As a kettlebell instructor one of my favorite
non-kettlebell exercises is the pull-up. The pull-up is an
efficient way to simultaneously improve abdominal strength, upper
body strength and flexibility, shoulder health, grip strength,
overall body composition, and all around athleticism. The good news
is that the pull-up is nothing to be intimidated by, it’s simply
one point on a long continuum from planks to pull-ups and beyond.
If you have healthy and mobile shoulders, want a challenge and an
honest assessment of your overall fitness, the pull-up may be just
what the doctor ordered.
5 Exercises to Help
You Conquer Your First Chin-Up
The biggest problem with
achieving your first pull-up is that in order to get better at
pull-ups you need to do a lot of pull-ups. One way to do this to
find several ways to train cheated or assisted pull-ups all the
while stripping the pull-up down and training it’s individual
components.
- Hollow Position Drills and Power Breathing
The gymnast’s hollow position is essentially a
high-intensity upside down plank. One way to begin to learn this
technique is to learn how to turbo-charge your plank position by
maximizing the strength of your muscular contractions with
hardstyle techniques like power-breathing then progress to learning
to hold the hollow position on the floor. There are various
way to practice the hollow position. Pictured to the right is
the hollow position with the added challenged of holding a
stretched elastic band under the small of my back. If the band
slips out, I lost my abs. An advanced variation would be to
hold the arms out overhead as if hanging from a pull-up
bar.Recommendation: Build up to 20-30 second reps. Start
with three sets of three reps and progress to five sets of five
reps. For more
information on power breathing and maximizing abdominal strength I
recommend the Book & DVD “Hardstyle Abs by Pavel
Tsatsouline. - Hanging
for Time If you can hold the hollow position well on
the floor, then progress to holding the hollow while hanging from
the pull-up bar. It’s essentially a regressed hanging leg
raise. Performed properly, this can be an incredibly intense
exercise even for individuals who can perform 10 pull-ups or more.
For example: one advanced variation is to where ankle weights or
hold a kettebell on your foot.Practice holding at the bottom, top
and even the middle of the pull-up position. It’s ok to
use box to step on or have a training partner assist you into
position. Start with the dead hang with arms straight. When you can
do that, progress to hanging from the top position with your elbows
flexed (Do not rest your chin or jaw on the bar). When you come
down you can lower yourself slowly which is training the pull-up in
reverse. Recommendation: Build up to
15 and 30 seconds holds. Start with three
sets of three reps and progress to five sets of five
reps. - Batwings Batwings are an
exercise I first read about from Master StrongFirst Instructor Dan
John. The batwing is essentially a plank where you pull a
weight with one or both hands up to your side and hold for time.
The goal for men is to hold 16kg/35lbs. and women hold
8kg/18lbs in each hand, get the thumbs to armpit height and
hold for 10 seconds or longer. Tight chests and shoulders are
epidemic in today’s society, so many people find this
movement especially challenging. I recommend using
stretches like armbars and
brettzels.Recommendation: Build up
to 10 second holds. Start with three
sets of three reps and progress to five sets of five
reps. - Suspended Rows Use your
favorite brand of suspension trainer or gymnasts rings and simply
perform rows as shown. Lean back to about 45 degrees or better and
row yourself to standing. You should maintain a plank or slight
hollow position throughout. Always lower yourself carefully
and keep your shoulders tightly packed so that they don’t get
yanked forward and out of the socket. Inhale as you pull.
Similar to the Batwing , strive to get your elbows behind
your ribs. Pause motionless for a moment at the top and
bottom of each rep.Recommendation:
Start with three sets of five reps and progress to five
sets of ten reps. Occasionally test yourself
and move on when you can achieve 20 reps with control and good
form. - Elevated Rows These are the
same as the suspended row with the additional challenge of worse
leverage. Place your feet on something sturdy and start
so that you are parallel to the floor when suspended. Perform in
the same manner as the suspended
row.Recommendation: Start with three
sets of three reps and progress to five sets of five
reps. Occasionally test yourself and shoot for
10 repetitions.
To Chin-Ups & Beyond…. While
the exercises above are a great start, this list is far from
exhaustive. The number of ways to work toward the pull-up and
chin-up do not stop here. The possibilities are limited only by
your imagination, but a good trainer will find the fewest exercises
with the biggest bang for the buck. Personally, I’ve been
able to get clients from zero to hero with only three variations,
one of which is not shown above.
& 9th 2014
get more information on our March 8th Ladies’ Strength Workshop
with Master StrongFirst Instructor Karen Smith Hosted by Omaha
Elite Kettlebell
ARE PULL-UPS RIGHT FOR
YOU?
started here’s a quick list of pre-requisites for safely training
on the pull-up bar.
Trunk Stability: Do you
have sufficient core strength in your lats, abs and glutes to keep
the body knitted together and stable as you raise and lower your
body through space?Shoulder
Mobility: Do you have healthy mobile shoulders that
are capable of safely attaining the overhead lockout or start
position?Shoulder
Stability: Are all the muscles surrounding the
shoulders including the lats strong enough and coordinated enough
to keep the shoulders held tightly and safely in their sockets
while supporting your weight?Grip Strength: Do you have
the grip strength and endurance to hang on to the bar long enough
to get the job done?As a Functional Movement Screen Specialist and
StrongFirst Bodyweight Instructor I will use a quick series of
object assessments to determine the appropriate starting point for
you.
Kettlebell Instructor, StrongFirst Certified Bodyweight Strength
Instructor and CK-FMS Functional Movement Specialist.
