Thread: Efficiency of pullups!

how come i only feel my biceps and shoulders although my grip is wide?

Originally Posted by AsianNoob

how come i only feel my biceps and shoulders although my grip is wide?

because your grip is wide

Im not sure... I actually cant do any unassisted wide grip pullups just yet. However, if you are doing pullups/chinups, I found that it REALLY made a difference for me to REALLY push myself for the last 1-3 reps that I normally beleived in my head that I couldnt complete (the whole concept of pulling my bodyweight up over and over again is new to me.) Mind you I am only able to do 5-8 before failure, so training to failure to me doesnt take as long as someone who is 140 lbs.

If you are doing assisted wide grips, be sure your not cheating yourself; lift in a slow and controlled motion, and hold it at the top of your pullup and really squeeze your shoulder blades together.

I used to try and to 10-15 reps with 40-60 lbs of assitance and in my opinion, 5 super slow pullups whjere you are REALLY focusing on feeling the muscles squeeze and put constant pressure is much more effective than 15+ pullups.

Originally Posted by vader

because your grip is wide

It's funny cos it's true.

But yes, i agree - pullups are amazing.

Oh just you wait. Soon you will want to try variations of pullups, and then you'll discover things like towel pullups. I can't even do them yet, I have to be a wuss and use tshirts (smaller diameter)

lmao... Its amazing! The old fat me wrote off pullups as being overated because I couldnt do them... he was, uhhh, sort of a douchebag.

In the meantime, ill stick with my newfound chinups lol. Once I can do more than 10, ill start to get cooky. Might even hang a 45 from my waist like all the other brews.

Great exercise, congrats on you finally doing them.

p.s....Arnold loved these.

Nice one cobber..
Dont forget to mix it up a little i do one week pull ups (palms facing in) then reverse pull ups (Palms facing out) next week and also seated machine pull downs do the trick too.

Pullups and Chinups are a staple of my pulling day. I still feel it more in my arms that back, but each day gets me a little closer to back development.

I also recent discovered I could do hands away pullups! I can't really do many though, palms facing to me is way easier. Any advice on how to be able to do more?

lock out your elbows
pause for a second at the top
return slowly
pause
repeat

get 10 of those

call 1-800-marines

but seriously
pullups are an awsome exercise

every other back workout i do is centered around pullups

i like to do

pulls 2 max set high rep body weight (18, 15)
pulls 2 low rep weight added (35lbs x 8, 45lbs x 4)
chins 2 high rep sets (12, 10)
chins 2 low rep weighted (35 x 6, 35 x 4)
4 sets various grips (8, 8, 6, 6)

with is a total of 12 sets
usually around 100 reps
takes a good hour
this is a KILLER workout and it will leave you sore

covers the whole rep range
covers almost every muscle in the upper body

biceps, lats, traps, rear delts, lower and middle traps, forearms
even a little chest

needless to say... i always take the following day off

Wow, I dont have a major problem doing this but always avoid it because well I feel like you. "OverRated". At the moment I think I can do 2-3 sets of this to 3-5 reps, but i'll definitely try this tomorrow on a back day. :-)

The way you found pull ups so useful, is what I found out with weighted dips.

if you cant do that many pull ups its not a problem
i like to consider myself slightly elite in this matter
although my other lifts are not where near as impressive (1 rep max on bench 205)

just continue with your training and try to incorporate pull ups as much as possible

3 sets of 5 reps would be a great way to start any back day


btw i love dips
i havnt developed enough to incorporate much additional weight... (BW x 18 personal best and BW + 20lbs x 6 personal best)

Now make sure your nutrition and PWO nutrition is up to par to support that new work! This will allow you to develop more and keep adding muscle and more rep work. And how long are you taking off between workouts?

Originally Posted by Ben dur

btw i love dips
i havnt developed enough to incorporate much additional weight... (BW x 18 personal best and BW + 20lbs x 6 personal best)

Just keep at them and add weight at normal intervals, you will be amazed at how fast this lift goes up. I went from doing BW + 25 to BW + 65 in a matter of months.

Then you have demons like Kelju that do like BW + 135 or something. I tell you he made a deal with the devil for that one.

Originally Posted by Ben dur

if you cant do that many pull ups its not a problem
i like to consider myself slightly elite in this matter

How many BW pullups can the average marine do since you seem like you would know. Was funny when I went to an event where there was a National Guard tent giving shit away for doing pullups - I kept going back and asking if I could do some more for different items

a perfect fitness test would include

20 dead-hang pull ups, or chin ups
100 crunches in 2 minutes
3 miles in 18 minutes

100 points per event
a 300 is expected
points are deducted for failure to achieve these feats (and i do mean failure)

5 points for each pull up
1 point for each crunch
1 point for each additional 10 seconds over 3 miles

an average marines scores 235 or better

15+/- pullups
100 crunches
22+/- minutes

below 10 pull ups and a marine will be given plenty of "incentive" to improve

below 225 points total and a marine would have a difficult time making advancements in his career

however

the actual requirements
are very low

learn all about it here

national guard is...

well...

i wont throw any rocks

Im pretty close to that marine thing and my fitness and strength levels are shit right now, at least compared to what i know my peak levels are.

In a max set of pullups i can do 12-14
The crunches are no problem.
Today i did 1.2 miles in 12 minutes low intensity cardio (ie - an easyish jog).

So really its just the pullups id have trouble with atm. I thought it wouldve been harder than that?

The guy who runs my gym is an ex Royal Marine Commando and his fitness levels are absolutely sick, the guy is a machine. Ill ask him what the fitness tests were like for those guys.

there is a huge difference between running 1.5 and 3

and these are simply the requirements for the semi annual PFT

to simply become a marine one is required to complete many distance humps (15 miles+ with 80lbs of gear)
as well as perform a combat obstacle course in a set time limit
and demonstrate proficiency in a handful of martial arts techniques

you also have to consider

a marine who sits behind a desk and fucks with a computer all day would not need to keep in quite the physical condition of one humping a SAW in iraq...

that being said
most people i associate with on this forum, most likely got what it takes

Originally Posted by Ben dur

there is a huge difference between running 1.5 and 3

and these are simply the requirements for the semi annual PFT

Theres also a huge difference between taking it easy, and actually trying, lol.

But yeah, agree with you totally. Running with the gear would destroy my knees i know that much

Yes, Yes Pill-ups are 1 of the best overall back developers All this talk of jar-heads is making me nostalgic and bringing flash backs. All I'll add is this,True happiness is a belt fed weapon!

Originally Posted by IronAddict

True happiness is a belt fed weapon!

If thats the case I could be a retired marine 5 star general or some shit

Originally Posted by DiGiTaL

Wow, I dont have a major problem doing this but always avoid it because well I feel like you. "OverRated". At the moment I think I can do 2-3 sets of this to 3-5 reps, but i'll definitely try this tomorrow on a back day. :-)

The way you found pull ups so useful, is what I found out with weighted dips.

Ever tried weighted pull ups?

Originally Posted by danzik17

towel pullups. I can't even do them yet, I have to be a wuss and use tshirts (smaller diameter)

Yes, you are a wuss, now get out of my training forum


...

Originally Posted by Merkaba

If thats the case I could be a retired marine 5 star general or some shit

haha

i dont know

no doubt you could make it
but i challenge anyone who claims to be "good enough" to prove it
walk across a parade deck shake the hand of a very angry man, and clasp an e.g.a.

anyone could do it
just because one becomes a marine doesnt make them super human
after all

i was an average joe in high school

now 4 years later, im just an athletic, healthy dude with a short haircut, and lots of training

its not all about what athletic abilities you can record on paper.
one of the primary happens to be pull ups

but, alot of becoming a marine is about the practical application of your strengths