How to do your first pull up…
Learn how to do your first pull up OR learn how to add more to your current record. Either way, the tips in this video will help you get stronger.
Exercise number 1…
Here we are looking at hang time. Too many people want to be able to do pull ups but actually can’t hang from a bar. Therefore, you need to develop your grip strength and a little bit of shoulder engagement. To start with, using a bar, you need to hang down nice and loosely, taking the pressure off your feet and then lift. Using this technique, you need to build up this time and gradually increase it. If you can do sixty seconds then its a great first step to achieve, but there is every progression along the way. As long as you keep developing this, keep hanging for a little bit longer each time your grip strength is going to improve.
Exercise number 2…
This next exercise is called the scapula engagement. to start with, using a bar, hang completely with no weight on your feet. Next you need to engage the scapula, or shoulder blades, by lifting them slightly by an inch or so and then back down again. This is good scapula engagement and is the beginning movement of the pull up. By doing even this tiny movement, you will build up strength in the upper lats. You can then pull yourself over and on one arm, engaging one lat at a time. Again, this is a very small movement. Once you feel you are strong at these movements, you can it one stage further. Here, you can engage the scapula and bring in the lever. So, bringing the head back and pulling up and then back down. The arms are locked the entire time, the movement is coming from the lats.
Exercise number 3…
What we are looking at here is negative reps. As long as you can control the movement coming back down, you will still have the same muscles engaged. This is a great way of developing that strength. First of all, jump up on the bar as high as you can, hold for a second and then slowly release. The slower you can release the more tension and the more time under tension you are going to develop. This can get pretty tough but ultimately it will be super effective.
Exercise number 4…
Another awesome tool to develop a pull up is using assisted pull ups. There lots of different ways you can do this but we will be using resistance bands. The thicker the band the better. If you are a beginner or you are quite heavy, you might need multiple bands that can then take your body weight. To begin with we are going use a pull down movement using the band. By pulling down on the band, you will be engaging the lats. This is just to stimulate the lats. Next phase is to use the bands to assist with a pull up. The band will go down and around your feet, from there you then take hang time. The resistance of the band will help you to pull upwards. If this is your first pull up and feel that one band isn’t helping you enough, you can then add an extra band to aid with your pull up.
If you can already do a pull up…
If you are watching this and can already do a pull up but you would like to be able to more. Complete as many pull ups as you can unassisted. Once you have exhausted yourself, then try to do more pull ups but assisted with the resistance bands.
The last exercise in this sequence is to try and get a bit more tension through the muscles in different ways. There are many different back exercises that you can use, we are going to use a simple single arm row with a kettlebell. This will engage the lats. Use a weight that is appropriate to you but ultimately if you are looking Tod o your first pull up, this is all strength work.