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Bodyweight "Weighted" Pullups/Chinups Without Weight

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Steve Freides

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Idea: Thought I'd post what I've been doing for pullups/chinups, which is working on assisted one-armed PU by using one hand plus only some of the fingers of the other hand.

Gear Required: I'm using rings for my pullups/chinups (hereafter just called PU) and Eagle Loops from ironmind.com - Eagle Loops for finger and open hand strength - IronMind-www.ironmind-store.com. Rings are about $30 for a pair of plastic ones with adjustable straps. Eagle Loops are $40 for a pair (although you only need one to make this work).

While one can use only some fingers on the 2nd ring as assistance, there are two downsides for me: first, some finger combinations are quite uncomfortable; second, even just using one finger of the other hand still provides a decent amount of assistance. Eagle Loops remedy #1 nicely - they're definitely more comfortable, and they help #2 because they lower the assisting hand by about 9" (23 cm) - a lower position for the assisting hand means less assistance.

I put one Eagle Loop on one ring, do a PU one way, then turn and face the other way to do the other arm. This saves me from having to have two Eagle Loops and then having to slide one out of the way. Today's session:

1 hand + index finger x 1
1 hand + index and middle fingers x 2
1 hand + index, middle and ring fingers x 3

Total, since you have to double the above to account for both sides, was 12 reps.

Some video from a few days ago.



The Standard: straight elbow at the bottom with a pause, chin resting on top of knuckles in the ring at the top.

Great fun, great way to get stronger at pullups and work towards a one-arm-er without needing addition weights.

-S-
 
One can also use Rock Rings for this.
Another trick is grab the wrist or forearm of the ‘pulling’ arm.
Also uneven heights on the rings is another option.

(I’ve seen a guy do a one finger one arm pull on Eagle Loops and several guys do two finger pulls!)
 
One can also use Rock Rings for this.
Yes, I've seen those - climber training gadgets. :)

Another trick is grab the wrist or forearm of the ‘pulling’ arm.
I've done this - don't love it. When you grab at or just below your wrist, it's really not all that much harder. But if you grab lower, it starts to get weird.

Also uneven heights on the rings is another option.
Yes, but some of the OCD among us like to get our rings _exactly_ level with each other and then not mess with them. :) I have two sets of rings in my basement gym - the ones I used in this video are the ones I don't mess with, but I adjust the others as needed.

(I’ve seen a guy do a one finger one arm pull on Eagle Loops and several guys do two finger pulls!)
Yup, me, too. There are some strong humans out there, for sure.

-S-
 
Hello,

Of course, this can not be considered 'without weight', but using a pulley and a counterweight can also be an option. This is something I like because you can really track your progress by decreasing the weight of the counterweight

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Of course, this can not be considered 'without weight', but using a pulley and a counterweight can also be an option. This is something I like because you can really track your progress by decreasing the weight of the counterweight
I'd tried the pulley, but it's too complicated for what little training time I have - I like the simplicity of this. If I was going to use a pulley, I'd set up a spot somewhere and leave it set up.

-S-
 
Hello,

The poor guy's solution could be a climbing rope or a cord with a Prussig knot. That way one can adjust fast and easily the length of the loop.

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
I've done this - don't love it. When you grab at or just below your wrist, it's really not all that much harder. But if you grab lower, it starts to get weird.
The oldest one-arm pull-up guide I've seen (John Jesse, Wrestling Physical Conditioning Encyclopedia) recommends grabbing progressively lower on the forearm, biceps and shoulder. It's one of the trickier ways to progress to OACH imho because indeed, it feels weird after a certain point, but it also has certain advantages like teaching you to control the body's swinging and training the grip the most. I have found experimenting with the grip on the pulling arm helps (gripping the outside instead of the inside, for example).

Cheers
Period.
 
if you can loop a rope through one ring for the lower arm then the drill would be more effective for one arm chin/pull up.

I have done one arm chin many time since 2013 (I do not try to maintain it). The hardest thing in OAC for me is the begining (deadhang with one arm, without any kipping). After that if you keep your body in suitable path then OAC is much easier than you though (especially with light weight person). In your clip the COG is too far from the main working side for my taste.

But if this is just another SV of pull/chin up then I'm totally fine with it.
 
When grip strength is lacking for an Uneven Pull Up, a mixed grip might work. I use a straight bar for this and my 'working' hand an underhand grip and my 'assisting' hand an overhand grip. Imo this is safer for my elbow. I use this variation because i find Uneven pull ups a bit too taxing for my forearms.

This can be applied on rings too. If this feels better for one's shoulders :)
 
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