you are probably overworking yourself. I did the same thing with the Armstrong program and got nowhere with it. Now I just do as many max sets as Ican and only if my body is rested. You will hit bumps on the way where you will show no improvement but you will eventually move past it. I found this when I was doing pushups. I was stuck at like 55 for a long time then within a short while I shot up to 80. I imagine the same thing is true for the pullups, just rest your muscles when they feel overworked, and max out when they are rested. Everyone is different but I find that this is what works for me.
-
Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?
Go here:
Edit Account Details and Profile
Pullup Frustration
- Thread starter stevew
- Start date
- Status
livefast
Registered User
Most of it is mental. What I do to overcome that barrier is imagine myself going through each rep. I visualize pulling myself up and bringing myself down, noting exactly what my body is doing, all the way up to 20. Visualizing something in a positive way before actually doing it works with everything in your life, by the way.
Ever heard of pyramids? They sort of go like this: start out doing 1 pull-up. Wait a minute or so between reps and do 2 pull-ups. Wait another minute and then do 3 pull-ups, then 4, waiting a minute between each set. Continue doing this until you start struggling a little to crank them out. Then reverse the sets--4, 3, 2, 1, end. In essence what you have is a "pyramid" step work-out. A typical workout for who does 14 pull-ups might be this: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Right there that's 49 pull-ups total. I will say that this is harder than it looks if you do it properly (dead-arm).
I put a pull-up bar in the doorway of my room and went from 6 to 16 in about a month and a half (doing them every two or three days) utilizing this method. Give it a shot.
I put a pull-up bar in the doorway of my room and went from 6 to 16 in about a month and a half (doing them every two or three days) utilizing this method. Give it a shot.
EA-6B1
PLC Jrs 1st Inc. Kilo-3
I second Sophro. I got to the 18 I can do now by picking a number from 7-11 maybe 12 (the last few are hard) and doing that as a pyramid. Mix it up. Do a max set every other day or something. You have to get to where you're not doing the same things over and over again. My $.02
H20man
Drill baby drill!
for me i used a program taht has you hanging from the bar.
find a pull up bar, either get a chair or be prepared to jump alot. Go to the bar, jump up hands facing out and do a flexed arm hang, where you pull your chin above the bar. you hold that for 5 seconds, then you slowly lower yourself to a full extention over another 5 seconds. start with 5 reps one right after the other. after your done wait 5-10 minutes then do the next set. do at least 3 sets every other night. On the # of reps per set im not sure, i think its 5, but im doing about 10 now cause 5 doesnt give me any improvements.
So basicaly Flex arm hang 5 seconds, lower to full extention slowly over a 5 second period, and repeat at least 5 times back to back. Rest 5 minutes and start again. Do at least 3 sets every other night.
For me this worked really well, i noticed a difference in about 2 weeks. After a month and a half of doing it i went from 3 pullups to 10.
find a pull up bar, either get a chair or be prepared to jump alot. Go to the bar, jump up hands facing out and do a flexed arm hang, where you pull your chin above the bar. you hold that for 5 seconds, then you slowly lower yourself to a full extention over another 5 seconds. start with 5 reps one right after the other. after your done wait 5-10 minutes then do the next set. do at least 3 sets every other night. On the # of reps per set im not sure, i think its 5, but im doing about 10 now cause 5 doesnt give me any improvements.
So basicaly Flex arm hang 5 seconds, lower to full extention slowly over a 5 second period, and repeat at least 5 times back to back. Rest 5 minutes and start again. Do at least 3 sets every other night.
For me this worked really well, i noticed a difference in about 2 weeks. After a month and a half of doing it i went from 3 pullups to 10.
Here's my take:
a year and a half ago when i started this long quest to be a Marine, i looked at the pull-up requirement with fear. I was born a big, tall, unathletic guy and those dead-hang pullups looked near-impossible.
I started with 1 (one). last saturday I did a solid 18, with good form. I should be over 20 in less than a month. If I can hit 18, absolutley anybody can. I remember looking at those skinny little punks that seemed to have the PFT so easy. Now i match them on the PFT and smile when I'm having an easy time on a hump (and the little rabbits are dying).
That being said, just going at it balls-out isn't enough. You have to pay attention to your form, because if you dont that gunny counting for you at quantico WILL.
Here are my pointers for pull-up success, from a guy who wasn't born to do them. Take them however you like:
-Armstrong is the man. Best program i've ever tried.
-instead of 3 sets of push-ups, as Armstrong advocates, I just do push-ups until 1200, and then stop (usually about 200-300 a day). I do my pull ups at about 1600.
-Do your pull-ups palms-outboard, with a wider-than-shoulder grip. These are harder to do starting off, but your form will be better prepared for the real OCS tests, like the rope climb (it's no coincidence that when i did pull-ups palms-inboard, I struggled with the rope. Now i fly up it).
-Do not underestimate your forearms/grip. These are often the first part of your upper body to fail when you're pulling, and they need isloation work. Two things that I do to help my grip:
-----get some grippers at any sporting goods store. they look like the butt-end of a safety pin and you just squeeze them to work your hands out. Simple and very effective. you can sit in front of the TV and work your forearms.
-----At the very end of my workouts, 4 or 5 times a week, i take a barbell + 20 lbs and hold it in front of me, arms straight down, and lift my wrists up and hold for a second or two. Give this one a try - you know it's working when it burns like crazy
-Do them as slowly as possible. You're only hurting yourself by flying through your sets.
a year and a half ago when i started this long quest to be a Marine, i looked at the pull-up requirement with fear. I was born a big, tall, unathletic guy and those dead-hang pullups looked near-impossible.
I started with 1 (one). last saturday I did a solid 18, with good form. I should be over 20 in less than a month. If I can hit 18, absolutley anybody can. I remember looking at those skinny little punks that seemed to have the PFT so easy. Now i match them on the PFT and smile when I'm having an easy time on a hump (and the little rabbits are dying).
That being said, just going at it balls-out isn't enough. You have to pay attention to your form, because if you dont that gunny counting for you at quantico WILL.
Here are my pointers for pull-up success, from a guy who wasn't born to do them. Take them however you like:
-Armstrong is the man. Best program i've ever tried.
-instead of 3 sets of push-ups, as Armstrong advocates, I just do push-ups until 1200, and then stop (usually about 200-300 a day). I do my pull ups at about 1600.
-Do your pull-ups palms-outboard, with a wider-than-shoulder grip. These are harder to do starting off, but your form will be better prepared for the real OCS tests, like the rope climb (it's no coincidence that when i did pull-ups palms-inboard, I struggled with the rope. Now i fly up it).
-Do not underestimate your forearms/grip. These are often the first part of your upper body to fail when you're pulling, and they need isloation work. Two things that I do to help my grip:
-----get some grippers at any sporting goods store. they look like the butt-end of a safety pin and you just squeeze them to work your hands out. Simple and very effective. you can sit in front of the TV and work your forearms.
-----At the very end of my workouts, 4 or 5 times a week, i take a barbell + 20 lbs and hold it in front of me, arms straight down, and lift my wrists up and hold for a second or two. Give this one a try - you know it's working when it burns like crazy
-Do them as slowly as possible. You're only hurting yourself by flying through your sets.
gryffindor
Registered User
if you're doing weighted pullups you're probably on the right track, however there are a lot of factors that apply.
1. first, as many have stated, rest is crucial. unlike running or working your abs, your lagre muscle groups need rest. work out your back, biceps, and forarms all on the same day, every other day at the max. (only recommended if your pft is within a month) otherwise rest for two days b/w back workouts.
2. plateauing is so common. it's happened to all of us, i don't care who you are. the reason why our muscles plateau is they become used to the exercise. you can counter this by using variation.
here's a suggestion: alternate b/w the following workouts A and B
let's say for back workout A, you do weighted pullups. you can start by using a lighter weight, such as a 25 lb plate on the first set and work your way up to a 45 lb plate for your last set. do each of these sets to failure plus have a spotter help you with 2 or 3 ASSISTED REPS. (this is where you're really gonna get stronger) the assisted reps should be harder than the normal ones. make sure the spotter is not helping so much that he makes them easier. this will be very painful, but tough it out and you'll see results. the next time you do workout A, you can start with the 45 and go down to the 25 for a little variation.
now for workout B, do 2 sets of unweighted pullups at 10 reps each. then for your last set go to failure plus 2 or 3 assisted. the combination of variation and forced reps will shock the muscles forcing them to work harder and get stronger.
also, when you work out your biceps and forarms, make sure to do burnout sets. this will condition your forarms, which are the first to give out while doing pullups.
as for alternating b/w palm-out and palm-in pullups, i would not recommend that. here's why: the palm-in style works the lower lats, while the palm-out works the upper lats. so doing the palm-out way probably won't make your lower back any stronger, or for that matter make palm-in pullups feel easier.
3. last thing - psychological factor: 20 is a large number when thinking about pullups. don't get burned out by this. maybe set a goal to do 12 weighted pullups with a 45 lb plate. 12 doesn't seem as bad as 20, however if you can do 12 pullups with that much weight, 20 with only your body weight should be a dream. also, when you're doing your pullups and it starts to get hard close to the end, don't let yourself give up. the body naturally wants to quit, but you have to fight through it. i like to meditate on my arms, imagining they are hydrolic lifts doing all the work. it sounds silly, but it works for me. i know sometimes i've been so pumped up that i squeezed out about 3 more reps when before i would give up and get only 1 more if i was lucky.
these are some things to think about
good luck!
1. first, as many have stated, rest is crucial. unlike running or working your abs, your lagre muscle groups need rest. work out your back, biceps, and forarms all on the same day, every other day at the max. (only recommended if your pft is within a month) otherwise rest for two days b/w back workouts.
2. plateauing is so common. it's happened to all of us, i don't care who you are. the reason why our muscles plateau is they become used to the exercise. you can counter this by using variation.
here's a suggestion: alternate b/w the following workouts A and B
let's say for back workout A, you do weighted pullups. you can start by using a lighter weight, such as a 25 lb plate on the first set and work your way up to a 45 lb plate for your last set. do each of these sets to failure plus have a spotter help you with 2 or 3 ASSISTED REPS. (this is where you're really gonna get stronger) the assisted reps should be harder than the normal ones. make sure the spotter is not helping so much that he makes them easier. this will be very painful, but tough it out and you'll see results. the next time you do workout A, you can start with the 45 and go down to the 25 for a little variation.
now for workout B, do 2 sets of unweighted pullups at 10 reps each. then for your last set go to failure plus 2 or 3 assisted. the combination of variation and forced reps will shock the muscles forcing them to work harder and get stronger.
also, when you work out your biceps and forarms, make sure to do burnout sets. this will condition your forarms, which are the first to give out while doing pullups.
as for alternating b/w palm-out and palm-in pullups, i would not recommend that. here's why: the palm-in style works the lower lats, while the palm-out works the upper lats. so doing the palm-out way probably won't make your lower back any stronger, or for that matter make palm-in pullups feel easier.
3. last thing - psychological factor: 20 is a large number when thinking about pullups. don't get burned out by this. maybe set a goal to do 12 weighted pullups with a 45 lb plate. 12 doesn't seem as bad as 20, however if you can do 12 pullups with that much weight, 20 with only your body weight should be a dream. also, when you're doing your pullups and it starts to get hard close to the end, don't let yourself give up. the body naturally wants to quit, but you have to fight through it. i like to meditate on my arms, imagining they are hydrolic lifts doing all the work. it sounds silly, but it works for me. i know sometimes i've been so pumped up that i squeezed out about 3 more reps when before i would give up and get only 1 more if i was lucky.
these are some things to think about
good luck!
what about just pulling yourself up and down? I think that formula worked for many of us.
Anyway, on a serious note, Excellent advise by everybody (almost.) keep us posted on your progress....may be you'll be the next jarhead (like this guy I knew) showing off his 40+ pull up pft someday.
Anyway, on a serious note, Excellent advise by everybody (almost.) keep us posted on your progress....may be you'll be the next jarhead (like this guy I knew) showing off his 40+ pull up pft someday.
- Status