Comments on: The Secret To Doing Your First Pull Up

By: Vic Magary

Vic Magary — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:31:08 +0000

Man, a one arm pull up is no joke! It took me about 6 months to get a muscle up. And a one arm pull up seems so far beyond that. . . Great work, Shaun.

By: Vic Magary

Vic Magary — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:26:29 +0000

Those are solid numbers. That’s about exactly where my numbers are on the strict versions of each; maybe a few less close grips than you and a few more wide grips. Neither of us will win a pull up contest with our numbers, but I think it’s a good range that indicates being fit.

By: Shaun

Shaun — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:02:41 +0000

Ah memories. Back in 1998 i was so weak. This exercise was damn hard for me to do. But after a while i became good at them. These days i can do pull ups with one hand. So for me , that last headline will say ‘pile on the weight’ as it gets quite easy. But it’s like most things, do it long enough and you become good, slowly forgetting how hard the early days were. Either way i still advise people and I’ll pass this on to them because of the videos. Great post Vic

Shaun
SFB

By: Tom Parker - Free Fitness Tips

Tom Parker - Free Fitness Tips — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 20:40:41 +0000

Hey Vic – I’ve never had problems with doing a pullup personally although I’ve always been quite light so that probably has something to do with it. I’ve not done any for a while but last time I tried I could do about 15 close grip pullups and about 8 wide grip pullpus.

By: Vic Magary

Vic Magary — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:10:02 +0000

Well that depends on how much assistance you need. I suggest getting a few different bands in varying strengths so you can progress towards that first unassisted chin up. Remember to work in the strength training protocol, so a band that helps you to get 3 full range of motion pull ups is best.

By: Vic Magary

Vic Magary — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 00:58:49 +0000

Well put, Ali. You describe perfectly the problem with using the assisted pull up machine. Keep working, you’ll get that first real deal pull up!

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 01:59:41 +0000

What size of band should I get?

By: Ali

Ali — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:43:05 +0000

Great article, thanks.

I’m still working my way towards my first unassisted pull-up, and so I’m still using the machine for assistance. My experience of the machine is that it works well for me (i.e. I’m needing less and less assistance over time) but I can definitely see why people are leery of it. The problem goes like this:

When I’m concentrating on good form and doing most of the work with my back, I sort of let my legs dangle on the pad and don’t really think about them. This means I perform what feels like a proper pull-up movement.

When I’ve reached that “ah, sod it” stage and am getting lazy, it’s remarkably tempting to do a teeny bit of effort with my arms and then cheat by pulling my lower body up so that the pad hits its neutral position way. This means I’m wasting my time.

I will never forget the shock of finding out I had muscles in my armpits. Exciting and novel places to ache!

By: Israel

Israel — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:33:35 +0000

Thanks Vic. It was a great feeling.

By: Vic Magary

Vic Magary — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:32:25 +0000

Thanks for the comment! I agree, the pull up becomes essential once you learn to do them.