Well today was lat day so for lats I usually do The Modified Gymnasts’ Routine (Wide-grip pullups AMRAP, Reg pullups AMRAP, Reg Chins AMRAP, Close-grip chins AMRAP, Semi-Pronated Chins AMRAP; do all repeat 2x). Anyways, I got in there and I started with the Wide-grip pullups and when I went to pull myself up on the first rep, my right arm wasn’t pulling at all for a second or so. I just tightened my grip and went on with my sets. Anyways, when I got around to doing Wide-grip pullups again, the same thing happened except I wasn’t able to just shrug it off and go on with my set, I had to just terminate it right there before I even got my first rep in.
I’m wondering if anybody else has had problems like these.
Two factors that might’ve contributed to this problem are 1.) I had a ME Bench day yesterday and 2.) I forgot to take a serving of Powerdrive before I went into the gym this morning.
Quite honestly I dont see those two factors causing your condition.
I’ve never had it happen to me and I’ve never seen it happen to anybody else.
Doing pull-ups a day after your Chest day shouldnt be a problem even if you went heavy. Forgetting to take your power drive sertainly wouldnt cause that.
Any Doctors here have any insights into his porblem? Id like to know what couldve caused this.
According to an article about pull-ups on the dragondoor site:
"Worthless techniques 1) Wide grip pullups and 2) Pullups behind the neck. For some reason, boobybuilders think that a very wide grip makes for very wide lats! Ha! This is bogus for a few reasons, the first being the greatly reduced range of motion, the second being the greatly reduced leverage, and the third being the extreme stress on your rotator cuffs. Optimal leverage is extremely important in strength training.
Question: would you try to pull a heavy deadlift on your toes with a rounded back? I didn’t think so. As for pullups behind the neck, the same reasons apply. Do yourself and your shoulders a favor–keep your grip slightly wider than shoulder width or less, and pull to your chest, not to the back of your neck. And no grip aids please! (chalk is o.k.)"
There you go. A good reason not to use those wide-grip pull-ups!
Sounds like nerve problems in your right shoulder to me, but, I dunno. If it persists you might see a doctor or take a break and see if it improves. I had experienced similar problems with my right pec durring bench press and had to lay off benching for a month or so. It’s no problem now.
eyy guys! Wide grip pullups are fine. They recruit your lats more…regular pullups involve your arms more. Wide grip only get your outside of your bicep besides the lats. Wide is better for getting larger lats. There was an article about this in a back issue that stated something like…
a grip of up to 6 inches past your shoulders is recommended/ok. That was the article they were ragging on how the manufacturers of pulldown bars are idiots. They make the handles from the bars like a foot too big.
One of the muscles which are very important for pullups are the teres major. There is always a certain amount of internal rotation involved with the pullup, and a faulty teres major, be it from weakness, tightness or a build-up of adhesions will cause the pulling muscles to shut down. Try doing internal rotations and see if there is any pain or weakness of the teres major. Lie down supine on a flat or preferably slightly decline bench, and holding light db’s or a light barbell, perform the opposite movement of an external rotation of the shoulders(better know as the rotator cuff exercise), where with the arms bent at 90 degrees at the elbow and hanging behind your head, rotate the weight forward so the bar/db’s are above your face at the midpoint of the exercise. This exercise is humbling, so start with a light weight.
Though I’ve stated at least two of your quoted reasons in past discussion, I still feel wide pullups have a place. Done with a backwards lean, they fire the rear delts, and rotator cuff involvement drops significantly.
I’m not a fan of Wide-grip pullups and this quote was from an article reinforcing some reasons why they aren’t the greatest exercise, but like everything else, it is up to the individual.
Some people can do seated military presses behind the neck, while others (with previous shoulder problems) may not be able to do them.
So I think it depends on the health of your shoulders and what works best for you!
Overall, I don’t think that a wider grip is better at recruiting the lats than a shoulder- or slightly-wider than shoulder-width grip. But if you have healthy shoulders and like doing the wide-grip pull-ups, then by all means, keep doing them.
It sounded as though the wide-grips were causing the problem, thus I only wanted to show a few reasons why they are not the best exercise for everyone.
You’re right. That does present a problem. However, the problem of the right arm/lats not firing on the first rep of the first set? That doesn’t have anything to do with the rep scheme at that point.
Also, when I do them I usually do 5 reps for the first superset and then 3-4 for the second. (Theres actually a third superset prescribed in the program, however, I find I’m too dead by the end of the second set to go on to the third)
great! i get up with the dreaded pull up workout in front of me and read this… pull ups own me (yup, previous seperated shoulder too)
btw, for ppl who have had shoulder problems like i had. for a long time after i had a seperated shoulder i was able to easily pop it out when reaching really hard for something. this was severly affecting my bench press among other things. what fixed it for me was paying alot more attention to my shoulder shrugs. seemed to tighten up the joint alot more and its been ok since. give it a shot anyone who shares the shoulder problem.
personally i think chrismcl’s right side was just rebelling against the pullups… i dont blame them
Wide grip pull-ups are fine in moderation, just like any exercise. So are the evil behind the neck presses. Just build up to them and if you have pain associated with them, stop.
(yup, previous seperated shoulder too)