Some people believe squats give you the most “bang for your buck” in terms of exercising; others think dead lifting is numero uno. I believe pull ups are king. There is nothing like dangling from a bar and having to pull yourself up. Pull ups can be quite the challenge for most people. Some people can’t even do one pull up. Man or woman, you should experience the rush of pulling your chin over a bar. It is terrific. Well, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but I want to help you improve your pull up numbers. It doesn’t matter if you can do 25 in a row or not one single pull up. There is always room for improvement.
Nothing to do with pull ups, but looked so pleasant I had to put it up.
Pull Up and Chin Up – The Difference
There is some confusion about a pull up and a chin up. A pull up uses the overhand grip, palms facing away from you. A chin up uses the underhand grip, palms facing towards you. We are going to focus our attention on the pull up. Granted your legs will not get a workout from doing pull ups, but you will use just about every other muscle in your body, which is a good thing.
The Navy SEALs Got Me Going
When I started working out years ago pull ups were always my weak point. I can even remember physical fitness tests in middle school (remember those?) and having do a flex harm hang instead of pull ups because I could not do one. It bothered me at the time. I was athletic and good at sports, but had trouble pulling myself over a bar. A few years ago I started a Navy SEALs training program with a friend of mine. I had no aspirations of becoming a SEAL, but doing the training was a blast. Pull ups were a big part of this program, as you can imagine. At the start of the program I would max out at 5 pull ups. I knew that I had to improve that number. After finishing that training program and continuing to do pull ups on a regular basis I now max out at 15 dead hang pull ups. That is nothing spectacular, but certainly a nice improvement.
The “Secret” To My Improvement
Do more pull ups! I know that sounds vague and simplistic, but it’s the truth. I will show you a great pull up program below that you can follow, but the secret to doing more or 1 pull up is to actually do them. You won’t go to sleep and wake up with the ability to do pull ups like a Navy SEAL. You have to grab the bar and get to work. If you can’t do a pull up then start with the pull up assist machine. Most gyms have these. As you improve on that machine keep trying to do one pull up on your own, no help. You’ll get there, just stick with it.
This pull up program skyrocketed my pull up numbers and it will do the same for you. It looks basic, and it is, but it is challenging. It works wonders though. It is called pull up pyramids. The best part about it is that you can adjust to your level of fitness.
PULL UP PYRAMIND:
Start with 1 pull up
Now do 2 pull ups
Now 3 pull ups
Continue this up to 10 pull ups (that will be 55 pull ups up to this point)
Once you reach the top of the “pyramid” do 10 pull ups back down to 1 pull up for a grand total of 110 pull ups! I bet some of you could not comprehend doing 110 pull ups in 1 session. You probably will not need to rest all that much at the beginning of the pyramid because you are not doing many pull ups, but as you climb the pyramid your rest periods will lengthen a bit. Rest as needed.
The best part about this workout is that it can be easily customized to you fitness level. You can do a pyramid up to 5 pull ups and back down to 1 pull up if you need to. Then you can increase the pyramid every week or every other week as you improve.
Incorporate this into your weekly workout. Try it out once/twice a week or every other week. Don’t overdo it. If I haven’t done pull ups in awhile I’ll do it once a week until I get my “pull up fitness level” back. Once or twice a month test yourself to see how many you can do in a row. I bet you will gradually see your numbers grow.
Now grab that bar above your head and get to work!
Great Post. I think I’ll incorporate this into my routine. I love being able to do pull ups. The next goal is muscle ups.
LD,
I’ve been working on muscle ups as well. Tough stuff! I can do 2, but I want to be able to do 5+. I think technique is key. You really need good momentum when pulling yourself up. I watched a video on YouTube of a guy doing 20 muscle ups with ease. That motivated me to get better at them.
Thanks for stopping by.
Dan
I cant seem to make the transition over the bar for a muscle up.
LD,
You need good momentum when swinging up. I tried doing a straight pull up and first into the muscle up. I failed. For me, I need to almost swing a little at the bottom to get the extra boost when going for the muscle up.
Watch this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJX1pxL-NMo
Dan
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Hey Dan, great post. I was the same as you, couldn’t do a pull up to save my life. Then I bought a book on official navy SEAL training a few years back and now I can also do 15, haha. I would love to attempt muscle ups but there is only about a foot between my pull up bar and the ceiling, so unless I wanna put my head through it I’ll have to find a park with a bar.
Dan,
Pullups are definitely a challenge for me. I was a powerlifter for years and was very strong for me size, but still had trouble doing more than 10 pullups in a row. I am actually a little stronger now that I am leaner, but still not setting the world on fire with them!
I tend to get tired real fast on them too. If I do 12 on my first set, I may only get 8 or 9 on my second! I will try the Navy Seal program at some point. I was in the Navy on a submarine and knew a few guys in the Seals that lived by me. They were pretty badass dudes, for sure.
David,
Which book did you buy? Was it written by Stew Smith? He writes a ton of great workout plans for all branches of the military. Doing 5+ muscle ups is my summer goal.
Kelly,
The SEALs are some tough dudes. I know a guy in the SEALs that can do 25 pull ups, rest by hanging on the bar with 1 arm, do 25 more pull ups, rest by hanging with the other arm and do 25 more. He goes up to 75 pull ups and stops. Crazy stuff.
Dan
Hey Dan,
yeah pullups are definitely a big time bodyweight exercise. I mean it has everything but it seems people dont do enough of it. I am going to use your technique. I want to improve my pullup and then hopefully move on to muscle ups. I first saw them being done by “Bar-barians”, those guys are sick! Check em out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXxwyi7L4WU
Michael
Michael,
Yeah I’ve seen those guys. Those guys are the true definition of functional fitness. I love going to a playground and trying to figure out as many creative exercises as I can.
Muscle ups are tough. My recommendation is to work on getting your dead hang pull up number up. Once you can do 15 with relative ease, start working on muscle ups.
Keep me posted.
Dan
Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.
Great stuff here
I recently started this killer workout and I have really noticed a difference. Im starving all the time so I know my metabolism is totally in over drive. I weighed and taped before I got rolling so Im gonna wait a couple more weeks before I get back on the scale. I actually had to put it up to resist the urge to step on and find out how much its changed.
Hey there, your weblog is in a radioshow! Excellent job buddy. Your articles are definitely excellent and bookmarked. Regards
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[...] Do More Pull Ups – How a Navy SEALs Program Helped Me. In this article Dan from Zenvigorate explains pyramids for pullups – they are just like ladders,e xcept you go both up and down. So it looks like this: 1-2-3-… then …3-2-1 Related posts:Pushup Fitness Tests… Or How I Schooled The Competition and You Can Too [...]
This article is priceless, I thoroughly loved it, I’ll be back for much more!