Hmm there's really not much to acing pull-ups.
I used to hit only 6-7 during my Upper Sec days, but once I reached JC and joined canoeing my pull-ups hit 22-25. And yes with proper form...
1 very big misconception is that most people would do a close grip pull-up (at shoulder width or more often than so less than shoulder grip), this uses more of the triceps to do the pullup. And most of the time most people have weak triceps- get my gist :)
First things first to use your lats, make sure you WIDEN your grip. Initially it will be tough and you wont see much improvement, your pullup count might also initially drop (some of my friends experienced that) but it will gradually pick up and over time you WILL see improvement if you continually train. Aim to do it daily and 10 pull-ups per set (start with 2-3 sets per day and move to 10 sets). Do them within a limited time frame if possible (ie dont space them out throughout the day).
TBH gym-machines dont really help much in improving your pull-ups. They do help to strengthen your lats and biceps (to a smaller extent) but they wont help to improve your pull-ups as much as there's more to pull-ups than just pure lats/biceps/triceps. Even abs (your core muscles) are utilised to some extent. So the best to train for pull-ups is doing the method I outlined above. Once you're confident of hitting the above-mentioned ranges, you can hit the gym and do weighted pull-ups (placing a dumbell between your legs).
It is only then should you start to focus on furthering your lat muscles strength, and even then I dont recommend gym machines. Do barbell pulls (aka bench-pull), upright barbell rows, one arm dumbell rows etc etc.
Just my two cents worth- hope they helped :)
Originally posted by Mationsbuds:Hmm there's really not much to acing pull-ups.
I used to hit only 6-7 during my Upper Sec days, but once I reached JC and joined canoeing my pull-ups hit 22-25. And yes with proper form...
1 very big misconception is that most people would do a close grip pull-up (at shoulder width or more often than so less than shoulder grip), this uses more of the triceps to do the pullup. And most of the time most people have weak triceps- get my gist :)
First things first to use your lats, make sure you WIDEN your grip. Initially it will be tough and you wont see much improvement, your pullup count might also initially drop (some of my friends experienced that) but it will gradually pick up and over time you WILL see improvement if you continually train. Aim to do it daily and 10 pull-ups per set (start with 2-3 sets per day and move to 10 sets). Do them within a limited time frame if possible (ie dont space them out throughout the day).
TBH gym-machines dont really help much in improving your pull-ups. They do help to strengthen your lats and biceps (to a smaller extent) but they wont help to improve your pull-ups as much as there's more to pull-ups than just pure lats/biceps/triceps. Even abs (your core muscles) are utilised to some extent. So the best to train for pull-ups is doing the method I outlined above. Once you're confident of hitting the above-mentioned ranges, you can hit the gym and do weighted pull-ups (placing a dumbell between your legs).
It is only then should you start to focus on furthering your lat muscles strength, and even then I dont recommend gym machines. Do barbell pulls (aka bench-pull), upright barbell rows, one arm dumbell rows etc etc.
Just my two cents worth- hope they helped :)
wow 22 to 25 !!!
Haha well we had sadistic coaches who made us do 100 pull-ups before AND after training ;)
And we also had to do pull-ups and hanging leg raises/wipers during our breaks lol.
Just to add on to Mationsbuds advice on the widening of the grip, it is also important to make sure that your whole body is tense during the exercise. After jumping on to the bar, flex all your muscles from your abs, to your ass (no joking) to your quads. By making your body rigid, it becomes easier to control the motion.
You see some people doing pull ups, after a while their body starts to sway. That actually uses up some energy that could be used to eek out 1 or 2 more reps.
I heard mountain climbing club also expert in pullups.
Originally posted by Lord dejavu:Just to add on to Mationsbuds advice on the widening of the grip, it is also important to make sure that your whole body is tense during the exercise. After jumping on to the bar, flex all your muscles from your abs, to your ass (no joking) to your quads. By making your body rigid, it becomes easier to control the motion.
You see some people doing pull ups, after a while their body starts to sway. That actually uses up some energy that could be used to eek out 1 or 2 more reps.
Thanks for ur info.