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Bodyweight Progressing past 3 pull-ups

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Blake8098

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Hey, been stuck at 3 dead hang pullups for a while now. I’ve tried gtg, ladders, negatives, working on Aussie pulls, etc. with no avail. Seems like my motor just gives out after 3. I can get up to 8 or so with band pulls. Too soon to add small amount of weight to help break thru? Not sure what I need to do. If this has already been covered, please guide me to where it is covered and possibly give me the info again here. Brand new here and not sure how to navigate the website yet. Thanks for any info.
Blake
 
@Blake8098, welcome to the StrongFirst forum.

Add a little weight, 5-10 lbs. and work on singles. It will reset your idea of what's a difficult pullup, and your bodyweight numbers will eventually improve.

There are many ways to perform a pullup and the movement is taught at our bodyweight cert - you might also consider posting a video and/or working with an StrongFirst Certified Bodyweight (SFB) coach.

-S-
 
Thank you much for the quick reply. I will post a video here shortly. And I will give that a shot. Yeah I am thoroughly confused. With pushups, squats, etc. I’m gassed and definitely fatigued but can continue increasing reps weekly. With pull-ups I just have nothing left after three but they aren’t difficult and after a small break I can bust out 3 more with the same difficulty. Extremely odd to me.
 
Blake8098 said:
when I try to upload video it will only let me browse thru pictures. Ideas?
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Load your video to YouTube, Vimeo, or your own online locations (e.g., Google Docs) and post a link to the video here. We don't support uploading a video directly to our forum as it could quickly become too space intensive.

Thanks.

-S-
 


makes sense. Here it is. Thanks. And yeah, working on getting rid of the spare tire weighing me down.
 
Blake8098 said:
Hey, been stuck at 3 dead hang pullups for a while now. I’ve tried gtg, ladders, negatives, working on Aussie pulls, etc. with no avail. Seems like my motor just gives out after 3. I can get up to 8 or so with band pulls. Too soon to add small amount of weight to help break thru? Not sure what I need to do. If this has already been covered, please guide me to where it is covered and possibly give me the info again here. Brand new here and not sure how to navigate the website yet. Thanks for any info.
Blake
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Blake, how's your form on long cycle cj's with dbl bells? If that skill is squared away, chill on the pull ups for a bit and hit the cj's 3 x a week, 5-10 sets, 3-8 reps, 1.5 -3 minutes rest in between. Mix up the sets and reps and rest Try widening your grip when you start up the pull ups again.
Don.
 
Have never done that move a single time. Will give it a shot. Can’t put pull-ups off tho, is both too much? Gotta get to 15 pulls by October to be nice and comfortable with selection school minimum of 8
 
Hey Blake welcome to StrongFirst! How are you on pushups? I find that training pushups can really help with pullups because it strengthens the shoulder girdle area.

Can you dissect your pullup for me and explain what "gives out" after your third pullup? Is it your grip? Can you pinpoint the muscles that lose strength such as your lats, shoulders, or forearms?

Another way to work on pullups is to do lat-pull downs, assisted pullups with a band, negatives, or rows. Have you done any of these?

You may also want to check out the StrongFirst in the military thread for ideas on programming for selection courses and the Military in general.
 
I’m at 50+ pull-ups. 25 dips. 40 sit-ups. The last couple inches is where I give out. I can get my nose above the bar probably 6 or 7 times. But chest to bar gives out at 3. I don’t feel tired anywhere specific. It just stops. I’ve been working on holding the chest to bar top position for a couple weeks but it isn’t increased the rep count as of yet.
 
Blake8098 said:
Have never done that move a single time. Will give it a shot. Can’t put pull-ups off tho, is both too much? Gotta get to 15 pulls by October to be nice and comfortable with selection school minimum of 8
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Forget the cj's for now. I like Capt. America's idea. How's your two handed swing? The Quick and the Dead protocol with 10 two handed power swings alternated with 10 power push ups on the :90 for 10 sets of each, work out takes a bit over 28:30 . You could alternate, a Q&D on Monday, pull ups on Wed,Q&D on Friday, etc. Guessing your doing some jogging, which you could do on days in between.
 
Blake8098 said:


makes sense. Here it is. Thanks. And yeah, working on getting rid of the spare tire weighing me down.
Click to expand...


Hi Blake,

From a technique perspective, try to hold more of a hollow position -- tension in the abs and glutes. It requires a little more work in those areas, but makes the pull easier and more tied together, and sets you up better for more reps.

There are some other great tips in this article by Master SFG Karen Smith: One Good Rep: How to Perform the Perfect Pull-up | StrongFirst
 
Thank you guys for the response. I will try to get more activation there.
And no I haven’t tried fighter pull-up. After reading it, I will be trying that for the next month.
 
That program has always worked well for me. If you give it a go and want to break yourself in gently, you could consider starting with a few less reps to focus on form before getting into it properly, e.g.
1,1,1,1
2, 1,1,1
2,2,1,1
Day 1 - 3,2,1,1
Etc...
 
Dang.. hollow body pulls are a pain when you haven’t done them before. Back to 1 rep. Will start there David. Thanks everyone!
 
Don Fairbanks said:
Forget the cj's for now. I like Capt. America's idea. How's your two handed swing? The Quick and the Dead protocol with 10 two handed power swings alternated with 10 power push ups on the :90 for 10 sets of each, work out takes a bit over 28:30 . You could alternate, a Q&D on Monday, pull ups on Wed,Q&D on Friday, etc. Guessing your doing some jogging, which you could do on days in between.
Click to expand...

Yeah jogging and rucking on alternate days. Trying to find a happy mix of my gymnastics bodies subscription, swings, running/rucking, and the pure numbers calisthenics recommendations for selection. Trying to do as much as possible without overdoing it and tearing myself up.
 
Blake8098 said:
Have never done that move a single time. Will give it a shot. Can’t put pull-ups off tho, is both too much? Gotta get to 15 pulls by October to be nice and comfortable with selection school minimum of 8
Click to expand...
Here's an excerpt from Pavel's The Naked Warrior:
"Once, I came across this question posted on a popular strength-training website by a young Marine: “How should I train to improve my pullups?”
I was amused when I read the arcane and nonspecific advice the trooper received: “Do straight-arm pulldowns, reverse curls, avoiding the negative part of the chin-up every third workout...”
I had a radical thought:
If you want to get good at pullups, why not try to do...a lot of pullups?"

I agree 100% with Pavel. Before exploring variations like hollow body pullups, long cycle presses, weighted pullups, etc, I'd want to make sure that you gave GTG a proper shot. With that in mind:

What kind of volume did you work up to in your GTG program and for how long did you do it? Pavel recommends getting to the point of doing 5-10 sets daily, with 1-2 reps per set in your case. Did you perform that amount of Pullup volume for say 2-3 weeks before testing and concluding GTG did not work for you?
 
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