Armstrong program

[red92gt]

Now that my cast came off (2 weeks ago) I started doing pullups again, now that I can kind of get up and down off of the stand. Before my injury I had been doing chin ups, but I figured that now that I have until next summer to prepare for Jrs that I should start doing them overhand. Anway, my max was 10, so I went from there. That leads to my first question-
Training sets- The Armstrong program suggests that someone who has 12 (2 more than mine) pullups in their max set would have 1 or maybe 2 pullups in their training set. This didn't feel right, so I did 3. On Day 4 I quit after 75 training sets. Has anyone else had a similar experience? This seemed odd to me.

Question 2-
Day 3 calls for 9 training sets, according to the training set explanation. However, during the day-by-day breakdown, it says to do 3 with an overhand grip, then 3 chin ups with your pinkies touching. 3+3=9? No... Another explanation I saw was to do the first 3, the underhand 3, then 3 more overhand, but gripping the bar farther than shoulder width apart, and to touch the back of your neck to the bar. Any thoughts/clarifications?

I probably could have wrote that post in about 1/3 of the words I used, but I'm lazy so there ya go. Thanks

 

[Slammer2]

Q1 - I think thats just a suggestion. A lot of people have questions as to what exactly the training sets are, so I think they just give you an example. Its probably different for each person. I think when I started (I had 10-11 like you) I had 3 for my training set. If you can do more than 10 or so sets, you should up the number by one.

Q2 - You're supposed to to 3 sets overhand normal, 3 sets underhand with your hands touching, then 3 sets wide grip, but come up normal, not behind your neck. Those are hard as hell and kinda fun, but be careful not to hurt your shoulder doing those behind the head pullups.

Another note, at OCS, you could mount the bar anyway you wanted, over- or under hand. But that may have just been something that our instructors didnt care about. So its good to be able to do them either way just in case. Also the over hand grip might help build strength for climbing other types or obstacles. Good luck with the training.

 

[pdx]

I used Armstrong as well, and I also started at about 10 pullups. I got to 21, but it took me about 8 weeks. As Slammer mentioned, the calculation for finding a training set is a rule of thumb. You are supposed to tweak it until you can do only 9 sets. If you can do a 10th, you should add 1 to your training set the next day.

The official Marine Corps rule is that you can do your pullups with any grip you want (you can even change grips partway through). I found that initially, I could do more with the chinup (palms in) grip. It focuses primarily on your biceps. As I progressed, I was able to do more with the old school pullup grip (palms out). It focuses more on your lats and back, which are actually a larger muscle group. Once you get your back in shape, you will probably find those muscles to be a little more resistant to fatigue.

I am Navy now, but I did initially apply with the Marine Corps. During my tests, I busted out 14 or 15 with the pullup grip, then switched to chinups and did a few more.

 

[Zilch]

I have a couple of cents in this area.

I started with 7 pullups, which obviously needed mucho improvement. What I did was buy one of those doorway pullup bars and slapped it right in my bedroom door. Each time I walked through it, max set.

I broke 20 in no time, though I was also doing curls and lat pulls. I liked it becuase it was simpler than the Armstrong. Whatever works best for you, though.

 

[ArkhamAsylum]

The secret to doing many pullups:

Spend more time pulling up than reading about pulling up.

 

[GMan1976]

Mad Pull Ups

 

[BarrettRC8]

I max out at around 32-34. Just go to the gym and do a good back workout.