The video with our complete More Pull-Ups Program is also available now, so be sure to check that out after you watch this one.
In the meantime, take the challenge: go out to the park or gym – or wherever you’ve got something to hang off of – and see just how many you can do. Post your results below and any questions you have about pulling strength.
Great teaching methodology Ryan. The pull-up is one of the more intimidating of all exercises, though need not be. Go into any gym or spa and you’ll find few people, including the he-man machos, doing pull-ups. The pull-up is neglected because of its humbling nature. I’ve known huge men who could bench twice their weight but then when it comes time to pull up their own bodyweight, forget it. This tutorial came just in time since my 14 year old son has begun a summer-long exercise regimen preparing for his entry into high school.
Something tells me your son is going to be the one intimidating everyone else come August…
12:56 07jul2010
1 pull-up
Great tutorial, Ryan. That’s almost exactly how I teach my clients to work on their first few pullups. The reverse/negative repetitions are perfect for beginners. It’s a humbling exercise, but the good news is that performance always improves with practice. 21 for me this morning.
waddup everybody! I tried when I just got up this morning and did 10. Which is pretty good, but I thought I could do better ’cause about 6 months ago I surprised myself with 15 (trying to impress my then-gf, it worked
). I tried again a couple hours later but got 10 again. Guess that’s my limit for the moment, gotta get back on ‘em! I was piked though, which although is definitely harder at first, I think once your body “figures it out” actually makes it easier ’cause you’re not working against your own dead weight.
Here’s to getting 5 more!
I did 3 yesterday, before I saw this video.
I went & did 3 pull-up preps/3 reverse pull-ups, & did one full pull-up. I was surprised how sore the preps/reverse pull-ups made me.
Question for you Coach: how do you work the 30 sec breaks? Do you do a prep, rest 30 secs, do a reverse, rest, & keep going till you get 3 of each? Or do you do prep + reverse, rest 30 secs, & do both till you get 3 of each?
11:55 08-jul 2010
3 series x 10 reps pull-ups prep (30 sec rest)
5 reps reverse pull-ups (30 sec rest)
3 pull-ups (30 secs rest)
Did the pull up prep and reverse pullup today. 3 sets of 1 rep each with 30 sec rest in between followed by one full pullup.
Usually when I do a pullup, I try to move at a steady pace with no ballistic or explosive motion (thinking that this is better somehow). However, after following the pull up prep motion, I initiated my pullup with a ballistic “pull up prep” motion and used that momentum to throw my weight up. This seemed to be much easier.
Thanks Ryan.
I should mention: I have never been able to do pullups/chinups. Yesterday I did five rounds of one PU prep/one negative, 30secs in between. Today, I did three rounds of three preps, 3rounds of 3negatives. I still cannot do a pullup/chinup.
Great comments everyone! And impressive numbers.
Check out the next video tomorrow and use the exercises to see if we can’t get those numbers even higher!! Don’t forget to post.
[Question for you Coach: how do you work the 30 sec breaks? Do you do a prep, rest 30 secs, do a reverse, rest, & keep going till you get 3 of each? Or do you do prep + reverse, rest 30 secs, & do both till you get 3 of each?]
Hey Hugo!
Do each movement before going on to the other movement with 30 second rest between all movements. The full program with video and pdf will be out this Friday and it has it all laid out there and soon make more sense.
12:29 09-jul 2010
After:
1. Intu-flow Beginner
2. Flowfit 1
3. Sit ups (Ryan Murdock’s “Beyond Sit-ups) (+/- 5 min each)
4. Tacfit Commando Recruit Mission 1 Medium Intensity Day
I did
5 seriss 10 reps / pull-ups prep (30s rest)
6 reps reverse pull-up (30 s rest)
2 + 1 + 1 pull-ups (30s rest)
Ry,
Great stuff! I am very proud of you. Over the last year I have got back in the gym and starting to get very focused. Getting advice from my nephew is very motivating…and really works.
Brent
This is the best pullup instruction I’ve ever seen. Excellent job on both the fine motor distinctions and video quality instruction with the multiple angles.
I recently got back into fitness after some health challenges and this is intuitively what I figured out to learn how to do pullups again without injury. That shoulder packing bit I thought I made up myself!
I found that one distinction really helpful for learning to pull from a dead hang without tweaking my shoulders or elbows.
Tonight I did a workout of 20 rounds of the following, 1 minute per round:
* 1-2 pullups
* 5 pushups
* 5 full-range situps (like a Pilates roll-up)
* 5-10 bodyweight squats
I can do about 5 pullups in a row currently. My personal record is 12.
Duff, that is awesome!
You can get 12! Use this the More Pull Ups Program to get you there!
4 sets 10 pull ups
That’s pretty impressive stuff! Sounds like you need to move on to the next level.
Ive’ worked my self to 5 and looking forward to more
Joe, 5 is a good number. And 5 pull ups with proper form is actually about 5 more than most people can do.
It’s so good to see the progress people have made with this program. Keep up the good work.
So far I can do a whopping…0! It’s a work in progress before I could only do 3 assisted pull ups (with a person) if that, but have moved to 5. I was doing another “pull up prep” program but this one seems better? I guess we’ll see!
Let us know how it works for you. Going from zero to 1 is the hardest.
After that, it’s just practice and getting stronger.
I’ve been a climber for over 30 years and the pull-up’s always been a staple training exercise – though we (climbers) like to do finger-tip pullups (e.g. on door frames) or add weights. I used to share an office with a power-lifter who could eat me for breakfast, but I used to take solace from the fact he couldn’t do 1 pull-up
For some reason, pull-ups are a scary exercise that I ‘put off doing’, but I just had a go (using the doorframe in the university washroom! Fortunately I wasn’t interrupted!) and I managed 20 (14 good form, the rest a bit wriggly and ‘salmon-like’)
btw John Gill was a gymnast who used his gymnastic prowess (e.g. front levers, 1-finger pull-ups!) to great effect when he switched to climbing.
I am a huge John Gill fan. He did some very impressive stuff!
And the 14 with good form that you did is pretty impressive. Nice work!
10 pullups with probably a couple reserved.
8 pullups with a 10kg weight on my belt, also 1 or 2
“emergency” level reps not used.
Mind you my bodyweight is only 76kg so it’s much easier
for me than if I was a BIG guy.
Big guy or not, that is some impressive work Kevin!
4 Pull-Ups. Looking forward to the program.
Nice, Mark.
After doing the prep and reverse, I was able to one pull-up. Normally I can do at least three complete reps.
Yep. These can be humbling. Keep at it and you’ll be able to crank out much more.
Excellent. Been doing the preps and reverse pull ups for less than one day and already feel much more ‘together’ when doing full pull ups. Can do five good form pull ups at the moment.
That’s great Simon. Five is a great milestone.
Try to focus on that feeling of integration and you’re going to find your numbers going up.
Keep us posted.