Pullup Frustration

[stevew]

I'm wondering if anyone could help me with increasing my pullups. I've been going the Armstrong program for about 3 weeks and hven't increased by even 1 yet. Before I started the Armstrong program I tried doing weighted pullups, but I got very fatigued from that, dropped 1 pullup and never got it back

. I was doing sets till failure but that leveled out and I haven't seen improvement in a long time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated because I feel like I have tried everything and nothing is working.

 

[kevin]

dangle by one hand off a very tall bridge. do 5 sets of 60 seconds. when at failure, pull yourself back over the edge. you should always have a good spotter for this exercise.

 

[ChrisAg05]

Are you doing any other kinds of back exercises like lat pulldowns or rows? If you added that into your workout once or maybe twice a week, you might see some improvement.

Also, are you doing them inboard or outboard? I started doing them inboard and plateud around 13. Now I'm doing them outboard (I can do alot less this way, but I feel it alot more in my back). On your PFT, you can go back to inboard and should be able to do alot more.

 

[ben]

I'm not much of an expert, but doesn't the Armstrong program call for doing pullups EVERY day? Most fitness guru types recommend resting a particular muscle group for at least a day before you work it again. I'm sure that if the Armstrong program wasn't successful for lots of people it wouldn't be so popular, but you might try resting a few days a week just to see what happens.

 

[riley]

In my experience I think bcgeib is correct. I'm not a fitness god at all, so take my advice with a grain of salt. I started this past August doing one pullup and with the Armstrong program got up to 13 by the end of October. I haven't been able to do any more than 13 since then. I started with weight training 3 weeks ago - focusing on the muscle groups that you use for pullups. Monday - chest, Wednesday - back, and Friday - arms. I go really hard each day, but then rest to let my body recuperate. I'll have another PFT the end of February - so I guess I'll find out then if I found a way to get over my plateau.

 

[slasher]

Originally posted by bcgeib
I'm not much of an expert, but doesn't the Armstrong program call for doing pullups EVERY day? Most fitness guru types recommend resting a particular muscle group for at least a day before you work it again. I'm sure that if the Armstrong program wasn't successful for lots of people it wouldn't be so popular, but you might try resting a few days a week just to see what happens.

Bingo. You should rest each group for 24-48 hrs between workouts, otherwise you'll go nowhere. Although only at it for 3 weeks, you may be a bit overtrained. Like he said, rest a few days to let your body recover, then do as Riley. Lat pull downs, dips, curls, 21's, push-ups, & the pull-ups.

 

[Gonzodogg]

stevew -
Give Armstrong a little bit more time. You need to be on that program for at least six weeks to see any kind of real results. (It worked really well for me). At only three weeks, you are experiencing "teardown" and it would not surprise me if you could do less pullups than when you started the program. Just stick with it and don't miss any days.

At a certain point (the other post were right) you will eventually hit a wall, and it will be necesary to change the routine. You are still about two months away from that.

Good luck.

 

[NavyOCS]

I thought in the armstrong program they mention that you might start to do less because of fatigue but to just stick with untill the end. I dont know for sure though. I do know for me, weighted pullups are what i swear by now. the other day i did them with that belt attached to a chain. I put a 25 pound weight on and did sets untill i could not even do one. My back was freakin sore as hell! I dont see any reason why they wouldnt work for you? How long did you do weighted pullups?

 

[casey]

Gonzodogg has it right. Three weeks is not nearly enough time to tell if the pullup program is working for you. What you are experiencing is your body being "torn down," which is a good thing. It is true that you need rest (and to make sure you are eating some protein and not too much crap) to build strengh, but the fact that you feel that you have plateaued is neither surprising nor bad. Some people just naturally shoot up in the # that they can do right away, but this is not true for most people (especially in the 10-20 range). The most important thing is that you have a pullup program (like Armstrong or Recon Ron) that you follow religiously and that you are actually pushing yourself during the workouts (not just doing the bear minimum to say that you did it). What you will find is that you will do this for 4-6 weeks and then take around four days off and do absolutely no back related exercises. I guarentee you that you will be able to do more pullups than when you started. Trying to max-out right in the middle of regular training is just not an accurate measure of your strength. Also when you get to the higher # of pullup (approaching 20 and beyond) it becomes harder and harder to add those extra pullups so you get diminishing marginal returns (aka it takes longer to add 1 more pullup going from 19 to 20 than from 1 to 2 so gaining that strength must be a long term commitment). You also want to make sure that you are doing the pushup part of the Armstrong program because pullups are not just about your back muscles but also about your shoulder girth which allows you to catch yourself when quickly dropping down from a pullup and giving the initial burst to start the next one. Finally, weights can be good as a supplement, but as I have posted before, be carefull because they can lead you to overbuild muscles you dont need and add unnecessary bulk. What you want is not necessarily a lot of muscle but a high body weight to strength ratio so that the muscle you do have works really well (look at the people in the gym that can do the most pullups, they are often not the bodybuilder type of guys). Anyway, sorry to ramble so much, but if you want to get better at pullups, the bottom line is to do pullups regularly (not substitute exercises), give youself some time to recover, do the pushups, be disiplined and consistent, and then take several days off before you want to max (ie on the day you take the PFT). Hope this helps!

 

[stevew]

Thanks for all the replies!!

 

[Grant73]

It is your forearms that give out before your back and bis do when performing pullups. Here is something you may want to try. On the down position of the pullup (the negative) hang for 5-10 seconds. This will help improve your forearm endurance.

 

[DBLang]

I never used armstrong. I just did a max sets until I could only do one or two with a thirty second rest, waited a day, and did it again. However, just doing it on a regular basis wasn't as important to gaining pullups as really pushing myself. When I was at 13 I struggled with everything I had to get the 14th pullup, and every subsequent increase after that.

 

[KBayDog]

For those that are interested:

"I are a Physical Education major," so I know a thing or two about exercise physiology. However, my "success story" goes against everything I have learned. It is a lesson in what I like to call the "Different Strokes Principle":

My final PFT when I graduated from Parris Island consisted of a whopping nine (9) pullups. For my first couple of years in the Corps, I could never seem to complete more than 10-12, even on a good day. I am convinced that this resulted in my first MECEP package being rejected; even though I was a sub-17 minute runner, my 250 total PFT just did not cut it. I tried numerous training programs, to no avail.

A colonel I knew told me that when he was a squadron CO, he had a pullup bar right by his parking space. Each and every time he passed it - a minimum of twice a day - he busted out ten pullups. He claimed that it helped him break the 18-pullup plateau that so many experience, and suggested that I try it.

I gave it a whirl; every time I passed by the pullup bar at my shop, I did a set of ten. As a young NCO, I was never in one place for too long, so I passed that bar a LOT. Within a few short weeks, I was doing upwards of 200 pullups a day. The result? A 285 on my second (and successful) MECEP package, and 20 pullups ever since. (Except for my initial PFT at OCS, when the 26 I did only seemed to count for eleven in the sergeant instructor's eyes...but I digress...) These days, I can even go for a week or more without doing any pullups, and still do 20 perfect dead-hangs (though I do not like to tempt fate).

My story goes against most logic - for example, what is the sense of doing 1.5 mile training runs for a 3-mile test? Also, I did not give my body the 24-48 hours of recommended rest between workouts. However, this "program" worked, where the other "scientific" programs failed. I have concluded that I am a freak of nature.

I have also concluded that there are different strokes for different folks. Muscles are controlled by motor units - the muscle fibers, and the nerves that control them. These fibers need to "learn" what/how to do things. This is an individual endeavor; we all learned our ABCs at different rates, using different methods, because we are all different. Our muscles are all different, too - they "learn" at different rates, with different methods. We just need to find what works best for them.

Bottom line: Do not waste your time looking for a "one-size fits all" workout program. It does not exist. Experiment with different programs, tweak them, and come up with your own.

Whew. Back to Spring Break. :icon_smil

 

[cricechex]

I haven't done the pull up stuff yet, but I have increased my pushups by leaps and bounds. I would go four to five days without rest doing as many pushups as I could. Then I would rest for a day or two, and start again. I went from fifty to one hundred pushups with ease. Eventually, my muscles got used to the consistant strain and adjusted. It's not about what is right or wrong, it is about what works! Also, your mentality counts for a lot when working out too. I told myself that I would increase my output everytime I did my workout. Stick to your goals and do the mind over matter thing.

 

[Daedalus]

When I started a pullup program I wanted to see what my max was, so after not having done a pullup in forever I did 12. I am doing the Recon Ron, and after maxing out and doing another 50 pullups that day, I can barely do the 7 on the top of Recon Ron chart. It seams like i am maxing out at 7 now, any reason for this? the 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 4 = 26, but its not all in a row which is what counts.
Any thoughts?