HOW TO: GET STONGER PULL UPS
Pullups are an upper body pulling movement that has us pulling in a vertical pattern.
We have a couple of options here. I'm not really too fussed which option you choose.
Just choose an appropriate exercise that's going to allow you to fire all the right muscles, at the right time, in the right order.
So, we're looking at pull ups or pull downs. First option if you can, is the advanced techniques of a pull-up or a chin up. Pull up is an over-grasp position, chin ups use an under-grasp position. Choose the one that's going to allow you to fire the most muscles, or the targeted muscles of the back.
Same principles apply as all of the other big compound movements...it's about generating as much tension as we can through the entire body. It's an upper body based movement, but I also want my feet loaded, my hips loaded, my core engaged. Set myself in a good position. Tell my brain I'm safe. I'm uncomfortable. I'm stable. Joints are stacked neatly and tightly. Produce more force.
I'm going to demonstrate the pull-up. First thing I want to talk about with the pull-up actually, is to pull the chest through and the shoulders back, put my spine in good position. Then, I pull my shoulder blades down and back. Same principles apply: grip, screw. This then gets my lats on.
A lot of people, when they do pull ups, they're simply just loading the arms. And they're loading through the chest and the shoulders, forearms and biceps. What I want to do is pull my shoulder blades down and back, away from the ears and...watch my elbows:
Grip. Screw. This is what that's going to look like.
That gets my big muscles of the back and the lats firing. Once I've created that stability, then I continue that movement. Nice and slow, full range of movement. Come down to a full hang
position, hit your desired reps.
What we don't want to do is what most people do.
Just simply strengthening the range where they're already strong. We want to strengthen through fullest range, create that stability. We're going to get strong in the range of movement that we train.
If you can't do full body weight pull-ups, then your next option is going to be negatives, which is essentially where you're lowering yourself under control, and just focusing on the eccentric
contraction. This time. I'm going to go under the bar. Set my hands about shoulder width.
From here, my body's in a straight line. I'm pulling my chest to the bar, shoulders down and back, create tension through the back. As I lower, my hips are going to go back and down, whilst my arms are coming overhead. So I'm still working on that vertical pulling movement. If you can pull back up, do so. If you can't lower, step back up, repeat lower, create tension, create stability through the fullest range of movement you're capable of. That's the second option.
The third option is to use a resistance band for pull downs.
You can use an over-grasp position, under-grasp position, or neutral grip position...whatever's going to get the most muscles firing and be able to activate the correct muscles you want to target.
I'm going to set up a band on a rack or something similar, above my head.
I've got a green band, which is my heaviest, followed by a purple band, followed by a black band, followed by a red band, in order of resistance.
I'm going to step back. I'm to hinge, grip, screw through the feet. I want my drive my hips back and down so I can load my back and arms in a overhead position. From here, pull the shoulders back, pull my arms away from my ears and continue that movement. I want to think about pulling my chest through to the band, pull my elbows down, shoulder blades down and back.
Nice and slow through full range.
Pause, squeeze, contract those muscles as hard as you can. If I step back, I make it harder.
If I step forward, I make it easier. All right. Start hard, finish easy.
That is our vertical pull.
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