Option one, lets say 25 reps total regardless of sets, if you do more than 8 on first set, you started to light, less than 5 to heavy.
Follow this up with higher volume on wide pull downs, 4 sets of 12 working on connection.
This has worked well for me, I find that if I drop the machine pull downs my chins don’t progress as much.
Can someone link to the last thread about high-volume pullups where Minotaur offered anyone to fly across the country and throw down in fisticuffs…er, pullups? My favorite part was when he said something like “People come to So Cal all the time, it shouldn’t be that hard” - I forgot that people from California think it’s actually the center of the universe.
Yogi I’m one of those people who kind of has brittle elbows and shoulders, and for some reason the main culprits are often times frequent OHPing AND Chins.
I’ve actually started doing Chins roughly 2x a week, but using a ‘fat’ bar. I always use a pronated grip, if that matters. Regardless, I get NO elbow pain from these. And my chins on a ‘regular’ bar ended up going to 15+ for BW pretty quickly. So that could be a simple ‘tool’ to use in your journey to chin mastery.
[quote]ActivitiesGuy wrote:
Can someone link to the last thread about high-volume pullups where Minotaur offered anyone to fly across the country and throw down in fisticuffs…er, pullups? My favorite part was when he said something like “People come to So Cal all the time, it shouldn’t be that hard” - I forgot that people from California think it’s actually the center of the universe.[/quote]
That was fucking hilarious.
I realize there’s about a million different opinions, but actually going to a completely stretched and relaxed hang at the bottom, and pulling up until elbows are in line with the torso, have made a significant difference in joint health for me, elbows and shoulders. I didn’t get those benefits when I was even just slightly shortening the ROM in the past.
I’ve been using the 3RM progression from the bottom here: How to Increase Your Pull-Up Power and adding 5lbs each time I finished that cycle. I’m something like 8 weeks into doing that.
I haven’t tested my bodyweight max, but I use a few bodyweight pullups as part of a warmup, and they’ve become incredibly easy.
One of these days, I might use the other routine (5RM) in that article and use it to work on volume. I read good things about it (it’s been mentioned in other places before the article posted here), and the Armstrong routine, but haven’t done either.
Some great responses here guys, thanks muchly
Don’t know what the rest of your training looks like (program wise), but I’ll throw in my .02 -
I usually follow 5/3/1 or Juggernaut (doing Jugg right now), with some modifications to structure that I created. I’ve been super-setting horizontal push-pull and vertical push-pull for years, and have kept pretty thick and decently wide lats this way. When I do 5/3/1, I estimate a 1RM for weighted pullups (figured off of weight added, not combined BW and added weight) and use the standard 531 load/rep scheme. Again, this is super-setted with military press (again, using 531 structure). When I move on to accessory moves, I do neutral grip BW-only pullups, supersetted with whatever shoulder move I am doing. I have also thrown in ladders in the past.
Conversely, on bench day I super-set bench with rows of some kind, and another type of rowing with my accessory chest move. Cable rows of some type work best for me, allowing me to really feel the movement and get that ‘cramping’ sensation when you get to full flex. On these I will do the ‘squeeze for a count or two’ before lowering the weight. Motocross rows are my staple right now, followed by high-ish rep DB rows (the largest DBs I have access to right now are 70s, so I do 3-4 sets of 15).
I forget where I read it (someone’s article on here), but the rule seems to be pullups for width, rows for thickness.
And Shugart’s pullup program looks interesting, I might try that out using Ecchastang’s added weight recommendation.
Cheers BG, how’s life on the tub?
The rest of my training is currently a push/pull/legs split, training 5 days a week. I’m not sure exactly how I’ll structure the pull days from now on. I’m thinking about switching to:
-upper (supersetting push and pull)
-vanity (arms and shoulders)
-legs
-upper
-vanity
not sure how I’d work the pull ups into the vanity day though. Maybe just do a few sets of pull ups before I start working the beach muscles; I can’t imagine being much use at pull ups after I’ve trained arms. I tried out the vanity day last week just to give it a whirl and it didn’t take that long so I could feasibly add a few sets of pull ups without it being too much.
I’ll probably just superset push exercises with pull ups for the upper day, and throw in a couple of sets of rows at the end. I’ve had to rehab my shoulders so many times that my back has decent thickness (probably my best body part if you can even count it as such) so I don’t see a problem with horizontal pulling taking a back seat for a while. I’ll still be doing direct work for my mid/lower traps anyway.
Decisions, decisions. Was also thinking about trying that Waterbury calf routine he posted the other day but that’d mean I was trying to bring up my lagging lats, arms, shoulders and calves all at the same time! Seems a little silly.
Started doing Shugart’s pull-up project in the link this week…
I haven’t done pull-ups seriously in a long time and I’m no stud – 10-12 at once if I have a good grip/set-up 6ish if I don’t. Just aiming for 50ish a day now done in sets of 6 all with a neutral grip.
Started for the lat growth/pull-up strength development, but my biceps are looking much more fuller than normal lol. I guess I’ll take it. Back is feeling more healthy as well.
Thats Waterbury’s pull up article in which he started at 5 per day, then added a rep every day… For 6 months.
His experience showed that if you stay far away from failure and just “get the reps” your max reps WILL go up, but not that much (his went from 12 to 19) but he found that when he did go to failure his max reps went up, but the hypertrophy seemed to stop (which he states may be for numerous reasons, but he did notice it)
As he puts it: “When I steadily increased the volume and avoided failure with fast reps, my upper back grew. When I incorporated sets to failure my hypertrophy stalled but my max reps went up”
So pick your goal and get after it with the method that suits it. Waterbury’s method is A little different than Shugarts protocol, and if you are just looking for a four week blitz Shugarts might be the way to go… Long term Waterbury might get the nod.
You may want to add your findings to my thread in the BB forum “The Frequency Experiment” when you’re done so future puller-uppers can have both our data in one thread (I will eventually do pull ups)
Just what worked for me: pull ups everyday, stopping 1-2 short of failure, numerous sets throughout the day, sets between every set of normal training, etc. Much like it was my job to do them. My record for one set is 32 (about 25 or 26 of these were strict, little body English on the last few).
Of course that was when I join the Royal Marines and I weighed less than 11 stone then (about 150 lbs) and had pretty good strength from doing gymnastics and judo as a kid. But I’ve noticed now I’ve stopped Olympic lifting and trying to lift to “get in shape” that the upper back can cope with much higher frequency and volume than anything else.
Another tip here, if you do them everyday, use rings or make some rope loops for the pull up bar. Your elbows will thank you!