Fighter Pullup

[Gary W]

I do pullups twice a week, am i still able to make progress using this program?
I know it will be slower progress but thats fine.
Or does it have to be done every day?

 

[Kyle Kowalczuk]

For me it comes down to volume per week. If I am only doing 2x per week then I have to make sure the volume for the week is split between those 2 days. Which means each day is going to be a good amount of volume. If you run it everyday or 2 on 1 off type schedule the volume will be less on those days.

 

[Gary W]

For me it comes down to volume per week. If I am only doing 2x per week then I have to make sure the volume for the week is split between those 2 days. Which means each day is going to be a good amount of volume. If you run it everyday or 2 on 1 off type schedule the volume will be less on those days.

Thanks when i do pullups i do it as part of a 4 day fullbody workout, pullups are done twice a week and rows are done twice a week so maybe i can drop the rows while trying to progress the pullup so 4x a week

 

[renegadenate]

Thanks when i do pullups i do it as part of a 4 day fullbody workout, pullups are done twice a week and rows are done twice a week so maybe i can drop the rows while trying to progress the pullup so 4x a week

Keep the rows for shoulder health and to maintain some balance from all the pull-ups.

Your current full-body workouts with pull-ups and a day of the Fighter Pull-up program should work well together provided you're mixing up the volume during your regular workouts.

For me, the Fighter Pull-up program 5x/week caused elbow tendonitis from the high volume (I was already able to perform 15 pull-ups when I used the program for the TSC followed by the Murph Challenge).

 

[offwidth]

I do pullups twice a week, am i still able to make progress using this program?
I know it will be slower progress but thats fine.
Or does it have to be done every day?

If you want to do pull-ups twice a week, you could consider switching to the Steve House maximum strength plan (weighted)

 

[Gary W]

If you want to do pull-ups twice a week, you could consider switching to the Steve House maximum strength plan (weighted)

Not heard of it, thanks I'll check it out

 

[Gary W]

Restarting this thread as i want to ask, i did try the Steve House maximum strength plan but i use a door mounted bar so dont feel comfortable loading it with that much weight to get a 1 rep max.
I do 3x6-8 at the moment but really want to get high rep Pullups, just a little goal at the moment.
Instead i found this, based on 3 days clean and press but made it 2 day, im thinking with a 10kg weight vest it might help to increase my reps? What do you all think?

Week 1
123x3 =18
123x4 =24

Week 2
1234 x1 123x2 =22
1234 x1 123x3 =28

Week 3
1234 x2 123 x1= 26
1234 x2 123 x2 =32

Week 4
1234 x3 =30
1234 x3 123 x1 =36

Week 5
Deload and test my unweighted pullups

 

[renegadenate]

Restarting this thread as i want to ask, i did try the Steve House maximum strength plan but i use a door mounted bar so dont feel comfortable loading it with that much weight to get a 1 rep max.
I do 3x6-8 at the moment but really want to get high rep Pullups, just a little goal at the moment.
Instead i found this, based on 3 days clean and press but made it 2 day, im thinking with a 10kg weight vest it might help to increase my reps? What do you all think?

Week 1
123x3 =18
123x4 =24

Week 2
1234 x1 123x2 =22
1234 x1 123x3 =28

Week 3
1234 x2 123 x1= 26
1234 x2 123 x2 =32

Week 4
1234 x3 =30
1234 x3 123 x1 =36

Week 5
Deload and test my unweighted pullups

That should work to increase maximal strength with some carryover to max reps. Give it a go! Test and report back.

I've always found that having at least one day of body-weight pull-ups for higher reps or more volume helps increase my max pull-ups more than weighted pull-ups.

 

[Gypsyplumber]

I don’t know how your body adapts, but I know for me when I don’t do pull ups I lose them quick. Unlike push ups where I can not do them for a while and still be able to do a decent amount.

 

[mar2safety]

Restarting this thread as i want to ask, i did try the Steve House maximum strength plan but i use a door mounted bar so dont feel comfortable loading it with that much weight to get a 1 rep max.
I do 3x6-8 at the moment but really want to get high rep Pullups, just a little goal at the moment.
Instead i found this, based on 3 days clean and press but made it 2 day, im thinking with a 10kg weight vest it might help to increase my reps? What do you all think?

Week 1
123x3 =18
123x4 =24

Week 2
1234 x1 123x2 =22
1234 x1 123x3 =28

Week 3
1234 x2 123 x1= 26
1234 x2 123 x2 =32

Week 4
1234 x3 =30
1234 x3 123 x1 =36

Week 5
Deload and test my unweighted pullups

I've been playing around with waving volume like this, but waving intensity, then waving total volume up the following week. 3 days a week, using 6 rep max as an example. Retest max every couple weeks.
Week 1
(6x1/4x1/2x8 = 26)
(6x1/4x1/3x5 = 25)
(6x1/4x5 =26)

Week 2
(6x1/4x2/2x9 = 32)
(6x1/4x2/3x6 = 32)
(6x1/4x7 = 34)

 

[renegadenate]

From a previous StrongFirst newsletter in 2021:

The following tactic has been proven successful for countless Russian athletes of all levels.

Do a single ladder, once a day, almost every day. This is it.

Start with 1 rep…

Walk around and rest.

Do 2 reps...

Actively rest again.

3 reps…

Keep your rest periods in a 1-2min range.

4 reps…

And so on, until you cannot “climb” any higher. It is important not to overestimate your ability—your last set must have more reps than the previous one.

Your technique must be impeccable in every set and rep—no swinging, kipping, reducing the range of motion, or other amateurish non-sense. Your effort in the top set should be approximately 8 on the 1-10 scale.

If your pullup rep PR is over 15, go up two reps every step: 2-4-6-8, etc.

If you are serious about your pullups, eventually progress to two daily ladders separated by many hours. Vitaly Koulikov, the world record holder in many pullup events, recommends one ladder before lunch and another before dinner.

 

[Gary W]

Thanks for the ideas, i like the 1 or 2 ladders a day
My problem is working it into my current workout as im a sucker for routine
Current i do...
A
Ring dips
Ring rows
Single leg dl
Core

B
Pullups
Pike pushups
Split Squats
Core

Monday A Tuesday B
Thursday A friday B

I could do one ladder before work AM the other after work PM with my workouts, i could replace the rows so i do pullups all 4 workouts?
Then also do them on Wednesday and Sat? Id feel like id need to balance it with a push on them days also but then it becomes a 6 day workout routine!

 

[renegadenate]

I've been playing around with waving volume like this, but waving intensity, then waving total volume up the following week. 3 days a week, using 6 rep max as an example. Retest max every couple weeks.
Week 1
(6x1/4x1/2x8 = 26)
(6x1/4x1/3x5 = 25)
(6x1/4x5 =26)

Week 2
(6x1/4x2/2x9 = 32)
(6x1/4x2/3x6 = 32)
(6x1/4x7 = 34)

That's not much variation in volume. I would use the Delta 20 principle.

Your week would look more like this:

30
18
24

 

[renegadenate]

I could do one ladder before work AM the other after work PM with my workouts

I would do that. And perform the pull-up ladder before your workout while you're fresh.

, i could replace the rows so i do pullups all 4 workouts?

I would keep Rows for shoulder health and injury prevention.

You could do the Pull-up Ladders 1 or 2x/day for all your training days or 5x/week (Wed or Sat).

Then also do them on Wednesday and Sat? Id feel like id need to balance it with a push on them days also but then it becomes a 6 day workout routine!

 

[Gary W]

I would do that. And perform the pull-up ladder before your workout while you're fresh.


I would keep Rows for shoulder health and injury prevention.

You could do the Pull-up Ladders 1 or 2x/day for all your training days or 5x/week (Wed or Sat).

Ok so are you saying do the Pullup ladders as well as my usual routine?

I could do one ladder AM then do my usual routine in the evening, maybe in the in the evenings on the days i do pullups ill do the ladder

 

[renegadenate]

Ok so are you saying do the Pullup ladders as well as my usual routine?

Yep!

I could do one ladder AM then do my usual routine in the evening, maybe in the in the evenings on the days i do pullups ill do the ladder

Perfect!

 

[Gary W]

Brilliant, thank you i will give it a go and report back

 

[Steve Freides]

I do pullups twice a week, am i still able to make progress using this program?
I know it will be slower progress but thats fine.
Or does it have to be done every day?

I think the answer depends on what constitutes progress for you. For weighted, I think twice a week can work. For reps, I think you’ll need more frequent training.

-S-

 

[renegadenate]

I do pullups twice a week, am i still able to make progress using this program?
I know it will be slower progress but thats fine.
Or does it have to be done every day?

Here's another option that's 1-2x/week (in addition to current pull-up training) from a more recent StrongFirst newsletter:

Like most of the state-of-the-art “strong endurance” protocols, the following pullup program (Lavrinenko et al., 2017) is “anti-glycolytic.” That means it trains the body to produce less lactic acid.

• Do a set of strict pullups on the minute for 20min.
• Put up 17-22% of your max reps. E.g., if your pullup PR is 20 reps, do sets of 3-4 reps.

StrongFirst recommends doing the above protocol once or twice a week in addition to your regular pullup training.

This is a good option for AGT-style pull-ups, but the 1-2 Pull-up Ladder 4-5x/week will work better for your goals.

 

[Gary W]

I think the answer depends on what constitutes progress for you. For weighted, I think twice a week can work. For reps, I think you’ll need more frequent training.

-S-

Yeah, reps are my goal, i think I'll go with the above ladders, 4x a week AM then my usual routine 4 days a week PM, 2 of which will be the pullup ladders.
So I'll be doing the ladder Pullups 6 times in a week