Pullup Power Journal

Training Powerlifting
1

Why Pullup Power?
Pullups are my biggest weakness. At a bodyweight of 235 lb, I can barely squeak out five. I’ve been impressed by the athletes I’ve seen on Sasuke who have just amazing upper body strength and endurance, the Parkour brothas I’ve watched on Youtube climb up over any obstacle in their way, and by this big guy named Wyatt, a big personal trainer at my gym who often has 50 lb attached to him while he does pullups for reps at a bodyweight of 250+.

Why Not a Big Bench & Squat?
I have scoliosis �?? it’s a curvature of the spine that makes an s-like shape down and out the left side of my back. In essence, it pushes my torso to bend over to my right side, with my ribcage almost touching my hip bone. Because of it, my left oblique is huge while my right side is almost minimal. I also walk with a slight limp that is sometimes noticeable.

I got back surgery for it when I was in the 8th grade. They put a metal bar in my back and fused together my spine except for 2 vertebrae. My last visit to the doctor who did my surgery, he told me to take up swimming and do a circuit of machines like leg curls and lat pulldowns (fuck that).

All of this means that my form on bench sucks and that I’m afraid of doing squats because it places too much pressure on my lower back. When I attended the Ohio State University, I visited Louie Simmons and his Westside Barbell Club. He was a nice guy showed me around the gym and took at look at my form for the bench. It was horrible and because of my scoliosis, it’s near uncorrectable.

Deadlifts allow me to place an emphasis all over my back and lower body instead of just my lower back and lower body.

Goals and stats
Statistics:
bodyweight: 235 lb
Bodyfat %: 18 %
Fat Mass: 42.3 lb
Lean Body Mass: 195 lb

Goals
1.5x bodyweight pullup
1.5x bodyweight dip
2x bodyweight deadlift

Resources Used:
Allstadt, John. “Pullups: A Matter of Function.” Dragondoor.com.
404 | Dragon Door

Mehdi. “How to Increase Strength On the Pull-up.” StrongLifts.com. June 30, 2007. How to Do Pullups with Proper Form: Full Guide | StrongLifts

Smith, James. “ME, DE, And Repetition Method Pull up and Dip Training.” Power Development Inc. 2003. www.powerdevelopmentinc.com/?id=22

Tsatsouline, Pavel. “Grease the Groove for Strength.” DragonDoor.com.
404 | Dragon Door

2

[u]11/21/07 �?? ME Lower �?? Week 1[/u]
Exercise 1 �?? Maximum Effort �?? Snatch-Grip Rack Pull
�?� feet shoulder width
�?� index finger on outer ring
�?� bar upper-mid chin level
�?� 60-90 sec rest

Set 1 �?? 135 lb x 5 reps = 675 lb → pretty easy
Set 2 �?? 155 lb x 5 reps = 775 lb → still easy
Set 3 �?? 175 lb x 5 reps = 875 lb → easy
Set 4 �?? 205 lb x 5 reps = 1025 lb → medium difficulty
Set 5 �?? 225 lb x 3 reps = 675 lb → easy-medium difficulty, grip giving out
Set 6 �?? 235 lb x 3 reps = 705 lb → medium difficulty, grip giving out
Set 7 �?? 245 lb x 1 reps = 245 lb → grip gave out
Total Weight: 4975 lb

Notes: keep lower back & core tight at all times, shoulder blades back, go as deep as possible

Exercise 2A �?? Repetition Effort - Freemotion Cable Lift Machine, Cable Suitcase Deadlifts
�?� explode from bottom
�?� ensure tight core and lower back at all times
�?� 30 sec rest, supersetted with Exercise 2B

Set 1 �?? 60 lb x 10 reps = 600 lb → pretty easy
Set 2 �?? 80 lb x 10 reps = 800 lb → pretty easy
Set 3 �?? 100 lb x 10 reps = 1000 lb → still pretty easy
Total Weight:2400 lb

Notes: didn’t go anywhere near 10 rep max, didn’t really feel anything

Exercise 2B �?? Repetition Effort �?? Freemotion Squat
�?� go as deep as possible
�?� start at bottom and explode upward
�?� feet at bottom of ramp, targets quadriceps
�?� 30 sec rest, supersetted with Exercise 2A

Set 1 �?? 100 lb x 10 reps = 1000 lb → easy
Set 2 �?? 120 lb x 10 reps = 1200 lb → can feel quadriceps burning
Set 3 �?? 160 lb x 4 reps = 640 lb → quads burning
Total Weight: 2840 lb

Notes: Stick with 120 lb going deep (pretty close “ass-to-grass”)

Cardio �?? Treadmill Hill Walk Intervals
�?� Time: 18 minutes
�?� Speed: 3.4 mph
�?� Incline: 15 degrees
�?� 1-10 min: 1 min grabbing display stand alternating with 1 min unassisted
�?� 10 �?? 15 min: grabbed display stand
�?� 15 �?? 18 min: cool down
�?� Calories: 205

3

I have the same problem with pull-ups so I’ll be reading with interest. Good luck!

4

11/23/07
ME Pullup, DE Dips

Ex 1A - ME - Neutral-Grip Pullup
Set 1 - 235 lb (bodyweight) x 4 reps (rep max) = 940 lb
Set 2 - 235 lb x 3 reps = 705 lb
Set 3 - 235 lb x 3 reps = 705 lb
Set 4 - 235 lb x 3 reps = 705 lb
Set 5 - 235 lb x 2 reps = 470 lb
Set 2 - 235 lb x 2 reps = 470 lb
Set 2 - 235 lb x 2 reps = 470 lb
Set 2 - 235 lb x 1 reps = 235 lb
Total Weight: 4700 lb

Ex 1B - DE - Jumping Dip
Set 1 - 3 reps
Set 2 - 3 reps
Set 3 - 3 reps
Set 4 - 3 reps
Set 5 - 3 reps
Set 6 - 2 reps
Set 7 - 2 reps
Set 8 - 1 reps
20 reps total

Ex 2A - RE - Weighted Dip
Set 1 - 235 (bw) lb x 8 reps = 1880 lb
Set 2 - 245 (10) lb x 8 reps = 1960 lb
Set 3 - 260 (25) lb x 8 reps = 2080 lb
Set 4 - 260 (25) lb x 8 reps = 2080 lb
8000 lb total

Ex 2B - RE - Monster Band Pullups
Set 1 - 8 reps
Set 2 - 6 reps
Set 3 - 6 reps
20 reps total

Star Trac Lat Pulldown
115 x 10
130 x 10
145 x 10
160 x 10

Notes: Left arm and left shoulder aches. Right arm burns.

5

11/24/07 DE Lower

Ex 1 - DE - Snatch-Grip Rack Pull
Set 1 - 80 lb x 2 = 160 lb
Set 2 - 80 lb x 2 = 160 lb
Set 3 - 80 lb x 2 = 160 lb
Set 4 - 80 lb x 2 = 160 lb
Set 5 - 80 lb x 2 = 160 lb
Set 6 - 80 lb x 2 = 160 lb
Set 7 - 80 lb x 2 = 160 lb
Set 8 - 80 lb x 2 = 160 lb
1280 lb total

Ex 2A - RE - Two-Hand DB Swing
Set 1 - 70 lb x 8 reps = 560 lb
Set 2 - 90 lb x 8 reps = 720 lb
Set 3 - 90 lb x 6 reps = 540 lb
Set 4 - 90 lb x 6 reps = 540 lb
2360 lb total

Ex 2B - RE - Zercher Squat on Bench
Set 1 - 45 lb x 10 = 450 lb
Set 2 - 75 lb x 10 = 750 lb
Set 3 - 85 lb x 10 = 850 lb
2050 lb total

Notes: Snatch-Grip Rack Pulls need to be gripped and braced TIGHT in order to explode upward. Zercher Squats on Bench didn’t even come close to 10 RM.

6

You should integrate some rowing moves into your workouts. Calculating out your volume is a good idea. When you do your heavy stuff use a shoulder width neutral grip. You’ll get the best leverage with that.

7

11/27/07 - ME Dip & DE Pullups

Ex 1A - ME - Partial Handstand Pushups (Week 2)
Set 1 - 235 lb x 2 reps = 470 lb
Set 2 - 235 lb x 2 reps = 470 lb
Set 3 - 235 lb x 2 reps = 470 lb
Set 4 - 235 lb x 2 reps = 470 lb
Set 5 - 235 lb x 2 reps = 470 lb
Set 6 - 235 lb x 2 reps = 470 lb
Set 7 - 235 lb x 2 reps = 470 lb
Set 8 - 235 lb x 2 reps = 470 lb
3760 lb total

Ex 1B - DE - Monster Band Pullup
Set 1 - 3 reps
Set 2 - 3 reps
Set 3 - 3 reps
Set 4 - 3 reps
Set 5 - 3 reps
Set 6 - 3 reps
Set 7 - 3 reps
Set 8 - 3 reps
24 reps total

Ex 2A - RE - Top 1/2 Partial Pullups
Set 1 - 235 lb x 6 reps = 2010 lb
Set 2 - 235 lb x 4 reps = 940 lb
Set 3 - 235 lb x 4 reps = 940 lb
Set 4 - 235 lb x 3 reps = 705 lb
Set 5 - 235 lb x 3 reps = 705 lb
5370 lb total

Ex 2B - RE - Bottom 1/2 Dips
Set 1 - 235 lb x 10 reps = 2350 lb
Set 2 - 235 lb x 10 reps = 2350 lb
Set 3 - 235 lb x 10 reps = 2350 lb
Set 4 - 235 lb x 10 reps = 2350 lb
9400 lb total

Ex 3A - RE - Assisted One-Arm Pullups - LEFT ARM ONLY
Set 1 - 90 lb (235 - 145) x 6 reps = 360 lb
Set 2 - 90 lb x 6 reps = 360 lb
Set 3 - 90 lb x 4+2 reps = 360 lb
Set 4 - 75 lb (235 - 160) x 6 reps = 450 lb
Set 5 - 75 lb x 6 reps = 450 lb
1980 lb total

Ex 3B - RE - Assisted One-Arm Dip - LEFT ARM ONLY
Set 1 - 90 lb (235 - 145) x 6 reps = 360 lb
Set 2 - 90 lb x 6 reps = 360 lb
Set 3 - 90 lb x 4+2 reps = 360 lb
Set 4 - 75 lb (235 - 160) x 6 reps = 450 lb
Set 5 - 75 lb x 6 reps = 450 lb
1980 lb total

8

Scoliosis? If you’re gonna stop squatting because of a bad back, it makes even more sense to stop deadlifting.

In lieu of squats, have you tried lunges and pistols? Also, you might wanna try doing muscle-ups. If you can do at least one, you’re pretty strong and explosive in your pullups.

9

Unfortunately, I cannot do a muscle up.

10

Well, you can get stronger and do one eventually. It’s a good indicator of pullup power after all.