RR, Day 3 – 4×20 RR, Day 4 RETEST
Eccentric Start-Up Phase
Weeks 3-4 lower for 0:03 seconds, rest 2:00 between sets.
Week 3: Day 1 -3×5 (3 second lower), Day 2 – 3×5 (3 sec), Day 3 – 3×6 (3 sec)
Week 4: Day 1 – 3×6 (3 sec), Day 2 – 3×7 (3 sec), Day 3 – 3×7 (3 sec)
Eccentric Build-Up Phase
Weeks 5-6 lower for 0:05 seconds, rest 1:30 between sets
Week 5: Day 1 -3×5 (5 second lower), Day 2 – 3×5 (5 sec), Day 3 – 3×6 (5 sec)
Week 6: Day 1 – 3×6 (5 sec), Day 2 – 3×7 (5 sec), Day 3 – 3×7 (5 sec)
Eccentric Earn-It Phase
Weeks 7-8 lower for 0:08 seconds, rest 1:00 between sets
Week 7: Day 1 -3×5 (8 second lower), Day 2 – 3×5 (8 sec), Day 3 – 3×6 (8 sec)
Week 4: Day 1 – 3×6 (8 sec), Day 2 – 3×7 (8 sec), Day 3 – 3×7 (8 sec)
Crush a Strict Pull-Up Phase
This is what you’ve been earning these past weeks!
Week 9: Find a bar, grab a hold of it, pull yourself up, take a selfie video, Facebook it…and CELEBRATE!
TIPS:
Maintain tightness throughout your body on every rep at all costs.
Make every rep perfect, form & function first.
Pull with your elbows.
Control your descent.
Squeeze, squeeze, and squeeze some more.
Rest 1 day between workouts.
Have fun.
Remember, it’s time under tension that makes you stronger. Strict pull-ups make you better at kipping pull-ups, not the other way around all you CrossFitters. That’s why at GPS Human Performance: Home of CrossFit Reilly strict pull-ups are what we do. Also, having a strong grip, and strong back will aid your Olympic Weightlifting lifts, it’s science. Just be patient, and don’t get discouraged. Good luck, I believe in all of you!
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