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Bodyweight Fighter Pullup Program with 1RM

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freeflowme

Level 4 Valued Member
Hey all,

I've been getting back into taking care of myself after a long few years of doing little to no physical activity. I don't currently have any barbells, kettlebells, etc. so I was planning on starting with some bodyweight work.

One thing I'd really like to do is strengthen my upper back, to help with posture and hopefully relieve some chronic pain in that area. I've been doing mobility and flexibility work using Super Joints and Relax into Stretch to kind of get my tissues ready. The other day I found that I can still do a pretty strict pull up, and did 5 singles with 2 minutes rest in between just to see how it went.

Then I remembered the Fighter Pullup Program. I like having a routine to follow. I like doing GTG-style, low-fatigue training, as my work requires a high degree of dexterity and endurance and I can't really be sore or fatigued. So, I was wondering how one might adapt the program to go from a 1RM to the 3RM protocol. I was thinking something like.

Day 1: 1, 1, 1
Day 2: 1, 1, 1
Day 3: 2, 1, 1
Day 4: 2, 1, 1
Day 5: 2, 2, 1

Day 6: off

Day 7: 2, 2, 1
Day 8: 2, 2, 1, 1
Day 9: 2, 2, 1, 1
Day 10: 2, 2, 2, 1
Day 11: 2, 2, 2, 1

Day 12: off

Day 13: 2, 2, 2, 2
Day 14: 3, 2, 1, 1

I would appreciate thoughts on how many days to stick at certain volumes, rep schemes, and the overall structure to get from 1RM to a solid 3RM. Is a 2-week window a good bet, or should I pace it out over more time? I don't want to go up in volume to quickly and put too much stress on my joints / connective tissues that haven't been used to much load in a long time. Any thoughts much appreciated!
 
I don't know that that's enough volume. I did the 3rm version and made good progress, but it's very low volume to begin with. Your program would be less than half of the 3RM version's volume.

(3RM version is 41 reps in the first five days. Your program is 19 reps in the first five days.)


Not to mention going from a 3 rep max to 4 reps is a 33% increase, whereas going from a 1 rep max to 2 reps is a 100% increase. If a single pull-up is truly your 1 rep max, will you be able to get two after just six singles spread out over two days? (That partly depends on how close you were to getting two reps at the start. It may be the jump to 3 reps when it catches up to you.)

So I'm not sure if your progression as written is realistic or sustainable.

But I could be wrong. I'm no expert in programming. Just pointing out some possible road bumps to your plan.
 
When I was re-gaining my chinups it took many workouts of just singles before I could do a double, and then many more before I could add a third rep. I like your idea but my experience has been that you might not progress as fast as that.
 
Hey all,

I've been getting back into taking care of myself after a long few years of doing little to no physical activity. I don't currently have any barbells, kettlebells, etc. so I was planning on starting with some bodyweight work.

One thing I'd really like to do is strengthen my upper back, to help with posture and hopefully relieve some chronic pain in that area. I've been doing mobility and flexibility work using Super Joints and Relax into Stretch to kind of get my tissues ready. The other day I found that I can still do a pretty strict pull up, and did 5 singles with 2 minutes rest in between just to see how it went.

Then I remembered the Fighter Pullup Program. I like having a routine to follow. I like doing GTG-style, low-fatigue training, as my work requires a high degree of dexterity and endurance and I can't really be sore or fatigued. So, I was wondering how one might adapt the program to go from a 1RM to the 3RM protocol. I was thinking something like.

Day 1: 1, 1, 1
Day 2: 1, 1, 1
Day 3: 2, 1, 1
Day 4: 2, 1, 1
Day 5: 2, 2, 1

Day 6: off

Day 7: 2, 2, 1
Day 8: 2, 2, 1, 1
Day 9: 2, 2, 1, 1
Day 10: 2, 2, 2, 1
Day 11: 2, 2, 2, 1

Day 12: off

Day 13: 2, 2, 2, 2
Day 14: 3, 2, 1, 1

I would appreciate thoughts on how many days to stick at certain volumes, rep schemes, and the overall structure to get from 1RM to a solid 3RM. Is a 2-week window a good bet, or should I pace it out over more time? I don't want to go up in volume to quickly and put too much stress on my joints / connective tissues that haven't been used to much load in a long time. Any thoughts much appreciated!

IMG_0506.JPG
 
Then I remembered the Fighter Pullup Program. I like having a routine to follow.
There are plenty of other ways to work on your pullups. I'm not sure the FPP is what you want. I know you want a routine, but it's all to easy to overtrain on something like this. I'd prefer to see you just practice a few singles as you're able and then try a double when you think you can.

@offwidth, what's that chart from, please?

-S-
 
I would say derivatives of the pull up would help younist until you can do 5. So GTG tactics with

- bent arm hangs 10sec varies levels
- negatives
- rows

It has been my experience that once an athlete has 5 strict then the FPP becomes relevant
 
Original Strength head nods and head rotations have remarkably improved my upper back and neck health. I’ve been working the OS resets for the last 90 days and the improvement in posture and mobility are notable. And to be clear, I didn’t think I had any problems in the head / neck / shoulders before starting the OS program, if that tells you anything.
 
I agree with @Steve Freides here. It is how I learned pull ups, do a few single HALF reps 3 times per week at some point turned them into doubles then triples, and after a few months focussed on doing them strict and from a dead hang.
 
I've been working on my pull-ups off and on for about 6 years. When I started I couldn't do even a single decent pull-up. I started off by laying on the ground under a hip-height bar (horizontal rows? Australian pull-ups?). Those were easy enough to do 3 sets of 10. To increase the difficulty I elevated my feet. Kept trying regular pull-ups, too and eventually ( 6-8 weeks) worked my way up to 5 crappy reps - very hard to pull the last 3 or 4 inches!

Anyway, the horizontal rows gave me enough volume to make some progress. It's awfully hard to get going when 1 rep is also your single rep max.

Now I can do 5 strict, to the collar bone pull ups. I still do multiple 2-3 rep sets every workout.

Good luck,
Wood
 
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