[Dusty]

(09-09-2014 01:37 AM)Chaos Wrote:  

^ Right.
Without quality sleep everything else will suffer. It doesn't matter if it's about banging,working out or being productive.
It's really sucks to feel tired and not well rested.

This is one of my big interests, how to get quality sleep and how to feel high energy.
Without energy things are hard.

Great topic. I got a great nights sleep Sunday and my workout yesterday just seemed so much easier.

I've been trying out mindfulness for the first time, and it's helping me calm my mind so I can sleep better. Will create a thread on it at some point.

[Tex]

(09-08-2014 11:34 PM)Cunnilinguist Wrote:  

I went from being able to do 2 pullups to 20 in roughly 1 year. Doing tons of cardio and lowering bf% helped a lot, as well as weighted pullups. Once you do weighted, bodyweight will seem much lighter by comparison.

Weighted pull-ups for sure. I think weighted pull-ups are key to getting up there in reps, especially if you want to get into the 20 range.

[DMario]

When I was in Afghanistan I did 10 pullups everytime I walked past the pullup bar to go to the restroom. Went from 9 to 23 in about a month.

[redbeard]

If you're going to start doing weighted pull-ups (or any bodyweight exercise), don't waste your money on a weight vest/harness/belt. Buy industrial grade chains, weigh them, and go from there.

Weight vests are flimsy and can get very sweaty if you workout outside in the sun (which you should).

Chains are inexpensive and badass.

[Quintus Curtius]

^^^

Redbeard:

That's an intriguing idea...! Never thought of that. It's true that the weight vest can be a pain in the ass.

But wouldn't the chain have to be huge to give you a good 15-20 lbs.?

(And, in addition, isnt' there a danger of looking too much like Jacob Marley's ghost, Ebenezer Scrooge's old business partner, rattling around in chains?)

[Vroom]

(09-09-2014 09:49 PM)redbeard Wrote:  

If you're going to start doing weighted pull-ups (or any bodyweight exercise), don't waste your money on a weight vest/harness/belt. Buy industrial grade chains, weigh them, and go from there.

Weight vests are flimsy and can get very sweaty if you workout outside in the sun (which you should).

Chains are inexpensive and badass.

How would you attach the chains?

I just use a martial arts belt with weight plates threaded onto it. This way the weight can be finely controlled.

[redbeard]

Weight belts are overall better than vests, but I still recommend chains.

Chains can be used for pushups and squats, which a weight belt cannot do. Now, I guess you could just push the weight on your back for pushups and hold it for squats, but the chain has better aesthetics.

To use, just hang it over your neck. There are tons of guys on YouTube who can show you how.

If you get a heavy enough chain, it won't swing much. This can also be a good opportunity to practice form. If you're moving slowly through the rep, the chain won't drop.

@QC industrial chains, especially barge chains, are dense enough that you'll get enough weight without being strangled by chains.

[TigerMandingo]

Low weight is still the determining factor i'd say. The more you weigh, the less pullups you'll be able to perform. That might've sounded a bit obvious, but I think it holds true.

[Sonsowey]

Saw a guy in the park the other day doing pullups with a backpack on. Someone asks him

"Hey, how much weight do you have in that backpack?"

"I don't know, I just have this big chain in here, I think it's 20 or 30lbs"

[redbeard]

Backpacks are badass too.

Occam's Razor.

[samsamsam]

So I was looking at this http://www.kbnj.com/FighterPullupByPavel.htm

It talks about at the top you need to arch, or hit the back of your neck at the top of the pull up.

Is that what you guys do? I am basically, trying to be better about getting more out of my workouts. It will help you look bigger, eventually, right?

Pullups seem to be a critical component.

Anyone know what a good number is that would demonstrate good overall upper body strength? 15/20? 100?

[samsamsam]

Crap, it is over 60 minutes can't edit my post.

Is this considered going overboard for pull ups?

He thinks his ebook is worth 47 bucks. I am thinking the better investment would be a bar or a belt to add weight as you got stronger.

http://thepullupsolution.com/?hop=mr4kvclkbn

[Hannibal]

A better investment is the Armstrong Pullup Program and time. 47 dollars is a fucking ripoff to learn how to do pullups, he's not even a gymnast.

To answer your previous question, the lats are the biggest muscles in the upper body. Naturally, if you hit pullups hard, you're going to look a lot bigger. Your arms will look bigger by default because pullups hit biceps. Since pullups hit lats too, your arms will press up against them at rest and make them look bigger. There's no reason not to do a lot of chins.

As a rule of thumb, I pause at the top of each rep for at least two seconds. The correct cue to think about is to hit your clavicle to the bar. Most folks try to get their chin over the bar, so that encourages neck extension in a bad way.

Elite pullup strength is generally 25 or more chins in a single set. If you're bigger (200 + pounds) then it's more like 20 chins in a set.

[Ryre]

OP, I think you might be making a mistake by going all out on each set. What I understood you to say is you do a first set, hard, get 6 or 7 reps, and then subsequent sets your numbers fall off steeply.

I made the best progress on pullups by going for a set number of reps. I.e. if my max was 7, I'd do sets of 4, trying for 6 sets. On my last set I might do a static hang or negatives or something to burn out.

Once I could do 6X4 I'd try for 6X5, etc. This allows you to get a lot more total volume in. It's also psychologically easier than going for broke on every set. Only your last set or two feel really hard.

This worked for me, with the caveat that when I did this I did not have a lot of equipment so the rest of my workout was limited, leading me to focus more on pullups than usual.

[Hades]

Most evolutionary biologists agree that humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, and tree swinging gorillas shared a common ancestor.

I don't think it's worth it to send 50 bucks to a guy who learned how to do pullups, in light of this information.

[RexImperator]

It's normal for pull-up reps to decrease in subsequent sets. There's a program called "Recon Ron" based around this.

Example: If your last workout was 7,7,7, then try for 8,6,5, then 8, 7, 6, then 8, 8, 6, then 8, 8, 7, etc. That's several workouts before you get to 8, 8, 8.

[RichieP]

^Rex and Ryre have good advice. Try to just increase reps on your first set, then increase reps on the rest, etc.

If you're going to failure on every set I would suggest a week off or at least a "de-load" week where you do reduced sets/reps e.g. 2x5.

That alone might give you the recovery needed to make gains again, but if not, try Rex or Ryre's method, or try progressively adding weight. e.g:

Do weighted sets, keeping reps the same and focusing on adding a little weight each time - e.g. 3x5. Do it for a couple of months, then go back to shooting for unweighted reps, you'll most likely get 10+ very quickly.

Anecdotally, I dropped pullups entirely and worked hard on dumbell rows for a long time and when I went back to pullups I got a few more than I could before I dropped them.

[BBinger]

Two words: Speed Bag

Either a coach at a gym, or a good friend and quality video for comparison will do. Hitting the speed bag with good technique will wear your traps and rear deltoids which can be limiting muscles for a lot of guys. Bent over barbell or dumbell rows are also good. Speed bag though is the tool par excellence for fighting that forward shoulder roll a lot of the other pressing exercises promote.

[XXL]

My suggestions..

- do pull ups routine once/twice a week and make it bit harder each session, add more reps, add more weight [progress with reps until you can get to 8-10 reps first then add more weight and do max reps you can], find a spotter that will help you to pull you up to do extra 2-3 pull ups and do negatives on your own slooowly.

- check your diet especially proteins intake

- get more rest

something is very wrong if you stay on your level for a whole year. even a couple of weeks of no progress should alarm you.

[Ingocnito]

Do negative-only pull ups after you cook out your last set. So in other words, don't pull up, just flex and slowly let yourself down for the concentric. Dude with one of biggest backs in our gym does them for strength gains on back.

Also, another method, is as soon as you're cooked on last rep for pull up (hands over), turn your hands around and finish off doing chin ups (hands under) which activates way more bi-cep, but still engages the back. Hope this helps.

[Hairz]

Pick a number day 20 pull ups. Try to do it in as few sets as you can. Next workout add 2-3 pull ups and so on till like 50. You build tolerance to volume and you'll be able to do 3x10 in no time. Once you can do that add 5kg weight and repeat.

[Vaun]

I wouldn't take a break, that is probably the last thing you want to do right now and pretty bad advice. You're currently doing a fairly low number of reps per week.

It sounds like you might not be pushing yourself hard enough to increase your rep range. Its easy to fall into a rut and not hit it as hard as you can everyday in the gym. I would up your reps per week dramatically. If you can, get to a bar at least everyday, maybe multiple times a day which would be ideal. Shoot for 50-100 per day of you can get there.

And lets be honest, you can probably hold on to the bar after that 7th rep, and crank out another. After a year, you should have sufficient grip strength. Just hang on the bar after your last rep and crank out another, even if that rep is slow and ugly. Do this with every set. Get fixated on the number 8. If you really push yourself, I bet you can get it pretty easily.

Practice different grips too. Personally I dont like the supinated grip pullup because its easier, is basically a curl exercise, and will trash your elbows if you do it a lot. I like the pronated grip, as wide as possible.

I highly recommend this program;
http://www.strongfirst.com/the-fighter-p...revisited/

You can see here that the program relies mostly on consistency of daily reps, and slowly increasing your rep range. If you complete this I guarentee you will be busting out 10 - 12 rep maxes, or more.

The 5RM Fighter Pullup Program

Day 1 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Day 2 5, 4, 3, 2, 2
Day 3 5, 4, 3, 3, 2
Day 4 5, 4, 4, 3, 2
Day 5 5, 5, 4, 3, 2
Day 6 off
Day 7 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
Day 8 6, 5, 4, 3, 3
Day 9 6, 5, 4, 4, 3
Day 10 6, 5, 5, 4, 3
Day 11 6, 6, 5, 4, 3
Day 12 off
Day 13 7, 6, 5, 4, 3
Day 14 7, 6, 5, 4, 4
Day 15 7, 6, 5, 5, 4
Day 16 7, 6, 6, 5, 4
Day 17 7, 7, 6, 5, 4
Day 18 off
Day 19 8, 7, 6, 5, 4
Day 20 8, 7, 6, 5, 5
Day 21 8, 7, 6, 6, 5
Day 22 8, 7, 7, 6, 5
Day 23 8, 8, 7, 6, 5
Day 24 off
Day 25 9, 8, 7, 6, 5
Day 26 9, 8, 7, 6, 6
Day 27 9, 8, 7, 7, 6
Day 28 9, 8, 8, 7, 6
Day 29 9, 9, 8, 7, 6
Day 30 off

You start with an all-out set and then cut a rep in each consecutive set for a total of five sets. The next day add a rep to the last set. Then a rep to the set before that, etc. The system is intended to be used for four weeks. In the end of the month take two or three days off and then test yourself. It is not unusual to up the reps 2.5-3 times. In other words, you are likely to end up cranking out 12-15 reps if you started with 5. If you can already do between 6 and 12 reps start the program with the first day your PR shows up. For instance, if your max is 6 pullups start with Day 7; if your max is 8 start with Day 19.

If you run into a snag with this routine, back off a week and build up again. If you hit the wall again switch to another routine.