Grease the groove with those pull-ups! I’m 6’4 (pull-ups do suck a lot more for us tall folks) and could barely do 3 at one point, but nothing ups your pull-ups like doing lots of them. There’s very little carryover from other exercises and I honestly can’t think of a more useful exercise. I can do about 4 with 70 lbs on, meanwhile your deadlift shits all over mine so it’s not just about back strength. Either pick a number and do that many pull-ups every day, or get all your reps by doing negatives for the ones you can’t get. Hope your recovery continues smoothly, man.
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They don’t hurt your elbows? Pull-ups destroy my elbows. I’ve done them recently (in February) with out pain. Tried some the other day and it felt like my arms would separate leaving my forearm and hand on the bar…elbows were sore for days after…
I’ve done pull ups for years. Once upon a time I could do 4 x 10 with 60-70 seconds rest between sets. That was as good as it ever got and then my performance decreased. I guess I didn’t have to put them after rows but that’s definitely a factor.
They’ve never hurt my elbows. I have some shoulder pain that showed up after I pinched a nerve with my crutch but neutral grip doesn’t bother it.
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Sounds like it could be grip related. Wider grip, pronated/neutral, thumbs tucked even might help. Who knows. I do love dips but my shoulder won’t allow them no matter how many times I go back, so I feel your pain here. Can’t keep doing something if it’s causing joint pain.
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I have found neutral grip to be the best too, everything seems to hurt less
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Everything hurts when doing pullups/chins 
Nahh it doesn’t bother me at all, other than I suck, no matter how many I do.
But I’m trying an one day, just one day I’ll be able to pull out sets of 10 with ease… I hope.
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4.1.18
Happy Easter!
Woke at 232.0 lbs. Today is a rest day which is good because the gym is closed. Also, as good as my body felt on Friday, it feels equally bad today! It’s nothing unusual; just soreness from the last two lifting sessions.
Lunch at my grandma’s today and lots of relaxing. The temperature was in the 60s the last two days and today it’s in the 30s with a chance of snow! What? If it snows it will just be flurries but this is not a pleasant change.
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Just spent about an hour rolling around on the floor with my foam roller.
Trigger Points:
- calves
- distal quads, both sides
- adducters or inner part of hamstrings, can’t tell and it doesn’t matter, it hurts
- shoulder girdle
Spots That Feel Good:
- upper quads
- glutes
- pecs
- QL
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Love the 8x3 - is this 8 sets of 3 (like I’m doing) or 3 sets of 8?
3 sets of 8 the first time in the week and then 5 x 8 the second time.
4.2.18
Woke at 233.6 lbs after a lot of peanut M&Ms.
GSS&S W2 D3 (by far the worst day)
DYNAMIC WARM UP
SQUAT 135 x 8
185 x 8
215 x 8 x 5 sets
POWER CLEAN (DEADLIFT WARM UP)
135 x 3
205 x 3 x 2 sets
This was supposed to have a set at 185 but I goofed on the loading. The Downtown Y’s 25s are yellow but the East Y’s 35s are yellow and I just grabbed them out of habit. It felt heavy as hell for 185 so I thought I was in for a rough day. I was pleasantly surprised when I went for the 35s and found the on the bar.
DEADLIFT
275 x 8 x 5 sets
Just a note - - - I haven’t used a belt or straps for any sets since being released to lift again. The belt might be coming out soon though; my lower back is getting tired.
WALKING DB LUNGE
30+35 x 8 ea x 5 sets
RDLs
155 x 8 x 5 sets with different stances
FARMERS WALK
80s x 60 m x 5 sets
I’m not sure what to do with these. Grip is the limiting factor right now. Do I keep going strapless to improve my grip or strap up and grab some heavy weights and stress my whole body?
This session took about 75 minutes and I didn’t mess around. These Monday workouts are brutal. I increased my rest to 90 sec on squat and kept it at 60 for everything else except RDLs which were 30 sec breaks.
I’m spent.
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I Agree with this! Nothing made me better at pullups but doing more of them, about a year ago I decided to do 10 sets of 5 reps every other day as a super set to other exercises, with a goal of around 700-800 pullups a month. I have seen a lot of progress concerning upper back developement as well as just getting better at them, I can do 15 at any time as a chubby 200lbs 23-24% body fat.
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I haven’t used a belt since I returned to the gym about 2 years ago. Lower back gets a little angry at times but it doesn’t usually slow me down too much. I figure it’s a sign of middle age !!
I think it needs to be trained but the risk increases along with fatigue. I want to add weight to the bar as well. It’s kind of like using straps. The belt helps me brace and I thin that goes a long way to protecting the spine when you’re really straining.
Yer maybe I am just not strong enough to need it, or do I need it to get stronger . Hmmm chicken or egg ?
All I know with any certainty is that a belt has been shown to add 5-10 lbs to a 1RM squat.
I read a research study about it. I can look for it if you’d like.
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Good to know…it is next on my to purchase list
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That’s cool, I too have read that it adds a few pounds. At some point later this year I will have to dig out my old belt and see if it actually does.
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I will be interested in reading the article!
For me, no doubt, the belt helps me get tighter and less wobly when squatting around my top sets. But I try to go as much as I can without the belt and trying to use it as little as possible.