For beginners, one of the most perplexing aspects of the pull-up might be determining why—why do we think so much about doing a pull-up in the first place? Why not concentrate only on the lat pull-down?
The only difference between the two exercises is really how and how well they target the same core muscles (primarily the upper back, chest, shoulders, and biceps). Simply, a pull-down enhances absolute strength (the capacity to pull down a certain amount of weight) while a pull-up enhances relative strength (the potential to migrate one’s bodyweight along an axis of motion).
Furthermore, the prospect of using the lat pull-down machine isn’t quite as exciting as achieving cliffhanger status. (Master pull-uppers have nothing to dread if they find themselves hanging from a ledge!) Putting heroic feats apart, one study discovered that NCAA swimmers were able to perform further pull-down reps and that pull-ups and lat-pulls were not strongly connected and could not be replaced for each other in a practice regimen.
Simply, shifting weight on a weight rack (the lat pull-down) is not the same as moving our own body mass (the pull-up). Since our muscles and gestures are connected, this is the case. The central nervous system and the kinetic chain are activated as the brain says so. Consider these two elements as separate nerves and joints that function together. Muscles burn, force is applied, and action happens as a result.
It’s not because one solution is superior to the other. In general, all fitness is beneficial (except when it is not). However, depending on the objectives, certain types of exercise can be more beneficial than others. Closed kinetic chain exercises, such as the pull-up, typically win out. We’re not even just suggesting that; science backs us up. When researchers placed two groups of professional exercisers through their paces, one with open-chain exercises and the other with closed chain exercisers, the closed chain group improved further throughout the six-week routine.
Practice
It’s true what they mean about practice making perfect. However, training with improper form is more likely to complicate than improve pull-up results, so anyone hoping to achieve their first pull-up can start by perfecting the correct technique.
Now that the time has come, let’s get to work on refining the pull-up.
1. Get a Grip
Grab the bar with both hands as you stand beneath it. Hands should be shoulders width apart, hands facing away from you. If you can’t reach the counter, use a table, seat, or box to help you.) Wrap your hands around the bar until they nearly touch the tips of your fingertips, like in a traditional overhand grip.
2. Play Dead
A real pull-up starts with a dead hang. Your arms should be completely spread, your heart engaged, and your shoulders back while you hang from the counter. Maintaining proper form when pulling will help you resist swinging, kicking, or jumping, allowing you to master the motion using your muscles rather than momentum.
3. Pull (Up)
Start the pull by gripping the bar with your hands while working your upper body and core muscles. When your whole body moves toward the pole, imagine bringing your elbows back to your sides. Avoid straining your neck when trying to smash the plane of the bar with your chin. Pull until the head clears the bar with confidence, which marks the end of the upward step of the pull-up.
4. Get Down
Congratulations on your achievement! You killed the pull-up-up’s part. You must, however, descend. The key is to steadily return to the dead-hang position. As you lower, keep a tight grip on the bar while allowing your arms to straighten. You should count your first rep until you return to the dead hang. Exclaim, “Nailed it!” high-five yourself, proudly pump your hand, all of the above, and so forth.
Get Ready for the Pull-Up
Realizing how to do a pull-up is one thing, but doing one would almost certainly take some time (and practice and patience). Rather than giving up on the pull-up forever, use these drills to get closer to the ideal pull-up.
1. Suspended Row
The suspended row is a closed-chain workout, close to a pull-up. Even so, instead of dangling from a bar, you’ll be standing under one. Set the barbell on a Smith device or power rack so it’s just out of range when you’re lying face-up underneath it. With your arms shoulder-width away, palms out, and fingers around the counter, grab the bar. Place your feet firmly on the deck. Pulling your chest into the bar while holding your elbows close to your torso is the next step. This row can also be done on a series of rings. If the action is too difficult in any case, change the bar or rings so that the body is more upright.
2. Bent-Over Dumbbell Row
Get a pair of dumbbells for this free-weight exercise. On both hands from outside your knees, hands towards each other, bend at the waist to hold the weights. Arch the elbows up and up forward towards the walls, pulling the load and breathing as you do so, with a small bend in the legs, back upright, and shoulders parallel to the concrete. Squeeze the back muscles at the height of the movement, stop for a second, and then reduce the weight.
3. Assisted Pull-Up
Pull-up practice can be a bit of a challenge. The whole point is that dangling helplessly from a bar is not a good way to advance. Two issues are stopping us from pulling up. First, it’s possible that we’re being held back by a lack of power. (This is where movements like suspended and bent-over rows, which improve the arms and upper body muscles, come in handy.) Second, our strength-to-weight ratio could be holding us down. Simply put, our bodies are incapable of moving our bodyweight. Fortunately, there is a way to practice the pull-up with a little help.
4. Buddy Up
An exercise partner will assist you by softly moving up and squeezing your knees, decreasing the amount of weight you need to go up. Cross your legs and dead-hang from the bar as normal. This is where your buddy comes in to get you up by supporting your ankles and pulling you up. Ascension has only been a bit smoother.
5. More Like Machine Fun
Most gyms have a couple of supported pull-up devices, which operate in the same way as your exercise buddy by supporting your body and lowering the bit of load you have to lift. Set the pin on the machine’s weight stack to begin. (On most fitness machines, the position of the pin decides how much weight you can move.) The placing of the pin, on the other hand, shows how much input you’ll get from the machine.) Climb onto the board, kneel, and grab the bar as if you were doing a flawless pull-up until the weight is set. The platform will rotate with you as the support arm falls, with the counterweight protecting you in the range of movement.
6. I’m With the Band
Flex bands are giant elastic bands that can be used for several aided or mobility activities. The band is clipped around the top of the bar to help master the pull-up. Step your foot into the base of the band while it hangs. Take hold of the bar and note that you’re rising, encouraging the band to assist you. The banded version is more powerful than the aided pull-up machine because it engages core and stabilizer muscles in the exercise. (Be cautious when entering and exiting the band.) There’s a possibility it’ll snap back with a vengeance.)
7. Go Negative
The “up” aspect of the pull-up gets a lot of focus when it comes to mastering it, but pulling is just one piece of the puzzle. Slowly descending yourself from the rope, also known as a “negative,” is an excellent way to develop the strength that will finally enable you to lift yourself. Squeeze your core muscles and biceps while leaving your heart focused as you slowly drop yourself to a dead hang as if you were doing a pull-up. You may not be capable of pulling, but you will certainly descend. And that’s just part of the fight when it comes to pull-ups.
Similar types of workouts
1. Chin–Up
To master the pull-up, we’ve been attempting to use all of our upper-body power by squeezing the bar with an overhand grasp at shoulder width. That’s not the same as holding the bar with the hands facing you and an underhand hold. That is a chin-up, my boys. While these two exercises are similar, they are not equivalent. The chin-up works the biceps better than the overhand version, makes it a tried-and-true back builder that’s only a tad easier to do. As a consequence, for those of us who struggle to do a pull-up, the chin-up is a handy coping technique.
2. Wide-Grip Pull-Up
What effect does hand positioning have on the pull-up? There’s a lot more to it than one would imagine. The transition from a shoulder-width grip to a wider-than-shoulder-width grip elevates the already tough pull-up to insanity. No, doing a wide-grip pull-up isn’t unrealistic; it just looks that way. A broader grip necessitates more lat strength and less help from the chest, biceps, and shoulders. When you’ve perfected the pull-up, chin-up, and derogatory, focus on making this move a reality!
3. Kipping Pull-Up
Kipping is a pull-up technique popularised by CrossFit that combines gymnastics with physical training The step encourages exercisers to shift energy, allowing them to do more pull-ups in less time than they could normally. It’s best to refine your skills and stamina on strict pull-ups and chin-ups before doing the kipping variant, just as it is for the broad grip pull-up.
4. Weighted Pull-Up
It’s time to step up the pull-up game until you’ve mastered the pull-up and can consistently do them. If lifting your body weight isn’t challenging enough, simply add weights (in the form of a loaded vest or a dumbbell) to ramp it up. Tie one of those diehard bands with a chain across your waist and use it to hold a dumbbell if your club has one. The exercise remains the same from start to finish, from the set-up to the pull to the dropping point.
Conclusion
Finally, keep in mind the repetition makes it better. As a result, don’t expect spectacular outcomes when you’re just getting started, and take your time to progress. It’s perfectly acceptable to begin slowly with a few reps before you get the hang of things. But, if you’ve been wondering how to do pull-ups, we hope this post has helped you figure out how to do the ultimate pull-up. Since our bodies are all different, it’s important to understand the boundaries at the outset so you can figure out what/how you can change for a better overall experience and outcome. It just comes down to persistence, consistency, and staying focused on what you’re trying to accomplish. It’s not going to happen if you just do one series of pull-ups every month, so be dedicated and hear as often as you could to others when you’ve first started training.
Have fun
