Comments on: How To Get Insanely Good At Chin-ups And Pull-ups

By: Yavor

Yavor — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:06:35 +0000

Ian,

2 pull-ups is a start after all I’d suggest doing singles, increasing the number of singles every day, as well as doing 3 sets of 5 on the lat pull down at least 3 times per week and slowly increasing the working weight. Also try to lose weight if you need to (a very light dinner is a good start).

Cheers,

Yavor

By: Ian

Ian — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:55:48 +0000

Excellent article Yavor
I’m trying to build on my pull up skills just now
can barely manage 2 but I’m going to get there
keep up the good work mate!

By: Yavor

Yavor — Wed, 12 May 2010 20:25:57 +0000

Alejandro,

bending the bar is just a trick that makes you engage the super powerful lat muscles. Hood luck!

Iggy,

no problem! Keep us posted!

By: Iggy

Iggy — Tue, 11 May 2010 06:24:33 +0000

I want to thank Yavor as well as everybody else who has contributed to this fantastic page.

I have always been terribly weak at pull-ups, but since stumbling across this page only four or five days ago I’ve already seen significant progress. Instead of struggling to get my chin over the bar…I can now pull myself up to chest level. It really is amazing what a different perspective can do. What really pulled it together for me was Yavor’s description of trying to twist the bar as you pull yourself up.

Thanks again!

By: Alejandro

Alejandro — Tue, 11 May 2010 01:25:00 +0000

Great post. my pull up is one of my weak points, I recently bought a bar for my door and do a couple of pull ups here and there through the day and have found that once I’m in the gym im definitely stronger. I like the idea of trying to bend the bar, thats a good one.

You got a new reader in me. keep it up!

By: Yavor

Yavor — Fri, 07 May 2010 17:39:52 +0000

Darrin,

my pleasure! Now go kick some ass on the pullup bars!

By: Darrin

Darrin — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:59:21 +0000

AMAZING post, Yavor!
Pullups have always been a weak point for me and I look forward to implementing some of your pointers. Keep up the good work.

By: Yavor

Yavor — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 18:50:31 +0000

John,

the idea is to do LOTS of total reps. But the reps need to be relatively fresh (so the last 1-2 reps that are very hard n each set are to be avoided)

So lets say you can do 6 pullups. You take this number and divide it by half.

Next you start doing pullups – 1 rep. The rest some. 2 reps, rest, 3 reps, bigger rest. Then you start over 1-2-3…

Lets say on the first workout you do 1-2-3-1-2-3 and you feel somewhat tired.

The next workout you do one more step ==> 1-2-3-1-2-3-1

Each workout (train at least 3x per week!) add one more step.

Soon 1-2-3 will become too easy. Start with 1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-etc…

Make sure to rest for a week once every 3-4 weeks.

Also check out this post by Charles Malina:
http://www.enduringhealthmanual.com/special-forces/a-badass-special-forces-workout-for-a-super-strong-and-compact-physique/

Hope this helps until I wrote a bigger post about it!

By: John

John — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:05:02 +0000

Hi,
Thank you Yavor, i have read the article, it was very helpful. What do you suggest as the most effective way to do pull ups because i have been with many programs? Could you also explain the ladder method you have outlined in your article a little more please.

Thank you.

By: Yavor

Yavor — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:40:15 +0000

John,

seems like you lack strength for your bodyweight. The solution:

1. lose weight if you have excess bodyfat

2. you need more strength – do many sets of chinups (palms in), but stay away from failure. If you can do 5 reps, do many sets of 3 etc.

3. do lat pulldowns with the same grip you do pullups with. Get stronger there and get back to pullups.

4. I wrote a short report about pullups a few years ago – I plan to update it – but the information iteslf there is SOLID. You can get it here until I update it:
http://relativestrengthadvantage.com/12daysoffitness/Pullups_from_Zero_to_Hero.pdf

By: John

John — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:31:31 +0000

hi,
I like your article very much,extremely helpful. But i have one problem. During pull ups (palms facing away) i can get my top lip up to the bar but not my chin. Can you please help me?

Thank you.
Keep up the good work.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 14:33:39 +0000

Yavor,
Losing weight definitely helped me to do more pullups! I was only able to do 9 or 10 my first set and I can now do 11. The gains are slow though. I have always been strong on the three powerlifting moves, especially the deadlift. I did 610 in the 181 lb. class years ago, but pullups still humble me everytime!

By: Yavor

Yavor — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:53:50 +0000

It is not so much conditioning that is needed. Simply cut back on the food for a a few weeks.

You can maybe burn 300-500 cals in a tough workout. But can you do this every day? No.

But, if you decrease the food by 500+ cals, you will start losing weight fast.

Good luck and thanks for stopping by – your comments are appreciated

By: 100 PISTOLS

100 PISTOLS — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:42:24 +0000

thanks for the tips Yavor. Check on 2 and 3, I practice Pavel’s ‘gtg’ system (multiple low rep sets throughout the day concentrating on strict form). You’ve got me on the bodyweight though. I a good 2 stone overweight and I think this holds up my progress somewhat. However, it is interesting to note that despite my weight I have still managed some success in pullups and pistols (I can now do 2 good reps on each leg) by using techniques like the ones you describe here. I don’t of course advocate being overweight – guess I need to add some conditioning work!

By: Yavor

Yavor — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:18:51 +0000

Natasa,

here are a few more tips:

- keep your bodyweight low
- train with as high volume as possible
- avoid ‘forced’ or ‘ugly’ reps. Only clean form helps, struggling reps only fatigue you

Keep kicking a**!

Yavor