How To Carry Out The Perfect Pull Up

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perfect pull up

Before I begin this segment, on the perfect pull up. It is an ideal workout is because it works your back as a primary muscle group and works out your forearms and biceps as secondary. 

Many people don’t know this but pull-ups a great way to have huge biceps as well . The pull-up workout indicates the overall standard of fitness you have and is often used by military and physical education programs. If you can carry out a pull up with perfection, it is an indication that you are truly in the right muscular shape and overall fitness.

However, before you start getting too excited, you need to know that pull-ups could be a pain in the ass and if you are a beginner getting into working out, it will take time to adjust. This should give you an extra incentive to keep trying and perfect the art of pull up and other related movements such as chin-ups. So, if merely the thought of doing a pull up gives you a nightmare or if you are very close to perfecting the style but need one more push, you’ve come to the right place. I will be your guide for the day.

So, if merely the thought of doing a pull up gives you a nightmare or if you are very close to perfecting the style but need one more push, you’ve come to the right place. I will be your guide for the day.

Work to be the badass guy who can do pull up like it is a piece of cake.pull up workout

Perfect Pull Up Starters’ Tips

  • Now, it doesn’t take a scientist to know that heavier people are going to find it harder to do a pull-up. So, if you are looking to excel in the art of pull-ups, you need to evaluate your body fat and weight. I have tried the Paleo diet and it has helped me shed the extra pounds so can always consider that. When you weigh less, it would be so much easier to pick your body weight, common sense.
  • Some people neglect back exercises. Most of us have a habit of doing all other exercises and avoiding your back. When you are doing your warm-up, you should always emphasize on your back as it supports many muscle groups like your chest.
  • The steps I will be listing here is an article you can follow. However, it is by no means a strict rule that you need to follow to the T. I choose a pretty standard measurement; however, those who can learn fast, can make swifter progress. It is okay to make your own tweaks.

Level 1: Bending Over Dumbbell Rows

In case, you are a looking for a beginners workout, this is a good one to start with. It is one of the most basic exercises which you get use to. In order to do this exercise, your main focus should be to lift more and increase your weight.

Ideally, you should use a dumbbell and carry out lifts in three sets and have 8-12 repetitions. You can have a minute of break in between the sets. Once you are comfortable with these numbers, you can then head on to heavier dumbbells.

When you are comfortable carrying out dumbbell rows with something your close to failure on, you should try to move to the next level of exercises. At the same time, be mindful of your weight.

Level 2: Body Weight Rows

Bodyweight rows or inverted rows are one of the best exercises to precede pull ups. These exercises work upon the same set of muscles, but the angles differ and requires tons of core strength. Although, I strongly detest most machines, for this exercise; I would recommend you to make use of smith machines. It will help you in carrying out the rows with perfection. You will have the option of adjusting the bar height and even difficulty level as well. Here are a few tips you can keep in mind.

Here are a few tips you can keep in mind.

  • Clench your rear end and make sure to keep your abs tight. This will help you straighten your body. Make sure to pull with your arms.
  • The bar should be set at a height which is challenging enough to test your body.
  • Once you have completed 3 sets comprising of 8-12 reps each, you should lower the bar.
  • You can bend your knees and even lay your feet flat on the ground to minimize the strain the exercise puts upon you.

When you start carrying out body weight rows at angles which is either 45 degree or even lower, you can progress to level 3.

Level 3A: Assisted Pull Ups

I am not a really big fan of assisted pull-ups machine because it fails to give you the complete feeling of having done a pull-up, but it is a good way to start if you’re a new to working out. I do have a couple alternatives for you.

  • Assisted pull-ups using chairs: use your feet only for the sake of support and make sure to put the highest pressure on your upper body.
  • Assisted pull-ups with exercise bands: there are different kinds of exercise bands which are available. Put your feet in them and try and pull yourself.
  • Assisted pull-ups with a partner: ask your friend to hold your feet and then complete every rep.

Sample Tips:

Here are a few tips you can use for improving your pull up exercises.

  • Do not swing while carrying out the exercise, form is so important especially to avoid injury.
  • The shoulder blades should always be placed behind you and you should focus on pulling the bar down by using your arms.
  • Do not take help from external sources or people if not secure.
  • Try and use different bands with varying tension so that you can alter the resistance.
  • When you can do 3 sets comprising of 8-12 reps, move on to the next level and make it more challenging.

pull-up-strength

Level 3B: Negative Pull Ups

Now think of a situation where you neither have a chair nor a rubber band and not even a friend to hold you, so what do you do?

All you have is a pull-up bar and this is when we will carry out negative pull ups.

When you are carrying out negative pull ups, your focus is to jump above the bar and then you need to slowly lower down your body making sure that you are in control all throughout.

For those who are overweight, this can be a deadly exercise and this is why you should take it slow. Negative pull-ups are one of the best ways of building the right amount of body strength. The speed with which you lower down your body and the type of control you have is crucial because you should not end up destroying yourself completely in one rep. After you have carried out 3 sets of 5 repetitions each; you are ready for the next level.

The speed with which you lower down your body and the type of control you have is crucial because you should not end up destroying yourself completely in one rep. After you have carried out 3 sets of 5 repetitions each; you are ready for the next level.

Level 4: Chin Ups And Pull Ups

Okay, gym junkies, based upon the amount of fitness and strength you have and how skilled you are in the preceding exercises, you may even succeed in carrying out more than one pull-up as well.

A lot of people find it easier to carry out chin-ups as compared to pull ups initially because your palms face towards you when you are doing a chin up opposed to pull up where you need to push them away from you. These are the things you need to keep your focus on.

  • Make it a point to keep your shoulder blades back when you are carrying out the exercise.
  • Keep your rear end tight and your core engaged.
  • The chin should be raised above the bar.
  • Try and do as many reps as you can before your body completely gives up.
  • You can add in a few negative pull ups in between to make sure that you develop your body strength as well.

This can be a big transition for you and this is why you have to give your body the right amount of time to develop. Another important point, which you need to bear in mind, has to be the fact that you should have a break in between sets because they become very tiresome. This is important because your muscles actually build when they are recovering and not when you are straining them. If you carry out the exercises every day, your muscles will not get the time to recover and thus the building time won’t be present. You can learn more about muscle recovery from this article.

Level 5: Next Steps

When you can carry out 3 sets comprising of 8-12 pull-ups or even chin-ups, the next steps you can have are the following:

  • You should always try and get better at doing more reps. You can increase sets and increase the reps to 12, 15, 20 if you need to challenge yourself.
  • There are different types of pull ups which you can perform and try and add in the variations to test your body with the different pull ups exercise like side to side pull ups, uneven pull ups and so on.
  • You can always add weights to your pull ups and challenge your body even more.

I am particularly interested in carrying out weighted pull-ups because they add the whole resistance factor. If you want to do so too, here are the things you need to know.

  • Get a weight belt: I bought one for myself and it did serve my purpose just fine. Sometimes using a weight belt can turn out to be the best choice for you if you need to store it in a bag and move it around.
  • Add small amounts of weight first: never make the mistake of dumping huge weight all at once. You have to put in weight in little amounts successively. Start slow and then keep on adding to it steadily.
  • Do not stop: when you are carrying out weighted pull ups, you should keep on challenging yourself. Add little weights and keep on pushing yourself a little more each time. Every time you add the weight, you are going to challenge your body further.

Simply following these points should be enough to help you excel in pull up exercises. These points have been formulated after making a detailed and thorough analysis of how pull-ups are done in the gym. You are free to use pull up machines or carry it in the natural manner.

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Conclusion

I have offered all the tips that you needed. Regardless of where you started from, you are all prepared to excel in this exercise with practice. Check out the method which suits you the best and as I asked you before, you do not have to follow every single point diligently, you can mix and match. All you need to do is find the level you are comfortable at and then keep on challenging your body and make progress.

I have offered you the whole exercise in a systematic manner and if you are following it in the way I have mentioned, you should be able to master the skill of the perfect pull-ups in no time.

If you have never done a pull up before, this is your time to learn this exercise and begin. The only other thing which you should constantly keep in mind is to be sure that you cut down on your weight. Pull ups can be a tough thing to do for those who are obese and so your first aim should be to get rid of the unwanted weight and get your body better shape. Carrying out the exercises will become a whole lot easier with the dedication of losing weight. Now be sure to add pull-ups to your already awesome gym junkie routine.

-Terry Asher

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Terry

Gym Junkies Founder & Editor in Chief at Gym Junkies LLC
I’m Terry and I’m here to help you achieve your fitness goals. I truly believe anyone can achieve the figure they want with the proper guidance. Through my extensive fitness blog, top fitness videos, leading workout supplements, and top selling eBooks, I have been able to help thousands of people online lose weight, tone up and get in shape. My passion is helping people all around the world change their lives for the better.
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1 COMMENT

  1. Ah, good old pull ups. They’ve always been a favourite part of my work out and training plans but something I’ve always had a bit of trouble with here and there, if I’m going to be honest about it, so they’re something that I am working on perfecting at this current point in time. I think that I’m going to try out doing a few of the things you’ve mention to preceded pull ups, like maybe some chin ups because I haven’t done them in a while, just to vary what I’m doing but to get myself in the right frame of mind and body for getting the best pull ups that I can out of me, and I’d also like to try out weighted pull ups, which I can’t say that I have yet. Do you prefer weighted or unweighted when you’re doing them, and I’m also wondering how often you vary the type that you’re doing, and perhaps how often you’d recommend varying it as well?

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