Pull-up Tips

Pull-ups are one of the most dreaded moves in the P90X program and to add insult to injury…You will be doing A LOT of pull-ups. Why do people hate pull-ups? Well, for the same reason I hated them, I couldnt do any! When I started P90X I could only do one stinkin pull-up. Not exactly a great motivation to keep pushing play. A lot of people get discouraged by how hard pull-ups are and end up just not doing them. What I wanted to provide you with is a few tips and tricks that I did to get better at them so that you can have success on the pull-up bar, just like I have had.

1) Modify, Modify, Modify – Modification is the key to doing your best and forgetting the rest. The best part about modifying the exercise for me was the confidence I had in my own home, knowing that no one was watching me. I used a step ladder to put my foot up on to assist me with my pull-ups. My leg actually got a workout, lol!!! Sometimes, I would have to switch legs when the one got tired of pushing me up over the pull-up bar. But even though I was using my leg to assist me, I was still strengthening my back. Do what you need to do to get in your reps folks. No body is watching and you know what…who cares! At least you are trying! Thats a lot more than most people can say for themselves.

2) Set a Goal – No matter how tired I was or how tired my legs were from assisting my pull-ups, I always made sure that I did 15 reps. What this did for me was to ensure that I wasnt giving up before I should. Lots of people give up waaaaaaaay before they should when they could have pumped out at least 5 more reps. Set your goal! Mine was 15, yours could be 12, 10, 20…do whats right for you, just make sure its hard and reach that goal for every single pull-up exercise. Gradually you will get stronger and stronger and begin to see that you are able to take your foot off that chair or step ladder for a few.

3) Form is Everything! – Form is crucial to getting better at pull-ups. One thing that most people end up doing is called kipping. Basically what you are doing is using the momentum that is developed by kicking your legs in the horizontal direction and transfering that momentum to the vertical direction to help yourself get your chin over the bar. This will help you get the reps, but not the kind of reps you want. You want your reps to develop strength that will allow you to do more pull-ups in the future. So do yourself a favor and keep those legs still. You also want to fully extend your arms at the bottom of your pull-up. Lots of people I see only drop down about 80% of the way. Full range of motion is always more beneficial in any move you are doing. Good form is also important in preventing injury so be sure you really really concentrate on proper form when doing your pull-ups.

What are my results after doing exactly what I just shared with you all? Now I can do between 18 and 20 pull-ups! Now here is a little fun fact: The average Marine can do 12 pull-ups and a Marine Infantry between 15 and 17. Haha! I beat the average Marine Infantry with these tips IN MY HOME! You can do the same if you follow these tips and BRING IT!

I also put together this video as an aid for the members of RIPPEDCLUB. I hope this helps gang!

What are you doing to get better at pull-ups? Let us know how you BRING IT!

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