I am so excited to feature this as my exercise pick because this is one of those compound exercises that recruits so much muscle and you have to apply a good amount of strength and stability. Plus the variations are endless. It also truly gives you so many things to benchmark.
Here’s a quick how to get started on the whole pull up, hold and hang awesomeness!
Before I get into more of the meat about the pullup – here are a few things that helped me when I got started!
- I used a low bar on a rail closer to the floor and I pulled myself up at a 30 or 45 degree angle. This helped strengthen my back and biceps from a smaller angle
- I began with assistance. I used either a foot on a chair and pulled up a ‘lighter body weight’, I used the weight assisted pullup machine to adjust the weight that I was pulling (remember, the less the weight the harder it will be),
- I used bands – a band around a foot hold and another looped around the pull up bar. This gave me spring back give as I performed the pull up exercise.
I started first to work on my chin up (palms facing your face) and as I became stronger, holding myself longer, pulling myself up a few more times every time I tried I began to work on my wide grip pull up (palms away from you). When I started the wide grip pull up, I barely could hold my body weight up for more than five seconds. Within two weeks I was not only holding my body weight but now I am able to pull myself up for two full repetitions.
A variation I love is when you hold the bar in pullup or chin up fashion and perform hanging leg lifts, further recruiting your core, hip flexors and abdominal muscles as you lift your legs away from you. This is just as much about being able to stabilize yourself as it is about being able to recruit your core
I just love this series of an exercise! It brings me to the happy place to think that I have developed so much strength in only five short weeks! Consistency is key, building a base is key. Working on developing strength in your back every week is a must. Learning how to vary your reps and your sets is needed!
But most of all you must have the passion, the will and the way to just keep trying, no matter how many times you fall off the bar, no matter how ridiculous you look. Just keep doing it! It does get so much more fun!!
Ciao for now!! See you tomorrow
Jenn @ Do You Bake
Founder Crave It & Co-Founder Do You Bake?
PS : I would love to hear about your journey through eating a real food way, adding real activity into your life and you are more than welcome to connect with me on Facebook, follow along on our CRAVE IT Instagram page.
