Pull-ups!! One of those exercises that continues to challenge the majority of us. One of those exercises that can be an “Everest” of sorts. We hear it all the time as coaches, “when will I finally be able to do one pull-up!?”.
Challenging yes, but certaintly not unattainable! Here are some tips to get you one step closer to conquering your goal and rocking out some pull-ups next time in class.
1. Activate your shoulders. We want to hang from strong, engaged shoulders to protect them and be ready from the movement. So slightly pull-up with your lats to engage your shoulder joint. This will move your shoulders slightly away from your ears, so you aren’t “dead hanging”.
2. Pull! Now we start the pull movement. Using our back muscles, pull up until your chin is above the bar. Squeeze your glutes and keep core tight to help with this pull.
3. Slowly lower down. The movement is NOT over until you return to the starting hang position. So slowly lower down from the pull in a controlled manner until your arms are completely straight.
4. Modifications. Use bands to assist you until you have built up enough strength to do a strict body weight pull-up. Select your bands much like you select weights for a workout. A thick, wider band will offer more support if you are just starting out. The thinner the band, the more weight you will be pulling yourself. So the stronger you get, grab thinner bands or start ditching the number of bands you use to keep progressing and challenging yourself! (AND continue to challenge yourself with ring rows, as these will also help you with pull-ups!)
Hope these help!!! We press so much in our daily lives, so this movement is a great way to balance out and train your back!! Can’t wait to see you guys rock these out in class soon.