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Regular training on a stationary rowing machine will make performing pull-ups easier.<\/p>\nAchieving a pull-up is a significant fitness milestone for many people.<\/p>\n
First one, then maybe five, 10 or more: \u201cThe ability to do pull-ups is, in my book, an impressive sign of fitness and not a given,\u201d says physiotherapist and trainer Johannes Frank, proprietor of a fitness facility in Berlin, Germany.<\/p>\n
A basic bodyweight exercise such as push-ups and knee bends (using only your body weight as resistance), pull-ups strengthen your upper body \u2013 particularly the back, shoulders and arms \u2013 but engage the lower body muscles as well.<\/p>\n
This is why sport scientist Dr Daniel Kaptain, an instructor at the BSA School for Health Management in Saarbr\u00fccken, Germany, regards them as especially important.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point, they should be integrated into every fitness and strength sports training,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
To do pull-ups, you need sufficient upper body strength, and there are several exercises that can help to build it.<\/p>\n
One is known as negative pull-ups.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how: Standing under a horizontal bar, jump up, grabbing the bar with a slightly wider than shoulder-width grip and using your momentum to pull yourself up until your chin is above the bar.<\/p>\n
Hold the position for a few seconds, then slowly lower yourself into a \u201ddead hang,\u201d your arms fully extended.<\/p>\n
\u201dPulling yourself up is the harder part \u2013 lowering yourself is easier,\u201d remarks Kaptain, who says you should work on extending the duration of the holding position, \u201cstarting with five seconds and gradually increasing it to 20.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are also exercises you can do on training equipment to build strength for pull-ups.<\/p>\n
One is the lat pull down, performed on a lat pulldown machine, which strengthens the back muscles, particularly the latissimus dorsi (lats).<\/p>\n
\u201dIt\u2019s like a pull-up, only you pull down a bar connected to a weight stack while seated, rather than pull yourself up,\u201d Kaptain says.Regular training on a stationary rowing machine will make performing pull-ups easier.<\/p>\n
How to prepare<\/strong><\/p>\n Training on a rowing machine is good preparation, too.<\/p>\n Or instead of using a machine, says Frank, you can do a bent-over barbell or dumbbell row.<\/p>\n Another variant he suggests is the ring row, using a pair of gymnastics rings suspended at hip height.<\/p>\n Grab the rings and walk your feet out until your body forms a 45-degree angle with the ground.<\/p>\n Extend and lock out your arms, pull the rings towards your chest, then slowly lower yourself back down.<\/p>\n Repeat 15 or 20 times.<\/p>\n As with any sporting endeavour, it pays to train regularly.<\/p>\n \u201cSo long as you don\u2019t overexert yourself, you can train daily,\u201d Kaptain says.<\/p>\n \u201dIf you\u2019re still unable to do a pull-up, you should definitely include your efforts in your training regimen every other day.\u201d<\/p>\n Elastic band-assisted pull-ups make the exercise easier: Loop a band around the pull-up bar, place your feet or knees in the band loop, and pull yourself up with the help of the band\u2019s resistance.<\/p>\n Or use an assisted pull-up machine, where you kneel on a platform connected to a weight stack that offsets some of your body weight.<\/p>\n \u201dAssisted pull-up machines aren\u2019t bad if you select the right resistance,\u201d says Frank, who advises consulting with gym staff on the resistance to use.<\/p>\n As for elastic bands, Kaptain says they make little sense, as they minimise your muscle effort so much that you hardly get any stronger.<\/p>\n This can mean more stress on your joints when you transition to \u201dreal\u201d pull-ups.<\/p>\n So how long will it take to achieve your first one?<\/p>\n \u201cThis naturally depends on how fit you are.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re overweight, for instance, it\u2019s harder because you\u2019ve got to pull up more weight,\u201d Kaptain says, adding that having healthy, sturdy joints is a prerequisite.<\/p>\n \u201dIt\u2019s much easier for men,\u201d notes Frank, who cites studies showing that men have up to twice as much shoulder strength as women do, and are genetically better equipped for pushing and pulling loads.<\/p>\n In any case, he says, three to six months of targeted training is often suffice to build the strength necessary for a pull-up, but intensive training can shorten the timeline considerably.<\/p>\n Doing it properly<\/strong><\/p>\n Kaptain recommends gripping the bar with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart.<\/p>\n There are two basic grips: underhand (with your palms facing towards you), and overhand (palms facing away).<\/p>\n The former, commonly known as chin-ups, \u201cfocuses more on the biceps and arm strength.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the easier grip,\u201d says Kaptain.<\/p>\n Chin-ups also stretch your shoulders more, he adds, which is especially good for people who sit for long periods at a desk.<\/p>\n Overhand pull-ups especially strengthen muscles in your back and shoulders.<\/p>\n For either variant, it\u2019s important to maintain body tension throughout the exercise, engaging your core and buttocks and avoiding any swinging or kicking.<\/p>\n You should reach a position where your chin is above the bar and biceps nearly touching your forearms.<\/p>\n And when pulling yourself up and lowering yourself back down, you should maintain an even tempo. \u2013 dpa<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Achieving a pull-up is a significant fitness milestone for many people. First one, then maybe five, 10 or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":182926,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4322],"tags":[1630,105,75113,75111,75112,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-182925","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-latissimus-dorsi","11":"tag-pull-up","12":"tag-rowing","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114679960434866989","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182925"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182925\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}