Increasing Pull-Ups

Photon

Photon

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Dec 7, 2009
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#1
Hiders,

I've been working on increasing pullups for a while now, and I figured that some of you might want some knowledge on it...

I'm a naturally larger guy (6 ft ~190 lbs) and it has been absurdly difficult for me to get my pullups up to where I wanted them (20) and i've always justified it by my weight. I started out doing 4, and I recently ran a fitness test where I pulled 21, so here are some things that I did:

1) Recon Ron Pull up program:
http://webpages.charter.net/bert/reconron.html
The chart is pretty self explanatory, do 5 sets with the number stated. You can start anywhere, but stick to the weekly schedule and keep progressing!

2) Pushups anywhere from 3 to 5 times weekly.

3) BICEP CURLS. I literally jumped about 5 pullups in a max set when I got on a bicep training circuit: about 3 to 5 times a week.

4) Tricep extensions or dips

5) Lat low-rows (with dumbells or with a straight bar)

6) Do pullups with weight. Gradually decrease weight throughout sets.

7) Don't focus on just the pullups, maintain your overall fitness to keep your weight down

I've done this over a long period of time and finally got to where I wanted, meaning ANYONE, and I truly mean anyone, can get there.

Some tips:
1. Don't overtrain, be sure to rest your muscles at least on a weekend basis. If your in a crunch, do 5 days a week with two days of rest, simple as that. If not, but you want to progress, do 3 times a week (Monday/Wednesday/Friday).

2. Hydrate. A lot. WITH WATER. Muscles do not work/repair/progress unless your body has been properly hydrated. You know the whole 8 8 oz glasses of water a day? Forget that. You want to be an athlete, train like one and consistently drink throughout the day with at least 10 8 oz (or keep track with a 16oz water bottle).

3. Supplements? Never been a fan. I've dabbled in the protein shakes and bars department but never got onto a program, i've come out okay.

4. Eat healthily, and eat often. Don't snack on crap, or you will... well get crap out. Don't pig out on three meals a day, have an apple between breakfast and lunch, or a small sandwich between lunch and dinner.

5. Get some sleep. Yeah, I don't get 8 hours every weeknight either, ever... But rest is needed for your body to stay healthy and develop, that's when your muscles rebuild themselves the most.

BOTTOM LINE:
Muscle development takes time. There is no magical potion (legally), nor magical workout that gets you to peak performance in a few days or weeks. Be consistent, don't give up, and don't lose sight of the goal.

In my honest and humble opinion...
-Semper Fi
 
#4
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

i've had the most success by using weight. if you dont have a dip belt, get a chain or big rope, tie weight around it then drape around your waist and go to town. another great technique to add weight is wrap chain loops across your shoulders. bands are also great to add accommodating resistance. varying your grips is also very helpful.

some super set type work on lat pull downs might help if you cant do many pull ups, say under 5. also try long static holds and slow negatives on pulldowns.

if your back is what is weak, nothing like heavy pendlay rows. or heavy dumb bell rows, preferably with high reps with the most weight you can handle.

in short, best advice? grab the bar and pull up. repeat. these tips for bringing up power in pull ups are simply attempts to help develop your weak points. just like doing ghr's to develop hamstrings to squat more
 
#5
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

_Shay_: I was the exact same way about three months ago. Changing up my routine, stretching, keeping healthy, and continuously doing pullups did it. You can definitely do the same.

Jammer61: Kill it. I was up to 215 about three years ago, dropping about 20 pounds and doing pullups with weight helped. It's surprising how much a 5 pound weight can change your #'s, imagine what it's like to do a set with 10 less pounds to pull!

brutus1776: Couldn't agree more. Form and correctness are paramount in any muscle development, both in injury prevention and muscle length. Slow on the negatives on the last repetition helped me out as well.

Also, you'd be surprised how much you use your core when you do pullups. Crunches, flutterkicks, and leg lifts can help significantly. In this case you don't want to be lop-sided, so be sure to do back strengthening work like deadlifts or "supermans" to keep balance. Like always, use proper form and get the most out of your workout.

Quantity is not the objective, quality is, and a lot of it.
 
#6
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

Good info there. I also upped my pull up count by a lot by adding weight to my belt. That seemed to help more than anything.

Also, something that helped me was to do all variations of the exercise like narrow grip, wide grip, and chin -ups (palms facing you).
 
#7
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

Love it... Can't wait to try it. I'm in the same boat, I'm 6'1" 190lbs and always thought due to my weight and not so good upper body strength, that I was never going to be good at pull ups. At the most I can do 8-10 close grip chin ups, maybe 6-8 wide grip overhand, that's start of workout pull ups. I would love to be able to crank out over 20.
 
#8
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

I haven't been doing a lot lately, but I was able to do 7 deadhangs the other day and 4 with my IBA and MAV vest on with 2 liters of water and 2 full combat loads of ammo in it. Definitely need to get the numbers up, been focusing mainly on my pushups lately.
 
#9
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

great way i got myself and my guys to increase our max pullups was to pick a solid number like 30 or 35 and at least one time a day or preferably twice (once in the morning and once in the evening) get under the bar and do your set number of pullups as fast as you can whether its 1 set of 30 reps or 30 sets of 1 rep and any where inbetween. Do as many as possible until you have to take a short rest(keep rest to around 5 seconds max) then get back on the bar and do as many as you can again until the set number is achieved.

doing this two times a day along with this same route for dips I went from a max of about 12 or 13 good pullups to 47.

worked for me, maybe it'll work for someone else to, if not, oh well
 
#10
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

ya'll are making me laugh by saying you are large at 190lbs... maybe if you are under 5'6"
grin.gif


Pull-ups are hard to get better at because they by themselves don't cause enough stress to invoke a hormonal response to get stronger. Adding weight as mentioned above in a progressive fashion will. That means getting weights in small increments 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1, 2.5, 5#s and adding weight each workout until you stall. Getting to 20-25 is a great accomplishment that takes a commitment unless you are a freak. I knew a guy who could do 70 pullups... total freak, he was strong without ever stepping foot into the weight room. You might also find by adding DLs and squats in a linear progression to your program that every lift including pullups will go up.
 
#11
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

Yeah, I'm barely 5'10" and I'm 197 right now and pretty lean. I'm certainly not 'big' I might look big standing next to average Joe, but would be dwarfed by bodybuilder types. As far as pullups, I used to add weight. I think total reps depends a lot on body composition and genetics. If you are all lats and bi's and no legs, doing lots of reps shouldn't be a problem.
 
#13
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ARbowhunter7</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I agree. It has a LOT to do with body composition. </div></div>

Then you need to fix your body composition
wink.gif


I find the best pullups for overall improvement are rope climbing or pullups holding onto a thick rope or towel tossed over the bar. I prefer these because they put more emphasis on grip than regular pullups. For the average athlete new to pullups it is their grip that is the limiting factor.

Weighted pullups are king. Keep the weight high and the reps low. Go slow though. Tendons develop much slower than muscle. Pullups are hard on the tendons around the elbows.
 
#18
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

300WSM: Recently weight myself in at an astonishing 185. However, I am on a fairly intense training regimen getting ready for a summer of military training. I'm doing a fair amount of running, crossfit, cardio, and dieting to keep my weight down. It truly helps to lose a bit around the midsection, simply reducing calorie intake and (for me) sugars and increasing exercise really did it.

CSAR: I do most of mine palms facing away. When doing a fitness test (21), that's all I do. I definitely vary the types of pullups I do though. Palms facing in uses a lot of bicep muscles, whereas palms away can engage all of your upper back and shoulder, as well as biceps.

In the end, doing palms facing away is the best form, you use more muscles and engage those enormous lat muscles in your back. Another thing that helps is how you actually do them... I wasted a lot of energy slowly letting myself down when testing, the key when going for numbers is form: exploding up to the bar, and easing yourself down quickly, then exploding back up.
 
#19
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

I'm going to interrupt again.

@Palms facing / away:

As far as muscle recruitment, it really isn't as drastic as one 'feels' when doing them. If anything your brachioradialis and a few other forearm muscles are affected, not your lats. The discrepancy in pullup vs chinup numbers disappears once you are familiar with the movement and have gained a decent foundation of strength endurance, say, maybe, roughly, fifteen reps and more.

Re25- Sorry to hear that. I can sympathize. I gave myself a pretty stubborn dose of medial e. tendinitis in both my elbows by getting over zealous. I was making great progress performing ring work and finally hitting my goal to pull my bodyweight (165lbs+165lbs), When I decided to try climbing. I started climbing twice a week and developed an ache that I should not have ignored. My tendinitis was so bad carrying grocery bags home inflamed it. Good news is given rest, patience, and intelligent strength rehab it's a year later and I'm one hundred percent. Almost have a front lever. Keep your chin up mate, you will heal.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Photon</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> It truly helps to lose a bit around the midsection, simply reducing calorie intake and (for me) sugars and increasing exercise really did it. </div></div>

Photon, you reaffirm my previous sarcasm. I think herein lies the key to pullups and exercising in general. One has to have clearly defined goals. These goals cannot contradict. If your goal is to be a pulling machine, than part of reaching that goal is dropping weight. This may be an issue if your other goal is to compete in bodybuilding
smile.gif
. Carrying excessive bodyweight is not productive to reaching one of your goals, but it is for reaching the other.
 
#20
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

Pull ups are a big part of my traning. I do try to keep it intresting and have tried most mentioned here and all work good. I recently started doing pull ups to a deck of cards. Use a regular deck of 52, a partner is a good way to keep pushing hard. Flip a card and that is how many you do, face cards are up to you I have been doing 8 chin ups for jacks, 8 commando for queens, and 5 behind the back for kings, and being a puss aces are 1. A full deck comes out to just over 300, I think 304. We can do these in under 1 hour for 2 people. I also have been doing a deck for push ups and face cards are 10 and aces are 11, and 15 more at the end for an even 400, these take just under 30 min. I incorprate these in to my normal pt session.
 
#21
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

That is an interesting idea. Always makes the workout a little more fun with some friendly competition going. I will sometimes do a one minute pull-up where you use a full 30secs on the way up and a full 30 on the way down. Sometimes it will be adding weight, and sometimes it will be high reps just to keep things from getting stale. I always do supersets though, so my pull ups are happening immediately before or after another exercise. My favorite is trying to do as many bodyweight bench press reps as you can and then immediately go to the pull up bar and get as many reps as you can. 40 total reps is a good number. If you can get to 60+ you are da man
 
#22
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Lonely_Wolf</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Photon, you reaffirm my previous sarcasm. I think herein lies the key to pullups and exercising in general. One has to have clearly defined goals. These goals cannot contradict. If your goal is to be a pulling machine, than part of reaching that goal is dropping weight. This may be an issue if your other goal is to compete in bodybuilding
smile.gif
. Carrying excessive bodyweight is not productive to reaching one of your goals, but it is for reaching the other. </div></div>

No desire to ever compete in body-building
laugh.gif
I'm far too busy to get caught up in that lifestyle haha. So, trying to understand what you're saying here, losing weight is conducive to gaining pullups, but doing pullups is not conducive to losing weight?

I can totally agree with the goals concept. Without it, a person will just exercise to get a workout and not pay attention to what they want to improve and how much it is improving. Pullups were one thing; running a fast 5k, doing a marathon within a year, keeping a healthy nutrition, and doing a triathlon within a year are among my goals.
 
#23
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

Bodybuilding- was a just a joke/example.
smile.gif
- bodybuilding and gymnastics are conflicting goals.

In bodyweight (or gymnastics, depending on how far you take things) style training the idea is to get as strong as possible while remaining as light as possible. Strength is needed to perform the feats, but excess weight hinders. An important, and often over looked, part of succeeding in these methods of training is to correct diet and remove excess weight. So I was just pointing out that not only is it important to have goals, but that the goals are complimentary.

For bodyweight stuff a person want to look like Bruce Lee, not Arnold Schwarzenegger. The thing is most people I run into want to look like Arny. It is rare to have it both ways
smile.gif


Getting a bit off topic. I apologize.
 
#26
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

I always wanted to do more pullups throughout college. I started out each "back day" with 3 sets of 8 reps until I could manage a set of 10, and then 2 sets of 10, then 3, etc. Once I got to 14, I added a 20lb dumbbell between my feet and started over at 8 reps. I progressed up to 12 reps and then switched to a 25lb dumbbell.

A few months go by and I'm doing sets of 8 pullups with an extra 70lbs hanging off my body. I'm 6ft 200lbs. I'm not a big guy. I don't look big. I have skinny arms but they're strong. I honestly don't know where that weight is at on me.

I think a lot of you are putting too much thought into it. It's not about body composition or how your genetics are. It's like any other exercise. Do the work. Measure it. Track your progress. Push yourself to do more (weight or reps or both).

Seriously guys, stop over analyzing it like it's some kind of puzzle. lol There is DEFINITELY a muscle coordination factor involved. Imagine lifting on machines and then trying to do the same amount of weight with free weights. NO WAY!! But if you train at it, you'll get there.

How many of you use a workout book/journal/diary/excel spreadsheet?
 
#27
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: AustinCQC</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
I think a lot of you are putting too much thought into it. It's not about body composition or how your genetics are. It's like any other exercise. Do the work. Measure it. Track your progress. Push yourself to do more (weight or reps or both).
</div></div>

Great point. For me, there was no magic program that got me to 20. I just made a point to do a max set of pullups everytime I walked by a pullup bar, which turned into quite a few a day. I also did weighted pullups at the gym. Once I got to 20 I have never gone below. It's all about putting in the work.

To the OP, good on you for figuring out what works and increasing your pullups. Some people have really good luck with the structured programs.
 
#28
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

I think the hardest thing about pullups is the fact that you're lifting your own body weight (which is often more than what most people THINK they can lift). I see a lot of big guys at the gym bench 250lbs, but only do 4 or 5 pullups. For a lot of guys, I think it starts with letting go of pride.

Who cares if you can only do 4 reps this week while some other guy can do 15? Leave the pride at the door. Do your sets of 5 or whatever you can do, write it down, and try to get more during your next back workout.
 
#30
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

Go heavy on the lat pulldowns, lose weight, and work your ass off. I try to use enough weight so absolute exhaustion occurs between 5 and 7 reps. I'm up to 13 pullups from zero at the beginning of the year. Back tends to come much easier for me than say chest.
 
#31
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

I can't speak for anybody but myself as to the reasons "why" I want to be able to do a lot or to be able to do one with a lot of extra weight.

I want to be able to lift myself out of a bad situation with a fully loaded pack on my back or with my girlfriend on my back. That's just me.
 
#32
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

So are you guys doing the pull-ups once a week or more? Are you working out multiple muscle groups in a day such as back/biceps? Since you are focusing on increasing the number of pull-ups you want to do I would assume you start off with biceps so you are fresh right?
 
#33
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

shooter65: It's a common test of strength in the military. The Marine Corps tests 20 as a perfect score. Otherwise it's a test of overall upper body strength along with pushups. I know people who can do 30 or 40, and I can assure you that none of them half-a$$ any part of their PT sessions. I like finding my max and pushing past it.

oldirtdog: I do pullups anywhere from 3-5 times a week depending on what kind of workout I'm doing. I like doing at least some daily, but if I do a lat/back/upper body day and am smoked, then I will rest those muscles so I can build them.

I normally group biceps/chest, triceps/back, and rotate those every few weeks. I vary the types of exercises I do so my body doesn't get used to just doing pushups, or just doing pullups.

I've been writing my own workouts that are similar to crossfit workouts (ie. Alice (I think) where you do 15 squats, 10 pushups, and 5 pullups, over and over as many times in 20 minutes as you can). I like to rotate through upper body exercises like say: Pullups, Side Straddle Hops, Bicep curls, Pushups, Side straddle hops. That way I can keep a high heart rate and try to push myself, otherwise I tend to do a lot of standing around resting.
 
#36
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

Yes, but you've just added something else to wear you out. When I do pull ups, I want to work just my bicpes/arms and back; not my chest and triceps and throw in some cardio as well. I'll train for those muscles on a different day. I think you can best increase your pull up count by just focusing on the pull up.

FYI - I upped my count from last week just this morning. I do standard pull ups at the end on my entire back workout, and just prior to biceps. Last week I did a set of 10, 7, and 7. Today was 11, 10, and 9. I'm probably at 15 rested (up from 13 two weeks ago).
 
#38
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

I got up to 21 dead hang palm away by always focusing on doing as many as I could the first set even if I had to hang for a few seconds. Then I would pile on 2 or 3 sets alternating grips. I tried to rest a good 4 or 5 minutes between sets. Do it twice a week
 
#39
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

Got up to 46 pull ups back in the rock climbing days. We would screw a 2x4 above a door frame and do ins n outs every time we came or left. Palms out from a dead hang.

Rock climbing is hands down the best way to increase your pull up strength. Focusing on endurance and strength at the same time.
 
#40
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

Hanging off bolts were you? Just kidding of course. :)

I hated falling even roped up so I would fight not too peel off like my life depended on it
 
#41
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

When I was in college I was maxing out at between 10-15 at 6'1" and 205lbs. I started doing mine 2-3 times a day to condition and then when I would go up 2-3 I would add a quart of oil to a back pack and do it all over again.

Was doing 30 in no time.

Then for some reason I just quit. Can't for the life of me figure out why. DAMN!
 
#42
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Conrad101st</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hanging off bolts were you? Just kidding of course. :)

I hated falling even roped up so I would fight not too peel off like my life depended on it </div></div>

No bolts just fingers. Nothing like a good fall on lead to get the blood flowing or getting on some boulders that really suck if you come off with a crash pad.
 
#43
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: palma</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Go heavy on the lat pulldowns, </div></div>
yep someone knows!!! stack on the plates, pin your knees down and pull like hell, the heavier the better, we would do lat pulls "heavy" 3 times a week for our football program... then on back/traps day i would get a dip belt, put on a couple sometimes a few plates and rep out on the pull up bar... once the belt came off, pull ups with body weight were nothin...but i was never into hi rep things... go heavy or go home... at least for a couple more years, i'm already getting old.
 
#45
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

When I was in the Marine Corps, I was 6'2" tall and weighed 215 lbs, and after finishing boot camp, I was only able to do 10 pullups.

After Boot Camp, I made a committment and everytime I walked in or out of my quonset hut (I am dating myself), I would do a max set of pullups on the pullup bar outside our door. In one year, I was able to to do over 45 pullups.

Later, I used this process to train my platoons. I had every Marine do a set of three max sets of pullups every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Before getting off the pullup bar, at the end of each max set, the Marine behind the person on the pullup bar would grab his feet, and assist the Marine in doing as many more pullups as he could possibly do before he could no longer hold onto the pullup bar. This system worked the best. I used it on three different platoons and every Marine always did 20 pullups on the PFT.
 
#46
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: WhiskeyWebber</div><div class="ubbcode-body">ya'll are making me laugh by saying you are large at 190lbs... maybe if you are under 5'6"
grin.gif
</div></div>

Same here. I stand at 5'11 and weigh 235 with 16% bodyfat and I can't manage 10 pull-ups. When I was 21yrs old, I could crank out 10 pull-ups with one arm. Not a chance in hell, now. LoL

Thanks for all the info. I'll put it to use and work on increasing my own reps.
 
#47
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

when i was doing crossfit, i couldn't manage one, so the instructor had me jump up and hold as long as i can for 20 reps, after 2 weeks i could get 2 out and after 6 weeks i could do 8 or so. I was 230lbs at the time being 6'2
 
#48
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

Great post cant wait to work on recon rons method
I crossfit and can do 32 kipping pullups and about 10-12 dead hang.
I am 6' 225......and need to lose about 20lbs
Thanks for all the info
 
#49
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

I can max out at around 23 dead hang pullups and I like to do a pyramid workout. I find it has a built in warm-up and cool down.
I do 19 sets, starting at 1, building up to ten, and working back down to 1. I usually do 30 seconds rest between each set. Total pullups:100

It looks like this, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

I am definitely going to try this program too!
 
#50
Re: Increasing Pull-Ups

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ClintB</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Great post cant wait to work on recon rons method
I crossfit and can do 32 kipping pullups and about 10-12 dead hang.
I am 6' 225......and need to lose about 20lbs
Thanks for all the info </div></div>

32 kipping and 10-12 dead hang is PFG for a deuce and a quarter bro. I'm with you on the deadhangs but you got me by a lot on the kippers.

Remember.... Weight is gained or lost at the table, not at the gym. :)

--Fargo007
 
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